China today boasts three aircraft carriers—a symbol it eagerly presents as proof of rising military dominance. But behind the polished images and choreographed naval drills lies a far less impressive reality. Each of these carriers carries not just aircraft, but a trail of technical failures, design compromises, and quiet embarrassment that rarely makes it into official headlines. What looks like power from a distance begins to unravel the closer you examine it.
The Liaoning, China’s first carrier, was never truly its own creation. It began life as a half-finished Soviet vessel, purchased from Ukraine and retrofitted into service. From the start, it struggled to shake off its origins. Reports of corrosion, mechanical breakdowns, and thick plumes of black smoke pouring from its engines have surfaced repeatedly over the years. At one point, the situation became so embarrassing that authorities reportedly restricted photography near the ship. Instead of symbolizing strength, the Liaoning often appears as a patched-up relic—more a training platform than a credible instrument of war.
166