This WSJ editorial answers the question I just asked:
China’s Stealth Carrier Program
Beijing doesn’t like to talk about its plans to project naval power.
April 26, 2017 7:00 p.m. ET
China sent another signal on Wednesday that it intends to project military power across the region with the launch of its second aircraft carrier. When it completes sea trials in several years, the new ship will be China’s first operational carrier. The existing Liaoning, built using a Soviet-era hull and launched in 2012, is used only for training.
Yet despite the prestige of joining the exclusive aircraft-carrier club, Beijing remains virtually silent about the program. This lack of transparency suggests the People’s Liberation Army hopes potential adversaries continue to underestimate its future capabilities.
The flattop’s construction was widely reported abroad, since it was obvious even to casual visitors to the port of Dalian. Yet until the People’s Daily announced it last December, the ship’s existence remained a state secret.
As always, the lack of information fed speculation. Many experts believe that China aims to build five more carriers over the next decade. That would allow it to have two at sea at any time while conducting maintenance and training on the others in port.
One theory is that China intends to use its carriers to show the flag and intimidate smaller countries in the region. At least for the foreseeable future, the ships would be vulnerable and of little use in a conflict with technologically superior U.S. and Japanese forces.
The PLA has also shown that even the most powerful carriers have limitations. It developed a potent strategy of asymmetric naval warfare using relatively inexpensive weapons such as mines and antiship missiles. The idea behind this strategy of “area denial” is that the U.S. will be reluctant to send ships into Chinese coastal waters in the event of a conflict. The irony is that once China has its own carriers, such tactics could be turned against it by smaller adversaries such as Taiwan and Vietnam.
Despite their vulnerability and the immense cost to develop the technology, Beijing nevertheless presses ahead with carriers. A logical conclusion is that the PLA is looking decades ahead to when China’s economy is projected to be the largest in the world and could support the military needed for superpower status.
Beijing’s silence as the PLA deploys new weapons suggests a return to a traditional strategic culture of deception. Neighboring countries are expressing alarm that China seems to want to restore its premodern dominance over the region. Wednesday’s carrier launch will reinforce their concern.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-...view_&_outlook