Satellite Imagery Shows China Upgrading Aircraft Carrier Base

Defence affairs analysis

Satellite imagery captured earlier this month shows the continued expansion of a Chinese naval base that hosts one of the nation's aircraft carriers near the contested South China Sea.

The Chinese navy—the largest naval force in the world by hull count—serves as a key instrument of Beijing's military power. In June, China deployed both of its aircraft carriers, CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong, simultaneously in the wider western Pacific.

Besides the Liaoning and the Shandong, China's third and most advanced aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian, is set to be commissioned. Reports indicate that China plans to build its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, further challenging the United States' naval supremacy.

China's naval buildup helps assert its sweeping sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, which encompass most of the waters and overlap with those of neighboring countries—often resulting in standoffs and clashes, particularly with the Philippines, a key U.S. treaty ally.

AllSource Analysis—a Colorado-based geospatial intelligence provider—shared satellite imagery taken on July 17 that shows what it described as "ongoing construction activity" at Yulin Naval Base, located on the East Asian power's southern island province of Hainan.