China's first domestically-built aircraft carrier visited Hong Kong this week. Experts said it could deter ill-intentioned forces

(Beijing/Hong Kong) Hong Kong has welcomed a Chinese aircraft carrier after an eight-year hiatus. Chinese authorities announced on the eve of Hong Kong's return anniversary on July 1 that a naval fleet composed of the first domestically-built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, and three other warships will visit Hong Kong for five days starting from Thursday (July 3).

China's Ministry of Defense announced on its official website on Saturday (June 28) that a formation composed of the Shandong warship, the missile destroyers Yan 'an and Zhanjiang, and the missile frigate Yuncheng will visit Hong Kong from July 3 to 7.

The Ministry of National Defense of China introduced that during this period, a series of open visits and cultural exchange activities will be organized to enable the people of Hong Kong to have a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of the development of national defense and military construction in the new era.

The People's Liberation Army Garrison in Hong Kong announced on its wechat official account that the Shandong, Zhanjiang and Yuncheng warships will be open to Hong Kong residents for visits over the weekend (July 5th and 6th), with a total of 10,000 spots available.

This is the first visit of the Shandong aircraft carrier formation to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has also become the only city that has hosted two aircraft carriers and both of them have held open events to the outside world.

The formation composed of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, visited Hong Kong in July 2017 and held an open event. According to Xinhua News Agency, it was the first time that the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier strike group docked in Hong Kong at that time, and it was also the first time that the Liaoning aircraft carrier was open to the public.

The Global Times quoted Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe as saying that compared with the Liaoning aircraft carrier formation that visited Hong Kong at that time, all the vessels of the Shandong aircraft carrier formation this time were completely independently developed by China.

Zhang Junshe described that as a bridge and window for opening up to the outside world, the visit of the latest main battle vessels to Hong Kong can fully demonstrate to the outside world the achievements of the development and construction of the Chinese military, as well as the fine spiritual outlook of the officers and soldiers of the naval fleet.

He also said that the Shandong warship and other national heavyweights demonstrate powerful combat capabilities, which naturally have a certain deterrent effect on some ill-intentioned forces.

According to Sing Tao Daily, Li Huiqiong, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, believes that the visit of the Shandong aircraft carrier formation to Hong Kong this time further implements the regular visit arrangements of the Chinese Navy to Hong Kong and is a practical lesson in patriotic education.

Since Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, PLA vessels have visited Hong Kong eight times.