Hmmm, they're actually proposing to buy the carrier back. While PLAN isn't about to sell her now if Russians are still interested many years from now I could see it happen. Or if not Liaoning then Shandong. Then PLAN could go all CATOBAR.
It's probably more workable than all the joke suggestions about towing Kuznetsov to Dalian and get her fixed there.
I think the suggestion wouldn't make it to Kremlin.
Who would even agree to name an important warship after a founder of a political party in the post-Soviet Russia? Plus, is Vladimir Zhirinovsky as significant as Vladimir Lenin or Josef Stalin in the history of Russia in order to be worthy of such honor to be named on a capital ship?
Russians Urge China To Return Soviet Aircraft Carrier Liaoning Bought From Ukraine
Russia Wants Its Liaoning Aircraft Carrier Back That China Purchased From Ukraine
Quoting these two sentences from the Eurasian Times article:
Given the current situation, I propose that Russia buy this aircraft carrier from China, in the name of Zhirinovsky, the founder of the Liberal Democratic Party, and make it the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.”
And have "ex-Liaoning" join Moskva underneath the Black Sea as well?
However, it may be worth going back into the history of how China devised a master plan to acquire the vessel from Ukraine and went completely rogue in the process.
What a hubris way to describe it, but what do I even expect from an Indian news agency that is famous for spitting out lies about China-related affairs?
I bet those Indians don't even realize how difficult and challenging it is for China to tow the ex-Varyag back to China. All they know is whine and smear.
In case anyone didn't know, China basically have to
suffer for 16-whole-months of towing the ex-Varyag around the Black Sea and did zero progress - From the
deliberate stopping-of-passage by Turkey (thanks to some
backstage interference from a
certain third country) to China being
forced to make tons of consession to Turkey before the ex-Varyag was allowed to cross the Bosphorus Strait.
That
certain third country is a
certain superpower located across the Pacific to the east. I believe you guys can already figure out the answer.
Furthermore, if not for
Greece, China might never even get to see the ex-Varyag in Dalian, and China's aircraft carrier programme would have been set back for at least a decade. Greece, being the sworn rival of Turkey, has agreed to
become a third-party firm guarantor for ex-Varyag's passage across the Bosphorus. Greece even
lost one of their seamen when trying to put the ex-Varyag under tow again after the ship broke adrift during to a storm at the Dardanelles.
Plus, China also had to depend on good luck throughout the entire towing process from Mykoliav to Dalian. After leaving the Mediterranean, the ex-Varyag had to be towed to the Southern Atlantic and
round the the southern tip of Africa (yes, you heard that right) before entering the Indian Ocean, Malacca Strait and finally the China Seas.
To be honest, I hope that sometime in the future, China would sail Liaoning and her entire CSG to Greece for a friendly port visit - Just to show an up-yours to that Greece neighbour to the east. Similar port visit should also be conducted for Cuba or Mexico for similar reasons.
