China has declared it is building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The size of the carrier will be huge enough to rival the biggest in United States naval service in the first move of a major new arms race.
According to China Daily, Chinese website qianzhan.com said 'top People's Liberation Army' sources as saying the 110,000-ton aircraft carrier should be launched by 2020.
The news follows rising tensions in the South and East China Seas.
The design of the carrier is reportedly based on drawings from the former Soviet Union of a nuclear-powered, 80,000 ton vessel capable of carrying 60 aircraft, the report added.
