China Shows Off Carrier, but Experts Are Skeptical

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16. You might also need one to hold on to the Spratlys.

Definitely not an admiral, here, but the next big naval war seems likely to erupt over the Spratly islands, or Taiwan, or over those silly little islands the Japanese want.

A carrier would permit operations from unexpected directions, in addition to shuttle-bombing far away targets with aircraft equipped to land and be turned around on the carrier, covering invasion fleets, and for the more usual purposes of bullying and diplomatic brinksmanship.

Chinese territorial aspirations appear to stretch much farther than land-based planes from mainland China can easily reach.

When unmanned drones begin fully replacing ground-attack aircraft, the deck, storage, and maintenance facilities a carrier can provide might make one even more valuable and useful than they already are.