By Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) — China is constructing a second plane provider, with the brand new ship being designed and constructed domestically, the Defense Ministry mentioned, marking the primary time the federal government has confirmed the long-rumored venture.

The vessel is being constructed within the northern port of Dalian and can carry Chinese-made J-15 fighter jets, the ministry mentioned on its web site, citing spokesman Col. Yang Yujun. The ship may have a displacement of roughly 50,000 tons, Yang mentioned. The nation’s first plane provider, the Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012 and inbuilt a hull bought from the Ukraine.

China has been increasing its naval prowess because the phrase’s second-biggest financial system extends its financial clout all through Asia and past.China has largely saved the provider program secret, partly to allay considerations about its capability to check the dominance of the U.S. Navy, which has upheld Asian maritime safety since World War II. The Pentagon mentioned in May that China “could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years.”

“We have long coastlines and vast waters under our jurisdiction, and it is the sacred duty of Chinese forces to protect the nation’s marine safety — to defend territorial sovereignty as well as the maritime rights,” Yang mentioned within the assertion.

©2015 Bloomberg News