China's first aircraft carrier swept through fog-shrouded waters Wednesday to open sea trials that underline the country's big naval ambitions and fuel concerns about its growing military strength amid regional territorial disputes.
I have my doubts about how long big ships can last in fleet-on-fleet engagements (whether our carriers or their future carriers), but they are undoubtedly useful for diplomacy and minor wars against countries without the capacity to attack the carriers far out at sea.