The PLA Navy’s aircraft carrier base in Hainan could prove vital to the fleet’s survivability and crucial in countering US containment along the first island chain in wartime, according to a prominent mainland Chinese magazine. Such a posture could also support efforts to impose a maritime blockade around Taiwan in the event of a conflict, Defence Review reported this month. China now operates three aircraft carriers: the Liaoning, the Shandong, and the most advanced, the catapult-equipped...