Beijing:
China says its first aircraft carrier has headed back out for a second round of sea trials.
The Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that the as-yet unnamed carrier left the northern port of Dalian on Tuesday to conduct "technical research experiments."
The carrier is the former Soviet Varyag, towed from Ukraine in 1998, minus its engines, weaponry and navigation systems. It was dispatched on its first five-day sea trials in August following years of refurbishment.
China has kept the sea trials relatively low-key amid regional concerns about its growing military strength and increasingly assertive claims to disputed territory.
China says the carrier is intended for research and training, leading to speculation that it plans to build future copies.