Did China just drop a hint that its next aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered?

A video released to mark the PLA Navy’s anniversary uses wordplay to suggest that a new warship is under construction

A Chinese naval video has fuelled speculation that its next aircraft carrier is likely to be nuclear-powered.

The film Into The Deep was released on Wednesday to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

Highlighting the continuity of China’s maritime ambitions, from coastal defence to a “blue-water” navy capable of deep-sea operations, the film also included footage from real-life drills in the western Pacific and the use of advanced equipment.

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It also showed a compass being handed down through generations of naval officers, but their names were what really caught the attention of military analysts and social media users.

The officers representing the previous three generations were called Liao Ning, Shan Dong, and Fu Jian – the names of China’s three commissioned carriers.

But a fourth character – a 19-year-old recruit named He Jian – prompted speculation he represented the next carrier, which is expected to have the hull number 19.

By convention, carriers are named after provinces – but there is no province called Hejian. Instead, “He” sounds like the Chinese word for “nuclear” and “Jian” is the word for a “ship”.

China has not officially confirmed or denied that a new carrier is being built, but satellite images taken over the past couple of years indicate that a large vessel is under construction at a shipyard in Dalian, a city in the northeast of the country.

The images suggest the ship is of a similar size to America’s nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, heightening speculation about whether a similar propulsion method will be used.

In a further clue, pictures of the ship taken in February also showed structures that looked like nuclear reactor containment vessels.

The video continued its wordplay in a post-credit scene featuring a boy named “Xiao Wan” (little Wan) – a common nickname on the Chinese internet for Taiwan – attending the “Tongyi” (Reunification) Road Primary School.

In the scene, Shan Dong tells the child, “I’ve come to take you home.” When the boy replies that he wants “to stay out a little longer”, Shan Dong responds: “Don’t be difficult. Mum is waiting for you at home.”

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never renounced the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons to defend itself.

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