The scheduled maiden voyage later this month of a Chinese-made supertanker has reignited debate over whether or not China's navy should possess an aircraft carrier. The mammoth "Xin Buyang" oil-tanker is currently being prepared to take to the sea at a shipyard near the southern city of Guangzhou.

Displacing 350,000 tons - more than three times as much as the biggest American aircraft carrier - the supertanker is well over 1,000 feet long and has a deck the size of three football fields.

The ship's makers say it's built to withstand the worst weather and can circumnavigate the globe in just 60 days. It is also certified to operate without a pilot in many ports due to its advanced automatic navigational and control systems.

For supporters of a Chinese aircraft carrier the fact that such an advanced ship - and of such scale - can be built with indigenous Chinese technology is a signal the country is also capable of building and launching its own aircraft carrier.

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