China's first aircraft carrier is getting ready for its first long distance outing some time this year, China state media CCTV announced.

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The 990ft Liaoning carrier is a former Soviet carrier that was reportedly purchased from Ukraine in 1999 before being refitted at a naval base in northeast China. It was formally brought into service last September. 

In March, a Chinese shipping expert told state media its first major voyage could take between one and three months. "The navy has to protect the security of the country and its economic interests," the China Daily reported. Carriers made "a huge difference to the military capabilities of the countries that had them," the newspaper added.

Liu Zhigang, a first officer on the carrier said that the carrier could "serve as a guide for the transformation of the Chinese navy, from coastal defence to greater responsibilities in deep oceans."

"The Chinese navy needs to reach every place that other countries can reach to support the country's growth. The navy has to be able to compete with any naval force from any country in any area," he said. "We can refit an aircraft carrier and be fully combat-capable much faster than most experts expected."

China's clear intention to extend its control over the seas with a "blue-water force" comes at a time of increasingly acrimonious maritime disputes with neighbouring countries such as Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.