‘Spooked’ China sorry for ghost Navy ships, jets

Beijing, April 27: China’s defence ministry apologised on Thursday for allowing a badly photoshopped picture of Navy ships and fighter jets to appear on its social media accounts over the weekend, after hundreds of people poured scorn on the image.

The picture, which appeared on the ministry’s Weibo and WeChat accounts on Sunday to mark the Navy’s 68th birthday, showed fighter jets over the country’s first aircraft carrier, with two other warships in the background along with two ghostly looking submarines.

Internet users were quick to point out though the two warships were probably US vessels, that one of the aircraft shown was a Russian MiG-35 and that the three other fighter jets were landbased J-10s rather than the carrier-based J-15s.

The image was also mocked for looking cheap and unprofessional.

Speaking at a monthly news briefing, ministry spokesman Yang Yujun admitted that the image was “not meticulous” and that it had been criticised by internet users.

“The carelessness was with the editor, the responsibility is on the shoulders

A photoshopped picture of Navy ships and fighter jets appeared on the military’s social media accounts to mark the Navy’s 68th birthday

Internet users were quick to point out the two warships were US vessels, one of the aircraft was a Russian MiG-35 and the three fighter jets were land-based J-10s rather than the carrier-based J-15s

of the leadership,” Mr Yang said, adding he was “sincerely sorry”.

Neither the image nor the critical comments would be removed as they could serve as a warning, Mr Yang said.

Users of Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, had expressed amazement that the military, which is normally so sensitive about its image, had allowed the picture to appear.

“Those propaganda guys are weak in the head. They need to go after them for not doing their job,” wrote one Weibo user.