China's state media say construction equipment, cranes and shipping containers still litter the deck of the country's first aircraft carrier, indicating the vessel is far from ready for launch.

The Communist Party-controlled Global Times newspaper reports on its website Wednesday that naval enthusiasts were disappointed when the ship failed to to begin sea trials on July 1 as had been widely expected. The date marked the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

The website published a detailed photograph of the vessel, whose existence was not officially confirmed until armed forces chief Chen Bingde disclosed it to a Hong Kong newspaper last month. Global Times says the ship can be clearly seen from a number of vantage points in its berth at Dalian, where it has been undergoing a refit since 2005.

The ship was purchased from Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and was towed to Dalian in 2002. Global Times says the ship still carries its Russian name, Varyag.

Its progress has been of keen interest not only to military enthusiasts but also to several of China's neighbors, who worry about the country's growing naval power at a time of tension over competing territorial claims in the South and East China seas.

This week, China's foreign ministry called for Japan to withdraw its fishing boats from disputed waters in the East China Sea which have long been under effective Japanese control. The area is adjacent to an island chain referred to as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese.