China has sent another aircraft carrier into the wider western Pacific Ocean following its first operation featuring two “flattop” warships last month, according to a report on Monday.
The Joint Staff Office under the Defense Ministry of Japan reported the movement of Chan’s second operational aircraft carrier, CNS Shandong, and two warship escorts in waters east of the northern Philippines. Satellite imagery also captured it in the same area of the Pacific Ocean.
This comes after the Chinese military‘s unprecedented dual aircraft carrier operation in the South China Sea in late October. The naval operation involved the Shandong and CNS Liaoning, China’s first operational “flattop,” as well as 11 other warships.
The Liaoning has returned to its home port in Qingdao in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, according to Newsweek‘s weekly update. The Shandong is based at Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan, which faces the South China Sea to the south.
An Ni/Xinhua via AP
The Chinese aircraft carriers share similar designs, including a ski-jump for launching aircraft instead of employing a catapult system, which is a key feature of the yet-to-be-commissioned CNS Fujian, China’s third and most advanced “flattop.”
It was not immediately clear whether the strike group led by the Shandong was on a long-distance deployment, similar to the one carried out by the Liaoning from mid-September to late October. This saw it operating in the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.
China’s defense ministry did not immediately return a request by Newsweek for comment.
According to the Japanese military report, the Shandong was conducting flight operations with its carrier-based fighter jets in the Philippine Sea, 447 miles south of Japan’s Miyako Island. Photos attached to the report showed a fighter jet taking off from the Shandong.
Miyako Island and the Philippines are part of a United States defense concept known as the first island chain, which extends southward from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines. It aims to leverage allied or friendly territories to contain the Chinese navy in the area.
The deployment of the Shandong beyond the first island chain might explain the increase in Chinese military aircraft activity in airspace south of Taiwan since Sunday, as the aircraft carrier sailed in nearby waters while leaving the South China Sea for the Philippine Sea.
According to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, 44 Chinese military aircraft were detected flying around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on Monday, 37 of which crossed the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s southeastern and southwestern air defense zones.
44 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC 8) today. 37 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southeastern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. pic.twitter.com/ADOJBRWqNx
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) November 4, 2024
Japan’s navy also spotted two other Chinese warships, Type 055 destroyer CNS Yan’an and Type 052D destroyer CNS Zhanjiang, while shadowing the Chinese aircraft carrier.
Meanwhile, a Chinese TB-001 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, which can conduct reconnaissance and combat missions, was flying between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea, where it transited over the Miyako Strait on Sunday.
The Japanese air force scrambled fighter jets as the Chinese drone flew near the country’s southwestern islands, which are part of the first island chain. It did not enter Japanese sovereign airspace, a map attached to the Japanese Defense Ministry’s report shows.
Japan’s Defense Ministry
