The Chinese military seeks to ‘improve its operational capabilities in distant seas and airspace,’ the Japanese defense minister says.
Japan has confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers are simultaneously carrying out operations in the Pacific for the first time, a move that Tokyo interprets as an indication of Beijing’s plans to further extend its military reach beyond its borders.
Shandong, China’s domestically built aircraft carrier, and four naval vessels sailed into the waters southwest of Japan’s Miyakojima island on June 7, Tokyo’s Joint Staff Office said in a June 9 statement on its website.
Later that day, Japan detected another group of Chinese naval vessels, including aircraft carrier Liaoning, in the waters 186 miles southwest of Minamitorishima, an isolated Japanese atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the Joint Staff Office said in a separate statement. That falls within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, defined by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea as lying within 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles) from the shoreline.
Liaoning was seen conducting takeoffs and landings with carrier-based fighter jets, while Shandong remained active in the area on June 9, performing helicopter takeoff and landing training, according to the Joint Staff Office.
“This is the first time that we have confirmed and made public that two aircraft carriers were active in the Pacific Ocean at the same time,” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at a press conference on June 10.
It also marked the first time Chinese naval aircraft carriers were found operating in the waters east of Iwo Jima, Nakatani said. The island, situated about 650 nautical miles (750 miles) from Tokyo, is part of the strategically important Second Island Chain, which includes Guam, Palau, and Papua New Guinea.
In a social media post, the Chinese navy described the operations as “routine training” conducted according to its annual training schedule, which it said was not aimed at any specific country.
The recent drills involving Liaoning and Shandong in the Western Pacific and other waters were to “test the forces’ capabilities in far seas defense and joint operations,” Senior Capt. Wang Xuejun, the Chinese navy’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Weibo, China’s equivalent of X.
By Dorothy Li
