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China’s Shandong aircraft carrier leaves port for latest aerial drill
- The carrier was commissioned last year and is bound for training exercises in the Bohai Sea
- The People’s Liberation Army has stepped up training in recent months amid ongoing tension with the US
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China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Shandong, has left the shipyard for a drill, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Kuznetsov-class carrier was filmed being towed from the harbour in Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning and heading out to the Bohai Sea, the Haike News, a social media account run by the overseas edition of People’s Daily reported. J-15 fighter jets and a Z-18 helicopter were also seen on deck.
The Shandong entered service on December 17 last year in Sanya, a port on the southern island of Hainan, but is not yet combat-ready.
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The maritime authorities in Liaoning on Monday announced a no-entry zone for civilian vessels in the Bohai Sea off the coast of Leting county in Hebei, effective for three weeks from Tuesday because of “military missions”.
It is believed that this is the area where Shandong will carry out an aerial training session.
The ship has been assigned to the Chinese navy’s South Sea Fleet based in Sanya but has mostly remained in the northeast, with the crew confined to the ship at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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