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
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 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.
Chinese military mounts another show of force in Bohai and Yellow seas
Its first exercise this year was a 23-day drill in the Bohai and Yellow seas in May and June.
01:21
Chinese amphibious armoured troops conduct live-fire military exercise at sea
Separate PLA drills are currently taking place in the Yellow and Bohai seas as part of an ongoing series of exercises amid mounting tension with the US. The navy also recently finished naval drills in the South and East China Seas.
Another exercise saw a US spy plane entering a no-fly zone, prompting protests from China.
China fires ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ missile in ‘warning to US’
The US Navy has also carried out a series of exercises in the region in the past two months, including a carrier group exercises, a joint drill with the Japanese and transits through the Taiwan Strait. China last week fired a number of anti-ship missiles into an area of the South China Sea where the US carrier drills had been conducted.
