China’s Shandong aircraft carrier crosses Taiwan Strait a day after USS Mustin
- Military analysts say the timing was a coincidence because it is not possible to put a carrier to sea with only a day’s notice
- Chinese ship is heading to South China Sea because it is too cold to fly near its home port
The recent voyage by the Chinese aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait was a normal scheduled operation and not a response to a US destroyer’s journey through the same waters, military analysts said.
The Shandong passed through the waters on Sunday, a day after the USS Mustin’s transit, but one observer said the logistical challenges of putting a carrier to sea meant it would be impossible to do so with just a day’s notice.
“It’s likely that the Shandong aircraft carrier is going to join with the Type 075 amphibious assault dock, which is already in the [waters] near Hainan, and other warships to form a strike group for training.”
Military observers in Beijing and Taipei said the Shandong is sailing to the South China Sea for naval training because good weather in the south will enable the navy to carry out combat drills and they believe China’s other carrier, the Liaoning, may follow its route.
Lu said temperatures near Qingdao, the carriers’ home port, had dropped below zero, meaning it was unsafe for aircraft to take off and land on deck.
