Advertisement
Advertisement
China’s military
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
A Chinese J-15 fighter jet takes off from the Liaoning during combat training. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese aircraft carrier the Liaoning back home after being shadowed by Japanese warship during drills

  • Chinese strike group has spent 20 days conducting combat training in the Yellow and East China seas and the western Pacific, PLA Daily says
  • Navy and state broadcaster release images and footage of Japan’s Izumo aircraft carrier and a Japanese fighter jet close by
Chinese aircraft carrier the Liaoning returned to its home port of Qingdao on Thursday after 20 days of training in the region, with the navy and state media saying it had been closely shadowed by a Japanese warship at one stage.
The Liaoning and five other warships carried out combat exercises in the Yellow and East China seas and the western Pacific Ocean, military mouthpiece PLA Daily reported on Friday.
The People’s Liberation Army drills began on December 9 and included fighter jet landings and maritime search and rescue in the Yellow Sea, and tactical flights of carrier-based J-15 fighter jets in the western Pacific.

PLA Daily said the strike group had been monitored and shadowed by foreign warships and aircraft but did not give further details, saying only that the Chinese navy handled the situation “cautiously and effectively”.

However, the Chinese navy and state broadcaster CCTV released images and footage on Friday showing the Japanese aircraft carrier Izumo sailing close to the Liaoning.

State television aired footage showing a Japanese F-15J fighter jet from the perspective of a Chinese J-15. Photo: CCTV

On its WeChat social media account, the PLA Navy posted a photo of the two warships in close proximity, without giving details of the location. Another photo – apparently taken from the Izumo and released by the Japan Self-Defence Forces – showed a J-15 fighter jet taking off from the Liaoning while a helicopter acted as a plane guard.

Footage aired on the state broadcaster, meanwhile, showed a Japanese F-15J fighter jet from the perspective of a Chinese J-15.

The Japan Self-Defence Forces said earlier that the Liaoning – along with a destroyer, a frigate and a supply ship – had been observed transiting from the East China Sea into the western Pacific on December 15.

Six days later, the Japanese defence ministry said six Chinese warships had sailed through waters about 300km (186 miles) east of Kitadaitojima, in Okinawa prefecture, on December 19. Japan sent the Izumo and escort ships to tail and monitor the Chinese strike group.

The PLA Navy warships returned to the East China Sea on December 25, according to the Japan Self-Defence Forces.

It comes as China and Japan on Monday agreed to launch a military hotline next year in an effort to ease tensions in the waterway and manage potential conflict. The two nations have a long-standing territorial dispute over a group of Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan.
Relations between the two neighbours have also been strained over human rights and Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as part of its territory. Beijing summoned Tokyo’s ambassador after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks this month that neither Japan nor the US could stand by if mainland China attacked Taiwan.
In October, new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida raised concerns over the human rights situation in Hong Kong as well as in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Kishida also vowed to strengthen cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific region in response to what he called China’s assertive territorial claims and military expansion.

Last week, Japan’s cabinet approved a record defence budget of 5.4 trillion yen (US$47.2 billion) for the 2022 financial year, saying it was motivated by China’s military build-up.

9