Mapped: How China Staged Double Aircraft Carrier Show of Force in Pacific
A Newsweek map based on the Japan Joint Staff report tracks the strike carrier groups' movements beyond the so-called First Island Chain, signaling Beijing's growing confidence in its blue-water naval capabilities.
The First Island Chain-a string of archipelagos including U.S. treaty allies Japan and the Philippines as well as U.S.-aligned Taiwan-is considered crucial to Washington's hopes of containing Chinese forces in the event of a war.
China continues to rapidly develop the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the world's largest by ship count. Security analyst Bryce Barros told Newsweek the joint deployment beyond the First Island Chain is a "milestone" that signals growing confidence in Beijing's power projection capabilities in a region long dominated by the U.S.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment outside of office hours.
The Shandong and Liaoning were both operating beyond the First Island Chain back on June 7, according to Tokyo, which has been closely monitoring the deployments.
As of Monday, the Shandong-commissioned in 2019-and its support ships had sailed west through the strategic Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines and were heading south toward the South China Sea, where the carrier is homeported on China's Hainan Island.
The Liaoning, a refurbished former Soviet-era warship commissioned in 2012, sailed even farther, briefly venturing beyond what the U.S. considers its next Pacific line of defense-the Second Island Chain-on June 7 and June 8.
On Friday, the Liaoning transited the Miyako Strait-a key chokepoint in Japan's Ryukyu Islands-before entering the East China Sea that same day, apparently en route to its home port of Qingdao.
The Liaoning's aircraft conducted at least 440 takeoffs and landings between June 8 and Thursday, according to estimates by the Japan Joint Staff. The Shandong carried out at least 420 takeoffs and landings between June 9 and Monday.
During the Liaoning's operations in the Western Pacific, the carrier dispatched J-15 fighter jets to intercept four "foreign" fighters that were tracked approaching the carrier, in what the command room believed could be a simulated strike on the Chinese formation, state broadcaster China Central Television reported Sunday.
The J-15s, armed with live missiles, executed tactical maneuvers and drove away the foreign aircraft, according to the report.
The Chinese carrier groups' movements in recent days have coincided with a shift in Western naval power in the region, as the supercarrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea for the Middle East amid escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Meanwhile, the British carrier HMS Prince of Wales arrived in Singapore on Monday to begin its eight-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bryce Barros, a security fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Truman National Security Project, told Newsweek: "China's dual carrier deployment beyond the First Island Chain marks a symbolic and operational milestone, signaling growing confidence in projecting power toward the Second Island Chain.
"Still, [American aircraft carrier] USS George Washington, HMS Prince of Wales, and [amphibious assault ships] USS America and USS Tripoli remain in the region. The U.S. must reassure partners that it takes PLAN advances seriously-ensuring presence, posture, and partnership remain strong despite global distractions."
China's objectives in deploying both aircraft carriers remain unclear.
It is also uncertain whether U.S. and allied navies will respond in the Western Pacific amid Washington's deepening involvement in the Middle East conflict, sparked earlier this month by Israeli airstrikes against Iranian military and nuclear targets.
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