Chinese carrier leads live fire drill in East China Sea
China's sole aircraft carrier has led a flotilla of naval vessels in a ‘live combat drill’ in the East China Sea, the latest show of force by Beijing's burgeoning navy.
The vessels ‘took part in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare training’ with a simulated ‘opposing force.’
The drill, which took place on 22 April, included multiple take-offs from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier by J-15 fighter jets and that ‘anti-air missiles were fired from ships surrounding the carrier’.
The manoeuvre occurred in the East China Sea, though the report did not give an exact location.
The sea is home to uninhabited islets at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing. The Japanese government has long complained about China's routine dispatch of coast guard ships to waters surrounding the islands.
The presence of a naval convoy carrying out live fire drills in the East China Sea could anger Tokyo.
The Liaoning is a refurbished cold war-era aircraft carrier that was bought from Ukraine and commissioned in 2012. It has been on a high-visibility tour in recent weeks, carrying out a series of muscle-flexing drills accompanied by a flotilla of support ships, including destroyers.
Earlier in April, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected the convoy as it conducted exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost the entire resource-rich waterway, building an archipelago of artificial islands there capable of hosting military equipment, despite rival claims from several of its Southeast Asian neighbours.
The flotilla then held two separate drills in the week ended 20 April in waters on either side of Taiwan, infuriating the government in Taipei.
China sees democratically-governed Taiwan as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.
The Liaoning is the pride of China's rapidly expanding navy, with Beijing determined to become a major global naval power, particularly in the Pacific.
China's first home-made carrier started moving from its berth on 23 April as it prepares for its first sea trial, while a third, more advanced model is under construction in a Shanghai shipyard.
China's chief Pacific rival the US currently boasts 11 operating aircraft carriers and two more currently under construction.
More from Naval Warfare
-
US Navy takes delivery of New Jersey SSN
The USN’s Virginia-class SSNs are replacing the old Los Angeles-class SSNs. The Virginia-class SSNs are fitted with the latest sensors and weapons and around 48 submarines are planned, with a total of 38 currently ordered.
-
VARD and Fincantieri launch Resilience ship family to target Norway’s standardised vessel needs
VARD and Fincantieri’s announcement to launch the VARD Resilience series came only weeks after Norway’s new long-term 2025–36 defence plan.
-
BMT and DNV partner to meet Australia’s heavy landing craft requirement
Under Project Land 8710 Phase 2, Australia has been seeking to acquire an undisclosed number of Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels to replace the Balikpapan-class. The programme has an estimated value of AU$1.4 billion (US$910 million), with IOC slated for 2032.
-
Babcock to take over upkeep of Royal Navy Type-23 frigates
The Royal Navy’s Type-23 Duke-class frigates for the UK Royal Navy were designed as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ships but now have a multi-role function. Of the 16 Type 23s built, 12 remain in service with the Royal Navy and will be replaced by the Type-26 frigates before 2035.
-
Austal completes autonomy trials with former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat
The work took place under the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), which has been a collaboration between Austal, Greenroom Robotics, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Warfare Innovation Navy Branch.
-
Singapore launches fourth and final Type 218SG submarine
The era of southeast Asian submarine modernisation has been in full swing fuelled by growing tensions in the South China Sea.