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| CNS Liaoning Carrier Fleet |
International Military - In early May, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) dispatched an eight-ship carrier group to conduct exercises. Led by the aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning (16), the other ships, accompanied by five destroyers and a frigate and a filler ship, headed for the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait transit. This marks the first time since December 2021 that the operator has operated in the area.
Reporting from news.usni.org, the Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) issued a release about the group's journey. The release was also accompanied along with photos of the ships in the group, identifying them by class and ensign number. Apart from the Liaoning, the ships in the group are:
- Type 055 destroyer CNS Nanchang (101)
- Type 052D destroyer CNS Xining (117)
- Ships CNS Urumqi (118) and CNS Chengdu (120)
- Type 052C CNS Zhengzhou destroyer (151)
- Type Frigate 054A CNS Xiangtan (531)
- Type 901 fast combat support ship CNS Hulunhu (901).
Chinese navy spokesman Gao Xiucheng said the Liaoning group was conducting training in the western Pacific Ocean. He claimed it was a routine training organized by the Chinese navy, according to its annual plan. It is also claimed to be in line with relevant international law and international practice.
In December last year, the Liaoning together with other PLAN vessels carried out flight operations around the islands of Kita Daito and Oki Daito in the Pacific Ocean. By now, the Liaoning and the rest of the ships had completed the three-week training. The carrier will begin a significant maintenance break and its crew will begin a rest cycle. China's naval movements are closely tracked.
Reporting from 19fortyfive.com, the exercise which recently ended was apparently meant as a “warning” for Taiwan. Shi Yi, a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, said on Wednesday that the joint naval and air combat readiness exercise involving an aircraft carrier strike group was a "serious warning against the recent collusion between the United States and Taiwan." ."
As is known, Taiwan is indeed assisted by the US in fighting China. This can be proven by the number of US ships that have come to the Taiwan Strait to monitor China's movements.
Reporting from Reuters, the Chinese military even warned of this. China's military said in early May that it had monitored and alerted a US warship that had sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a mission that came shortly after China carried out exercises near the island.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal made "routine" transits of the Taiwan Strait through international waters "in accordance with international law".
The United States has made such a voyage about once a month. This infuriated China, which saw them as a sign of support for Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that its forces had been monitoring the ship throughout and had "warned" it. "The United States often stage such dramas and provoke trouble, send the wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, and deliberately increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait," he added.
"Theatrical troops maintain high vigilance at all times, resolutely resist all threats and provocations, and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The US Navy said the ship was "transiting through a corridor in the Strait that is outside the territorial sea of any coastal State". Although, it is true that the US has often interfered in the Taiwan-China conflict that has been going on for a long time.