Japanese warship, jets shadow PLA Navy strike group on western Pacific combat drills
- Chinese navy flotilla carries out battle exercises south of Okinawa and east of Taiwan, in waters closely monitored by Japan
- Japanese air force scrambled fighter jets in response, defence ministry in Tokyo says
The refurbished Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier was photographed sending off and retrieving its ship-borne fighter J-15s and early warning helicopter Z-18s on Tuesday, a Japanese defence ministry statement said.
This came as the eight-strong Liaoning carrier strike group carried out battle exercises south of Okinawa and east of Taiwan, in waters closely monitored by Japan.
The Japanese air force scrambled fighter jets in response to the activities of the Chinese navy, the ministry said, including a Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft and Lockheed P-3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.
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The Izumo, one of the Japanese navy’s two active helicopter carriers, was also dispatched to follow and monitor the Liaoning exercises.
