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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

China’s Liaoning carrier strike group makes show of force in western Pacific

  • The fleet is dominated by the country’s most powerful destroyers and includes supply ships, pointing to longer exercise
  • Nuclear-powered submarines were also likely to be among the escorts, analyst says

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The Liaoning is leading the navy’s most powerful strike group to the western Pacific Ocean. Photo: Xinhua
Minnie Chan
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is leading the navy’s most powerful strike group to the western Pacific Ocean for a major year-end naval drill.
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Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) said on Friday that the Liaoning was escorted by three of the country’s most powerful destroyers and two other vessels.

Chinese defence experts said the departure indicated the People’s Liberation Army remained combat ready despite a surge in coronavirus cases throughout the country.
The Japanese forces said that apart from the Liaoning, the Chinese group comprised the Anshan and Wuxi Type 055 Renhai-class stealth-guided missile destroyers, the Chengdu Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, the Zaozhuang Type 054A frigate, and the Hulunhu, the country’s biggest and most advanced replenishment supply ship.

By early Friday morning, the vessels had sailed from the East China Sea through the Miyako Strait and entered the western Pacific.

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The MSDF said it also spotted four other Chinese naval vessels in the waters between Monday and Thursday: the Lhasa Type 055, the Kaifeng Type 052D, the Kaiyangxing Type 815 electronic reconnaissance ship, and a Type 903 ocean-going integrated supply ship.
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