Mainland China’s Shandong carrier trains near Taiwan as US, allies stage Rimpac drill

Japan’s Ministry of Defence says a carrier group was spotted in the waters between Taiwan and the Philippines

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Japanese naval forces have been monitoring the PLA Navy exercise. Photo: Japanese Ministry of Defence

Published: 2:00pm, 11 Jul 2024Updated: 6:46pm, 11 Jul 2024

The PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier has been carrying out training exercises off Taiwan’s southeast coast as a major US-led naval drill being held elsewhere in the Pacific entered its second week.

The carrier was spotted along with three escorts in the east of the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence.

Japanese personnel were sent to monitor the ships and photographed warplanes and helicopters practising take-offs and landings from the Shandong’s flight deck.

The carrier was escorted by the Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Yanan, the Type 052D destroyer Guilin and the Type 054A guided-missile frigate Yuncheng, the ministry said on Tuesday.

Their presence in those waters, around 520km (320 miles) southeast of Japan’s Miyako Island, coincides with the month-long Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) exercise, the biggest international naval drill, hosted by the US Pacific Fleet.

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The biennial exercise involves 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, over 150 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel. It began near Hawaii on June 26 and will run until early next month.