Chinese aircraft carrier moves near Okinawa island, Japan and Taiwan follow together

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier – Photo: JAPANESE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

The Japanese defense ministry said the group of ships, which included several destroyers, entered the area between the islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima.

The Japanese side confirmed that the Chinese group of ships had not entered Japan’s territorial waters, although helicopters on the Liaoning aircraft carrier performed take-off and landing operations.

According to the newspaper Japan Times, The aircraft carrier Liaoning and seven escorts passed through the Miyako Strait, an important gateway to the Western Pacific. The Chinese group of ships is being closely monitored by Japan.

China’s Ministry of National Defense was not immediately available for comment because of the holiday, according to Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s self-defense agency said it would monitor the movements of the Chinese aircraft carrier strike group, describing the situation as “normal”.

According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, this is the first time that a Chinese aircraft carrier has been confirmed to have passed through the area near Okinawa since December 2021.

Late last year, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) Joint Staff Department announced the tracking of the Liaoning and its escorts as the group moved through the East China Sea to the region. Pacific Ocean southeast of the island of Okinawa.

China then released many pictures showing the Japanese helicopter-carrying destroyer Izumo appearing near its group of ships, during an exercise in the Pacific Ocean.

Previously, at the end of April 2021, a reconnaissance aircraft of the Self-Defense Forces of Japan caught the Chinese aircraft carrier group entering the East China Sea. Satellite images show that two US warships have followed and tracked the Chinese aircraft carrier.