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Economic Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
China's dual aircraft carrier drills in Pacific rattle US and Japan
TIL Creatives Two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific for first time, Japan says (image for reference) In an escalating display of military might and maritime ambition, China for the first time deployed two aircraft carriers—the Liaoning and the Shandong —in extensive, coordinated drills well beyond its coastal waters. The rare show of synchronized naval power sent shockwaves through Japan and the United States, heightening tensions in a region already teetering under geopolitical June 2025, Japanese defense officials tracked both carriers conducting exercises east of Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo and roughly equidistant from the strategic U.S. base in Guam. The carriers were accompanied by an array of escorts, and their forces executed over 1,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings over the course of weeks, a much higher tempo than previously seen. While the Liaoning sailed close to Japan's exclusive economic zone near isolated islands such as Minamitorishima, both carriers remained in international waters. For Tokyo and Washington, this marked a clear effort by Beijing to test boundaries and assert operational capabilities well beyond China's immediate periphery. 'This is the first time China has demonstrated its ability to operate two carriers simultaneously beyond the first island chain,' said Christopher Sharman, China Maritime Studies Institute Director at the U.S. Naval War College. 'It's a glimpse into their ambitions for a blue-water navy.' Military analysts and regional observers interpret the Chinese maneuvers as a calculated message. While the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has previously conducted drills near Taiwan and within the South China Sea, operating two carriers so far from the mainland demonstrates both growing confidence and capability. Narushige Michishita, a strategist at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, warned of the implications for Taiwan: 'Chinese aircraft carriers could be key in enforcing a blockade on Taiwan or deterring foreign intervention. These vessels are not just status symbols—they're instruments of coercion.' The fact that these drills occurred near Guam, a linchpin U.S. military hub, and Iwo Jima—where Japan and the U.S. fought a pivotal WWII battle—only adds to the compared numerically, China's carrier fleet still lags behind the United States. However, the progress is palpable, and narrowing the capability gap remains a clear focus for of 2025, China operates three aircraft carriers: Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian. The Chinese carriers are mainly diesel-powered, although the newest ship, Fujian, features the advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).The United States deploys a fleet of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, including the renowned Nimitz and Ford classes. When it comes to onboard aircraft capacity, Chinese carriers like the Shandong can accommodate up to 36 aircraft, while American carriers can launch and recover more than 60 aircraft each. In terms of operational experience, China has accumulated over a decade of carrier operations, whereas the United States boasts more than 70 years of expertise in operating these powerful naval assets. China's newest carrier, the Fujian , is undergoing sea trials and is expected to join the fleet by late 2025. It represents China's leap toward modern aviation capabilities, featuring electromagnetic catapults (EMALS)—a tech the U.S. only recently deployed on its Ford-class carriers. Amid the dual-carrier drills, Japanese defense officials raised concerns over airspace violations. Chinese fighters flew provocative maneuvers near Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. In multiple instances, these intercepts came within dangerously close range. Japan's Defense Minister Minoru Kihara emphasized, 'China's actions are escalating the security situation in the Indo-Pacific. We view these exercises as part of a larger pattern of coercion.' As a response, Japan has been bolstering its coastal defenses, expanding military bases on remote islands, and integrating more closely with U.S. forces under its revised national defense United States, whose Indo-Pacific Command oversees military operations spanning Japan, Guam, the Philippines, and beyond, is closely watching these developments. The Pentagon emphasized that this marks a growing shift in China's global military outlook. The US Navy, while maintaining superior aircraft carrier tech and global logistics, must now contend with a Chinese navy that is both growing and increasingly active in contested maritime zones. The drills are not just about hardware or pilot training—they signal China's vision for itself on the world stage. Global military planners have long watched China's carrier program as a benchmark of how far it wants to go. Now, the message is clear: Beijing intends to rival—even challenge—the free operations of U.S. and allied forces in the Pacific. 'Politically, aircraft carriers are the ultimate status symbols,' says Timothy Heath, senior international defense researcher at RAND Corporation. 'China's leadership values them as tools of prestige, deterrence, and regional dominance.' For Japan, the U.S., and other Indo-Pacific democracies, the clock is ticking to ensure their strategic advantage holds.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
China's aircraft carriers push into waters long dominated by US
This was the first time that two Chinese carriers had ventured together past the 'first island chain' — the barrier of islands east of China that includes the Japanese island of Okinawa, where US Marines are based, and Taiwan — and towards Guam, a US military hub, said Christopher Sharman, the director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College. Guam is part of what is called the 'second island chain,' which stretches from Tokyo to south of Palau. The Chinese naval activities near or past the second island chain signal that US forces 'operating in the vicinity of Guam could be at greater risk', Sharman said. 'These aircraft carrier operations are a harbinger of what is to come,' said Sharman, a former US Navy attache in Beijing. China 'wants its carriers to be capable of operating independently at remote locations from the mainland, in both peacetime and wartime,' he said. 'That means training for longer periods of time and at increasing distances from China.' China's Navy said last month that the two carriers and accompanying warships were practicing 'far-sea defence and joint operations'. The two carrier groups also squared off against each other in a simulated confrontation, said Xinhua, China's official news agency. Some jet fighters that took off from the carriers flew perilously close to Japanese surveillance aircraft, Japan's Defence Ministry said. The exercises were not just for show. Operating aircraft from carriers is demanding and risky, Sharman said. By training far out in the Pacific, the carriers and accompanying vessels gained 'valuable operating experience in unfamiliar waters, thereby providing the crew with skills that are applicable to future operations elsewhere in the world', he said. In the coming years, China may deploy aircraft carriers and accompanying naval vessels to bolster its claims in the South China Sea or in territorial disputes with South Korea or Japan. China could also send carriers to more distant parts of the world as a show of force to defend its economic and security interests. China has only one significant overseas military base, in Djibouti, but carriers give it 'the option of carrying out myriad aviation missions anywhere its navy sails', said Timothy Heath, a senior researcher at Rand, an organisation that provides analysis for the Pentagon and other clients. 'The most important routes are those to the Middle East along the Indian Ocean.' Still, the carriers are not a guarantee of Chinese regional maritime dominance. In a toe-to-toe confrontation between China and the US, each side's carriers could be vulnerable to the other's torpedoes or missiles. Given those risks, carriers may play a limited role, at least initially, in any potential clash over Taiwan, the self-governed island that China claims as its territory, several military experts said. And because Taiwan is close to mainland China's coast and its many air bases, the aircraft carriers would not be crucial for trying to dominate the skies in a war over the island, said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University who studies Chinese military strategy. China could send its carriers farther out into the Pacific to fend off US forces steaming to Taiwan's aid, though the carriers would then be much more exposed to US attacks, Mastro said. But China could also deploy the carriers as part of an effort to choke Taiwan off from the world. 'Chinese aircraft carriers will be useful in imposing a blockade on Taiwan,' said Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo who studies China's military. 'Aircraft carriers can [be used for surveillance over] large areas and put coercive pressure on both military and commercial ships and aircraft.' China now has three carriers, all running on diesel and generally less advanced than America's 11 nuclear-powered carriers. By 2040, China may have six carriers, according to US Navy estimates. China appears to be building a fourth carrier, which analysts say may use nuclear power. That would give it far greater range without the need to refuel. President Xi Jinping appears to have decided that the country must have more carriers, and other big military assets, to cement its position as a global power. After the two Chinese carriers finished training in the Pacific this month, one of them, the Shandong, docked in Hong Kong, and selected members of the public were allowed to tour the vessel. 'Politically, they are one of the ultimate status symbols for any country,' Heath said of aircraft carriers. China's enthusiastic publicity about the carrier manoeuvres in the Pacific indicated that its 'leadership highly values the political symbolism of owning such a powerful warship', Heath said. Decades ago, Chinese leaders had resisted acquiring aircraft carriers, deciding that they were too costly at a time when China's economy was much smaller. That began to change after 1996, when the US deployed two carrier battle groups to the waters near Taiwan to deter Beijing from further escalating tensions with the island. China had been firing ballistic missiles near Taiwan's main ports, hoping to scare voters inclined to support President Lee Teng-hui, who Beijing saw as pushing pro-independence policies. Two years after that crisis, a Chinese businessman bought a rusting, unfinished ex-Soviet carrier that was owned by Ukraine. China later bought and finished the ship, which debuted in 2012 as its first carrier, called the Liaoning. These days, budget limits are not such a worry for China's Navy. But its leaders are not rushing headlong into carrier expansion. The Shandong — China's second carrier and its first built at home — was launched in 2017. The latest, the Fujian, was launched in 2022 and has still not been placed into active service. The Fujian uses an electromagnetic catapult system to launch aircraft, which is more technically challenging than using a deck with a ski slope-like ramp, but makes it possible to fly heavier, better-armed planes. 'Chinese carrier operations are still in a rudimentary phase,' Michishita said. China, he said, is 'taking a steady step-by-step approach to improve their capabilities'. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Chris Buckley and Marco Hernandez ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
