China Dispatches Liaoning Carrier Strike Group to Senkaku... Repeated 'Warning' to Japan

Liaoning Aircraft Carrier and Six Vessels Including Type 055 Destroyer Conduct Military Demonstration Near Senkaku
China Increases Pressure on Japan After Biden-Suga Summit

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China's state-run Global Times reported on the 29th that the Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group entered near the Diaoyudao Islands (Japanese name Senkaku) and conducted reconnaissance activities. The media cited Chinese military experts, interpreting it as a warning message to Japan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Global Times reported that the carrier strike group, consisting of six ships including the Liaoning, the Type 055 Nanchang, and the Type 052D Chengdu, sailed northeast about 160 km south of Miyakojima on the afternoon of the 26th. It also reported that on the 27th, one Z-18 early warning helicopter deployed on the Liaoning flew over Chiwei Island at the eastern end of the Diaoyudao Islands.

Regarding the recent movement of the Liaoning carrier strike group, the Global Times explained that the strike group usually returns after training near Taiwan Island and the South China Sea through the Miyako Strait, and that reconnaissance flights over the Diaoyudao Islands are very rare.

Xu Guangyu, senior advisor to the China Arms Control Association, evaluated, "The recent movements of the Liaoning strike group are a warning to Japan and demonstrate China's deterrence." He added, "The People's Liberation Army will regularize activities in the relevant waters depending on future China-Japan relations."

China has shown discomfort over the US-Japan joint statement announced after the summit between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The joint statement released on the 16th reaffirmed Japan's administrative control over the Senkaku Islands and that they fall under the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty.

After the joint statement was made public, Chinese media mobilized government-affiliated scholars to warn the US and Japan that military clashes or even war could break out over the Diaoyudao Islands. They also reported that a fleet of Chinese Coast Guard ship 2301 conducted patrol duties around the Diaoyudao Islands. Given that China sent an aircraft carrier strike group near the Senkaku Islands following the Coast Guard ships, the risk of armed conflict in the area has increased.

Meanwhile, the Global Times dismissed reports from Taiwanese media and other foreign outlets claiming that a US Navy destroyer disrupted the formation of the Liaoning strike group, stating that such incidents commonly occur in international waters. The Global Times added that maintaining a certain distance to avoid collisions in international waters is an international regulation.