China’s navy expands its reach with aircraft carrier drills

China’s naval exercises are aimed at gaining more experience operating in distant waters, in a development that would be crucial in a military attempt to take over Taiwan.

Chinese military officers stand on-board China's aircraft carrier "Liaoning" in Dalian, northeast China. Picture: AP.

A Chinese aircraft carrier is conducting drills hundreds of kilometres south of Japan’s main island, Japanese officials said Monday, venturing into waters that could be strategically vital in a conflict with the US in the Pacific.

The Liaoning, one of China’s two operational aircraft carriers, and at least seven other Chinese navy ships were operating east of Iwo Jima for the first time over the weekend, the Japanese military said.

The Japanese island, a small volcanic outcropping that was the site of fierce fighting in World War II, is about 1160km south of Tokyo. The Chinese drills there are a sign of Beijing’s efforts to enhance its naval capabilities farther from home.

The waters southeast of Japan where the Liaoning is now sailing would be particularly important in a Chinese military effort to take over Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that Beijing considers its own territory to be seized by force if necessary.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has set military modernisation goals including fielding a force that could seize Taiwan by 2027, US officials say.

China ship Baotou fires rounds during a multinational naval exercise in the Arabian sea earlier this year. Picture: AFP.

China has intensified its military exercises around the island, including by staging simulated blockades. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said recently that threats to the island from China “could be imminent.” China has the world’s largest navy but is still developing its ability to operate in far-off seas and carry out complicated tasks such as operating aircraft carriers.

The Pentagon said in December that the Chinese navy’s ability to operate beyond a string of Pacific archipelagos known as the first island chain, which includes Japan and Taiwan, is “modest but growing as it gains more experience operating in distant waters and acquires larger and more advanced platforms.” Japan said its forces were monitoring the Chinese ships.

The Japanese military said it saw Chinese jets and helicopters launching off and landing on the aircraft carrier.

“They are trying to enhance the operational capabilities in far territories,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday that the Chinese warships’ activities were “fully consistent with international law and practice.” He said China pursued a defensive security policy and hoped Japan would “look at it objectively and rationally.”

Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong carry out a dual aircraft carrier formation exercise for the first time in the South China Sea in late October 2024. Picture; Xinhua via AFP.

Over the past month, China has deployed around 70 naval ships, coast guard vessels and its two operational aircraft carriers in the waters from Japan to the Philippines, according to Taiwan security officials.

Describing the activities as “pressure to the extreme,” a senior Taiwan official said China wanted to exert its authority over the region and break through the limitations of the first island chain.

“China is actually speeding up its push to turn the area inside the first island chain into what it sees as its own inland sea,” the official said.

China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, completed its eighth round of sea training in late May, the official said. It is expected to enter service this year.

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