Chinese navy shows off power with first-ever two-carrier exercise in disputed waters
Chinese military performed unprecedented dual-carrier training across multiple seas this week. Exercise with carriers Liaoning and Shandong demonstrates Chinas growing naval abilities in contested regions
The Peoples Liberation Army Navy ran its first-ever dual aircraft-carrier training in the South China Sea showing off Chinas growing sea power (the exercise involved carriers Liaoning and Shandong)
The naval group moved through several key areas during their mission including:
- Yellow Sea waters
- East China Sea region
- South China Sea zone
The training marks a big step-up in Chinas naval abilities; the fleet showed its skill to work with multiple carriers at once - something that needs top-level coordination and planning. This kind of exercise lets China protect its interests better in disputed waters where several countries dont agree about who owns what
The PLA Navy has been building up its carrier fleet over time: while Liaoning and Shandong are doing active duty their newest ship Fujian (shown to public about 2 years ago) is still doing sea-tests. The carrier group went through all planned tasks and got back to base with no problems‚ as stated in the PLAs social-media post
The exercise shows how China can now do more complex sea operations: running two carriers means they can keep planes in the air longer and cover more area. This helps them control bigger parts of the ocean which is important because China says large areas of the South China Sea belong to them - but other countries dont agree with that
