China sails Shandong near Japan

China sent the aircraft carrier *Shandong* and accompanying warships into the western Pacific this week, with Japanese forces tracking the group near the country’s southwestern islands. The movement was reported by Japanese monitoring and described in regional coverage as part of a broader pattern of Chinese carrier operations beyond the first island chain. China has expanded blue-water operations in recent years with the *Liaoning* and *Shandong*, its first two aircraft carriers. The latest deployment comes amid continued friction between Beijing and Tokyo over military activity around Japan’s southwestern approaches. ### Where was the carrier group seen? Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has previously reported the *Shandong* operating in waters south of Miyako-jima, one of the key islands in the Ryukyu chain, as the carrier moved into the Pacific. A May 2, 2025 Joint Staff release said the carrier and a Renhai-class destroyer were spotted about 790 km south of Miyako-jima before continuing activity in the area. Regional reporting on this week’s deployment placed the latest operation near Japan’s southwestern island chain as well. (bangkokpost.com) The waters around Miyako-jima matter because Chinese naval groups often use the gap between Okinawa and Miyako to pass from the East China Sea into the western Pacific. Japan’s defense authorities regularly publish those transits as part of their public monitoring of Chinese military movements. ### Why does Japan watch this route so closely? Japan’s Ministry of Defense has said in an English-language assessment that China appears to be trying to make its activities in the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan “routine.” The same assessment said there was a possibility those activities would be “further expanded and intensified.” That language has become a shorthand for Tokyo’s concern that repeated deployments can normalize a larger Chinese naval presence around Japan’s southern flank. (mod.go.jp 1) (mod.go.jp 2) Japanese tracking also serves a practical function. Joint Staff releases identify hull numbers, ship classes and approximate locations, giving a public record of where Chinese formations are sailing and when they pass through chokepoints near Japanese territory. ### Is this unusual for China now? China’s carrier operations are no longer isolated events. In 2025, Japan reported both the *Liaoning* and *Shandong* operating in the Pacific, and outside reporting described simultaneous carrier activity as a first for China in those waters. (mod.go.jp) Naval News, citing Japanese defense information, reported about 420 takeoffs and landings from *Shandong* during June 2025 operations near Okinotorishima. (mod.go.jp) The current deployment fits that trajectory. Regional reports this week said a Chinese carrier group had begun fresh western Pacific drills, with attention focused on waters east of the Miyako Strait and near Japan’s southwestern islands. ### Which carrier is involved, and why does that matter? The *Shandong* is China’s second aircraft carrier and the first built domestically. (mod.go.jp) It entered service after the *Liaoning*, which was refitted from a Soviet-designed hull, and forms part of Beijing’s effort to build a more capable carrier force. Japan’s public reporting identifies *Shandong* as hull number 17. China now has a third carrier, *Fujian*, still associated with a broader modernization push, but the *Liaoning* and *Shandong* remain the ships most often seen in operational deployments near Japan. (bangkokpost.com) That makes each patrol or drill a test not just of presence, but of sortie generation, escort coordination and sustainment at distance, as reflected in the growing number of takeoffs and landings reported during past cruises. (mod.go.jp) ### What should readers watch next? Japan’s Joint Staff is the clearest place to watch for the next confirmed details. Its English-language press page regularly posts notices on Chinese naval movements, including dates, locations and ship types observed by Japanese aircraft and ships. Any follow-up release naming additional escorts, aircraft launch activity or a transit through the Miyako Strait would show how long the *Shandong* group stays in the western Pacific and how closely Japan continues to shadow it. (navalnews.com) (mod.go.jp)