Shandong carrier begins western Pacific drills

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier began a new round of western Pacific training on May 19, according to Chinese state media and regional reporting. CCTV said the carrier group’s program includes far-sea tactical flight, live-fire exercises, support and cover operations. The Chinese navy called the deployment part of its annual training plan and said it was intended to test and improve combat capabilities. (bangkokpost.com) Beijing did not specify the exact location or duration of the exercise. (mod.go.jp) ### Which carrier is actually at sea this time? The carrier now conducting the drill is the Liaoning, not the Shandong, according to Chinese state media reports published on May 19 and May 20. The Bangkok Post report provided in the source briefing says the Liaoning-led task group started the training on Tuesday, citing CCTV. (bangkokpost.com) UPI also reported that Xinhua described a carrier group led by the Liaoning entering the western Pacific for the exercise. Tuesday’s drill matters in part because the Shandong was named in earlier western Pacific operations. The Bangkok Post report said the Shandong strike group was seen about 480 kilometers from Japanese islands during a June 2025 deployment, while the Liaoning group sailed east of Guam. (bangkokpost.com) ### What did China say the drill includes? CCTV said the Liaoning group will conduct long-range tactical flights, live-fire drills, support and cover missions, and related training. Chinese military statements described the operation as a routine annual arrangement carried out in line with international law and common practice. Beijing did not announce a closing date. (bangkokpost.com) May 19 reporting from UPI, citing Chinese state media, said the western Pacific deployment followed a Beijing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. Chinese officials did not publicly tie the exercise to a specific dispute in the formal drill notice, but the operation unfolded in waters watched closely by Japan, Taiwan and the United States. (bangkokpost.com) ### Why is Japan watching this so closely? Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in an April 2026 paper that China appears to be trying to make its activities in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan routine, and that those activities could be further expanded and intensified. The same paper listed repeated carrier-based fighter departures from Liaoning and Shandong in Pacific operations across 2024 and 2025. (bangkokpost.com) December training by the Liaoning group led to a confrontation with Japanese aircraft, according to the Bangkok Post report. Japan said Chinese J-15 fighters directed fire-control radar at Japanese F-15s in international airspace near Okinawa, while China blamed Japanese monitoring flights for the incident. (upi.com) ### How far out has China’s carrier activity gone? June 2025 marked the first time a Chinese carrier sailed beyond the second island chain, according to the Bangkok Post report, when the Liaoning traveled east of Guam during training conducted with the Shandong in the western Pacific. The report said that operation placed one Chinese carrier group near Japanese islands and another near a U.S. territory with major military facilities. (mod.go.jp) Japan’s defense ministry said it first publicly confirmed aircraft-carrier activity in waters east of Iwo-to in June 2025. Its April 2026 assessment also listed multiple Shandong and Liaoning aircraft departures over the Pacific in the preceding two years. (bangkokpost.com) ### What comes next in this deployment? Japan’s defense ministry is likely to continue surveillance releases if the carrier group moves through monitored waters near the Ryukyu island chain or farther into the Pacific, based on its regular public reporting practice. China has said only that the drill is part of the 2026 annual plan and has not given an end date. Any formal update is most likely to come from the PLA Navy, CCTV, Xinhua or Japan’s Ministry of Defense as the operation develops. (mod.go.jp 1) (mod.go.jp 2) (bangkokpost.com)