The Liaoning aircraft carrier group of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy holds far sea real combat scenario exercises in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the West Pacific in December, 2021. Photo: PLA Navy
US News and World Report: China Sails Warships Near Guam in Warning to U.S. Over Taiwan
The Chinese deployment of its aircraft carrier Liaoning, which Japanese officials confirmed, capped a year of tensions with the U.S., particularly over Taiwan.
China has sailed one of its three aircraft carriers near the U.S. territory of Guam, Japanese officials confirmed, ending an already combative year with a rare move that Beijing signaled as a clear warning to the Biden administration over Taiwan.
The Chinese fleet, led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, had already spurred several clashes with U.S. allies in the region with its tour of the western Pacific, most recently by conducting roughly 260 takeoff and landing drills near the Japanese island of Okinawa, home to a major U.S. military presence. The operations prompted the Japanese air force to scramble fighter jets and helicopters, as well as a destroyer and other elements of its self-defense forces.
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Update: China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning spotted edging close to Guam for first time amid US strategic threats (Global Times).
WNU Editor: This Chinese aircraft carrier deployment was unthinkable only a few years ago.