【Chinese Navy's Anshan-class flotilla completes circum-Japan voyage and returns via the Tsushima Strait】

According to information from Japan's Ministry of Defense's Joint Staff Office on August 3, 2026: Around 9 p.m. on the evening of August 2, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force detected three Chinese naval vessels sailing southwestward approximately 50 kilometers northeast of Tsushima Island (in Nagasaki Prefecture). These included the Type 055 destroyer Anshan (hull number 103), the Type 052D destroyer Kaifeng (hull number 124), and the Type 903 replenishment ship Kekexili Lake (hull number 903).

Subsequent confirmation revealed that the above-mentioned flotilla sailed southwestward through the Tsushima Strait between August 2 and August 3, heading toward the East China Sea.

It is reported that this flotilla is the same group of ships that previously undertook a long-range voyage together with Russian Navy vessels from July 16 to July 27. Their prior route was as follows:

1. July 16: Sailed southward through the waters between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island;

2. July 19: Proceeded northeastward in the southwestern waters near Oki-no-Torishima;

3. July 21: Sailed northeastward from the southeastern waters of South Iwo Jima, then proceeded northward along the eastern waters of Iwo Jima;

4. July 23: Moved northeastward in the southeast and northwest waters near Inubōsaki;

5. July 25: Proceeded northeastward in the southeastern waters off Cape Noshima, Hokkaido;

6. July 27: Crossed westward through the Soya Strait.

The Japan Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces deployed the patrol vessel "Shiratama" stationed at Sasebo Base, under the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Third Patrol and Defense Squadron, as well as the P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft from the 4th Air Group based at Atsugi Base, to conduct surveillance and intelligence gathering on the flotilla.

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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872500872928265/

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