[Source/Watcher Network, Mountain Cat]

The Integrated Staff of Japan's Ministry of Defense (hereinafter referred to as "Integrated Staff") released a notification about the "movement of Chinese naval vessels" on the evening of the 17th. In this notification, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force observed multiple Chinese naval vessels including the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers on June 16 in the Pacific Ocean, and confirmed that both carriers were conducting aircraft takeoff and landing operations. The Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed the general-purpose destroyer DD-101 "Rain Shower" and DD-107 "Thunder" from the 1st Escort Squadron of the 1st Escort Division, as well as the Aegis-equipped air defense missile destroyer DDG-180 "Haguro" from the 8th Escort Squadron of the 4th Escort Division of Maizuru for tracking and monitoring.

According to the relevant notifications released by the Integrated Staff last month and the track map attached to this notification, it can be seen that the Japanese side observed that the Liaoning passed through the Miyako Strait from the East China Sea into the Pacific Ocean between May 25-27, heading south into the waters east of the Philippines, reaching the area west of South Bird Island around early July, then returning to the waters east of the Philippines for maneuvering; while the Shandong appeared in the Pacific waters east of the Bashi Channel on June 7, circling the Oki Island clockwise and approaching the Liaoning's track. This is also the first time that the two currently active aircraft carriers of the People's Navy have conducted far-sea training activities simultaneously outside the island chain in the western Pacific.

Track diagram of the Liaoning and Shandong carrier group observed by Japan on June 17, attached to the notification of the Integrated Staff of Japan's Ministry of Defense

It can be seen from the Japanese notification that since the Liaoning turned westward near the waters around South Bird Island on June 8, it has maintained a distance of hundreds to nearly a thousand kilometers from the Shandong carrier group. During the periods of May 31 to June 6 and June 12 to 13, the Maritime Self-Defense Force had gaps in tracking the specific position of the Liaoning, so the tracks during these times were processed with simple straight lines in the diagram.

On the 10th of this month, Senior Colonel Wang Xuemeng, spokesperson for the Chinese Navy, confirmed to the outside world that the Liaoning and Shandong carrier groups of the Chinese Navy had gone to the Western Pacific and other sea areas for training to test the navy's long-distance defense capabilities and joint operational capabilities. In the related pictures published by @ChinaMilitary, all the new J-15T carrier-based fighter jets are shown on the deck of the Liaoning, and most of the aircraft on the Shandong are also the J-15T model.

Liaoning Carrier Group during far-sea training in the Western Pacific, with all new J-15T carrier-based fighter jets on the deck China Military Number

Shandong Carrier Group during far-sea training in the Western Pacific, with most of its onboard aircraft being J-15Ts China Military Number

In the previous notifications from the Integrated Staff during this dual-carrier sortie beyond the island chain, the vessels accompanying the carrier groups discovered by the Japanese side included at least 14 destroyers and frigates, such as four Type 055, five Type 052D, and five Type 054A, as well as three comprehensive replenishment ships including two Type 901 and one Type 903A, spanning across three naval battle zones. Since August 8, the scale of the accompanying vessels observed by the Japanese side has decreased somewhat. Among them, only the Type 055 destroyer 101 Nanchang and the Type 052D destroyer 122 Tangshan were observed in the Liaoning carrier group, while in the Shandong carrier group, there was the Type 055 destroyer 106 Yan'an, the Type 052D destroyer 165 Zhanjiang, the Type 054A frigate 571 Yuncheng, and the large comprehensive replenishment ship 905 Chaiganhu of Type 901.

Photograph taken by the Maritime Self-Defense Force showing the Liaoning and Chaiganhu sailing together, attached to the notification document of the Integrated Staff of Japan's Ministry of Defense

Photograph taken by the Maritime Self-Defense Force showing the Shandong carrier launching aircraft and the Yuncheng vessel in the fleet, attached to the notification document of the Integrated Staff of Japan's Ministry of Defense

The notification also mentioned that since May 25, the Maritime Self-Defense Force observed approximately 550 sorties of carrier-based aircraft (including fighters and helicopters) taking off and landing on the Liaoning. Although there were up to nine days when they lost track of the fleet's movements, among which 290 sorties were conducted within seven days from August 8 to 16 (missing July 12 and 13). It is worth noting that on June 9 and June 14, the daily carrier-based aircraft sorties on the Liaoning reached a record high of approximately 90 sorties per day.

On June 9 and June 14, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force observed approximately 90 sorties of carrier-based aircraft taking off and landing

On the other hand, the Shandong was observed to have approximately 230 sorties of carrier-based aircraft taking off and landing within eight consecutive days from June 9 to 16, slightly lower than the Liaoning's average daily sorties, with a peak of about 50 sorties on June 10 in the statistics.

Data of the Shandong's aircraft sorties observed by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the notification from the Integrated Staff

According to the track map in the notification, the two carrier groups were still traveling westward in a "one ahead, one behind" formation in the Pacific Ocean east of the Bashi Channel as of the 16th, and may pass through the island chain again in the coming days.

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Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7517205209773244964/

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