China Releases Liaoning Video of 40-Day Standoff With Japanese Destroyer
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Jun 23
China Releases Liaoning Video of 40-Day Standoff With Japanese Destroyer
3 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Jun 23
Summary
China’s military published footage on Monday showing the Liaoning carrier group in a close encounter with Japanese destroyer JS Asahi during a deployment that lasted more than 40 days.
Beijing said Japanese ships and aircraft repeatedly carried out close-in tracking, surveillance, harassment and provocations, while Chinese forces handled what it called dangerous actions professionally.
Japan’s Joint Staff had already disclosed that it monitored the carrier group from mid-May through June 20, including dozens of Liaoning jet and helicopter operations east of the Philippines.
The video appeared as the Liaoning returned to Qingdao after far-seas combat training in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea—its first wider Pacific deployment since December.
The episode underscores rising China-Japan friction at sea as Beijing expands carrier operations beyond the first island chain and criticizes Japan’s U.S.-backed military buildup.