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China carrier group beyond First Island Chain with destroyers, frigates

THE People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has for the first time deployed its Liaoning aircraft carrier group beyond the First Island Chain of major archipelagos out from the east Asian continental mainland coast, reports Jane's Defence Weekly.

These are principally composed of the Kuril Islands, Japanese Archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, the northern Philippines, and Borneo; from the Kamchatka Peninsula to the Malay Peninsula.

The carrier group is thought to have commenced its transit into the west Pacific on December 23 and passed through the Miyako Strait south of the Japanese island of Okinawa on Christmas day.

The progress of Liaoning and her supporting escorts was monitored by a frigate and Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) as well as by Taiwanese assets, said Janes.

The PLAN ships sailed to the east of Taiwan and subsequently passed through the Bashi Channel to the north of the Philippines before heading west to port facilities on China's Hainan Island.

Photographs posted on Chinese online forums show that the carrier was berthed alongside at the naval base south of Sanya by December 28.

During the transit Liaoning was accompanied by a Luyang III-class (Type 052D) destroyer (Changsha ), two Luyang II-class (Type 052C) destroyers ( Zhengzhou and Haikou ) and two Jiangkai II-class (Type 054A) frigates ( Yantai and Linyi ).

Before crossing the First Island Chain a Jiangdao-class (Type 056) corvette and a Type 903A replenishment ship were also in company but these appear not to have passed through the Miyako Strait.

Photographs taken of aircraft on the flight deck of Liaoning prior to the transit showed that at least 13 Shenyang Aircraft Corporation J-15 fighters were embarked, as well as at least one Z-18 helicopter, though it is not clear whether this was an airborne early warning or an anti-submarine warfare variant.