The Chinese navy sent two aircraft carriers to conduct drills in close proximity to Japanese waters in a major show of force, Japanese officials said Monday.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy deployed the Liaoning and the Shandong on Friday and Saturday along with an entourage of Chinese warships as close as 185 miles from Japan’s shores, according to multiple reports. The incidents mark the first time that the Chinese have sent the carriers into the deep Pacific Ocean as their Navy improves its ability to venture into deep waters.
The Pentagon said in December 2024 that China has slowly been expanding its operational capabilities in the ocean, but their presence remains modest as navy personnel and ships gain more experience operating outside China’s normal operational areas according to the Wall Street Journal.
A Great Wall 236 submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. (Photo credit should read MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Just a few days later on Tuesday, the USS George Washington departed its dock in Japan to conduct its first patrol on the sea, according to Stars And Stripes.
A senior Taiwanese official told the WSJ that the move was “pressure to the extreme” and marked the Chinese navy’s first attempt to break its force projection through the so-called “first chain” of islands on its periphery. The “first chain” bounds a perimeter around Taiwan and much of the South China Sea up to Japan’s southernmost islands.
The move demonstrates that Japan, a longtime U.S. ally, is not immune to the reach of the Chinese Communist Party’s large navy. Japan has been a key commercial and military partner for the U.S. since the end of World War II, hosting multiple U.S. military installations while being a prolific trade counterpart.
As of 2025, the Chinese navy is estimated to number 234 warships, making it the largest navy in the world, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
China previously made an audacious naval maneuver around Taiwan at the tail end of former President Joe Biden’s term in office, conducting its largest naval drill in decades in December 2024 in the strait dividing the two nations.
