Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning completes far-sea combat training

A task force of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has completed far-sea combat training and returned safely to its home port on June 22, the Chinese navy said.

According to the navy, the carrier group operated across multiple maritime and air zones, including the South China Sea and the Western Pacific, during the exercise. Activities included carrier-based aircraft tactical flight drills, search and rescue exercises, and coordinated task force operations, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

The training also involved drills focused on air superiority and air defence, maritime strike operations, support and cover missions, far-sea rescue operations, and live-fire weapons exercises, in line with what the navy described as requirements for real-combat conditions at sea.

The Chinese navy said the exercise was a routine annual training operation aimed at improving operational capabilities and was conducted in accordance with international law and practice, adding that it was not directed at any specific country or target.

However, the navy also stated that Japanese vessels and aircraft repeatedly conducted close-range tracking and surveillance of the task force during the drills, describing these actions as “disturbances and provocations.”

It said the Liaoning group maintained a high level of alert throughout the exercise, carrying out continuous carrier-based aircraft takeoffs, adjusting formations, and responding in what it described as a “professional, steady and proper manner” to what it called dangerous actions by the Japanese side.

By Sabina Mammadli