The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might conduct another distant-water carrier training drill by the end of this year, a military analyst said last week.
There are signs that China’s regional assertiveness is growing and its armed forces are becoming increasingly competent, said Jiang Hsinbiao (江炘杓), an assistant research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
In an analysis published on Wednesday last week, Jiang called attention to recent drills in the Western Pacific by the carrier group led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier.
Photo: Reuters
The carrier group left its home port of Qingdao on April 30, crossing the Miyako Strait, then entered the Western Pacific on May 2 for a series of training exercises, Jiang said.
After that, it entered the East China Sea on May 21 for joint sea and air drills, before returning to Qingdao on May 23, he said.
During the exercises, Shenyang J-15 fighter jets conducted the largest number of takeoffs and landings in a single day since the Liaoning was commissioned a decade ago, Jiang said.
The Shenyang jets carried out an average 15 sorties per day, which meant roughly 300 over the 20-day period, he said, adding that the aircraft were conducting nighttime and daytime training flights.
Considering the Liaoning is a medium-sized carrier equipped with only two elevators, that was a significant number of sorties, Jiang said.
While the battlegroup has carried out similar exercises in the past, the PLA focused mainly on command and coordination between the carrier and its escort vessels, which amounted to basic training, he said.
However, the exercises last month were large-scale drills carried out southeast of the Ryukyu Islands and east of Taiwan, with other PLA military units simulating enemy forces, Jiang said.
Xian H-6J strategic bombers, Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft and other PLA assets were involved in the exercises along with the Liaoning battlegroup, Jiang said.
To hone the combat-readiness of the Liaoning battlegroup, the PLA is likely to conduct a similar large-scale drill around the first island chain in the western Pacific by the end of the year, he said.
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