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China Deploys Liaoning Carrier Strike Group to Western Pacific for Military Drills
The deployment follows exercises announced in May, as Taiwan reports detecting 13 Chinese military aircraft near its territory.
On Wednesday, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) announced the deployment of a carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning to the western Pacific for military drills, marking a new training mission in the region following exercises announced in May.
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The PLA said the drills are part of its annual training plan and aim to improve unit readiness “under real combat conditions.” It also said the exercises comply with international law and “are not directed against any country or specific target.”
The announcement did not specify the composition of the carrier strike group or the exact waters of the western Pacific where the drills would take place. It also did not provide their duration or the planned activities.
The Liaoning, the oldest of China’s three operational aircraft carriers, was deployed to the same region in May, when the PLAN announced drills that included tactical flights over open water, live-fire exercises, and search-and-rescue operations.
A Chinese naval task group led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning sailed to the western Pacific on Wednesday for training, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy said.
— China News 中国新闻网 (@Echinanews) October 14, 2026
The drill is part of the annual routine training plan aimed at testing and improving the troops' combat… pic.twitter.com/YvLkUz0zHQ
In June 2025, the Liaoning and the aircraft carrier Shandong completed simultaneous deployments lasting more than a month in the western Pacific. During that period, they conducted combat drills and joint operations with other military units.
On Wednesday morning, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 13 Chinese military aircraft in succession near its territory, including J-16, J-11 and Su-30 fighter jets.
Eleven of those aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern, central and southwestern sectors of Taiwan’s self-declared Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) to conduct a “joint combat readiness patrol” with PLAN vessels. It was the third such patrol in just over a week.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
