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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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China, which operates the largest navy in the world by hull count, has deployed one of its three aircraft carriers at sea, according to satellite imagery reviewed by Newsweek.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
As part of China's fleet of more than 370 warships, the aircraft carriers CNS Liaoning, CNS Shandong and CNS Fujian help the Chinese military project its sea power farther from East Asia, countering the United States' naval presence across the western Pacific.
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China's aircraft carrier force was dispatched on distant missions in June and December last year to "break through" the First Island Chain, a defensive line that runs from Japan to the Philippines under a U.S. strategy to contain China's military threat.
According to the Pentagon's latest assessment report, China plans to field a fleet of nine aircraft carriers by building six additional vessels within a decade, as part of efforts to advance President Xi Jinping's goal of creating a "world-class" armed forces by 2049.
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What To Know
Imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites on Saturday shows an aircraft carrier leaving Yuchi Naval Base in Qingdao, northeastern China, heading east, while another aircraft carrier remained at the base near the Yellow Sea.
A Japan-based Chinese military observer on the social media platform X, type36512, said the outbound aircraft carrier was the Fujian, which departed its home port at Yulin Naval Base near Sanya in southern China and transited the Taiwan Strait last December.
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Yuchi serves as the home port of the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, while the Shandong and the Fujian, the country's second and third aircraft carriers, are based at Yulin in the South China Sea, where China has maritime disputes with its neighbors.
According to type36512, the Fujian likely departed for training while the Liaoning docked at the base. The Fujian, commissioned last November, is considered China's most advanced aircraft carrier, equipped with catapults for launching heavier aircraft.
The Fujian's deployment comes as the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning for "military operations" in designated parts of the Bohai Sea, northwest of the Yellow Sea, from January 10 to 30, prohibiting entry by other vessels.
Meanwhile, satellite imagery of Yulin taken on Sunday shows the Shandong docked at the base, despite the presence of an American aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.
It remains unclear when the Fujian will conclude its training deployment in the Yellow Sea and return home to strengthen China's military capabilities in the South China Sea.
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What People Are Saying
The Pentagon said in its Chinese military power report: "As Beijing continues to grow wealthier and more powerful, it is logical that its military power will also continue to grow towards a force capable of projecting power worldwide."
The Center for Strategic and International Studies' ChinaPower Project commented: "Aircraft carriers are one of the most visible symbols of a country's military power…The Fujian, equipped with an electromagnetic catapult launching system, is considerably more advanced than China's second carrier Shandong and first carrier Liaoning, but it still lags more capable U.S. carriers in certain aspects."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen when the Chinese navy will deploy the Fujian on its first mission east of the First Island Chain independently or alongside the Liaoning or the Shandong.
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