The Chinese navy has launched unprecedented double aircraft carrier missions as it seeks to improve combat readiness, and amid worsening tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Its first aircraft carrier,the Liaoning, left its base in the eastern city of Qingdao and sailed to the Yellow Sea over the weekend, Chinese state-run magazine Modern Ships reported on Saturday, citing satellite images.
Maritime authorities in Dalian, in the northeast, had on Friday announced a no-entry zone for civilian vessels in the Bohai Sea and the northern part of the Yellow Sea for seven days.The Liaoning’s mission follows reports that China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Shandong,eft the port in Dalian and headed out for training exercises in the Bohai Sea last week. Maritime authorities closed the area in the Bohai Sea – off the coast of Leting county in Hebei province – to civilian vessels for three weeks from September 1 because of “military missions”.Read more…
