Picture description:

The Liaoning ship (Kyodo News) photographed by the Japanese side

Reporters of this newspaper Liu Xuanzun, Liang Rui, Guo Yuandan, Sun Mo

According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun on the 9th, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced on the 8th that the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning ship sailed in the Pacific offshore of Minato Island (under the jurisdiction of Tokyo) from June 7 to 8, "This is the first time that a Chinese aircraft carrier has entered the sea area." A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on the 9th that Chinese warships' activities in relevant waters are fully in line with international law and international practices.

The Japanese side said that on the 8th, the Liaoning ship carried out carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing. According to the Nikkei News, several Chinese ships were active in the waters between Minami Torishima and Iwo Jima that day.

Previously, the Japanese side had informed that the Liaoning ship was operating in the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean at the end of May. The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced on May 25 that the Liaoning ship had carried out carrier-based aircraft training in the waters 200 kilometers north of the Diaoyu Island in the East China Sea. On the 27th, it was also said that the Liaoning ship sailed southward to the Pacific Ocean between Okinawa Main Island and Miyako Island, and then carried out carrier-based aircraft taking off and landing in the waters about 190 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island.

The appearance of the Liaoning ship in the waters near Nanniao Island has attracted widespread attention. Reuters commented that China's aircraft carriers made the deepest voyages to the Pacific on the 7th and 8th, proving that the Chinese Navy's ocean-going activity capabilities are constantly increasing. Japanese media said that this is the first time that Japan has confirmed and announced that China has carried out activities across the "second island chain" connecting the Izu Islands and Guam.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Lin Fang said at a press conference on the 9th about the whereabouts of the Liaoning ship, "We will ensure that the vigilance and surveillance work is foolproof." Lin Fangzheng analyzed that China's move aims to improve the ability of aircraft carriers to operate and operate combat in distant sea and airspace. He also said that he had "negotiated to China as appropriate" regarding the expansion of his scope of activities.

"China has always pursued a defensive national defense policy and hopes that Japan will look at it objectively and rationally." At the regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 9th, spokesman Lin Jian said.

Chinese military expert Fu Qianshao told the Global Times reporter on the 9th that with the improvement of training level and deepening, it is very normal for China's aircraft carrier formation to move towards the ocean. As the Japanese news is accurate, the Liaoning ship crossed the "second island chain" to carry out training, which shows that the Liaoning ship has reached a new level in the long-sea training.

Fu Qianshao said that the Chinese Navy's Liaoning and Shandong ships have normalized the "first island chain" activities, and it can be said that it is already quite familiar with the sea area between the "first island chain" and the "second island chain". Now that the Liaoning ship crosses the "second island chain", this pace can be said to be relatively fast and stable.

Japanese media speculated that the operation was intended to deter the United States. Military expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times reporter that the US Navy has crossed the so-called "third island chain" and "second island chain" for many years, entering the Western Pacific and even China's face-to-face sea areas to conduct military exercises, reconnaissance patrols and show off by force. At the same time, European countries such as France and Germany also sent warships to the Far East for exercises and so-called patrols at the invitation of Japan. Japanese media and officials are accustomed to these behaviors. "This differential concern shows that Japan has a special vision and exaggerates the normal long-sea training of the Chinese Navy," said Zhang Junshe.