China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier is conducting drills this week with the country’s newest frigate, the Type 054B, for the first time in the western Pacific near a remote Tokyo island, Japan’s Defense Ministry has announced.

The Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff confirmed the training late Tuesday, saying that the Maritime Self-Defense Force had monitored the Liaoning and four vessels accompanying the carrier about 880 kilometers southwest of Okinotorishima, Japan’s southernmost island, on Monday. The MSDF also confirmed takeoff-and-landing training by carrier-based fighter jets and helicopters from the Liaoning on Tuesday.

“This is the first time this year that the Chinese military has confirmed and announced that one of its aircraft carriers is operating in the Pacific,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X late Tuesday. “We will continue to closely monitor related developments and ensure that we are fully prepared with our surveillance activities in the maritime and airspace surrounding Japan.”

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