This weekend, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and itsescort left Chinese waters to head for Pacific waters off the east coast of Taiwan. In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, this deployment appears to be a show of force for Beijing, which intends to keep up the pressure on Taiwan. In response, the American armed forces have also demonstrated the power of their air assets in the region, failing to be able to deploy an aircraft carrier to counter Chinese Liaoning.
On Saturday evening, the aircraft carrier Liaoning accompanied by half a dozen escort ships was spotted by Japan in the Miyako Strait, between the Japanese islands of Miyakojima and Okinawa located a few hundred kilometers from Taiwan . Controlled by Japan, who recently deployed missile batteries there, these waters remain open to navigation in peacetime. By taking this passage, Liaoning thus bypassed Taiwan by the Northeast, before veering to the South. The carrier's escort then consisted of two Type 052D destroyers and two Type 054A frigates, as well as a supply and support ship. A priori, at least one or two submarines should also accompany the carrier strike group.
Deployed between the South China Sea and the Philippines Sea, the Liaoning is now the only active aircraft carrier in the Pacific. In fact, the two American aircraft carriers in the region are now docked due to the coronavirus epidemic which affects their crew, the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam and the USS Ronald Reagan in Japan.
Deployment of Liaoning: a military and diplomatic maneuver
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