EXCLUSIVE: China May Have Tested Japan, U.S. in Pacific

Tokyo, Dec. 28 (Jiji Press)–China may have tested Japan and the United States to see their response through military actions by its aircraft carrier Liaoning and bombers near Japan in December, Jiji Press has learned. The Liaoning and the bombers, which flew together with Russian bombers, made a U-turn at almost the same longitude in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of the Shikoku region and the Kii Peninsula, both in western Japan, Defense Ministry sources said. At that time, the U.S. 7th Fleet aircraft carrier George Washington was conducting joint exercises with the Maritime Self-Defense Force in waters south of the Kanto region in eastern Japan. Some believe that China and Russia did not advance further east and kept a certain distance from the air defense zone and active waters of the U.S. vessel. A Japanese government source said, “The intention is not clear, but after watching the reaction of Japan and the United States on the security front amid deteriorating Japan-China relations, Beijing may have avoided provoking the U.S. military partly as a diplomatic decision.” Aircraft from the Liaoning directed radar at Japanese Air SDF fighter jets Dec. 6. After the incident, the aircraft carrier traveled northeast off the Nansei Islands in southwestern Japan but gradually changed course clockwise and moved eastward to the far south of the Kii Peninsula, reaching around 136 degrees east longitude in the Pacific on Dec. 8. The Liaoning then turned southwest and finally returned to the East China Sea. “The Liaoning was accompanied by a supply ship, so it should have been possible to advance further east,” an SDF source said. The Chinese and Russian bombers, which flew northeast off the coast of Shikoku on Dec. 9, also turned back just after crossing 135 degrees east longitude. According to the U.S. military, the George Washington called at the U.S. territory of Guam on Dec. 1. It then headed north across the Pacific to the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture in Kanto. From Dec. 8 to 11, the aircraft carrier conducted an information-sharing drill using a data link system with the MSDF destroyer Akizuki off the Kanto coast. Through the system, information on detected targets and friend-or-foe identification can be shared. The 7th Fleet said that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of regional security, adding that a major purpose of the training was to continuously improve interoperability between the two countries. The day after the China-Russia joint bomber flight on Dec. 9, B-52 strategic bombers deployed in the U.S. mainland conducted joint training with ASDF fighter jets in the Sea of Japan. This was a regular training planned in advance, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said. The U.S. Bomber Task Force responds to any contingencies and demonstrate its ability to meet its security obligations in the Indo-Pacific region, the Pacific Air Forces also said, adding that maintaining full readiness is extremely important as a strategic deterrent. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]