The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning has charted an unusual course towards Japan’s home islands following the mid-air stand-off between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets near Okinawa on the weekend, as tensions between Beijing and Tokyo continue to rise.
The PLA Navy carrier and three guided missile destroyers travelled northeast from their position near the Miyako Strait where the stand-off occurred, heading towards waters off Kyushu and the eastern side of Japan that faces the west Pacific Ocean.
As of late Sunday, the Liaoning carrier strike group was around 190km (118 miles) east of Kikai Island, according to a map provided by Japan’s defence ministry.
Chinese warships typically sail southeast through the Miyako Strait before entering the high seas of the Pacific, east of the first island chain that runs along East Asia’s coastline and includes the Japanese archipelago.
The Liaoning’s reported position on Sunday shows the strike group has taken a different route, an unusual move that underscores the escalating pressure Beijing is placing on Tokyo following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments in November.
