China’s Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carrier strike groups have completed an extended far-sea combat readiness training mission and returned safely to port, according to Chinese state media on June 30.
The drills mark the latest in a series of joint maritime operations conducted by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), with a growing focus on integrated, real-world combat scenarios.
The training, conducted in the western Pacific, involved both dual-carrier groups operating in coordination with other branches of the Chinese military. According to the official report, the forces engaged in exercises that emphasized combat-realistic conditions, joint operations, and system-based warfighting. The carrier groups completed a series of tasks including aerial reconnaissance, early warning, anti-ship strikes, air defense, and day-night carrier-based tactical flight operations.
In a statement released by Chinese military outlets, the PLAN said the exercises were designed to “actively explore the combat application of carrier task force elements,” and reported that the operations produced new research findings related to integrated maritime warfare. This marks the second time China has deployed both its carriers together for coordinated open-ocean confrontation drills, following similar dual-carrier operations last year.
During the mission, both Liaoning and Shandong strike groups faced what the Chinese military described as “multiple close-range reconnaissance and tracking activities” by foreign military ships and aircraft. PLAN forces reportedly maintained a “high state of alert” throughout the training, conducting repeated combat takeoffs by carrier-based aircraft and responding with what officials called “professional and measured” countermeasures.
The drills were framed as part of China’s regular annual training cycle, but they reflect a continued push by Beijing to advance the PLAN’s operational reach, readiness, and integrated combat capability at sea. By deploying both of its domestically operated carriers for this round of exercises, China is signaling the maturation of its carrier fleet into a more cohesive and scalable force projection tool.
The Liaoning, originally a Soviet-built vessel refitted by China, and the Shandong, China’s first domestically constructed carrier, form the core of Beijing’s emerging carrier battle group capability. Their presence in far-sea drills beyond the first island chain is viewed by regional observers as an effort to assert strategic depth and reinforce China’s maritime posture amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Chinese officials said the exercise verified the effectiveness of joint force training and contributed to improving the military’s ability to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
The operation comes at a time of increasing regional activity, with U.S., Japanese, and allied naval forces also conducting patrols and training in contested waters.
During the training period, Japan’s Ministry of Defense reported that the Liaoning aircraft carrier exited the Pacific and entered the East China Sea after nearly a month of dual-carrier activity with the Shandong. The Ministry said the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) tracked the group’s movements, deploying the destroyer Murasame and additional surveillance assets. According to the report, JMSDF monitoring confirmed approximately 1,050 aircraft takeoff and landing operations from both carriers between May 25 and June 19.
While the Chinese Ministry of National Defense has framed the dual-carrier training as routine and defensive in nature, the scale and structure of the deployment underscore the PLAN’s expanding role in China’s broader military strategy.