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9h ago

China Fields Two Aircraft Carriers in Western Pacific as U.S. Maintains Single-Carrier Patrol

China’s Liaoning and Shandong have conducted 520 aircraft takeoffs and landings east of the Philippines as part of ‘routine training’.

The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington transits the Philippine Sea on June 15, 2025.
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Chinese aircraft carriers CNS Liaoning, top, and CNS Shandong, bottom, operate in the western Pacific in June.

Overview

  • The USS George Washington departed Yokosuka on June 10 and remains the only U.S. carrier patrolling the western Pacific after USS Nimitz redeployed to the Middle East.
  • The George Washington’s strike group includes the cruiser USS Robert Smalls and the destroyer USS Shoup escorting F-35C stealth fighters.
  • CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong launched their first simultaneous western Pacific deployment earlier in June and are operating east of the Philippines within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
  • Japan’s Defense Ministry reported that the two Chinese carriers carried out a combined 520 aircraft takeoffs and landings between June 8 and June 16.
  • China’s Defense Ministry maintains the exercises are routine training as U.S. and Japanese forces continue to monitor carrier movements.