Japan’s Ministry of Defense Joint Staff today released two bulletins concerning the movements of the Chinese Navy vessels, specifically detailing the activities of the Shandong carrier strike group and a destroyer squadron.
The report on the Shandong carrier strike group revealed that between September 13th and 14th, the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) detected a formation of multiple Chinese Navy vessels, including the aircraft carrier Shandong, navigating the Pacific waters. During this period, the MSDF observed approximately 40 fighter aircraft and 20 helicopters, totaling 60 aircraft operations, taking off and landing on the Shandong.
Subsequently, between September 14th and 15th, the squadron, which included the Shandong carrier, was confirmed to pass through the Bashi Channel, sailing from the Pacific towards the South China Sea. To track and gather intelligence, the MSDF dispatched the DD-109 “Ariake,” a Murasame-class general-purpose destroyer from the 5th Escort Squadron of the 1st Escort Flotilla stationed in Sasebo.
In another bulletin, the MSDF identified three Chinese naval vessels at about 8 pm on September 14th (7 pm Beijing time), approximately 70 kilometers northeast of Miyako Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago. These were two Type 956 missile destroyers (the Fuzhou No. 137 and Ningbo No. 139) and one Type 052D missile destroyer (the Xiamen No. 154), all sailing northward.
By around 3 am on September 15th (2 am Beijing time), another two Type 052D missile destroyers (the Baotou No. 133 and Shaoxing No. 134) were detected approximately 90 kilometers northeast of Miyako Island, also heading north.
The aforementioned five vessels were seen sailing northward through the Miyako Strait between September 14th and 15th, returning to the East China Sea region. The report noted that these ships were part of the eight Chinese navy vessels that had previously headed south through the Miyako Strait to the Pacific on September 11th. The MSDF deployed the Sugashima-class minesweeper MSC-686 “Ukushima” from the Shimonoseki base and P-3C anti-submarine patrol aircraft from the 5th Air Group at Naha Air Base for tracking and surveillance purposes.