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They were seen near remote southern islands belonging to Japan.
They were seen near remote southern islands belonging to Japan.
What is happening?
According to the Japanese Foreign Minister, Takeshi Iwaya, two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted in the Pacific for the first time.
What were they doing?
According to Reuters, the two aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, were seen doing simultaneous operations on seperate locations.
Both were near remote southern Islands belonging to Japan.
Not condemning, but …
Iwaya made it clear, that his ministry had communicated with Beijing through the Chinese embassy in Japan. He did not explain what that means, only that “appropriate steps” were being taken.
He did not condemn Chinas actions.
The Senkaku Islands dispute
Japan did not say, what islands the Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted near, but Japan and China have had a dispute over the Senkaku Islands for decades.
They are remote islands south of Japan, Northeast of Taiwan.
Japanese, but …
The islands have been Japanese territory since the late 19th century, but China began questioning the legitimaty of the claim in the 1970’s.
Chinese air defense zone
On 23 November 2013, the PRC set up the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone which includes the Senkaku Islands, and announced that it would require all aircraft entering the zone to file a flight plan and submit radio frequency or transponder information.