China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning and its accompanying warships are sailing through waters south of the Philippines, potentially crossing paths with U.S. and allied naval forces conducting the Keen Sword military exercise in the Philippine Sea.
The Chinese carrier group moved beyond the first island chain during a deployment that began Oct. 14, while the U.S. Navy’s USS Theodore Roosevelt operated alongside Japanese, Australian, Canadian and French warships in the area.
The timing brings two separate military activities into the same strategically important stretch of the Western Pacific, although there is no confirmation that the Chinese formation is intentionally heading for the exercise or that the two carrier groups will come into direct contact. Keen Sword takes place from October 19th to 29th and includes activities throughout Japan and surrounding waters.
Liaoning’s route goes around the Philippines
The four-ship Chinese formation includes the Liaoning and three guided-missile destroyers: the Type 055 Wuxi and Anshan, and the Type 052D Huainan destroyer. Philippine navy ships reportedly shadowed the group as it sailed near the country’s southwest coast.
The Japanese Defense Ministry reported that the Chinese warships transited the Miyako Strait to enter the Pacific on October 14 and then turned toward the South China Sea the following day before heading to the southern Philippines.
The route suggests the group will move counterclockwise around the Philippine archipelago, reversing the course it set during exercises in October 2024. the South China Morning Post reported. The deployment is Liaoning’s second round of exercises in the Western Pacific this year. The carrier group is expected to remain deployed for several weeks, overlapping with the Keen Sword exercise
Japanese authorities also discovered Chinese air surveillance equipment operating near the aircraft carrier earlier this month, including a Y-9 electronic reconnaissance aircraft and a WZ-7 high-altitude unmanned aircraft. However, it remains unclear whether one of the two aircraft continued south with the carrier group.
Two carrier deployments in a strategically important region
According to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was operating in the Philippine Sea with allied warships as part of Keen Sword.
The first island chain, stretching from Japan to Taiwan to the Philippines, is a key geographical feature in U.S. and Chinese military planning. Additionally, operating Chinese forces can train in the wider Pacific, while U.S. and allied forces use regional exercises to practice coordination between sea and air operations.
A possible overlap between the Liaoning Group and the multinational force would result in the two naval activities falling within the same major area of operations. However, this alone would neither indicate confrontation nor prove that Beijing intends to disrupt the exercise.
There were also tensions during previous carrier missions. In a report broadcast by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Beijing said Japanese ships and aircraft repeatedly shadowed the Liaoning group during long-distance maritime training in June. According to the report, the Type 054B frigate Luohe warned Japanese ships, while J-15 fighters operating from the carrier intercepted Japanese P-3C maritime patrol aircraft.
