China’s Aircraft Carrier Strike Group Moves Near U.S. Naval Exercise In The Pacific

China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning and three accompanying warships are sailing south of the Philippines as the US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt operates with allied warships during the Keen Sword military exercise in the Philippine Sea.

The two deployments are taking place in the same broad area of the western Pacific, where China and the United States conduct military operations around the first island chain.

However, there is no confirmation that the Chinese carrier group is heading towards the exercise or that the two carrier groups will meet.

The Liaoning group began its deployment on October 14 and moved into the Pacific before heading towards the southern Philippines. The Keen Sword exercise runs from October 19 to 29 and involves forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada and France.

The Chinese formation includes Liaoning and three guided-missile destroyers: the Type 055 warships Wuxi and Anshan, and the Type 052D destroyer Huainan. Philippine naval vessels reportedly followed the group as it sailed near the country’s southwestern coast.

Japan’s defence ministry said the Chinese warships passed through the Miyako Strait on October 14 to enter the Pacific. They turned towards the South China Sea the next day before heading towards the southern Philippines.

The route suggests that the group is moving anticlockwise around the Philippine archipelago. This is the reverse of the route it took during exercises in October 2024, the South China Morning Post reported.

This is Liaoning’s second round of drills in the western Pacific this year. The carrier group is expected to remain deployed for several weeks, overlapping with the Keen Sword exercise.

Earlier in October, Japanese authorities also detected a Y-9 electronic reconnaissance aircraft and a WZ-7 high-altitude unmanned aircraft near the Chinese carrier. It is not clear whether either aircraft continued south with the group.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was operating in the Philippine Sea with allied warships as part of Keen Sword, according to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet.

The exercise runs until October 29, with activities taking place across Japan and surrounding waters. It involves military forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada and France.

The timing puts the Chinese carrier group and the multinational force in the same broad operating area. However, there is no evidence that either side has changed its movements in response to the other.

The first island chain runs from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines. It is an important part of US and Chinese military planning.

Chinese forces operating beyond the chain can train in the wider Pacific. The United States and its allies also use exercises in the region to practise joint maritime and air operations.

The presence of both forces in the same broad area does not, by itself, mean a confrontation is likely or that China intends to disrupt Keen Sword.

Tensions have occurred during earlier carrier deployments. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that Japanese ships and aircraft repeatedly followed the Liaoning group during far-sea training in June.

According to the report, the Type 054B frigate Luohe warned Japanese vessels away. J-15 fighters operating from Liaoning also intercepted Japanese P-3C maritime patrol aircraft.