Growing capability to extend range of defense

A BATTLE GROUP OF CHINESE WARSHIPS led by the CNS Liaoning, China's only aircraft carrier, is heading for the Western Pacific to conduct an open-sea exercise beyond the so-called first island chain, which consists of the Ryukyu Islands currently under Japanese administration, China's Taiwan, and the northern Philippines. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

In the 1950s, the United States and its allies installed advanced weapons at bases along the chain of islands, in a bid to maintain a strong military presence and contain China and other countries governed by communist parties.

Today's situations are different. According to reports, the Liaoning group has about 13 J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets for the exercises outside the first island chain. Albeit part of a routine training mission, the battle group's presence in the Western Pacific signals China's growing capability to travel further into the ocean.