With the confirmation of a new sailing by Fujian (CV-18), Japan has deployed aerial and naval assets of its Self-Defense Forces to monitor the aircraft carrier, the most modern and advanced of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which could soon enter active service. Having departed yesterday from Shanghai toward an unknown operational area, the Japanese Joint Staff reported that CV-18 was detected along with other escorting ships in the East China Sea.
China’s Fujian aircraft carrier set sail yesterday in what analysts and observers described as one of the final systems and navigation tests before its commissioning. Although no official date has been confirmed, various speculations around the 80th anniversary of Victory Day suggest that the official ceremony could be advanced and take place during 2025.
Additionally, some have mentioned that this new sortie by China’s third aircraft carrier could be related to flight deck tests with part of the future Carrier Air Wing (CAW), which in its initial phase would include the new J-15T fighter and the KJ-600 early warning aircraft, both featured in the Victory Day aerial parade.
In response to this scenario, Tokyo did not overlook the carrier’s movements: the activity was detected by Japanese authorities in international waters about 200 km northeast of Uotsuri Island (Okinawa Prefecture) around midday, closely tracking the carrier and its escorting units. The ships were heading southwest, and the Self-Defense Forces confirmed that there were no aircraft on the carrier deck during the sighting. After detection, the Chinese naval group remained in international waters without approaching Japanese territorial waters, continuing its voyage southwest.
According to the Joint Staff report, in addition to CV-18, guided-missile destroyers of the Sovremenny class (hull number 136) and Luyang II class (hull number 152) were also observed.
In response, the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces deployed a P-3C patrol aircraft from the 5th Air Group of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (based in Naha) to conduct surveillance, alert, and information-gathering tasks.
Finally, it is important to note that this is the first time Japanese authorities have been able to directly observe the Fujian during an active sailing near a disputed area (the Senkaku Islands, claimed by China). To date, only its predecessors—the Liaoning (CV-16) and Shandong (CV-17)—had been closely monitored during their transits near Japanese archipelagos while conducting operational activities.
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