Recent satellite images of two of China’s aircraft carriers, analyzed over the past few hours, suggest that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) may be preparing a joint deployment of the Liaoning (CV-16) and Fujian (CV-18) in the Western Pacific. According to an assessment circulated by Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) analysts, both vessels were identified in a configuration that could indicate preparatory activity for a potential combined deployment—a move that, if confirmed, would mark another milestone in the maturation of the Asian giant’s naval power-projection capabilities.
Based on the analysis of the imagery, both aircraft carriers are currently believed to be positioned at the Yuchi Naval Base in Qingdao, in northeastern China, alongside other support and escort vessels. This reinforces the assumption that logistical and operational preparations may be underway ahead of a new deployment. Such actions would allow the PLAN to further advance the readiness and preparation of its Carrier Strike Groups, which would no longer operate in isolation but in coordination with one another—an evolution closely linked to the gradual induction of additional aircraft carriers into service, with the Fujian being the most recent example.
These deployments of one or more aircraft carriers are taking place in a context of steadily increasing Chinese surface ship and task group activity in waters disputed with other countries in the region. Just days ago, for example, the aircraft carrier Liaoning completed a patrol in the Philippine Sea during which an incident was reported involving J-15 fighters from its embarked air wing and F-15J aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The Japanese fighters had been scrambled in response to PLAN operations conducted near the Japanese archipelago.
At the same time, the Fujian (CV-18), the most modern carrier in China’s fleet, also recently carried out its first operational deployment through the Taiwan Strait following its commissioning, an operation closely monitored by Taiwan’s armed forces. Equipped with electromagnetic catapults, the new carrier represents a qualitative leap for PLAN capabilities, as it enables the operation of heavier carrier-borne aircraft with greater payloads, significantly expanding the range of missions that can be conducted and sustained from the sea.
The potential joint operation led by the Liaoning and the Fujian should also be viewed in light of recent precedents. Last July, the Liaoning and the Shandong conducted exercises in which they simulated engagements against each other during maneuvers in the Western Pacific—an activity widely interpreted as an advanced rehearsal aimed at increasing interoperability between the two carriers.
With this background, and should a joint deployment of the Liaoning and the Fujian materialize, China would be taking an additional step toward consolidating its ability to operate and sustain a growing number of aircraft carriers within the same theater of operations—something that, until now, has been achieved on a sustained basis only by navies such as that of the United States, which operates the world’s largest carrier fleet. For observers, such a move would carry not only strictly military implications, but also a strong political, diplomatic, and deterrent message to the rest of the region, particularly in relation to China’s situation with Taiwan, its relations with Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea, as well as the presence of extra-regional powers in the Western Pacific.
Finally, it should be noted that the Chinese Navy has not yet issued any official statement regarding the nature of the movements observed via satellite imagery, nor about the future deployments of its aircraft carriers in the region.
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