Japan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the aircraft carrier, which was sailing in waters that are bordering Japan while passing between Taiwan’s Yonaguni and Iriomote islands on September 18, was operating in the region with a war fleet consisting of four destroyers and a fast support ship.
The statement said the aircraft carrier, which passed near Japan’s southernmost point, Okinotorishima Island, on September 20-21, remained in the Philippine Sea until October 1 and then moved south into the Celebes Sea off the coast of Mindanao Island in the Philippines.
It was noted that 410 flights were carried out from ships between September 20-26 within the scope of the exercise and that fighter jets and helicopters made 220 landings and takeoffs between September 27 and October 1.
US Forces in the region
Notably, the Liaoning’s maneuvers in the region came at a time when the US Marines were preparing for a joint military exercise with the Philippines. The US Marines’ Southeast Asia Rotational Force had gone to the Philippines to participate in the Philippine Army’s Sama Sama 2024 and Kamadang 8 exercises.
“The Marine Corps is committed to preserving the freedom of the region and its people,” rotational force commander Col. Stuart Glenn said in a release about this shift, reported by stripes.com.
While there have been recent clashes between China and the Philippines in disputed areas of the South China Sea (South Sea), which have led to collisions between ships, the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines requires that an attack on one side be reciprocated by the other, and the tension between the Philippines and China carries the risk of turning into a conflict involving the US.
