On Wednesday, the Liaoning led other naval vessels in live fire testing of new weapons in the South China Sea [Xinhua]
China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier successfully conducted drills in the South China Sea this week the navy said.
The ship is China’s sole aircraft carrier, and was accompanied by warships as it passed through the disputed Miyako Strait.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry said that the Liaoning was also conducting weapons tests with the other vessels fron the navy.
On Monday, the country’s J-15 fighter jets conducted a number of flight exercises, taking off from the Liaoning.
This exercise is not the first of its kind. In mid December, China conducted the first live-fire drill using the Liaoning and the J-15 jets in close proximity to the Korean Peninsula. It also sailed into the Bohai Sea off the northeastern Chinese coast, and patrolled in the Western Pacific near Japan’s Okinawa and Taiwan.
The Shenyang J-15, nicknamed the Flying Shark, has a maximum speed of 2,550 kph and a range of 3,500 kilometers.
Last month, Beijing also tested the latest version of its FC-31 Gyrfalcon stealth fighter jet – China’s answer to the US F-35.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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