Japan has confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers are simultaneously carrying out operations in the Pacific for the first time, a move that Tokyo interprets as an indication of Beijing’s plans to further extend its military reach beyond its borders.
The Shandong, China’s domestically built aircraft carrier, and four other naval vessels sailed into the waters southwest of Japan’s Miyakojima island on June 7, Tokyo’s Joint Staff Office said in a June 9 statement on its website.
