Story perspectives

China Shows Liaoning Carrier Video, Accuses Japan of Harassment

6/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

China’s military released video of four close encounters with Japanese warships and aircraft, calling them provocations.
The Liaoning carrier strike group completed a 40-day far-sea combat training deployment and returned to Qingdao.
Chinese state media said Japanese warships and aircraft repeatedly tracked, monitored and harassed the Liaoning group.
Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed destroyer JS Asahi monitored Liaoning entering the Philippine Sea and later returning to the East China Sea.

History

Historical Context

On 7 September 2010 a Chinese trawler Minjinyu 5179 collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, leading Japan to detain its captain for 17 days and sparking a diplomatic crisis. Since China’s 2012-13 surge in patrols and its East China Sea ADIZ, confrontations have become routine, and in 2024 the Liaoning carrier group met Japan’s destroyer JS Asahi, echoing the 2010 standoff.

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Story summary

China’s military released video of four close encounters with Japanese warships and aircraft, calling them provocations.
The Liaoning carrier strike group completed a 40-day far-sea combat training deployment and returned to Qingdao.
Chinese state media said Japanese warships and aircraft repeatedly tracked, monitored and harassed the Liaoning group.
Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed destroyer JS Asahi monitored Liaoning entering the Philippine Sea and later returning to the East China Sea.

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