China’s two operational aircraft carriers conducted about 1,000 takeoffs and landings of fighter jets based on the vessels during sailings that have seen the Chinese Navy punch increasingly farther into the Pacific Ocean, Japan’s defense chief said Friday.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a news conference that the Chinese aircraft carriers Liaonging and Shandong had conducted the flight operations through Thursday after being tracked from late May.
Among these operations, Nakatani said that the Shandong, China’s second carrier, had conducted more than 100 takeoffs and landings over several days in the waters surrounding Okinotorishima island, including an area inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
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