US, Japan monitor Liaoning's course to South China Sea

China's aircraft carrier Liaoning sailed through the Taiwan Strait to enter the South China Sea on Nov. 28, escorted by two destroyers and two frigates. Although the fleet did not pass the waters close to the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands, its maiden journey to the South China Sea has put the United States and Japan on alert.

Sources close to the Chinese military told China's Global Times that the Liaoning kicked off its training mission as soon as it left the Taiwan Strait. "The training has become more like active combat since it was closely followed by American and Japanese scouting vessels and aircraft," a source said.

In Taiwan, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Luo Shou-he noted that the Liaoning and its escorts maintained a course on the western side of the center line of the Strait. A newspaper photo showed that all ships at the military base in Keelung, northern Taiwan, were on stand-by while the Chinese fleet made its way south.

Taiwan's United Daily News, a government-leaning daily, reported the ROC military were closely monitoring the fleet's movements and that it had deployed missiles as a precaution.

A source close to the Chinese military said a US Los Angeles-class submarine from Guam has also appeared in the East China Sea, where tensions have run high over the past week after Beijing announced a new air defense identification zone which covers the contested islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. "It is believed to be tasked with collecting electronic signals from our ships," he remarked.

At present, a combat group led by the carrier USS George Washington is engaged in a joint marine exercise with Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force off Okinawa, Global Times reported.

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