Overview
- Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force reported that the Liaoning and escort vessels conducted roughly 170 take-offs and landings during exercises in the Philippine Sea on May 26–28, 2026.
- Japanese tracking showed the strike group operated as close as about 590 km southeast of Miyakojima and was last reported sailing southeast along the Philippines.
- Taiwan’s defense ministry has also monitored the Liaoning this spring and noted the carrier transited the Taiwan Strait in April, underscoring regional attention to its movements.
- Tokyo publicly released a map and bulletin of the carrier group’s May movements but has not confirmed the flotilla’s current location, highlighting gaps in real-time public tracking of PLA Navy deployments.
- Analysts and regional officials say the drills demonstrate growing PLA carrier proficiency and could prompt closer surveillance and deeper security cooperation among Japan, the Philippines and other U.S. partners in the western Pacific.