Chinese warships return to the Western Pacific for live-fire drills

Specifically, according to an announcement from the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese military, the destroyer Dalian and the guided-missile destroyer Huangshan entered an unspecified area in the Western Pacific "not long ago" and conducted offensive and defensive drills.

A helicopter takes off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean on April 15.

JAPAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE STAFF OFFICE

The announcement said the drills in unfamiliar and complex waters will help China explore the effectiveness of new equipment, as well as how to apply new combat methods in practice.

The exercise took place shortly after an aircraft carrier group led by the Shandong returned home after patrolling around Taiwan and entered the Western Pacific.

In March, China's first domestically built amphibious assault ship, the Hainan, completed a distant-seas exercise along with a destroyer, a frigate and a supply ship. This was the group's first joint far-sea exercise after it embarked on a 30-day voyage to the South China Sea and the Western Pacific, according to the Global Times.

Chinese ballistic missile nuclear submarine begins permanent patrol

Still, despite China's military expansion, it may take more than a decade before its aircraft carriers can pose a threat in offshore waters, according to defense analysts.

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