Is China’s Fujian gearing up for a dual aircraft carrier exercise?
Satellite images indicate the vessel has docked with the Liaoning at a naval base in the country’s east
Two of China’s aircraft carriers, including its biggest and best, have docked at the same naval base near the Yellow Sea, raising suggestions that another dual-carrier exercise is on the horizon.
In one of the images purportedly taken on Thursday, the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, docked on the other side of the pier with the Fujian.
On Friday, maritime safety authorities in Dalian – about 320km (200 miles) from Qingdao – said a military activity would be held in the Bohai Strait and northern Yellow Sea for one week from 4pm on Sunday.
Ships would be prohibited from entering the area, the notice added. Sitting on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, with the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west, Dalian guards the entrance to the Bohai Sea and is the home of a major naval and shipbuilding hub for the PLA Navy.
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China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, enters service