China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier and USS Theodore Roosevelt converge in Philippine Sea

AI Summary

China’s Liaoning carrier strike group sailed beyond the first island chain into waters near the Philippines, reaching an area east-southeast of Balut Island. Its movement brought it closer to ongoing U.S.-Japan joint exercises and coincided with the presence of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea.

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group sailed beyond the first island chain last week to reach the southernmost waters of the Philippines, suggesting an intent to position itself closer to ongoing US-Japan joint exercises. Philippine news channel BNC reported that the carrier group reached about 25 nautical miles (46km) east-southeast of Balut Island, the southernmost point of the Philippines, before sailing northeast on Friday. That positioned the warships past the first island chain, a...