Dozens of ships and warplanes test weapons after Donald Trump questioned ‘One China policy’ and spoke directly with Taiwanese president

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first exercises with live ammunition, the country’s navy said, in a show of strength as tensions with the US and Taiwan escalate.



China’s first and only aircraft carrier led large-scale exercises in the Bohai Sea, the navy of the People’s Liberation Army announced late on Thursday.

The drills involved dozens of ships and aircraft in the carrier group and more than 10 air-to-air, anti-ship and air defence missiles were tested, it said.

The group also performed reconnaissance exercises, tests of early warning systems, aerial interception and missile defence.

The goal of the exercises was to “test the performance of weapons and the training level of the team”, the statement said.

China 'seriously concerned' after Trump questions Taiwan policy Read more

China’s national broadcaster CCTV showed footage of J-15 fighter jets taking off from the carrier and firing missiles.

The drills come as a heated war of words intensifies between Beijing and the US president-elect, Donald Trump, who broke convention by speaking directly to the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, and even suggested Washington could jettison the decades-old “One China policy” – a diplomatic compromise allowing the US to do business with both China and Taiwan while only recognising Beijing.

Since Trump’s and Tsai’s phone call, China has sent military aircraft close to Japanese territory near the Miyako Strait and reportedly sent a bomber to circumnavigate disputed territory in the resource-rich South China Sea – flights its air force has described as “routine”.

The US Pacific commander said on Wednesday that the US would keep challenging China’s “assertive, aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea” despite Beijing’s rapid development of artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

What is the One China policy? "One China" is an arrangement dating back to the 1970s under which countries can maintain formal diplomatic relations with China or Taiwan, but not both. After the Communists won the Chinese civil war in 1949, defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Both Beijing and Taipei claimed sovereignty over the entirety of China. Taiwan’s official name is the Republic of China. Until 1971, Taiwan held China’s seat at the United Nations and the following years saw a wave of states switch to recognise the Beijing government. The US formally established relations with China in 1979, but maintains informal ties with Taiwan.

Satellite images published this week by a US thinktank showed structures on Chinese-built artificial islands that appeared to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems (CIWS) designed to take out incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, the thinktank said.



China’s defence ministry said the construction was mostly for civilian use and necessary military installations were for self-defence.

“If someone were flexing his muscles outside your door, wouldn’t you get a slingshot ready?” it wrote.

Beijing is seeking to build a “blue water” navy capable of operating in distant seas and has embarked on an extensive project to modernise its two million-strong military, the world’s largest.

The Liaoning is a secondhand Soviet ship built more than 25 years ago. It was commissioned in 2012 after extensive refits.

In December 2015 China’s defence ministry announced the country was building a second aircraft carrier based entirely on domestic designs.