Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Shandong (17) once again deployed again to the Philippine Sea, marking the second time this month.
Shandong is operating closer to the Philippines this deployment, with a Japan Joint Staff Office (JSO) map showing the carrier around 200 nautical miles east of the northeast tip of the Philippine main island of Luzon.
Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force JMSDF confirmed that Shandong and cruiser CNS Yan’an (106), were sailing in the waters about 490 miles south of Miyako Island, according to a JSO release.
The Shandong Carrier Strike Group sailed within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone, although under international law, an EEZ does not prevent transit or military activities.
The JSO observed Shandong conducting flight operations of its fighter aircraft and helicopters. Destroyer JS Ariake (DD-109) surveiled the CSG.
China’s Ministry of National Defense has not made any statement on Shandong’s current deployment, as of publication.
It appears unlikely that Shandong deployed for drills against Taiwan as was the case earlier on April 1, given its position near the Philippines. The deployment could be part of the PLAN’s training schedule or part of the Chinese response to the U.S.-Philippines exercise Balikatan 2025, which kicked off Monday.
The deployment could also be in response to a Sunday incident around Scarborough Shoal where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command claimed that Philippine Navy patrol vessel BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) illegally entered Chinese waters around Scarborough Shoal with the Theater Command then mobilizing its forces to expel the Philippine Navy ship from the waters.
Philippines newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad refuted the PLA claim.
“These are all part of shaping or malign information operations more likely for their internal audience,” Trinidad said in a message to the Philippine media.
Only the Philippine Navy and other Philippine-flagged law enforcement ships have the authority and legal bases to challenge any ship in the West Philippine Sea, where Scarborough Shoal is located, Trinidad said.
On Tuesday, the Southern Theater Command released a bilingual Chinese and English language video, as part of the PLAN’s 76th Anniversary, titled “To The South and To The Deep Blue,” that illustrated the determination of the PLAN to defend the South China Sea and the territories there from any invaders.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun denounced the Balikatan drills in a Monday press conference.
“The Philippines chose to conduct the large-scale military drills with this country outside the region and brought in strategic and tactical weapons to the detriment of regional strategic stability and regional economic prospects, which puts them on the opposite side of regional countries. This act has been detested and opposed by regional countries,” Guo said.
Taiwan is an internal affair and core interest of China, which opposes any country using the Taiwan question as an excuse to strengthen military deployment in the region.
“We urge relevant sides not to make provocation on the Taiwan question. Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Guo said.
The Balikatan drills mainly take part on the Western side of Luzon and also on Palawan Island, around the South China Sea portion of the Philippines known as the West Philippine Sea where the Philippines has a number of disputed territories and waters.
Portions of the drill take place in Cagayan Province, which lies on the northeast tip of Luzon, and is west of where the Shandong CSG currently lies.
The carrier strike group likely sailed from the South China Sea through the Luzon Strait, either in the middle. The U.S. Marine Corps has deployed a number of Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) launchers as part of the Balikatan drills near the Philippine side of the strait.
The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) deployment of NMESIS marks the inaugural deployment of the Marine Corps weapon system to the Philippines, according to a Marine Corps release. The 3rd MLR will be involved in the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations in Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands and the Counter Landing Live Fire in Cagayan.
The Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations in Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands, located in the Luzon Strait, will see the 3rd Littoral Combat Team’s Medium-Range Missile Battery and Philippine Marines of 4th Marine Brigade working with the U.S. Army’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and the U.S. Air Force’s 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron to transport several NMESIS launchers from Northern Luzon to multiple islands in the Batanes island chain. Once on the islands, U.S. and Philippine Marines will work together to establish a Fires Expeditionary Advanced Base, according to the release.
In Northern Luzon, the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, operated by the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion’s Tactical Air Control Element will surveil the surrounding airspace in the 3rd MLR’s area of operations in support of maritime strike and airspace deconfliction.
The NMESIS will not be fired during Balikatan, but the 3rd MLR’s Fire Support Coordination Center will use the opportunity presented by placing the NMESIS on islands in the Luzon Strait to conduct simulated fire missions.
“The NMESIS provides 3rd MLR with enhanced sea denial capability, deepens naval integration, and strengthens deterrence by extending the Joint Force’s ability to target and engage from both land and sea,” reads the release. “In the Philippines, the NMESIS will also aid in shaping defensive capabilities in accordance with the Armed Forces of the Philippines’s coastal defense strategy.”
