Not good: China's first aircraft carrier steams towards disputed South China Sea

China sent its sole aircraft carrier on a training mission into the South China Sea on Tuesday amid maritime disputes with the Philippines and other neighbours and tension over its plan to set up an airspace defence zone in waters disputed with Japan.

Not good: China's first aircraft carrier steams towards disputed South China Sea Liaoning

The Liaoning, bought used from Ukraine and refurbished in China, has conducted more than 100 exercises and experiments since it was commissioned last year but this is the first time it has been sent to the South China Sea.

The Liaoning left port from the northern city of Qingdao accompanied by two destroyers and two frigates, the Chinese navy said on an official news website.

While there, it will carry out "scientific research, tests and military drills", the report said.

"This is the first time since the Liaoning entered service that it has carried out long-term drills on the high seas," it added.

The timing of the drills is bound to raise eyebrows with its neighbours, given the overlapping maritime disputes. China has lodged formal protests with the United States and Japan after both criticised its plan to impose new rules on airspace over disputed waters in the East China Sea.

On Tuesday, Australia said it had summoned China's ambassador to express concern over its imposition of the air defence identification zone.

China also claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, conflicting with claims from Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam.

That dispute is one of the region's biggest flashpoints amid China's military build-up and the US strategic "pivot" back to Asia.

Though considered decades behind US technology, the Liaoning represents the Chinese navy's blue-water ambitions and has been the focus of a campaign to stir patriotism.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-steams-towards-disputed-South-China-Sea/articleshow/26424722.cms
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Not good: China's first aircraft carrier steams towards disputed South China Sea

Not good: China's first aircraft carrier steams towards disputed South China Sea

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