China Releases Video of Liaoning Carrier Group Being Tracked by Japanese Destroyer

China’s military released footage this week showing a close encounter between the Liaoning aircraft carrier group and the Japanese destroyer JS Asahi during a deployment in the Western Pacific. Newsweek reported that the undated video was published Monday as the Liaoning returned to its home port of Qingdao after more than 40 days at sea.

The Chinese military said Japanese ships and planes repeatedly conducted close-in tracking, surveillance, harassment and provocations, and that Chinese forces handled the actions professionally.

The Joint Staff Office of Japan’s Defense Ministry stated that its forces monitored the first elements of the Chinese group as they entered the Philippine Sea in mid-May. The Liaoning and its escorts joined the following week. In early June the strike group conducted dozens of carrier jet and helicopter operations east of the Philippines.

On June 20 the Japanese destroyer Asahi tracked the Liaoning as it reentered the East China Sea, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. The Chinese navy described the deployment as routine annual training that included realistic combat exercises, flight drills and search-and-rescue work.

The Chinese navy said the training complied with international law and was not aimed at any specific country.

A separate China Daily report included a photograph of a J-15 fighter jet monitoring a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol plane after taking off from the Liaoning; no date was given for that encounter. The Japanese government has not commented publicly.

U.S. Pacific Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.