By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - In a first, two Chinese aircraft carriers are conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.
The ministry said late Monday that China's Shandong aircraft carrier was spotted along with four other Chinese warships in Japan’s exclusive economic zone about 550 kilometers (341 miles) southeast of Miyako Island in Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.
The announcement came a day after the Defense Ministry said that another Chinese aircraft carrier, Liaoning, was spotted in the vicinity of Japan's easternmost Minamitori Island in the Pacific for two days from Saturday.
It marked the first confirmed navigation by a Chinese carrier in those waters, according to Kyodo News.
On Monday, the Shandong, commissioned in 2019 as China's second aircraft carrier, conducted landing and takeoff drills involving its fighter jets and helicopters north of the Okinotori, some 1,700 km (1,056 miles) south of Tokyo, within Japan's exclusive economic zone, the ministry said.
China, for its part, defended the aircraft carrier's activities, saying they are "fully consistent with international law and international practices."
"China pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. We hope Japan will view those activities objectively and rationally," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing on Monday.