Japan sends destroyer after China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group spotted passing Okinawa

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China’s carrier group – including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, one Renhai class stealth guided missile destroyer, two Luyang III class guided missile destroyers, one Jiangkai II multi-role frigate and one Fuyu class fast combat support ship – were spotted passing the waterway between Okinawa and Miyako Island and heading towards the Pacific on Saturday morning.

Japan has sent destroyer JS Suzutsuki, a P-1 maritime patrol aircraft and a P-3C anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft to “gather information and monitor the movements of the Chinese vessels”, the joint staff said in a statement published on Sunday.