What You Need to Know: Amid ongoing Middle East crises, the U.S. Navy has redeployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to the region, reducing its presence in the Indo-Pacific. Simultaneously, both of China's aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, are docked together for the first time at Sanya naval base on Hainan Island, as revealed by satellite imagery.

-This unprecedented dual docking has led to speculation about potential joint operations or maintenance activities. Meanwhile, other nations are boosting their naval presence in the Indo-Pacific: the USS George Washington is set to arrive in Japan, the UK's HMS Prince of Wales plans a deployment next year, and Italy's ITS Cavour is returning from exercises with the Indian Navy.

-China's third carrier, the Fujian, continues sea trials expected to last through next year.

China's Aircraft Carriers Docked Together as U.S. Navy Redeploys

Due to the ongoing crises in the Middle East, the United States Navy has rotated its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to the region – leaving it stretched thin in the Indo-Pacific. However, the good news on Tuesday is that China's presence has subsided as well.

Both of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft carriers – the CNS Type 001 Liaoning and CNS Type 002 Shandong – were "pier-side at Sanya naval base on China's southern island of Hainan," Newsweek reported, citing open-source satellite imagery.

This also marked the first time that the two PLAN flattops had been moored together. While the Shandong is homeported in Sanya, the Liaoning is based in Qingdao. It remains unclear if Beijing was preparing for joint operations with the two carriers or conducting a "hull swap" of sorts.

This past summer, the U.S. Navy conducted such a hull swap – transferring aircraft, personnel, ordnance, and equipment – between the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and USS George Washington (CVN-73) in San Diego. CVN-73 is taking over as the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed carrier and is now preparing to head to Yokosuka, Japan.

Aircraft Carrier Presence Set to Increase

USS George Washington is scheduled to arrive in Japan later this fall, while next year the UK's Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales will make a deployment to the Indo-Pacific – the first British carrier to travel to the region since HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2021.

The Italian Navy's ITS Cavour is now on her return transit of a half-year deployment that saw the warship travel to Japan and Australia. As of this week, the Italian Navy's flagship was taking part in joint training operations with the Indian Navy near Goa.

Questions are now being asked as to where China's carriers might head next, especially as the Type 001 Liaoning headed to a different port. Last month, the 65,000-ton carrier – which is the PLAN's first flattop, and was domestically refurbished after being obtained from Ukraine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union – conducted flight operations in the Philippines Sea.

"The Liaoning did not sail northward for the return journey to Qingdao and its movements were unknown until the latest satellite imagery was published," Newsweek added.

There is speculation the PLAN will conduct dual-carrier operations involving the 70,000-ton Type 002 Shandong – China's second carrier, but the first to be domestically built. Last month, the carrier had been conducting drills in the South China Sea and Western Pacific.

China's third carrier – the CNS Type 003 Fujian has been undergoing sea trials, which are expected to continue through next year. That carrier, which is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult launch system, is significantly more advanced than the Type 001 and Type 002, which both employ a ski-jump ramp for launching aircraft. However, unlike the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, all of Beijing's flattops are conventionally powered.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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