
The Chinese Liaoning carrier strike group was spotted 25 nautical miles east-southeast of Balut Island, Philippines, before moving northeast, marking a transit past the first island chain.
AI-generated summary
The first island chain is a US-led strategic arc of maritime chokepoints running from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
Philippine news channel BNC reported that the carrier group reached about 25 nautical miles (46km) east-southeast of Balut Island, the southernmost point of the Philippines, before sailing northeast on Friday.
That positioned the warships past the first island chain, a US-led strategic arc of maritime chokepoints running from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
The four-strong Liaoning strike group includes the Type 055 large guided-missile destroyers Wuxi and Anshan, and the Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Huainan.

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