TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted open ocean training exercises with its Type 075 amphibious assault ship in the western Pacific for the first time on Thursday (June 29).

Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced on Friday (June 30) that two PLAN ships were detected crossing the Osumi Strait, south of Kyushu, and into the Pacific Ocean. The two ships were identified as the Type 075 amphibious assault ship Guangxi and the Type 052 destroyer Baotou, reported UDN.



Two additional PLAN ships sailed into the western Pacific north of Japan’s Amami islands on Thursday afternoon to rendezvous with the Guangxi and Baotou. These were identified as the Type 054 frigate Anyang and the Type 903 support ship Chaohu.

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces deployed fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft, as well as naval assets to monitor the passage of the four PLAN vessels, according to reports.

The Type 075 Guangxi was completed in April 2022. Its passage through the Osumi Strait marks the first time a PLAN Type 075 amphibious assault ship has been reported in waters beyond what is known as the First Island Chain of Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

China’s state-owned Global Times said that the exercises did not have any specific target in mind, and they were intended for sailors to become more accustomed to the Guangxi’s capabilities and natural conditions on the open ocean, away from shore. However, the Global Times said that the exercises may serve as a warning to “Taiwan Independence secessionists and external interference forces.”