Tensions 'Erupt' In S China Sea

US navy warship 'stalks' Chinese aircraft carrier in close military encounter - VIDEO

OLI SMITH

Tensions has erupted in the South China Sea, with a US Navy warship caught stalking a Chinese military aircraft carrier. Footage has emerged on social media taken by US navy officers on a US warship in the South China Sea. The video shows a nearby Chinese military aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, carrying out military drills just a few thousand metres away.

Alex Luck, an expert on the Chinese military, tweeted photos and videos that were first posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

He tweeted: "Nice shots of Liaoning carrier group shadowed by US DDG. An 054A FFG and an 052D DDG visible behind the carrier.

"And the footage. Note J-15 approach and arrested landing."

According to the follow-up tweets, the photos and videos were "a post on a USN sailor's Twitter few days ago, apparently, he is on the US warship which is tracking Liaoning".

On Monday it was confirmed that the Chinese carrier, Liaoning, led a naval exercise near Taiwan.

This coincides with a similar photo released by the US Navy last Sunday showing USS Mustin "shadowing" a Liaoning carrier group.

The US released a photo that showed the USS Mustin, a guided-missile destroyer, shadowing the Liaoning in a move that analysts claim was designed to send a clear message to the Chinese.

The photo showed the ship’s captain, Commander Robert J Briggs, and his deputy Commander Richard D Slye watching the Liaoning, which was just a few thousand metres away.

One analyst, Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy, said the photo was a type of "cognitive warfare" from the US as tensions in the East and South China Soar grow.

He said: "In the photo, Commander Briggs looks very relaxed with his feet up watching the Liaoning ship just a few thousand yards away, while his deputy is also sitting beside him, showing they take their PLA counterparts lightly.

"This staged photograph is definitely ‘cognitive warfare’ to show the US doesn’t regard the PLA as an immediate threat."