Chinese Navy Shadowed NATO Aircraft Carrier: Report

The Chinese navy—the world’s largest by hull count—monitored a French aircraft carrier earlier this year in the contested South China Sea, according to a report published on Saturday.

France is one of three European countries that have deployed aircraft carriers to waters near China since 2021 as part of the European Carrier Group Interoperability Initiative, which aims to maintain a continuous presence in the Indo-Pacific through sequential deployments.

Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Why It Matters

China asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, with claims that overlap those of neighboring countries. The East Asian power’s armed forces have frequently shadowed Western militaries operating alongside regional allies and partners, such as the Philippines.

France, a NATO member state, deployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle last November for a five-month mission in the Indo-Pacific, where its ally, the United States, faces challenges from China as both military powers jostle for naval dominance.

Beijing has accused NATO of exceeding the geopolitical scope defined by the North Atlantic Treaty and using what it called “Eurasian security connectivity” as a pretext for maintaining a military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

What To Know

Citing a senior French naval officer at an event, the specialist outlet Naval News reported that Charles de Gaulle was monitored by a Chinese frigate as the aircraft carrier entered the Luzon Strait—a strategic waterway connecting the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

According to the report, the French naval strike group led by the Charles de Gaulle also encountered an unidentified Chinese aircraft carrier while operating in the South China Sea, where China maintains a “very substantial” presence of naval and coast guard vessels.

Newsweek previously reported on the Charles de Gaulle‘s deployment in the western Pacific, where it conducted a war game in mid-February with U.S. and Japanese aircraft carriers—USS Carl Vinson and JS Kaga, respectively—in the Philippine Sea, east of the Philippines.

Following the exercise, the French aircraft carrier participated in another war game with the Philippine military in waters of the South China Sea within the Southeast Asian country’s 230-mile exclusive economic zone, before making a stopover at Subic Bay near Manila.

While the Charles de Gaulle operated in the South China Sea, satellite imagery showed that one of China’s two operational aircraft carriers, CNS Shandong, was not docked at its home port in southern China’s Hainan province, suggesting a deployment in the South China Sea.

The French officer also revealed that during the Charles de Gaulle‘s deployment near China, no ships assigned to the naval strike group transited the Taiwan Strait, which lies between China and Taiwan—a self-governed island that Beijing has threatened to take by force.

What People Are Saying

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, said at a press conference on June 26: “We firmly oppose NATO using China as an excuse to ‘expand eastward into the Asia-Pacific’ and urge NATO to reflect on its own behaviors, change course, and contribute more to global security and stability.”

Krzysztof Sliwinski, an associate professor in the Department of Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, previously told Newsweek: “European carriers play a crucial role in maintaining open access to international waters, particularly in disputed regions such as the South China Sea. This effort challenges China’s broad maritime claims and supports essential global trade routes that are important to both the U.S. and Europe.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen which European aircraft carrier will be deployed next to the Indo-Pacific following the ongoing mission of the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.