Rare satellite image shows China’s only two operational aircraft carriers together at a base in the South China Sea

• A satellite image shows China’s two operational aircraft carriers docked together.
• Liaoning and Shandong were pier-side at Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island in the South China Sea.
• Both carriers arrived at the base after completing exercises in the region.

A rare satellite image captured China’s two fully operational aircraft carriers sitting pier-side together in the South China Sea earlier this week.

The carriers arrived at the naval base after several weeks of exercises in the region.

Business Insider obtained the satellite image from BlackSky, a real-time, space-based intelligence company. It shows the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Liaoning and Shandong carriers docked at the same pier at Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island, just east of Vietnam. 

The image was taken on Tuesday. Open-source intelligence accounts on social media also noted the rare occurrence of both carriers being seen docked together. 

The Liaoning, China’s first carrier, was built from the stripped hulk of an unfinished Soviet-era Kuznetsov-class carrier that China purchased in the late 90s. It entered service in 2012 but was not deemed combat-ready until four years later. Given its origins, China’s Liaoning resembles Russia’s sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

The Shandong, China’s second carrier, is the country’s first domestically-produced aircraft carrier. The ship is, however, still based on the design for the Liaoning, featuring similar characteristics, such as the ski-jump style ramp for launching planes, but also some differences, like the ability to carry a larger air wing, specifically more of China’s carrier-based J-15 fighters. The vessel was commissioned into the PLAN in 2019.

These ships are the predecessors to China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is not yet in active service and has been undergoing sea trials. Unlike the others, the new ship features an advanced catapult launch system akin to the kind used on the US Navy’s new Ford-class carriers.

Prior to docking together in Sanya, the Liaoning and Shandong were operating in different waterways. In mid-September, the Liaoning was spotted sailing from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea. It then conducted exercises in the Western Pacific involving fighter jets and helicopters.

The Shandong, on the other hand, docked in Hainan after participating in drills in the South China Sea late last month. Though there has been some speculation, it is unclear if the carriers will conduct dual-carrier operations.

China’s naval exercises have come amid drills with Russia and clashes with its neighbors. Beijing has been harassing and attacking Philippine vessels in disputed waters, specifically around the Scarborough Shoal. The territory, which China unjustly claims, has seen increased conflict in recent months, which Chinese vessels shooting water at and ramming Philippine ships.

Just this week, the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of firing water cannons at government ships taking supplies to fishermen in the area.

These fights involve the white-hulled coast guard instead of the Chinese navy gray hulls, such as destroyers and aircraft carriers, that would be needed in a major maritime conflict.