China faces calls to accelerate upgrades to its aircraft carrier fleet following Japan's recent military exercises. Experts point to a shortage of stealth fighters as a key vulnerability.
Japan is ramping up its defence posture with long-range anti-ship missiles and deployments on islands near Taiwan, keeping Beijing on high alert. Tensions escalated in December after the Japanese prime minister's comments on Taiwan. The PLA Navy's Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group took an unusual course through waters east of Japan. Japan responded by scrambling a dozen F-2 fighter jets armed with 64 ASM-2 anti-ship missiles. Fu Qianshao, a former PLA Navy officer, said a potential gap that China’s carrier strike groups need to address is the limited number of stealth fighters.
