Map Shows US and Chinese Aircraft Carriers in Pacific This Week

A United States aircraft carrier returned to the South China Sea this week, following a five-day visit to Malaysia, while a Chinese “flattop” conducted a new round of sea trials. Meanwhile, an aircraft carrier sent by France, a NATO member state, reached the Indian Ocean, following a transit from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal in Egypt. It is scheduled to conduct two exercises before sailing toward the Pacific Ocean. Newsweek‘s weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of January 3, the locations of 12 vessels were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery. The U.S. military has the largest aircraft carrier fleet in the world, with 11 in service. China ranks second with three. U.S. Navy USS Carl Vinson: South China Sea The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson departs Port Klang in Malaysia following a scheduled port visit on January 2, 2025. The Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group return to the South… The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson departs Port Klang in Malaysia following a scheduled port visit on January 2, 2025. The Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group return to the South China Sea the following day. U.S. Navy According to open-source ship tracking data, the Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group returned to the South China Sea on Friday through the Strait of Malacca and the Singapore Strait, following a departure from Port Klang on the west coast of Malaysia on Thursday. The Carl Vinson carrier strike group arrived Port Klang for a scheduled visit on Sunday, marking the second American aircraft carrier visit to Malaysia in just over a month since 2012. USS Abraham Lincoln made a scheduled port call there in late November last year. USS George Washington: Yokosuka, Japan The George Washington remained pierside at Yokosuka naval base, its home port in the Greater Tokyo Area, during its second deployment to Japan as of Friday, according to a local government website that tracks port visits by U.S. nuclear-powered warships. USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Theodore Roosevelt: San Diego, California This photograph captured on January 2, 2025, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the United States Navy aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt, top, and USS Abraham Lincoln moored at Naval Air… This photograph captured on January 2, 2025, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the United States Navy aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt, top, and USS Abraham Lincoln moored at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. The two “flattops” returned to the naval base in October and December last year, respectively. Sentinel Hub Two aircraft carriers were spotted pierside at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California on Thursday, a satellite image showed. One of them is the Abraham Lincoln, which returned home in late December last year after an overseas deployment. The other is the Theodore Roosevelt, which returned from a deployment in mid-October last year. USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan: Bremerton, Washington Another pair of aircraft carriers, the Nimitz and the Ronald Reagan, remained pierside at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, as of Friday, according to a website that records U.S. aircraft carrier deployments. People’s Liberation Army Navy CNS Liaoning: Qingdao, Shandong This photograph captured on December 31, 2024, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning docked at its home port of Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong province… This photograph captured on December 31, 2024, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning docked at its home port of Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong province on the Yellow Sea. The Soviet-built Liaoning is China’s first operational aircraft carrier. Sentinel Hub A satellite image showed the Liaoning, which is the Chinese military’s first operational aircraft carrier, was pierside at its base in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province on Tuesday. CNS Shandong: Sanya, Hainan The Shandong, which is the second Chinese operational aircraft carrier, remained pierside at its base in Sanya, in China’s southern Hainan province. According to the Chinese state media, it recently concluded its final sea training mission for 2024 and is now capable of conducting “round-the-clock operations” in complex weather conditions. CNS Fujian: Bohai Sea This photograph captured on December 31, 2024, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Fujian in the Bohai Sea off northeastern China. The Fujian is undergoing its… This photograph captured on December 31, 2024, by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appears to show the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Fujian in the Bohai Sea off northeastern China. The Fujian is undergoing its sixth sea trial since launch, and the United States Defense Department expects it to enter service with the Chinese navy in 2025. Sentinel Hub A satellite image captured on Tuesday showed the Fujian, China’s most advanced but yet-to-be-commissioned aircraft carrier, in the Bohai Sea off northeastern China for its sixth sea trial. The Pentagon expected the Fujian to be operational in the first half of 2025. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force JS Kaga: Kure, Japan The Kaga, which is a helicopter destroyer undergoing conversion into the country’s first aircraft carrier since World War II, remained pierside at Kure naval base in Hiroshima Prefecture on Tuesday, according to a local ship spotter’s photo. The prefecture is in the southwestern part of Japan’s main island of Honshu. JS Izumo: Yokohama, Japan Japanese media reported that the Izumo, the sister ship of the Kaga, remained at a shipyard in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo. Its conversion to a light aircraft carrier is scheduled to be completed in 2027, meaning it will remain docked at the shipyard for the next two years. French Navy FS Charles de Gaulle: Indian Ocean ?Indian Ocean | #CLEMENCEAU25The ?? @French_CSG is heading to India ! ??   ? Day and night, steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific ! pic.twitter.com/HZvz48xb5U — The ?? Joint Staff – Military operations (@FrenchForces) January 2, 2025 The French military announced on Monday that the Charles de Gaulle was underway in the Indian Ocean and heading to India. It was leading a naval strike group on a five-month mission and will be the first French “flattop” to be sent to the Pacific Ocean since 1968.