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TOKYO (AP) — Japan this week confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers have operated together for the first time in the Pacific, fueling Tokyo’s concern about Beijing’s rapidly expanding military activity far beyond its borders.

Aircraft carriers are critical to projecting power at a distance. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes to areas around the disputed East China Sea islands, but now it is going as far as what’s called the second-island chain that includes Guam — a U.S. territory. A single Chinese carrier has ventured into the Pacific in the past, but never east of that chain until now.

On Thursday, Japan renewed its concern, saying that a Chinese fighter jet flew within an “abnormally close distance” from a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft after taking off from one of the carriers over the weekend.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be conquered by force if necessary, said the carriers’ dual operations showed China’s “expansionist nature.”

Here’s what to know about the latest moves by China, which has the world’s largest navy numerically.

How the carriers operated

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, were seen separately but almost simultaneously operating near southern islands in the Pacific for the first time. Both operated in waters off Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Tokyo, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Monday.

The Liaoning also sailed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone of Minamitorishima, the country’s easternmost island. There was no violation of Japanese territorial waters. Still, Nakatani said Japan has expressed “concern” to the Chinese embassy.

Both carriers had warplanes take off and land. Late Wednesday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said a Chinese J-15 fighter jet that took off from the Shandong on Saturday chased a Japanese P-3C aircraft on reconnaissance duty in the area and came within an “abnormally close distance” of 45 meters (50 yards).

A Chinese jet also crossed 900 meters (980 yards) in front of a Japanese P-3C on Sunday, the ministry said, adding it has conveyed to China “serious concern” and a “solemn request” for preventive measures over such an “abnormal approach” that could cause accidental collisions.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday said Japan will keep communicating with China while ensuring surveillance around Japan to defend its territory.

Why Japan is worried

China’s military buildup and expanding area of activity have raised tensions in the region.

The Chinese carriers sailed past the first-island chain, the Pacific archipelago off the Asian mainland that includes Japan, Taiwan and part of the Philippines. The Liaoning reached farther to the second-island chain, a strategic line extending to Guam, showing China also can challenge Japan’s ally, the United States.

“China apparently aims to elevate its capability of the two aircraft carriers, and to advance its operational capability of the distant sea and airspace,” Nakatani said.

The defense minister vowed to further strengthen Japan’s air defense on remote islands.

Japan has been accelerating its military buildup, especially since 2022, including counter-strike capability, with long-range cruise missiles as deterrence to China.

China’s navy is growing

China’s navy on Tuesday confirmed the deployments, calling it part of routine training in the western Pacific “to test their capabilities in far seas protection and joint operations.” It said the deployment was in compliance with international laws and not targeted at any country.

China is pursuing a vast military modernization program including ambitions of a true “blue-water” naval force capable of operating at long ranges for extended periods.

Beijing has the world’s largest navy numerically but lags far behind the United States in its number of aircraft carriers. China has three, the U.S. 11.

Washington’s numerical advantage allows it to keep a carrier, currently the USS George Washington, permanently forward-deployed to Japan.

The Pentagon has expressed concern over Beijing’s focus on building new carriers. Its latest report to Congress on Chinese defense developments noted that it “extends air defense coverage of deployed task groups beyond the range of land-based defenses, enabling operations farther from China’s shore.”

Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Wednesday that Beijing has taken every opportunity to expand its reach beyond the first-island chain to send a “political message.” China routinely sends ships and planes into areas surrounding Taiwan, in what appears to be a rehearsal for a blockade of the island.

The carriers’ abilities

The two Chinese carriers currently in the western Pacific employ the older “ski-jump” launch method for aircraft, with a ramp at the end of a short runway to assist planes taking off. China’s first carrier, the Liaoning, was a repurposed Soviet ship. The second, the Shandong, was built in China along the Soviet design.

Its third carrier, the Fujian, launched in 2022 and is undergoing final sea trials. It is expected to be operational later this year. It is locally designed and built and employs a more modern, electromagnetic-type launch system like those developed and used by the U.S.

All three ships are conventionally powered, while all the U.S. carriers are nuclear powered, giving them the ability to operate at much greater range and with more power to run advanced systems.

Satellite imagery provided to The Associated Press last year indicated China is working on a nuclear propulsion system for its carriers.

China’s other naval actions

In August, a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft violated Japan’s airspace off the southern prefecture of Nagasaki, and a Chinese survey ship violated Japanese territorial waters off another southern prefecture, Kagoshima. In September, the Liaoning and two destroyers sailed between Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni — just east of Taiwan — and nearby Iriomote, entering an area just outside Japan’s territorial waters where the country has some control over maritime traffic.

China routinely sends coast guard vessels and aircraft into waters and airspace surrounding the Japanese-controlled, disputed East China Sea islands to harass Japanese vessels in the area, forcing Japan to scramble jets.

Tokyo also worries about China’s increased joint military activities with Russia, including joint operations of warplanes or warships around northern and southwestern Japan in recent years.

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Rising reported from Bangkok. AP writer Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government’s first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals.

The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts “to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Kang Yu-jung, Lee’s spokesperson, described the decision as a “proactive step” to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea’s retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts.

North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn’t immediately comment on the step by Seoul.

South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure.

From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South’s military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas.

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt.

The South’s broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim’s government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family’s dynastic rule.

The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan.

Efforts to improve relations

Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon’s hard-line policies and shunned dialogue.

During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea’s retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. On Thursday morning, South Korea’s military said North Korean broadcasts weren’t heard in South Korean frontline areas, but it wasn’t clear if the North has formally halted its own broadcasts.

In a briefing on Monday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities “could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas,” said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry’s spokesperson.

In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements.

The North’s nuclear threats remain

North Korea’s priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program.

Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack.

In a fierce reaction to Yoon’s policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North’s constitution to cement the South as a permanent “principal enemy.”

Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government’s first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals.

The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts “to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Kang Yu-jung, Lee’s spokesperson, described the decision as a “proactive step” to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea’s retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts.

North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn’t immediately comment on the step by Seoul.

South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure.

From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South’s military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas.

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt.

The South’s broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim’s government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family’s dynastic rule.

The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan.

Efforts to improve relations

Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon’s hard-line policies and shunned dialogue.

During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea’s retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. On Thursday morning, South Korea’s military said North Korean broadcasts weren’t heard in South Korean frontline areas, but it wasn’t clear if the North has formally halted its own broadcasts.

In a briefing on Monday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities “could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas,” said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry’s spokesperson.

In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements.

The North’s nuclear threats remain

North Korea’s priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program.

Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack.

In a fierce reaction to Yoon’s policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North’s constitution to cement the South as a permanent “principal enemy.”

Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government’s first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals.

The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts “to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Kang Yu-jung, Lee’s spokesperson, described the decision as a “proactive step” to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea’s retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts.

North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn’t immediately comment on the step by Seoul.

South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure.

From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South’s military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas.

Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt.

The South’s broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim’s government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family’s dynastic rule.

The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea’s growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan.

Efforts to improve relations

Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon’s hard-line policies and shunned dialogue.

During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea’s retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. On Thursday morning, South Korea’s military said North Korean broadcasts weren’t heard in South Korean frontline areas, but it wasn’t clear if the North has formally halted its own broadcasts.

In a briefing on Monday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities “could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas,” said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry’s spokesperson.

In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements.

The North’s nuclear threats remain

North Korea’s priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program.

Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack.

In a fierce reaction to Yoon’s policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North’s constitution to cement the South as a permanent “principal enemy.”

Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.

Reuters

Reuters