In May and June of 2025, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted its first-ever dual aircraft carrier deployment into the Western Pacific. For the first time, both the Liaoning (CV-16) and the Shandong (CV-17) operated together beyond the First Island Chain, conducting coordinated training for their personnel on long-range operations across the Philippine Sea and near the waters surrounding Japan and Guam. What Was Once Symbolic Is Now Strategic While China insists this was a routine exercise, the message is clear— the PLAN is preparing to operate far from home waters, and its growing confidence in projecting maritime power in reshaping strategic calculations in the Indo-Pacific. This deployment was not merely symbolic....