China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian. Yonhap News/Xinhua

The situation where China's first and third aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Fujian, were spotted docked near the Qingdao naval base has raised the possibility of the two carriers engaging in joint exercises in the Yellow Sea.

According to Singaporean media Lianhe Zaobao on the 22nd, Taiwanese military expert Lu Lish revealed satellite photos on Facebook showing the Fujian moving to the Qingdao naval base.

The photos also showed China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, already docked at the Qingdao base.

Lu Lish, targeting Taiwan's Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng, who had predicted the Fujian would head to the Changxingdao shipyard in Shanghai, pointed out, "The Fujian has arrived in Qingdao, not Changxingdao."

The Fujian passed through the Taiwan Strait on the 16th and then moved to the Qingdao naval base. The Liaoning is reported to have entered Qingdao after conducting a show of force by sailing in a surrounding manner in the waters near Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, earlier this month.

The Fujian, officially commissioned last month in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, is the first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier designed and built by China.

With a displacement of approximately 80,000 tons, a length of 316 meters, and a width of 76 meters, it carries J-35 stealth fighters and J-15 fighter jets.

Unlike the ski-jump take-off method adopted by the first carrier Liaoning and the second carrier Shandong, the Fujian launches aircraft using an electromagnetic catapult system.

This method involves rapidly accelerating aircraft on the carrier deck and launching them directly, allowing for more and heavier aircraft to take off in a limited time.

The Fujian is the second aircraft carrier in the world to be equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system, following the U.S. aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.

Screenshot from the Facebook page of Taiwanese military expert Lu Lish

The Liaoning is China's first aircraft carrier, which was built by the former Soviet Union but halted. China acquired it from Ukraine in 1998, researched and modified it, and then commissioned it in 2012.

It is an older aircraft carrier with a displacement of approximately 60,000 tons, diesel propulsion, and a ski-jump take-off system. China upgraded it into a combat vessel through refitting and improvement work at the Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning Province.

Chinese military experts are focusing on the possibility of the Fujian and Liaoning conducting joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea.

China is intensifying its offensive posture, including economically, culturally, and militarily pressuring Japan, in response to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks suggesting intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency.

China has conducted live-fire drills consecutively in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, and has also conducted a show of force towards Japan using the Liaoning.

Chinese military expert Li Yachang told Singaporean media Lianhe Zaobao, "There is a possibility that the Fujian and Liaoning will conduct joint military exercises." He added, "Although there may be differences in the training content and technical requirements between the two carriers as the Fujian has only recently been commissioned, it will not be an obstacle to performing basic cooperative operations."

He further stated that it would be "not surprising at all" for the two carriers to advance into the Western Pacific during training, "because the distance is close and it's like their own backyard."