On 25 June 2026, China Central Television (CCTV) reported that Japan's Self-Defense Forces had been unable to adequately surveil the Chinese Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning (16).

25 June 2026, CCTV.com, "How China's Carrier Formation 'Shakes Off the Peeping Toms'"
Note: DEEP DIVE does not guarantee the safety of the linked site.

The report stated that "throughout this training period of the Liaoning task group, Japanese vessels and aircraft repeatedly tracked and monitored it at close range, conducting interference and provocation," before adding that "however, in Japan's 1 June release, only textual information such as the formation's track chart and the number of carrier-aircraft takeoffs and landings was recorded, and no photographs were released at all until the Liaoning task group had returned smoothly to port. Moreover, the Japanese record broke off abruptly on 29 May, and then suddenly jumped to 20 June."
The Japanese release referred to here is the press release issued by the Joint Staff of the Ministry of Defense, dated 1 June.

As the reason Japan was unable to photograph the carrier Liaoning (16), the CCTV’s report stated that "this exercise's formation included, in addition to Liaoning, destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, and a replenishment ship, and operated air defense, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and replenishment in an integrated manner. Beyond that, the Chinese Navy's airborne combat radius and air-superiority duration are also continually improving."

It further assessed that improvements in the Chinese Navy's electronic warfare capability are also a factor making Japanese surveillance more difficult. "The Liaoning task group's powerful electronic warfare systems sharply raised the difficulty of reconnaissance for Japanese reconnaissance platforms. What does this mean for Japan? Its [Japan's] radar search, electronic reconnaissance, communications, and data integration could all be checked and disrupted by Chinese electromagnetic activity."

In reality, the Joint Staff of the Ministry of Defense subsequently published, on 22 June, a press release containing photographs of the Liaoning (16) task group titled "On the Movements of Chinese Navy Vessels." Even this press release does not show the track of the Liaoning task group from 29 May to 20 June, but the Ministry of Defense does not publicize the entirety of foreign vessels' and aircraft's activities.

Since China is thought to be aware of this as well, this CCTV report is considered to be intended less to mock or provoke Japan than to showcase to the Chinese public how much the Chinese People's Liberation Army is improving its capabilities.

DEEP DIVE Breaking News 044: China Asserts Naval Superiority Over Japan's Surveillance Capability