TENSIONS in the South China Sea have escalated dramatically as footage emerged from officers onboard a US Navy warship "stalking" a Chinese military aircraft carrier as Beijing conducted military drills.
Tensions have erupted in the South China Sea, with a US Navy warship caught stalking a Chinese military aircraft carrier. Footage has emerged on social media taken by US navy officers on a US warship in the South China Sea. The video shows a nearby Chinese military aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, carrying out military drills just a few thousand meters away.

Alex Luck, an expert on the Chinese military, tweeted photos and videos that were first posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

He tweeted: "Nice shots of Liaoning carrier group shadowed by US DDG. An 054A FFG and an 052D DDG visible behind the carrier.

"And the footage. Note J-15 approach and arrested landing."

According to the follow-up tweets, the photos and videos were "a post on a USN sailor's Twitter a few days ago, apparently, he is on the US warship which is tracking Liaoning".
On Monday it was confirmed that the Chinese carrier, Liaoning, led a naval exercise near Taiwan.

This coincides with a similar photo released by the US Navy last Sunday showing USS Mustin "shadowing" a Liaoning carrier group.

The US released a photo that showed the USS Mustin, a guided-missile destroyer, shadowing the Liaoning in a move that analysts claim was designed to send a clear message to the Chinese.