At the same time that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is operating in the South China Sea, the Chinese PLA Navy’s Shandong aircraft carrier and its accompanying flotilla are carrying out “realistic combat-oriented confrontational exercises in the South China Sea,” the PLA Navy said in a statement on Jan. 14, reported the Global Times. The drills simulated hostile aircraft attacks, and J-15 fighter jets took off from the Shandong and carried out interception training, the statement said. During the exercises, the carrier group also practiced cross-service multidimensional attack and defense on the surface, in the air and underwater, with new J-15 pilots becoming certified for nighttime operational capabilities, marking another big step toward forming a systematic combat capability.