The USS George Washington, which made headlines last year for returning to Japan after nine long years, embarked on its first patrol since its return. Interestingly, the summer patrol coincides with the deployment of Chinese aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific region.
USS George Washington arrived at Yokosuka in November 2024 to serve as a forward-deployed asset in the Indo-Pacific region.
Before this, it was deployed to the Japanese base between 2008 and 2015, marking the first deployment of a nuclear carrier to Japan. After that, the carrier underwent a Refuelling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) from 2017 to 2023. The carrier’s return to Japan last year was, thus, called historic.
Ahead of the ongoing patrol, which was planned well in advance, the carrier underwent sea trials to conduct training and qualifications in the Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea in May.
Notably, the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, embarked on the George Washington, completed Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) on Iwo Jima from May 19 to May 31, 2025. This training involved F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and E-2D Hawkeye aircraft, ensuring pilots were qualified for carrier landings through repetitive touch-and-go exercises.
“The vessel departed just before noon to little fanfare, except for about two dozen people who gathered near the carrier’s pier and the shoreline to wave goodbye to their loved ones,” stated a Star and Stripes report announcing the beginning of the patrol.
It is pertinent to note that the USS George Washington is the only US Navy carrier forward deployed in Japan at this moment. While the USS Ronald Reagan, another Nimitz-class carrier, was stationed here earlier, it returned to the US for maintenance last year.
While we don’t know the duration of USS George Washington’s summer patrol, annual patrols usually last six months or so. For example, the 2010 summer patrol undertaken by the carrier began on June 14 and included port calls and exercises, such as Invincible Spirit in the Sea of Japan, as reported previously.
The exact composition of the 2025 patrol’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is not detailed in available sources. However, it likely includes destroyers and cruisers, as seen in past patrols. The patrol will likely involve routine flight operations, small boat operations, and replenishment-at-sea activities, as demonstrated in earlier 2024 activities in the region.
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Notably, the deployment of the USS George Washington comes amid an increase in Chinese military activity in the Indo-Pacific.
China’s Increased Military Activity In The Indo-Pacific
The timing of the patrol coincides with increased Chinese naval presence in the region, particularly near Japan, Taiwan, and in the contested South China Sea.
Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng, a spokesperson for the PLA Navy, told Chinese state-owned media on June 10 that the service had recently tasked two aircraft carriers to conduct training in the Western Pacific.
“Formations of PLA Navy’s aircraft carrier Liaoning and Shandong have recently conducted training in the Western Pacific and other waters to test the forces’ capabilities in far seas defense and joint operations,” Wang noted.
A Chinese military affairs expert, Wang Yunfei, cited in the same report, said that two aircraft carriers can provide a more comprehensive battle system than one. He emphasised that the Western Pacific is one of the most crucial areas for China’s maritime defense, and a dual-carrier group may offer substantial defensive assistance there.
“Some modern weapons have ranges of thousands of kilometers, so China needs defense depths beyond the first and second island chains to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” Wang Yunfei told the Global Times. “Two aircraft carriers holding simultaneous training in the Western Pacific can enable them to become familiar with the location and gain basic combat capabilities there.”
This confirmation from China came after the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) disclosed that the two operational aircraft carriers of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)—Liaoning and Shandong—were operating near Japanese waters for the first time. “We believe the Chinese military’s purpose is to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” a defense ministry spokesman told AFP.
On June 7, 2025, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, accompanied by three warships, entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) approximately 185 miles southwest of Minamitorishima. Concurrently, the carrier Shandong and four other warships were spotted 340 miles southeast of Miyako Island in Okinawa prefecture.
Liaoning’s recent cruise eastwards marked the first time the Japanese defense ministry has said a Chinese aircraft carrier had crossed the second island chain. Last month, as the USS George Washington conducted sea trials, the Liaoning was operating 124 miles north of the disputed Senkaku Islands, a region claimed by both Japan and China.
Last year, it conducted a dual-carrier formation exercise, during which Liaoning and Shandong conducted their inaugural joint exercise in the South China Sea.
China has launched an all-around expansion of military activity in the region, directed at its adversaries and rivals.
For instance, China has escalated military pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as its sovereign territory, conducting unprecedented air incursions, propaganda campaigns, and exercises simulating attacks. In May 2025, the PLA deployed 60-70 ships, moved H-6 bombers to Woody Island, and deployed both Liaoning and Shandong carriers in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, respectively.
In early 2025, China conducted live-fire military drills across the Indo-Pacific, from the Taiwan Strait to the Tasman Sea, testing advanced weapons systems. At the time, a Chinese military expert told the state-owned Global Times, “Countries should adapt to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s legitimate voyages at far seas, which will become increasingly routine as the PLA Navy continues to expand its capabilities.”
The presence of Chinese carriers near Japan appears to be a follow-up to the statement.
The US carrier patrol, thus, comes at an opportune moment. The USS George Washington’s patrol likely aims to deter Chinese assertiveness and also aligns with the US plan to create a strong regional deterrence by challenging China’s growing military presence.
Analysts in both the US and Japan believe that Beijing ultimately aims to drive the US military out of the so-called “first island chain,” which runs from Japan through the Philippines. They claim that its ultimate goal is to control regions in the Pacific located between the US territory of Guam and Japan’s isolated Ogasawara Islands, west of the “second island chain.”
This puts the Chinese aircraft carrier activity, the symbol of China’s blue water navy aspirations, in perspective.
It may not be far-fetched to imagine that the two aircraft carriers could encounter one another, as they sail in the Indo-Pacific. However, for now, the simultaneous operations of US and Chinese carriers in the Indo-Pacific reflect ongoing strategic competition between the two mammoth military powers.
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