A satellite photo of the South China Sea taken on April 16, 2021. Among them, 1 is the “Liaoning”, 2 is the “Huanggang”, 3 is the “Hulunhu”, 4 is the “Chengdu “and Taiyuan, and 6 are three U.S. Burke class drive-by ships. (Video screenshot)
The U.S. military recently released a photo of the captain of the destroyer USS Muscatine crossing his feet to monitor the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, allegedly mocking the incompetence of the Chinese aircraft carrier. Later, satellite pictures were released showing three U.S. ships close to the Liaoning and its frigates and destroyers at the same time, monitoring them from three directions at close range.
A few days ago, some netizens obtained a satellite photo from the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) database, taken by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth observation satellite Sentinel 2. The location of the photo was southwest of the Zhongsha Atoll in the South China Sea, on April 16.
The satellite photo shows that there was more than one U.S. ship monitoring the Liaoning at close range, with at least three U.S. Burke class destroyers located to the left, right and rear of the Liaoning. The U.S. ships on the left and right are closer to the Liaoning, accompanied by a frigate and a destroyer of the Liaoning carrier group.
The U.S. ship in the rear is a little further away from the Liaoning, but the Liaoning’s supply ship, the USS Hulunhu, is farther back. The Liaoning’s other destroyer, the USS Nanchang, was 50 nautical miles away.
“The Liaoning carrier group consisted of six ships, including the destroyers Nanchang, Chengdu and Taiyuan, which were with the Liaoning. “The Liaoning carrier group consists of six ships, including the destroyers Nanchang, Chengdu and Taiyuan, the frigate Huanggang and the integrated supply ship Hulunhu.
“The Liaoning carrier group sailed to the Pacific Ocean after passing through Okinawa and Miyako Island on April 3, and conducted exercises outside Taiwan.
On March 11, the U.S. Navy released a high-resolution photo on its official website showing the two commanders of the destroyer USS Muscatine in the navigation room watching the Liaoning at close range, with the captain sitting in a chair with his feet elevated on the forward table. The captain is sitting in a chair with his feet elevated on a table in front of him. The photo has greatly “irritated” the Chinese media.
“The relaxed image of the captain of the USS Mastin with his feet up on the Liaoning, a Chinese aircraft carrier, has sparked debate. (U.S. Navy official website)
According to public information, the U.S. Seventh Fleet currently has seven Burke-class guided missile destroyers deployed at Yokosuka military base in Japan, and the USS Muscatine is only one of them.
The U.S. has not released any official information about the names of the destroyers monitoring the Liaoning in the satellite photo, or whether there are other U.S. submarines and reconnaissance aircraft in the incident area.
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