US Ally Investigates Alleged Chinese Drone Footage of Navy Carrier

A video apparently shot by a drone flying over Japan's first aircraft carrier since World War II has prompted an investigation after being published on Chinese social media.

The 20-second video and accompanying photos of JS Izumo were uploaded to video-sharing platform Bilibili on March 26 by a user claiming they'd been recorded by drone at the Yokosuka naval port in Kanagawa Prefecture.

"We are at the stage of confirming whether it was really taken from a drone or whether it is a forgery, Adm. Ryo Sakai, chief of Tokyo's de facto navy the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), said Monday, according to the NHK media outlet.

First-in-its-class helicopter carrier JS Izumo is currently undergoing modifications along with sister ship JS Kaga that will transform them into light aircraft carriers. They are expected to be deployed as part of Japan's bid to bolster its defensive potential against China's rapid military expansion.

The Izumo will be the first of the two to become operational. The Kaga is still in the initial stage of modification.

Japan prohibits civilian drone flights in the vicinity of military installations, and the footage of Izumo was initially taken down, but has since been posted again, and shared. A comment by social media user Byron Wan pointed out on X, formerly Twitter, that accounts which now share the video have edited out the rising sun flag, seen in China as a provocative reminder of Imperial Japan.

Japan's defense ministry and China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.

The video surfaced amid heightened tensions between the neighbors, in part driven by competing claims over a group of Japan-administered East China Sea islets, known in Tokyo as the Senkaku Islands and in Beijing as the Diaoyu Islands.

The U.S.'s increasing military cooperation with Japan and the Philippines, both American defense treaty allies, has also raised Beijing's concerns.

More than 800 feet in length and with a displacement of about 26,000 tons, Izumo and Kaga are Japan's largest surface combatants since the end of World War II, though they are much smaller than the U.S.'s nuclear-powered supercarriers.

They are not referred to as aircraft carriers, though, because the extended offensive reach these provide could be considered a violation of Japan's pacifist post-World War II constitution, which limits the country to weapons of defense.

Izumo has completed the first phase of modifications and is set to enter the second phase this year. Kaga is still undergoing the preliminary upgrades, which began at the end of 2021.

When complete, each ship will be able to accommodate F-35Bs, the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the Lockheed Martin-manufactured air superiority fighter jets.

Japan plans to eventually purchase 42 F-35Bs in total and is expected to take delivery of the first batch of these fighters next year.