The photo shows the Chinese PLA Navy's first Type 054B guided-missile frigate Luohe (Hull 545) sailing at sea during a recent maritime combat training in the designated sea area of China's Yellow Sea in 2025. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn

After a week the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy announced that it sent a carrier task group led by PLANS Liaoning to relevant waters of the Western Pacific, the Japanese side on Tuesday claimed it had detected the formation operating in the region, with the Type 054B frigate Luohe, making its first public appearance in a carrier task group. A Chinese military affairs expert told the Global Times that the reported deployment, if confirmed, marks the Type 054B frigate's first far-seas training mission since entering service, adding that the vessel significantly enhances the Liaoning group's overall combat capabilities.

Japanese Defense Ministry Joint Staff claimed in a statement on Tuesday that the Japan Self-Defense Force (SDF) had spotted on Monday the presence of five Chinese PLA Navy vessels underway in waters of the Western Pacific, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, a Type 055 large destroyer, a Type 052D guided missile destroyer, the Type 054B frigate - the Hull 545 Luohe, and a Type 901 comprehensive replenishment ship. It also claimed that it spotted takeoffs and landings of carrier-borne fighter jets and helicopters on the Liaoning on Tuesday.

Among the vessels, the Type 054B Luohe and the Type 901 ship were part of the same flotilla that transited the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific on May 19, according to Japanese statement. An earlier report on May 19 also marked the first time the Japanese Defense Ministry had claimed that the Japan SDF had spotted a Type 054B frigate.

On May 19, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi hyped on X regarding the capabilities of the Type 054B frigate, describing it as the latest advanced warship to enter service in 2025. He alleged that the new frigate is larger and more heavily armed than the previous Type 054A class and is also capable of operating larger helicopters.

China's first Type 054B frigate, the Luohe, was commissioned in the PLA Navy in January 2025, reported the Xinhua News Agency at the time.

The Luohe, designated hull number "545," has a displacement of approximately 5,000 tonnes. This new-generation frigate, independently developed and constructed by China, boasts advancements in stealth technology, combat command systems and firepower integration, significantly enhancing overall performance, Xinhua said.

With strong capabilities for comprehensive combat operations and diverse military missions, the warship will play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness of naval task forces, said Xinhua.

The Chinese side has not yet released information about the Type 054B’s involvement in the Liaoning aircraft carrier task group. On May 19, the PLA Navy announced in a statement that on that day, the PLA Navy sent a carrier task group led by PLANS Liaoning to relevant waters of the Western Pacific to conduct training on such subjects as far-seas tactical flight, live firing, support and cover, and integrated search and rescue, so as to test and enhance the realistic combat training capabilities of the forces.

This is a routine training organized in accordance with the annual plan, which aims to enhance the military’s capability to fulfill its missions, and is fully in compliance with international law and practice, the PLA Navy said.

If the Japanese release turns out to be true, this would mark the first far-seas training deployment carried out by a Type 054B frigate since its commissioning, Zhang Junshe, a military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Having been in service for more than a year, the reported Luohe’s transit beyond the first island chain for blue-water training demonstrates that it has fully developed far-sea operational capabilities and is steadily strengthening its offensive and defensive combat effectiveness in distant waters, Zhang said.

The vessel can not only undertake escort missions for an aircraft carrier formation, but can also operate alongside destroyers such as the Type 055 to form an independent task group capable of conducting long-range strike and maritime defense missions, Zhang said.

Zhang explained that within a carrier formation, the Type 054B and the Type 055 destroyer can form a complementary high-low coordination model: the Type 055, with its superior information awareness, reconnaissance and early-warning capabilities, can detect aerial threats at long range and coordinate fleet air-defense operations, while the Type 054B can conduct strikes against distant maritime targets under such coordination, focus on anti-submarine warfare missions, and also provide a degree of air-defense capability.

Overall, the expert said, the Type 054B possesses strong integrated anti-ship, air-defense and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Within a carrier task group, it can undertake escort, anti-submarine and outer-layer air-defense missions, substantially enhancing the operational capabilities of the Liaoning formation.