In the last days of January, a report flashed across Chinese online media that one of China's Southern Fleet task forces had been spotted near Hainan Island. The report itself was inconsequential; Hainan is within the Southern Fleet's operational zone, so everything was perfectly normal.
Some, however, expressed concern that the Chinese were planning a jump into the Arabian Sea, to "reassure" Iran.
Liaowang-1, commissioned last year, is the "brain" of this group. Its presence lends the Chinese detachment's mission a different meaning than observation.

It is likely that the Liaowang-1 can detect and track stealth ships, missiles, and aircraft, also intercept and decrypt information coming from satellites. Some analysts believe this is one of the main reasons China built the ship.