China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier Fujian transited the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, marking its first passage through the sensitive waterway since it was formally commissioned last month.
Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, reports almost daily on Chinese military activity around the island, which Taipei sees as a continuing campaign to pressure the democratically elected government. In a statement on Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Fujian had passed through the strait the previous day and that Taiwanese forces had been monitoring its movements, Reuters reported.
The ministry released a blurry black-and-white photo of the carrier with no aircraft on board. It did not say where the photo was taken or provide additional details.
Speaking to lawmakers, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the ship was likely en route to Changxing Island near Shanghai, home to China’s main naval shipyard, and that the ministry had not noticed the ship carrying out military activities. China claims that it alone has sovereignty over the strait, which is an important maritime artery for cargo traffic. Taiwan and the United States consider it an international sea route.
In a separate statement later on Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said China had been conducting a “joint combat readiness patrol” near the island, involving 23 warplanes and warships, since the morning hours.
The planes included J-10 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6K bombers, the ministry added. In September, the same carrier passed through the Taiwan Strait and entered the disputed South China Sea during sea trials.
Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier, with a flat deck and electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft, making it a potentially much more powerful naval weapon than the first two Russian-designed carriers. The Fujian will be able to carry significantly more, and more heavily armed, fighter jets than the carriers Liaoning and Shandong, which are smaller and rely on ramps to launch aircraft.
Fujian is also expected to be able to accommodate a wider range of aircraft than the other two carriers, including early warning aircraft.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the flag-handover ceremony and the ship’s official entry into service last month in the southern province of Hainan, and toured the ship during an inspection visit.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty, stressing that only the island’s people can decide their future.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
