Chinese aircraft carrier crosses Taiwan Strait, says Taipei
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said three Chinese ships, including the aircraft carrier Shandong, passed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, May 29, 2020 in Sanya, southern China. © Li Gang / AP
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A three-ship PLA (People's Liberation Army) flotilla, led by the aircraft carrier Shandong, crossed the Taiwan Strait around noon today. " the island's ministry said in a statement. The ships headed "west of the median line, heading north," he added, referring to the invisible border unilaterally drawn by the United States during the Cold War, which Beijing refuses to recognize.
While the presence of Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait is constantly monitored and announced almost daily by Taipei, that of the aircraft carrier Shandong is unusual. Taiwan's armed forces "monitored the situation and tasked (civilian air patrol) aircraft, navy ships and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities," the ministry said.
China views Taiwan as a province it has yet to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of China's civil war in 1949. Relations between Beijing and Taipei, at their lowest since Xi Jinping came to power more than a decade ago, have further deteriorated in recent years and China has stepped up military incursions around the island.
In August 2022, China deployed a large number of aircraft and launched missiles near Taiwan, in what is its largest military maneuvers ever conducted in the Taiwan Strait, after former Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
" READ ALSO – Report - Taiwan: aviation enthusiasts track Chinese planes that pass near the coast
(With agencies)
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