passed near the northern Philippines on its way for exercises in the Pacific, Defense Ministry said. Taipei also reported dozens of Chinese aircraft joining the aircraft carrier for drills around the self-ruled island.
Taipei said on Wednesday that “since 0520 today (2150 UTC, Tuesday), the Ministry of National Defense detected a total of 37 Chinese aircraft” around Taiwan, including fighter jets, bombers and drones.
“[The aircraft] headed to the western Pacific via our southern and southeastern airspace to cooperate with the aircraft carrier the Shandong in conducting ‘joint sea and air training,’” the Defense Ministry said in its statement.
Carrier passes close to the Philippines
Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo said his ministry had a “full grasp” of the ship’s movements.
“It did not pass through the Bashi Channel,” he said, referring to the waterway that separates Taiwan from the Philippines and a route that Chinese warships and warplanes usually take when they head into the Pacific.
“It went further south, through the Balintang Channel, to the Western Pacific,” Koo said, a conduit between the Philippines’ Batanes and Babuyan Islands.
The raised concerns over the deployment of the Chinese carrier group.
“We emphasize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region and urge all parties to adhere to international laws and norms,” spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla said, according to Reuters news agency.
Manila and Beijing are embroiled in a stand-off over the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the .
On Tuesday, Japan’s Joint Staff Office confirmed that four PLA navy vessels — including the aircraft carrier Shandong — were sailing in the sea 520 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island.
“On the same day, the Chinese navy’s Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier ‘Shandong’ was observed landing and departing fighter aircraft and helicopters on board,” the office said.
There has been no immediate comment from China.
China the democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory, keeping up a near-daily presence of fighter planes, drones and warships around the region.
dvv/sms (AFP, Reuters)
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