BEIJING (AP) — China’s newest aircraft carrier has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the navy said Friday. The body of water separates China from Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its control.
The sailing could serve as a warning to the U.S. and others against support for Taiwan, though China played down any such motive.
The Fujian, which is doing sea trials ahead of its commissioning, was heading to the South China Sea to conduct training and scientific experiments, the navy said in a short post on social media.
The navy said the carrier’s activities were not targeting anyone else. A social media account affiliated with state media quoted an expert saying the Taiwan Strait was the normal and most reasonable and efficient route for the carrier to reach the South China Sea.
It was the first time the Fujian had passed through the strait, the post by the Yuyuantantian account said.
The U.S. Navy sends warships through the strait periodically, as do some of its allies, in a warning to Beijing against any attempt to use force to establish its claim to the island.
Taiwan and China split in the civil war that brought the communists to power in 1949. The defeated Nationalist government fled to Taiwan and set up its own government on the island.
The U.S. does not officially recognize the government in Taiwan, but it provides weaponry for its defense and says that any resolution of the differences between China and Taiwan should be peaceful and not by military force.
China’s military said last week that it was on high alert after the Canadian frigate Quebec and the Australian destroyer Brisbane sailed through the strait. It accused the two warships of provocative actions that it said heightened security risks.
Japan’s military said it had spotted the China’s latest carrier for the first time on Thursday afternoon.
The Fujian, together with two guided-missile destroyers, was sailing southwest about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the disputed Senkaku islands, or the Diaoyu islands in Chinese. Both countries claim the remote and uninhabited territory.
The carrier’s heading at the time was on a course for the Taiwan Strait.
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