Tensions flare as China sails massive new Fujian aircraft carrier through disputed Taiwan Strait

BEIJING, Sept 12 — China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has sailed through the Taiwan Strait and into the South China Sea for sea trials, the Chinese navy announced Friday, moving through two of the region’s most sensitive waterways.

Unveiled in 2022, the Fujian began trials last year but has yet to be officially commissioned.

“Our country’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, recently transited the Taiwan Strait to conduct scientific research trials and training missions in the South China Sea,” the navy said. “This cross-regional trial and training exercise is part of the carrier’s construction process and is not aimed at any specific target.”

Japan’s defence ministry reported late Thursday that the Fujian had entered the East China Sea, sailing southwest toward Taiwan, escorted by two Chinese missile destroyers.

Taiwan’s defence ministry has yet to issue a response.

China has intensified its military presence around Taiwan in recent years, including large-scale war games, to reinforce its sovereignty claims. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s position, insisting that only its people can determine the island’s future.

Beijing views the Taiwan Strait as its territorial waters, while Taiwan, the United States, and their allies consider it an international waterway.

The South China Sea — claimed almost entirely by China but contested by nations such as the Philippines and Vietnam — has also seen heightened Chinese military activity.

The Fujian, designed and built domestically, is larger and more advanced than China’s other two carriers: the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, and the Liaoning, purchased second-hand from Ukraine in 1998. — Reuters