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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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China's most advanced aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian, has been spotted transiting the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday as Beijing continues to exert military pressure on self-ruled Taiwan.
The presence of the Fujian in the Taiwan Strait, roughly 80 miles wide at its narrowest point, was confirmed on Wednesday by Taiwan's Defense Ministry, which added that the island's military monitored and responded to the Chinese aircraft carrier's passage.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Why It Matters
China has long claimed Taiwan as its own and threatened to take the island by force for reunification. As part of Beijing's efforts to influence the democratic government in Taipei, the Chinese military maintains a strong air and naval presence around Taiwan.
Beijing has also declared sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait. The United States views waters within the strait and beyond the territorial seas that extend 13.8 miles from the coasts of China and Taiwan as international waters.
Among China's fleet of more than 370 warships are three aircraft carriers. The Fujian, commissioned in November, is considered the most capable because it is equipped with electromagnetic catapults that can launch heavier aircraft, bolstering its combat power.
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What To Know
A black-and-white photograph provided by Taiwan's Defense Ministry appears to show that no aircraft were visible on the Fujian's flight deck as it transited the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese carrier was captured on video on Sunday as it left its home port at Yulin Naval Base on the northern edge of the South China Sea. Its transit through the Taiwan Strait indicated the warship was heading north toward the East China Sea.
The Fujian's final destination remains unclear. It could return to Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard, where it was built between 2017 and 2022, or reach Yuchi Naval Base on China's northeastern coast, home to the country's first aircraft carrier, CNS Liaoning.
Hidenori Watanave, a University of Tokyo professor and open-source intelligence analyst, shared a Wednesday satellite image of Yulin Naval Base on X, showing only the aircraft carrier CNS Shandong remaining at the base.
Wednesday also marks the sixth commissioning anniversary of the Shandong, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier. The Chinese military said that since 2019, the ship has extended its reach beyond East Asian waters and honed its combat capabilities.
Meanwhile, satellite imagery of Yuchi Naval Base captured on Tuesday shows the Liaoning has returned from a deployment near Japan's southwestern outlying islands.
Following the Fujian's transit, the Taiwanese military detected 14 Chinese combat aircraft, including an unknown number of H-6K bombers, around Taiwan outside its airspace after they crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
What People Are Saying
The Chinese military said: "Over the past six years, with its footprints extending farther into the deep blue, the aircraft carrier Shandong's combat capabilities have been greatly honed. For its sixth commissioning anniversary, we wish the aircraft carrier a happy birthday and look forward to seeing it achieve outstanding results in future voyages."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in June 2022: "There is no legal basis of 'international waters' in the international law of the sea. It is a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters' in order to find a pretext for manipulating issues related to Taiwan and threatening China's sovereignty and security. China is firmly against this."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen when the Fujian will deploy for its first mission to waters east of the First Island Chain, a north-south defensive line formed by Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines under a U.S. maritime strategy aimed at limiting China's military activity.
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