Taiwan says Chinese carrier group in Western Pacific for training
A helicopter takes off from China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, over Pacific Ocean waters, south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, in this handout photo taken April 15, 2023 and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan April 17, 2023. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/HANDOUT via REUTERS/File Photo
TAIPEI — A Chinese naval formation led by the aircraft carrier Shandong passed 60 nautical miles (111km) to Taiwan’s southeast on Monday and entered the western Pacific for training, the island’s defense ministry said.
The ministry said that beginning at 5:40 a.m., it also spotted 11 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and that its forces had made an “appropriate response”.
The Shandong, commissioned in 2019, participated in Chinese military drills around Taiwan in April, operating in the western Pacific. It also sailed through the Taiwan Strait in June.
A U.S. and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, marking the second such joint mission since June and coinciding with the leaders of both countries attending the G20 summit in India.
China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has stepped up military activities near the democratically governed island, responding to what it calls “collusion” between Taiwan and the United States.
Taiwan strongly disputes Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
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