China sails new aircraft carrier into West Pacific: Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
04/05/2023 09:28 PM
Taipei, April 5 (CNA) China sailed its newest aircraft carrier, the Shandong (山東艦), through waters south of Taiwan into the West Pacific Ocean for a long-range exercise on Wednesday, according to Taiwan's military, less than a day before President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is scheduled to meet United States House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
In a press release, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it keeps close tabs on Chinese military activity through its joint intelligence and surveillance system. As a result, it tracked the Shandong passing through the narrow Bashi Channel south of Taiwan and arriving in West Pacific for its first long-range training session in that area early Wednesday.
The MND also denounced the latest drills announced by China in waters east off Taiwan as part of the People's Liberation Army's ongoing attempted intimidation of Taiwan and destabilization of regional peace, stability and the status quo. Such behavior is "unbecoming of a modernized responsible country," it noted.
However, the MND stressed that it is capable of defending Taiwan despite the increased military coercion from Beijing.
The MND press release also came with an aerial photograph of the aircraft carrier likely taken by a Taiwanese military aircraft and a separate photograph showing a Taiwanese soldier watching the aircraft carrier from a nearby naval vessel.
The Shandong is China's second aircraft carrier and the first domestically built after being commissioned in 2019.
China has yet to announce the deployment of the Shandong and whether it is related to the earlier announced "joint cruise and patrol special operation" in the Taiwan Strait led by a Chinese patrol vessel that started early Wednesday.
According to China's national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the drill is led by the Haixun 06 (海巡06), the first large Chinese vessel designated to patrol the Taiwan Strait, and was joined by an undetermined number of vessels listed under China's maritime police agencies.
The CCTV report did not specify the exact location of the drill or when it is scheduled to conclude other than saying it is being held in northern and central parts of the Taiwan Strait.
However, based on a marine chart that came with the report, it is possible the drill is not limited to the Taiwan Strait.
It highlighted two areas east and southeast of Taiwan's coast in the Pacific Ocean without identifying what they represented.
Local media reported that the two areas were among the areas China targeted with missiles when it retaliated following a visit by then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last August.
The Chinese military deployments came after McCarthy's office announced Monday U.S. time that the House speaker will meet with Tsai in California.
It will be the third time a Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) president has met with a U.S. House speaker since the ROC and U.S. ended official diplomatic relations in 1979 and the first time the encounter has taken place on U.S. soil.
The first meeting occurred in 1997 when Newt Gingrich met with President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in Taipei, and the second came in August 2022, when Nancy Pelosi met with Tsai, also in Taipei.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, has objected to the meeting, warning that it would take "resolute measures" to protect Chinese sovereignty.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/AW
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