A Chinese aircraft carrier was sailing in the Taiwan Strait today, the Taiwan Ministry of Defense announced, a few hours before the conversation between the presidents of China and the United States, Reuters reported.
China has intensified its military activity near the island for the past two years, alarming Taipei and Washington.
A source with immediate knowledge of the matter, who was not allowed to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the Shandong aircraft carrier sailed near the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, which is directly opposite Chinese city of Xiamen.
The USS Ralph Johnson, a destroyer, was in the shadows, following the aircraft carrier from a distance, at least in part. Shandong had no aircraft on board and sailed north through the strait, the source added.
Taiwan also sent warships to monitor the situation, the source said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian referred questions to the Ministry of Defense – which did not respond to a request for comment – but said Shandong had a “routine training program”.
“We should not associate it with communication between the heads of state of China and the United States. You may think it is very sensitive. It is you who is sensitive, not the Taiwan Strait,” Zhao told reporters in Beijing. .
Source: Capital
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