An aircraft carrier and Chinese ships cross the Taiwan Strait

TAIPEI (Reuters) – The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and two other ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.

The ships then headed north, around noon local time, along the median line that separates Taiwan and mainland China.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said Taiwan’s military, which closely monitored the move with its own ships and aircraft, responded “appropriately”.

China’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment and the country’s armed forces made no mention of the visit on their official social media.

Last August, China deployed a large number of aircraft and launched missile strikes near Taiwan in its largest ever military exercise in the Taiwan Strait, following a visit by former “Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi” in Taipei.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also said on Saturday that eight Chinese fighter jets crossed the center line of the strait in the past 24 hours, an operation that has become routine since August.

Taiwan asserts its independence from China, which considers it part of its territory and threatens to reclaim it by force.

(Ben Blanchard reporting; French edition by Kate Enstringer)