Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sails through Taiwan Strait hours before Biden-Xi call

China on Friday sailed its aircraft carrier Shandong through the Taiwan Strait.

The 'Shandong' was shadowed as it sailed near Kinmen by a US destroyer conducting what the US called a 'routine Taiwan Strait transit' of its vessel, reported Taipei Times.

The incident took place just hours before the Chinese and US presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden were due to talk, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

"Around 10:30 am the CV-17 (Shandong) appeared around 30 nautical miles to the southwest of Kinmen, and was photographed by a passenger on a civilian flight," the source said, referring to the Shandong's official service number, reported Taipei Times.

The source described the timing of the Shandong's movement so close to that call as "provocative," and said it was unusual that the vessel sailed during daylight hours, with previous missions happening at night.

The USS Ralph Johnson, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, shadowed the carrier, which did not have aircraft on its deck and sailed north through the Strait, the source added.

Taiwan also sent warships to monitor the situation, the source said.

The Ministry of National Defense declined to comment, but said its forces always keep close tabs on Chinese activity in the Strait and "respond in accordance with standard procedures."

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian referred questions to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said the Shandong has a "routine training schedule."

"We should not associate this with the communication between the heads of state of China and the United States. You may think it is too sensitive. What is sensitive is you, not the Taiwan Strait," Zhao told reporters in Beijing, reported Taipei Times.

The Chinese navy in April last year said a carrier group, led by the Liaoning, the country's first aircraft carrier put into active service, was carrying out routine drills near Taiwan.

The Shandong is China's newest aircraft carrier, commissioned in 2019.

In December 2019, shortly before presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, the Shandong sailed through the Strait, a move Taiwan condemned as attempted intimidation.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.

( With inputs from ANI )

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