Chinese Aircraft Carrier 'Shadong' Transits Through Taiwan Straits for the First Time

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Shandong aircraft carrier reportedly transited the Taiwan Straits for the first time, after a U.S. Navy destroyer traveled through it on Thursday.

In a statement on Saturday, the PLA Eastern Theater Command monitored, tracked and maintained a high level of alert as U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson transited through the Taiwan Straits.

The Shandong reportedly sailed close to the Taiwan-administered island of Kinmen just hours before the Chinese and U.S. presidents were due to talk on Friday.

Zhao Lijian, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Shandong’s transit is likely a routine arrangement and should not be linked with the Taiwan-U.S. meeting. The PLA Navy or China's Defense Ministry has yet to make a statement about the Shandong's voyage.

A Beijing-based military analyst told the Global Times on Friday that the Shandong could be holding cross-regional maneuver exercises, setting out from its home port in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, and it could team up with the Liaoning, the PLA Navy's first aircraft carrier, homeported in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, in an unprecedented dual carrier group training. The Shandong was also likely heading back to the Dalian Shipyard in Northeast China's Liaoning Province for maintenance, the analyst added.

It is necessary for aircraft carriers to return to the shipyard for regular maintenance after a period of intensive use, so it is normal for the Shandong to pass through the Taiwan Straits, which is the shortest route, analysts said.