Newly commissioned Chinese aircraft carrier sails through Taiwan Strait

A newly commissioned Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait for a second time Thursday, Taipei’s defence ministry said, just weeks before the island goes to polls to elect a new president.

The ministry said it was fully monitoring the Shandong, China’s first domestically built carrier, and accompanying ships as they traversed the strait separating China from self-ruled Taiwan.

Taiwan’s presidential office said in a statement that China had an “international responsibility” to contribute to cross-strait and regional peace and welfare.

Last month Beijing confirmed it had sent the new carrier through the strait as part of routine training, sparking concerns from Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan.

At the time, foreign minister Joseph Wu accused China of attempting to intervene in Taiwan’s elections, saying “voters won’t be intimidated”.