China's most advanced and third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has recently passed through the Taiwan Strait. This is the waterway that separates China and the democratically-governed island of Taiwan.

The carrier has not yet officially entered service. It began sea trials in the last year. China unveiled the carrier in 2022.

China's navy announced that the third aircraft carrier of the country, the Fujian had recently crossed the Taiwan Strait on its way to the South China Sea for scientific research missions and training.

This cross-regional training and trial exercise for the Fujian aircraft is part of the construction process, and it is not aimed at any particular target," the statement added.

The Taiwanese defence ministry didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.

China has increased its military presence in the last five years, and even staged war games to assert its claims of sovereignty.

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing sovereignty and says only the island's citizens can decide its future.

The Fujian is bigger and more modern than the Shandong that China purchased second-hand in Ukraine in 1998, and the Liaoning. (Reporting and writing by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Himani Sakar)

(source: Reuters)