Taipei claims Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through Taiwan Strait
The defense ministry of Taiwan claimed that the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday accompanied by two other ships. The ministry reportedly alleged that the 2019-commissioned Shandong traveled in a northerly direction around midday through the strait sticking to its median line, which functions as an unofficial barrier between the two territories.
Why does this story matter?
This is the latest uptick in military tensions over the island that China claims to be its own territory. While Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the territory under its control, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen strongly disputes China's sovereignty claims and says that only the island's people can decide their future.
Taiwanese defense ministry said military 'responded appropriately'
Taiwan's military closely monitored the Chinese ships using its own ships and aircraft and "responded appropriately," news agency Reuters quoted the ministry as saying in a short release. Meanwhile, China's defense ministry is yet to make a comment on the development as the country's armed forces made no mention of the same on its official social media handles.
Purported visuals of Shandong
Shandong's recent involvement in Western Pacific
Shandong recently took part in Chinese military drills close to Taiwan in April, reportedly operating in Western Pacific. It is also worth remembering that Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait in March last year, too, just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping and his United States counterpart Joe Biden were due to hold high-level talks.
China's aggressive approach in Taiwan
On Saturday, Taiwan's defense ministry claimed that over the previous 24 hours, eight Chinese fighter jets had crossed the strait's median line, something Chinese fighter jets have been allegedly doing regularly since previous war games in August last year. Notably, Beijing has continued military activities on a smaller scale around the multi-island territory after formally ending its war games last month.
Taiwan wants US 'nuclear umbrella' to deter Chinese invasion
On the other hand, Firstpost reported that Taiwan had been increasingly seeking a "nuclear umbrella" from the United States amid increasing belligerence by China. Amid fears of an invasion, the "nuclear umbrella" will not see the deployment of nuclear weapons in Taipei but will ensure that the "sole superpower" responds in kind to a nuclear attack by Beijing in case of an invasion.
