A Chinese aircraft carrier, the Shandong, yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in a month, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Shandong Carrier Strike Group conducted the southbound transit through the Taiwan Strait on the west side, or the Chinese side, of the median line, yesterday afternoon, the ministry said.
It said it was keeping close tabs on the passage using its joint intelligence and surveillance systems.
Photo: AFP / the Japanese Ministry of Defense
The last time the Shandong was detected transiting the Taiwan Strait was on Nov. 9, when it was traveling northbound after concluding drills in the South China Sea.
The Shandong, commissioned in 2019, is China’s second aircraft carrier and the first to be built domestically.
In other news, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) yesterday said that the first batch of new draftees for the new one-year conscription program next year would number 600.
A total of 9,127 draftees are listed for the new program, with the first group of 600 to report to their assigned units on Jan. 25, the ministry said.
The next group of 1,030 would be called up on Feb. 22, with another group of 775 to report in March.
More draftees would be called up throughout the year, with the last batch of new conscripts to report to their assigned units on Dec. 30 next year.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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