The Fujian, which is the latest and most sophisticated aircraft carrier in China, has sailed the Taiwan Strait during a maiden voyage that is the last phase of sea trials before its operational service, thus becoming a significant milestone in the development of the Chinese naval fleet and making the situation increasingly tense in the strategically vital waterway dividing Taiwan and mainland China.
Fujian makes first Taiwan Strait transit
According to Greenwich time, the latest aircraft carrier of China has passed through the Taiwan Strait, as it said on Friday. The waterway between China and Taiwan separates the former and the self-governing island, which Beijing claims to have to subordinate to its rule. The seafar voyage may have been an alert to the U.S. and all other powers that they should not side with Taiwan, yet China denied that the seafar voyage was meant to give such a message.
The Fujian, which is undergoing sea trials before its commissioning, was on its way to the South China Sea, where the navy conducted a brief post on social media, saying it had been sent to train and carry out a scientific experiment in the seas. The Navy stated that the activities of the carrier did not target anybody. One of the social media accounts of the state media reported on an expert claiming that the Taiwan Strait was the natural and, most logical and effective path the carrier had to take to the South China Sea.
State-of-the-art ship approaches operating capability
The latest aircraft carrier craft of China passed by the Taiwan Strait during a research and training exercise, before its service activation, which was announced by the People’s Liberation Army Navy, as reported by Al Jazeera. PLAN spokesperson Senior Captain Leng Guowei indicated on Friday that the Fujian will be heading towards the South China Sea, where it will be tested.
According to Chinese state media, Leng said that the carrier is scheduled to undertake a routine mission of cross-regional tests and training and does not aim to attack any specific objects during the construction process of the carrier. The Fujian, 80,000 tonne, has not been commissioned yet, but it will soon become the third and largest and most advanced aircraft carrier in China, following Liaoning and Shandong.
High-technology bridges with the US technology
A Chinese military affairs expert, Fu Qianshao, informed the State-run news organization Global Times in China that the Fujian research trip to the South China Sea is an indicator that the aircraft carrier is almost finished. It has already been tested in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. The voyage of the Fujian was not a surprise because photos and videos of the aircraft carrier were published by the Chinese state media, as the shipyard in Shanghai announced on Wednesday.
Naval progress is shown through the electromagnetic catapult system
It was the second aircraft carrier in the world, after USS Gerald Ford, to accommodate the electromagnetic catapult system that simplifies the process of aircraft taking off and landing. Forming such a launch system is an indicator that the technological gap between China and the US is narrowing, as opined by maritime expert and former United States Air Force Colonel Ray Powell.
The passage of the Fujian through the Taiwan Strait is not just a routine sea trial but a sign of the rising confidence and technology of China. Although Beijing claims that the mission is not directed at any particular country, the choice of timing and the path conveys unmistakable signals regarding the growing blue-water capacity and aggressiveness of China to assert its power in disputable territories.