TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has transited through the Taiwan Strait for the first time on a long-distance voyage to the South China Sea.
PLA Navy Spokesperson Leng Guowei said Friday the Fujian transited the strait en route to conduct scientific research tests and training missions, per CNA. China's state-run Xinhua reported the drills are part of the carrier’s construction process and “not aimed at any specific target.”
The Global Times cited military expert Zhang Junshe, who said the Fujian had previously conducted sea trials in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. Training in the South China Sea tests its long-distance navigation, adaptability to complex environments, and crew coordination.
China’s second carrier, the Shandong, followed a similar path in 2019. After its first passage through the Taiwan Strait, it was commissioned one month later at Sanya Naval Base.
The Fujian is China’s first domestically designed and built catapult-equipped aircraft carrier. It features a straight, full-length flight deck, electromagnetic catapults, arresting gear, and a full-load displacement of over 80,000 tonnes.
The carrier was launched on June 17, 2022. It departed Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard on May 1, 2024, for its maiden sea trials.
On Wednesday, Chinese authorities announced navigation restrictions in the deep-water channel at the Yangtze River estuary in Shanghai. Observers believe the Fujian was again leaving port for its ninth sea trial, and suggest this is its final one before commissioning.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that around 1 p.m., the Maritime Self-Defense Force detected the Fujian, along with the missile destroyers Hangzhou and Jinan, sailing about 200 km northwest of the Diaoyu Islands, per Kyodo News. It was the first time Japan’s navy had spotted the Fujian.
