Chinese aircraft carrier sails through Taiwan Strait

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — China's aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in a military drill of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the western Pacific Ocean, April 18, 2018. Picture taken April 18, 2018. (REUTERS/Stringer) 

TAIPEI  -  The Chinese aircraft carrier the Liaoning sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said, in the first transit of the sensitive waterway by such a vessel since late last year.

Taiwan, which Beijing views as its territory, reports almost daily Chinese military activity around the island in what Taipei views as an ongoing pressure campaign against the democratically elected government.

In a brief statement, the ministry said the Liaoning had passed through the strait and Taiwan's armed forces maintained "close and continuous surveillance throughout".

The ministry showed a black-and-white picture of the ship with several fighter jets and helicopters visible on its deck.

It provided no other details. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The last time Taiwan reported a Chinese carrier in the strait was mid-December, when the Fujian, China's newest and most advanced carrier, passed through the waterway.

The Liaoning is the oldest of China's three operating aircraft carriers.

In early December, the same ship held drills in waters close to Japan's southwest island chain.

China says it alone has sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, a position rejected by both Taipei and Washington which say it is international waters.

The U.S. navy sends warships through the strait every few months, as do occasionally some U.S. allies.

On Friday, China said it monitored a Japanese warship's transit in the strait, calling the move "a deliberate provocation".

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra // REUTERS // Headline revised by Paul Garraty (OAF Nation))