BEIJING - China's first domestically-built aircraft carrier is on its way to the South China Sea for tests and to take part in exercises, the Chinese navy said on Monday, after sailing through the Taiwan Strait in a mission denounced by Taipei as intimidation.
Self-ruled Taiwan, regarded by China as a wayward province, said Beijing was trying to intimidate the island ahead of a presidential election in January. "The organisation of the trials and drills of the domestic aircraft carrier through the region is a normal arrangement in the construction process of the aircraft carrier," it said.The ministry did not elaborate. It made no mention of the carrier being trailed by American and Japanese ships, which Taiwan's defense ministry had mentioned in its statement.
China's still-unnamed carrier, the first to be built domestically, began sea trials last year. Chinese military experts have told state media it is not expected to enter service until 2020, once it has been kitted out and armed.
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