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PLA’s Fujian aircraft carrier heads to South China Sea. Is it about to enter service?
Chinese navy says the warship is on ‘routine mission’ as speculation builds that it could soon be commissioned
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China’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct scientific research tests and training exercises in the South China Sea, the PLA Navy said on Friday.
“The cross-regional tests and training are a routine mission of the carrier’s construction process and do not target any specific objects,” said navy spokesman Senior Colonel Leng Guowei, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed the Fujian headed south after leaving its shipyard in Shanghai on Wednesday, triggering speculation that it would soon enter service.
It was spotted by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force on Thursday afternoon sailing in the East China Sea about 200km (125 miles) northwest of the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
It was the first time the aircraft carrier had been seen by Japan’s defence force, which said the Fujian was accompanied by two destroyers. Their hull numbers indicated they were part of the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command.
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