Taipei, Taiwan – The two Chinese aircraft carriers saw simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time send a political message about the country’s “expansionist” objectives, Taiwan’s Minister of Defense, Wellington Koo said Wednesday.
Japan Defense Minister said the day before that the appearance of Chinese aircraft carriers meant Beijing’s intention to further expand his abilities beyond his borders.
Koo said that the armed forces had a “complete understanding” of the movements of the transporters.
“The crossing from the first chain of the island to the second chain of the island sends a definitive political message and its expansionist nature can be seen,” journalists in Taipei told journalists.
The first chain of the island refers to an area that runs from Japan to Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo, while the second chain of the island extends beyond the Pacific to include places like the United States Guam territory.
China’s Navy, which has been perfecting its skills to operate more and further from the country’s coast, said Tuesday that carriers were an exercise of “routine training” that did not go to specific countries or regions.
Taiwan, which China sees as its own territory, closely monitors the Chinese military movements given regular exercises and Beijing war games on the island.
Since May, China has been flexing its muscles by sending an unusually large amount of naval vessels and the Coast Guard through a strip of East Asia waters, according to security documents and officials, in movements that have disconnected the regional capitals.
The Japan Ministry of Defense confirmed that the two carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, operated in separate areas in the Pacific on Saturday, both near the remote southern islands belonging to Japan.
Previously, Japan said the Liaoning sailed within its exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, a remote island to the east of Iwo Jima.
