Chinese Aircraft Carrier Transits Taiwan Strait Hours Before Biden-Xi Call

Sailors stand near fighter jets on the deck of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning as it participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong Province on April 23, 2019. (Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images)

A Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait mere hours before a call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping was to take place.

The CCP claims that the island of Taiwan is a breakaway territory that needs to be united with mainland China. For more than two years, the Chinese military has waged a campaign of intimidation and coercion against the island, frequently flying military aircraft through Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone.

Taiwan has been self-governed since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The island has never been controlled by the CCP.

The Shandong aircraft carrier, one of two under CCP control, sailed near the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, according to a report by Reuters.

Warships from Taiwan and a U.S. missile destroyer reportedly shadowed the carrier for part of the journey.

The passage of the Shandong occurred roughly 12 hours before Biden and Xi were scheduled to hold a phone conference.

The meeting is thought to be a contentious one as U.S. officials recently reportedly released statements to allied partners that China was considering granting military support to Russia for the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. But Russia and China have denied the claim.

Beijing has refused to denounce Russia’s actions or acknowledge Russia’s war on Ukraine as an “invasion,” and censors those in the mainland who refer to it as such. The CCP has also refused to join sanctions leveraged by the international community against Russia and has said the trade with Moscow would continue as normal, providing critical relief to the beleaguered Russian economy and undermining Western economic pressure.

Washington has repeatedly called on CCP leadership to take a stand against Russia over the war and has framed the meeting between Biden and Xi as an attempt to get China on the right side of history.

“This is a conversation about where President Xi stands,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki during a March 17 press conference. “It’s up to the Chinese to decide where they want to stand, where they want to be as the history books are written.”

Biden officials have also warned Beijing that Washington would impose consequences if it chooses to help Russia evade Western sanctions.

Taiwan is currently on a heightened state of alert because of the war in Ukraine, and has been closely monitoring the mainland for any signals of preparation for an attack.

International leaders fear that Xi will attempt to seize Taiwan by force if he succeeds in gaining a third term at the CCP’s National Congress later this year. American military leadership previously expressed that they expected an attempted invasion of Taiwan by the CCP by 2027.

Taiwan is the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, used in technologies ranging from personal vehicles to missiles. While the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is the island’s most important economic partner and arms supplier.

Since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the United States maintains a legal obligation to provide the island with the equipment necessary to ensure its self-defense.

The Epoch Times has requested comment from the U.S. Navy.