China sails carrier through Taiwan Strait hours before Biden-Xi call: source

taiwan

TAIPEI (Reuters): China sailed its aircraft carrier Shandong through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Friday (March 18) shadowed by a US destroyer, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, just hours before the Chinese and US presidents were due to talk.

China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has over the past two years stepped up its military activity near the island to assert its sovereignty claims, alarming Taipei and Washington.