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The Fujian, which is doing sea trials ahead of its commissioning, was heading to the South China Sea to conduct training and scientific experiments, the navy said in a short post on social media.

The navy said the carrier's activities were not targeting anyone else. A social media account affiliated with state media quoted an expert saying the Taiwan Strait was the normal and most reasonable and efficient route for the carrier to reach the South China Sea.

It was the first time the Fujian had passed through the strait, the post by the Yuyuantantian account said.

The U.S. Navy sends warships through the strait periodically, as do some of its allies, in a warning to Beijing against any attempt to use force to establish its claim to the island.

Taiwan and China split in a civil war that brought the communists to power in 1949. The defeated ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ist government fled to Taiwan and set up its own government on the island.

The U.S. does not officially recognize the government in Taiwan, but it provides weaponry for its defense and says that any resolution of the differences between China and Taiwan should be peaceful and not by military force.

China's military said last week that it was on high alert after the ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ frigate Quebec and the Australian destroyer Brisbane sailed through the strait. It accused the two warships of provocative actions that it said heightened security risks.

Japan's military said it had spotted China's latest carrier for the first time on Thursday afternoon.

The Fujian, together with two guided-missile destroyers, was sailing southwest about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the disputed Senkaku islands, or the Diaoyu islands in Chinese. Both countries claim the remote and uninhabited territory.

Its latest sea trial, the ninth since May 2024, sparked renewed speculation that the ship will be officially put into service soon.

The state-owned Global Times newspaper quoted an expert saying the commissioning is expected by the end of this year. It noted that China's previous carrier, the Shandong, was commissioned in late 2019, one month after it made its first trip though the Taiwan Strait en route to the South China Sea.

The Fujian is China's third aircraft carrier, joining the Shandong and the Liaoning.

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Associated Pres writer Reeno Hashimoto in Tokyo contributed to this report.