In what seems like an ongoing exchange of soft power activity, following Beijing’s military parade and then DSEI in London, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 003 aircraft carrier Fujian has, once again, passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct trials in the South China Sea.
The decision to traverse the flashpoint waterway, just over 100 miles off the coast of mainland China – a move ostensibly within the parameters of international law, whereby a military vessel can pass continuously through the contested zone with the right of ‘transit passage’ – was announced on 16 September 2025.
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However, Fujian passed through the strait to perform “experimental training missions” and “scientific research” in what China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) described as the “relevant waters” of the South China Sea. This military aggrandisement has prompted many countries, led by the US, to view China as overstepping its rights in “international waters”.
It is worth noting that experts have observed that China has not expressly asserted sovereignty – at least in public – over all of the Taiwan Strait.
“This is a normal arrangement in the process of aircraft carrier construction,” the MND insisted.
“It is not targeted at any specific country or objective.”
Type 003
Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier, first completed its maiden voyage in May 2024, and the carrier is said to have already conducted sea trials.
Recently, MND spokesperson Senior Colonel Jiang Bin explained that China “consistently advance aircraft carrier development according to national security needs and equipment technology development requirements.”
This means that the latest tests and subsequent exercises in the Taiwan Strait assessed the performance of new system upgrades, although no details were provided about the nature of the changes or the experimental trials.
In May 2024, when imagery of the aircraft carrier was first made public, Naval Technology reported that the US Office for Naval Intelligence gives a length of 315 metres, the same as the two former Russian Kutznetsov-class carriers acquired by China in the mid-2010s, now named Liaoning and Shandong (also known as the Type 001/Type 002).
Analysis of the available imagery of the Fujian also shows a single pyramidal-shaped island located just aft of the vessel’s centrepoint, indicative of a concept of operations that favours aircraft operations, rather than ship manoeuvres.
Although weaponry is unknown, images from last year indicate two close-in weapons systems (CIWS) on its port side and two missile-based point defence systems, not dissimilar to the US Navy’s SEARAM. This is effectively duplicated on the starboard side, giving four rotary cannon CIWS and four missile-based point defence systems.
Recent development
In April 2025, the PLAN encircled Taiwan and undertook “joint exercises” which involved elements from its army, navy, air and rocket forces to “close in on Taiwan Island from multiple directions”.
Last week, China’s Eastern Theatre Command denounced UK and US ships HMS Richmond and USS Higgins transiting the strait. At the time, the two allied nations maintained that the transit occurred in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This also occurred while the UK Carrier Strike Group, led by the flagship HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, travelled to interoperate with allies in the Indo-Pacific. The carrier most recently stopped in Japan.
The carrier’s F-35B Lightning IIs have been working with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force – its powerful fourth-generation F-15 Strike Eagles and their fifth-generation successors, the F-35A (conventional land-based stealth fighters without the Lightning’s short takeoff/vertical landing capability).
However, the task force comprising several allies is currently split between South Korea (HMS Richmond and RFA Tidespring) and Japan (HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Dauntless and the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen). The force conducted much-needed maintenance after sailing halfway around the world, interspersed with various defence engagement activities.
Additional reporting from Richard Thomas.
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