A helicopter takes off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier, over Pacific Ocean waters, south of Okinawa prefecture, Japan, in this handout photo taken April 15, 2023 and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan April 17, 2023.
Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/HANDOUT via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTAIPEI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A Chinese naval formation led by the aircraft carrier Shandong passed 60 nautical miles (111km) to Taiwan's southeast on Monday and entered the western Pacific for training, the island's defence ministry said.
The ministry said that beginning at 5:40 a.m., it also spotted 11 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, in Taiwan's air defence identification zone and that its forces had made an "appropriate response".
The Shandong, commissioned in 2019, participated in Chinese military drills around Taiwan in April, operating in the western Pacific.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Ben Blanchard, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Gerry Doyle
Organizations:
Shandong, Joint Staff Office, Defense Ministry, Staff Office, Defense Ministry of Japan, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson
Locations:
Okinawa prefecture, Japan, Rights TAIPEI, Shandong, Pacific, Taiwan, Taiwan Strait, U.S, Canadian, India, China, United States