China’s newest aircraft carrier transited the Taiwan Strait for the first time Thursday as the vessel heads to the South China Sea for testing before entering service.
The Fujian (018), China’s first carrier with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system, was spotted by Japanese forces sailing 124 miles northwest of Uotsuri Island, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office. The 80,000-ton carrier was accompanied by two destroyers and monitored by a Japanese P-3C aircraft.
“Our country’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, recently transited the Taiwan Strait en route to relevant waters in the South China Sea to conduct scientific research trials and training missions,” China’s navy said Friday. Senior Captain Leng Guowei said the transit was “a routine arrangement in the carrier’s construction process and is not directed at any specific target.”
The carrier departed Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard Wednesday following its eighth sea trial in May. Japanese imagery showed the vessel with a clean flight deck without aircraft or support equipment.
９／１１、東シナ海上において航行する中国海軍空母「福建」、ソブレメンヌイ級ミサイル駆逐艦及びルーヤンⅡ級ミサイル駆逐艦の計３隻を確認しました。なお、海上自衛隊が空母「福建」を確認したのは初めてです。#防衛省・自衛隊 は、引き続き #警戒監視・情報収集 を実施します。… pic.twitter.com/wisFiJekdT
— 防衛省統合幕僚監部 (@jointstaffpa) September 11, 2025
The Fujian features electromagnetic launch technology similar to the U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford, making it only the second carrier worldwide to use the advanced catapult system. The vessel joins China’s operational Liaoning and Shandong carriers as Beijing expands its Pacific naval reach.
China’s third #aircraftcarrier, the #Fujian (Hull 18), recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to carry out scientific research tests and training missions in the South China Sea, a Chinese military spokesperson said on Friday. pic.twitter.com/bfi956d6QT
— China Military Bugle (@ChinaMilBugle) September 12, 2025
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed it was the first Japanese sighting of the Fujian, located approximately 124 miles northwest of Uotsuri Island in the disputed Senkaku Islands chain.
Maritime expert Ray Powell told Al Jazeera that while China is “closing the hardware gap,” the Fujian remains 20 percent smaller than U.S. supercarriers and uses conventional power. “China is closing the hardware gap, but developing the operational expertise for effective blue-water carrier ops is what the US has spent nearly a century perfecting.”
