China's aircraft carrier Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, overshadowed by a US destroyer, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The incident came just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held talks.
The source, who was not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Shandong sailed close to the Taiwan-held Kinmen Island, which lies directly opposite the Chinese city of Xiamen, and was shadowed by US warships.
"At around 10.30 am, CV-17 appeared about 30 nautical miles southwest of Kinmen, and was photographed by a passenger on a civil flight," the source said, referring to the Shandong hull number.
USS Ralph Johnson, the US guided-missile destroyer Arleigh Burke, was shadowing the carrier, which had no aircraft on its deck and was sailing north through the Taiwan Strait, the source added.
Taiwan also sent a warship to monitor the situation, according to the source.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense declined to comment but said its forces are always monitoring China's activities in the Taiwan Strait and are "responding according to standard procedures".
US Navy spokesman Lt Mark Langford said the USS Ralph Johnson had "conducted a routine transit in the Taiwan Strait on March 17 (March 18 Taiwan time) through international waters in accordance with international law".
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian asked Reuters to ask the Ministry of Defense questions. But, he said, Shandong had a "regular training schedule".
"We should not relate this to the communication between the heads of state of China and the United States. You may think it is too sensitive. It is you who are sensitive, not the Taiwan Strait," Zhao told reporters in Beijing.
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