China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Sails Toward Taiwan Strait

China’s newest aircraft carrier and the country’s first to integrate an electromagnetic aircraft launching system was spotted for the first time Thursday sailing toward the Taiwan Strait, Japanese officials said. People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) carrier Fujian (018), which has not yet been commissioned, sailed southwest in the East China Sea around 124 miles northwest of Uotsuri Island, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO). The carrier was accompanied by two destroyers, CNS Hangzhou (136) and CNS Jinan (152). A Japanese P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft surveilled the group. Imagery released by the JSO showed the carrier with a clean