A naval formation led by China's Shandong aircraft carrier has been sailing through the Taiwan Strait, the island's Defense Ministry said Thursday, prompting it to dispatch "appropriate forces" to monitor the situation.
The fleet entered the strait dividing the mainland and the self-ruled island Wednesday afternoon and sailed in a northerly direction along the median line, a boundary both sides had tacitly respected for decades but which China has recently ignored.
As of 8 a.m., the group of Chinese vessels was continuing to sail north, the ministry added.
The situation comes as Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu makes a weeklong trip to three Baltic states. The island's Foreign Ministry has said Taipei is in talks with Estonia to set up a representative office in the country, triggering opposition from Beijing.
Jeff Liu, a ministry spokesman, told a press briefing Thursday that discussions on the matter are still underway and that both sides believe opening a representative office would be significant in enhancing bilateral exchanges. He declined to comment on Estonia's relationship with Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Wednesday urged Estonia "not to allow Taiwan to set up any organization of an official nature" and adhere to the one-China principle.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said earlier this month that although the Baltic state does not recognize Taiwan as a country, Tallinn considers it important to boost relations with the island in economic, educational, cultural and other fields.
China and Taiwan have been separately governed since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province to be brought into its fold by force if necessary.
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