The picture shows aircraft carrier Shandong berths at a naval port in Sanya. Photo:China Military

The PLA Eastern Theater Command monitored, tracked and maintained a high level of alert as US destroyer USS Ralph Johnson transited through the Taiwan Straits on Thursday, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command said on Saturday, stressing that the US' such provocation is sending wrong signals to secessionists on the island of Taiwan, which is dangerous.

The PLA Eastern Theater Command has always maintained high alert and will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability, Senior Colonel Shi said in a release on Saturday. 

On Thursday, the US USS Ralph Johnson, an Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer transited through the Taiwan Straits with Western media and secessionists on the island of Taiwan quick to hype the issue. 

Citing Taiwan's defense authority, Reuters reported on Friday that the Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Straits just hours before the Chinese and US presidents were due to talk.

The alleged transit of the Shandong, the PLA Navy's second aircraft carrier, through the Taiwan Straits on Friday is likely a routine arrangement and should not be linked with the communication between the Chinese and US heads of state, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson at the ministry, made the remarks at Friday's regular press conference when asked about the matter.

The PLA Navy aircraft carrier sailed close to the Taiwan-administered island of Kinmen, which sits directly opposite the Chinese mainland city of Xiamen, an anonymous source who claimed to have direct knowledge of the matter was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The USS Ralph Johnson shadowed the carrier at least partly on its route, and the Shandong did not have aircraft on its deck and sailed north through the straits, according to Reuters' source.

Zhao said that while he was not aware of the specific situation about the Shandong aircraft carrier, he was sure the aircraft carrier had a routine training arrangement, and one should not link this with the communication between the Chinese and US heads of state.

The PLA Navy or China's Defense Ministry has yet to make a statement about the Shandong's voyage.

This would not be the first time the Shandong has sailed through the Taiwan Straits, as similar transits have taken place in November 2019, December 2019 and December 2020.

Senior Captain Liu Wensheng, a spokesperson for the PLA Navy, said during the voyage in December 2020 that the cross-regional maneuvers by the carrier was a normal arrangement in accordance with its annual schedule, and the PLA Navy would continue to hold more operations like this based on training requirements.

A Beijing-based military analyst told the Global Times on Friday that the Shandong could be holding cross-regional maneuver exercises, setting out from its home port in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, and it could team up with the Liaoning, the PLA Navy's first aircraft carrier, homeported in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, in an unprecedented dual carrier group training.

Another possibility is that, since Reuters said the Shandong did not have aircraft on its deck, the carrier was heading back to the Dalian Shipyard in Northeast China's Liaoning Province for maintenance, the analyst said.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese mainland military commentator, also told the Global Times that the Shandong was likely on its way back to its shipyard in Dalian.

It is necessary for aircraft carriers to return to the shipyard for regular maintenance after a period of intensive use, so it is normal for the Shandong to pass through the Taiwan Straits, which is the shortest route, analysts said.

Another Chinese mainland military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times that the so-called source cited by Reuters is probably some US officials who deliberately tried to set up some negative topics before the meeting between the two countries' leaders, attempting to play the Taiwan card.

There is no problem in PLA vessels passing through the Taiwan Straits, the expert said, noting that people should wonder why the US is hyping tensions in the Taiwan Straits when the international community is focusing on the Russia-Ukraine situation, and when China is calling for peace and talks.