China's Carrier Cruises Taiwan Strait, Escalating Tensions

0:00It's April 20th, welcome to Global News Today, powered by AI and connected worldwide. China's aircraft carrier, Liaoning, crews through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, marking the first time one of their carriers has done that since late. Last year, Taiwan's defense ministry spotted it right away and kept a close eye on the whole thing, even releasing a photo of the ship loaded with fighter jets and helicopters on deck. This fits into China's near daily military moves around Taiwan, which Taipei sees as straight up pressure on its elected government. Beijing still claims the island as its own territory, wrapping up these shows of force to make their point. The Liaoning is the oldest of China's three working carriers. Back in mid-December, their newest one, the Fujian, made a similar pass through the strait. Just before that, Liaoning rand drills near Japan's southwest islands. Both sides have strong views on the waterway. China insists it owns the Taiwan Strait outright, but Taiwan and the U.S. call it international waters. The U.S. Navy sales ships through every few

1:04months, and allies like Japan do it too. China just slammed the Japanese warships recent transit as a provocation. Tensions stay high as these patrols keep crossing paths, with everyone watching each other's next move.