China's Liaoning aircraft carrier passes through Taiwan Strait: MND

Taipei, April 20 (CNA) Taiwan's military said Monday it closely monitored the movements of China's aircraft carrier Liaoning (遼寧號) as it passed through the Taiwan Strait earlier in the day.

In addition to a brief statement, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) released a black-and-white surveillance photograph showing an aerial view of the Liaoning.

The image shows several fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters on the carrier's flight deck.

The MND did not specify where or when the photo was taken, nor did it disclose whether a drone, aircraft, or radar system captured it.

The approximately 300-meter-long Liaoning began life as the unfinished Soviet carrier Varyag, which was refurbished and commissioned as China's first aircraft carrier in 2012.

Separately, the MND said Monday that it had detected five Chinese aircraft and 12 vessels operating around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday.

Four of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the southwestern portion of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the ministry added.

An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country seeks to identify, locate, and control approaching foreign aircraft. It does not constitute territorial airspace under international law.