TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's defense ministry detected China's Shandong aircraft carrier southwest of Taiwan on Wednesday (June 21).

The Ministry of National Defense said it used joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance methods to assess the situation at sea and air. It also dispatched forces to monitor the carrier group's movements in the Taiwan Strait.

The ministry also tracked 19 Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels between Tuesday and Wednesday. Two of the aircraft entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

The Shandong had entered the Western Pacific for training in April. It participated in China's exercises simulating an assault on Taiwan and other drills.

Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University Institute of Strategic Studies, told CNA that the exercises aimed to test China's ability to blockade Taiwan from multiple directions. He said the Shandong jet fighters practiced Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) against the U.S. military.

The defense ministry released an aerial photo of the carrier in late April. It said in late May three ships from the carrier group passed through the Taiwan Strait.