On Dec. 26, China's first locally-built aircraft carrier, Shandong, sailed through the Taiwan Strait, 16 days ahead of the island's presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11, Taiwan News and Bloomberg reported.

A statement by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense added that the aircraft carrier was accompanied by frigates and that it had been monitored as it sailed from south to north across the strait.

The warship had officially entered service earlier on Dec. 17, and was commissioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping at a ceremony in Sanya, a port in Hainan province, The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

A message from Beijing?

Speaking to Reuters, a senior Taiwanese official familiar with security planning was quoted as stating that the incident was an attempt by Beijing to interfere in the island's election.

The official said: "By flexing military muscles, China is trying to intimidate non-aligned voters."

Currently, Taiwan's incumbent president, Tsai Ing-wen, is seeking re-election against her challenger, Han Kuo-yu.

Han is from the pro-Beijing Kuomintang (KMT) party while Tsai hails from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Separately, Taiwan's presidential office issued a statement calling for "responsibility" on both sides to maintain peace and stability.

It added: "Beijing should cherish peace and stability across the strait and in the region, which are not easy to come by."

No mention of carrier's passage by China

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Chinese government, Wu Qian, said that everything was going "smoothly" with the Shandong, although no reference was made to its passage through the Taiwan Strait, Reuters further highlighted.

Wu stated: "It (Shandong) will continue to conduct trials and training, and form a combat capability through training. We will make an overall consideration about its deployment according to the situation and task needs."

Not the first time China has done this

This is not the first time China has sailed the same aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, however.

Prior to the Shandong officially entering service, it had passed through the same strait in November, when it was then known as Type 001A, SCMP further reported.

At that time, the passage came hours after Tsai named a former premier, William Lai, as her running mate.

Lai had previously angered China with his stance that Taiwan was an independent country, so much so that Chinese state-run media Global Times called for his arrest, CNA reported.

A spokesperson for the Chinese navy, Cheng Dewei, said that the warship's passage had been part of a routine training.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that it was an attempt to intervene in Taiwan's elections, but would not intimidate voters.

Just as @iingwen names her running mate & the campaign shifts into high gear, #PLA sends its new 002 aircraft carrier battle group into the #TaiwanStrait. #PRC intends to intervene in #Taiwan's elections. Voters won't be intimidated! They'll say NO to #China at the ballot box. JW

— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) November 17, 2019

China's only other aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has also passed through the strait on multiple occasions, with the most recent passage being in June, CNA further reported.

The strait is viewed as part of China's territorial sovereignty while it is as viewed as international space by the U.S., UK and various other nations.

Top image from Wikipedia