CNS Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier and the world's largest carrier not built by the United States, has sailed into the South China Sea to carry out tests and training operations, a military spokesperson said on Friday.

Senior Captain Leng Guowei, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army Navy, said in a brief statement that the Fujian recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to its designated mission area in the South China Sea.

He said the cross-region operation is a regular arrangement in the carrier's construction project and is not aimed at any specific target. The spokesman did not elaborate on a detailed schedule for the vessel.

This is the first time the Fujian has operated in the South China Sea and also marks the longest voyage the carrier has made so far.

One of the most important pieces of military hardware China is working on, the Fujian was officially unveiled in June 2022 in Shanghai as it was towed out of the China State Shipbuilding Corp's Jiangnan Shipyard.

Since then, the gigantic vessel has undergone several trials at sea and is nearly ready to be commissioned.

The Fujian is the first Chinese ship to have an electromagnetic catapult, the most critical component on a supercarrier, as it is responsible for launching fighter jets.

At the grand parade last week in Beijing, the Navy unveiled almost all of the combat aircraft to be deployed on the new carrier, including the J-35 stealth fighter, the KJ-600 early-warning and control plane and the J-15DT electronic warfare jet. The move indicated that all of the aviation elements on the Fujian have been readied.