VietJoy

FILE - Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu speaks during a press conference at the American Institute in Taiwan, in Taipei, March 19, 2019.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Thursday that China had sailed its newest aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait for a second time.

The move comes as Taiwan prepares to hold a presidential election January 11.

The Chinese carrier first went through the strait November 17 for what China said was "routine training" in the "relevant waters of the South China Sea."

Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu, responded to that transit with a Twitter post accusing China of attempting to interfere with Taiwan's elections and said voters would not be intimidated.

The Foreign Ministry had a similar message Thursday, saying in its own post, "Military threats like this only toughen Taiwan's determination to defend itself and preserve regional peace and stability."

China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s and threatened to take it by force if needed.