A Chinese aircraft carrier group sailed through the Taiwan Strait on October 23, Taiwan's defense minister said, a day after Beijing held a live-fire exercise near the self-ruled island, Report informs via Kten.
China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has ramped up military activity around the island in recent years to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier group was spotted overnight in waters near the Taipei-administered Pratas Islands, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Taiwan, heading north towards the waterway separating China and Taiwan, the defense ministry said in a statement earlier Wednesday.
"The Liaoning is passing through the Taiwan Strait now, sailing north along the west of the median line and we are closely monitoring it," Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters after the statement.
The Liaoning, China's oldest aircraft carrier, took part in Beijing's large-scale military drills around Taiwan last week that were condemned by Taipei and its key backer Washington.
China has two aircraft carriers in active service, and a third undergoing sea trials. The Liaoning has previously passed through the strait.
Beijing sent a record number of military aircraft -- including fighter jets and drones -- as well as warships to encircle Taiwan on October 14 in what Beijing said was a "stern warning to the separatist acts of 'Taiwan Independence' forces".
It was in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's National Day speech on October 10 in which he vowed to "resist annexation", and insisted that Beijing and Taipei were not subordinate to each other.
Lai, who took office in May, has used stronger language than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan's sovereignty, angering China's leaders in Beijing who call him a "separatist."