BEIJING, 6 April, 2021, (TON): China is holding naval drills involving an aircraft carrier battlegroup near Taiwan.   

China says that the naval drills are aimed at safeguarding Chinese sovereignty, an apparent reference to Beijing's claim to the self-governed island. 

Taiwan has complained of an increase in Chinese military activity near it in recent months, as China steps up efforts to assert its sovereignty over the democratically run island.  

The navy said the exercises involving the Liaoning, one of its two aircraft carriers, are routine and assigned under an annual schedule. China has been steadily increasing its threat to take control of the island militarily with exercises and incursions into the island’s air defense identification zone by Chinese warplanes. 

In a statement issued on late Monday, the navy said more such drills will be held in the future but did not say when the exercises began or how long they would last.  

It said the exercises aim to “assist in improving the ability to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” terms often interpreted as being directed at Taiwan’s democratically elected government, which has refused to give in to Beijing’s demands that it recognizes the island as part of Chinese territory. 

China operates two aircraft carriers, of which the Liaoning, originally purchased as a hulk from Ukraine, is the first, having been operating in a combat role since at least 2019. 

China and Taiwan have had separate governments since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has long tried to limit Taiwan's international activities and both have vied for influence in the Pacific region. 

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue and a potential military flashpoint. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. 

In recent years, tensions have increased and Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to take the island back.