BEIJING, 21 December, 2020, (TON): An aircraft carrier group led by the Shandong, China’s newest carrier, has sailed through the Taiwan Strait on its way to routine drills in the South China Sea, China’s navy said on Monday, after Taiwan mobilised its forces to monitor the trip. The Shandong was accompanied by four other ships.

The Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait a day after a US warship passed through the same stretch of sea. China’s military said it tailed the ship.

China’s navy said the Shandong and its accompanying ships had “smoothly” transited the sensitive and narrow Taiwan Strait on Sunday, heading for exercises in the South China Sea, where China has extensive and disputed territorial gains.

The drills are part of “normal arrangements made in accordance with annual plans”, it said. “In the future, we will continue to organise similar operations based on training needs.”

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the Shandong was accompanied by four warships and had set out from the northern Chinese port of Dalian on Thursday. Taiwan said it sent six warships and eight air force aircraft to “stand guard” and monitor the Chinese ships’ movements.

While it is not the first time China’s carriers have passed close to Taiwan, Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military activity, including China's regular flying of air force aircraft near the island.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has vowed to retake, but Taiwan's leaders say it is clearly much more than a province, arguing that it is a sovereign state.

Taiwan dispute with China has left relations frayed with a constant threat of a violent flare up that could drag the US into the fray.

In the meantime, the US has been intensifying its outreach to Taiwan, reassuring Taiwan of its continued support. In September, the US sent its senior official to hold meetings on the island for decades. China strongly criticised the meeting, warning "not to send any wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' elements to avoid severe damage to China-US relations".