Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it spotted a group of Chinese warships led by an aircraft carrier sailing in waters off its east coast today in the direction of the southernmost Japanese island of Yonaguni, Reuters reported.
China, which considers democratically-ruled Taiwan its territory, has been conducting regular exercises around the island for five years to pressure it to accept Beijing's supremacy despite strong objections from Taipei, the agency said.
Taiwan's ministry said the Chinese ships, led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, were spotted sailing through waters northeast of Taiwan in the early hours of the morning. The group then sailed southeast from the Japanese island of Yonaguni, the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan tracked the ships and sent its own monitoring force, according to the same source.
China's Defense Ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Yonaguni is located just over 100 km east of Taiwan and can be seen from the island on a clear day. "Liaoning" is the oldest of the three Chinese aircraft carriers.