China's Aircraft Carrier Heads South Amid Tensions With US Ally

The Chinese navy sailed an aircraft carrier southward through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said, in maneuvers that were expected to put the warship and its strike group back into the contested South China Sea at a time of regional tensions.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army 's second operational carrier—and the first to be manufactured in China—kept west of the Taiwan Strait's center line as it sailed south, Taipei said. "We have closely monitored their movements and will respond accordingly," the Defense Ministry said.

The PLA Navy's two commissioned carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong , have been utilized effectively for military signaling at times of political tension between Beijing and Taipei or between Beijing and Washington.

The Shandong 's transit to the south this week comes shortly after the Chinese Coast Guard was accused of dangerous and coercive actions against government and civilian vessels belonging to the Philippines , a U.S. treaty ally.

Taipei said it remained vigilant in the face of Chinese military maneuvers. Its armed forces deployed "joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance methods to closely monitor the dynamics of sea and airspace," its Defense Ministry said.

"The security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region are closely related to global development and stability and are obligations and responsibilities that all parties in the region must share," it said.

China's Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry did not comment publicly on the Shandong 's movements in the Taiwan Strait .

A carrier strike group led by the Shandong was last seen in the Taiwan Strait in early November after having put on a show of force in the Pacific waters east of Taiwan. The flotilla was expected to rejoin PLA Navy assets in the South China Sea.

The Taiwan-based Now News website, quoting a military source, said the Chinese vessel was shadowed by American and Japanese destroyers, as well as Taipei's own warships. None of the governments have publicly confirmed deployments.

It remains unclear whether Beijing intends to send the Shandong to contested waters in the western section of the South China Sea, where China's coast guard was recently involved in two consecutive days of clashes with Philippine government boats over territory disputed by both countries .

Videos released by Manila showed Chinese ships firing water cannons—and alleged sonic weapons , too—at Philippine fisheries bureau boats near Scarborough Shoal on Saturday. The following day, Chinese patrol boats used water cannons and blocking maneuvers to prevent a Philippine resupply to the Second Thomas Shoal.