Chinese carrier enters South China Sea amid renewed tension

A group of Chinese warships led by the country's sole aircraft carrier entered the top half of the South China Sea on Monday after passing south of Taiwan, the island's defense ministry said of what China has termed a routine exercise.

The move comes amid renewed tension over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing.

The ministry said the aircraft carrier the Liaoning, accompanied by five vessels, had early Monday afternoon passed southeast of the Pratas Islands, which are controlled by Taiwan, heading southwest.

China has been angered recently by U.S. naval patrols near islands that China claims in the South China Sea. This month, a Chinese navy ship seized a U.S. underwater drone in the South China Sea. China later returned it.

Reuters