Taiwan’s Defence Ministry today said, it had spotted a Chinese aircraft carrier group sailing through waters off its east coast in the direction of Japan’s southernmost island, Yonaguni.

The ministry said in a statement that the Chinese ships, led by the carrier Liaoning, were spotted sailing through waters to the northeast of Taiwan in the early hours today and then sailed to the southeast of the Japanese island of Yonaguni. The Ministry said, Taiwan tracked the ships and sent its forces to monitor.

China’s defence ministry did not answer calls seeking comment. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has been staging regular exercises around the island for five years to pressure it to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taipei’s strong objections.