TAIPEI • China's sole aircraft carrier has arrived at a naval base on the southern Chinese province of Hai- nan, a senior Taiwanese military officer said yesterday, after drills that took it around Taiwan.
Taiwan warned on Tuesday that "the threat of our enemies is growing day by day", as Chinese warships led by the carrier sailed towards Hainan through the disputed South China Sea.
The Chinese drill comes amid renewed tension over Taiwan, which China says is ineligible for state-to-state relations, following United States President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen that upset Beijing.
China is deeply suspicious of Ms Tsai, suspecting she wants to push for the island's formal independence, a red line for Beijing which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Ms Tsai says she wants to maintain peace with China.
China has given few details of what the Soviet-built Liaoning is up to, save that it is on a routine exercise and complying with international law.
Chinese military experts called the deployment of the Liaoning a long-overdue challenge to US military dominance in the Pacific.
"The message is: 'If you test our bottom line, we'll play that game too'," said Mr Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Tuesday the US recognises lawful use of the sea and the freedom of navigation in international waters.
"They have the right to sail there. And so this - if it holds true for the US, it should hold true for China, it should hold true for other countries as well," he said on Tuesday.
Taiwan has said the aircraft carrier skirted waters outside its air defence identification zone to the east and south, and then headed across the top of the South China Sea to Hainan, home to a large Chinese naval base.
China had been testing the carrier's systems and coordination with other military equipment, the officer said, and its arrival in Hainan did not mean its mission was over.
Speaking at a regular news briefing, Mr An Fengshan, spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, urged the US to abide by the "one China" principle and handle Taiwan-related issues carefully.
The Taiwan issue is a matter concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity of China, he said, adding that it is also the "most sensitive and complicated issue in China-US relations".
Soon after the phone call with Ms Tsai, Mr Trump questioned whether there is a need for the US to adhere to its longstanding policy that Taiwan is part of "one China". Beijing has said it is "extremely concerned" about Mr Trump's remarks.
China's air force conducted long-range drills this month above the East and South China Seas that rattled Japan and Taiwan. China said those exercises were also routine.
China has made claims to most of the South China Sea. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
The Liaoning has taken part in previous exercises, including in the South China Sea, but China is years away from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the US has practised for decades.
Mr David Kelly, research director of Beijing-based consulting firm China Policy, say Liaoning's mission is above all "symbolic" and aimed at China's "domestic audience".
Beijing has a long way to go before it can claim military superiority over Taiwan's main protector Washington, which has 10 aircraft carriers in service and a network of naval bases all around the globe, he said.
REUTERS, NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA
