(April 12): After holding exercises in waters east of the island of Taiwan for about a week, the Liaoning aircraft carrier task group of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy reportedly sailed south on Saturday into the South China Sea, where a US carrier strike group and an amphibious ready group held provocative exercises one day earlier, as tensions between China and the US continue to rise over the island of Taiwan, with the US loosening restrictions on government engagement with the island, Global Times reported.