Shandong airline reported for the east coast as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen flies home after meeting with the US House Speaker.
China’s second-largest aircraft carrier, the Shandong, is on an exercise in the Western Pacific amid heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait over a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters Thursday that the aircraft carrier was 200 nautical miles (370 km) off Taiwan’s east coast.
The Shandong, China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, sailed through the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan and into the Pacific on Wednesday with a number of other ships from the Chinese navy.
China’s state-run Global Times said the deployment showed the Shandong was “fully ready for distant sea operations and to protect China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”. State media say the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Eastern Theater Command has been holding “intensive exercises” over the past week on land, as well as in the sea and air. The command covers the east coast of China.
The exercises come as Tsai met McCarthy in California, US, during a layover that was furiously condemned by Beijing, which claims it owns self-governed Taiwan and has not allowed the use of force to take control of the island. ruled out.
Tsai is on her way back to Taipei after Wednesday’s meeting, which she said was as warm as the California sun.
McCarthy described Tsai as “a good friend to America”.
At a press conference after their talks, McCarthy reiterated the close ties between the US and Taiwan.
“The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is of great importance to the free world, and it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability,” he said. Tsai, meanwhile, thanked McCarthy and other US lawmakers who participated in the meeting.
“Their presence and unwavering support reassure the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated and not alone,” Tsai said, later adding, “We are stronger when we are together.”
The meeting occurred as Tsai returned from a trip to Belize and Guatemala, two of Taiwan’s 13 remaining diplomatic allies.
The US has not had formal relations with Taiwan since 1979, but is the island’s main international supporter and arms supplier.
Beijing reiterated in a statement Thursday that Taiwan was “the first red line not to be crossed in China-US relations,” threatening “strong and decisive action” in response to the McCarthy-Tsai meeting.
After his predecessor as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan last August, China staged large-scale military exercises that involved firing missiles over and around the island. The Global Times reported that unnamed experts said the PLA would likely “take countermeasures, including by conducting large-scale and prolonged exercises around the island of Taiwan, and advancing the progress of national reunification.”
There is no official comment from Beijing on the presence of the Shandong in the Pacific.
The appearance of the Shandong also came as French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Beijing for talks. The two will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later on Thursday.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the island will not be harassed and that the military will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Taiwan Strait.