Chinese aircraft, warships spotted around Taiwan as Tsai meets US speaker

Taiwan on Thursday claimed that a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter and three warships had been detected around the island. This comes after President Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles, a move which has angered Beijing. The meeting was significant as McCarthy become the senior most US figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on American soil in decades. He also said that there's an urgent need to speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan in the face of increasing threats from China.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said in a statement: "1 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today."

It added: "Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities."

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s and also said that the island nation will defy China's one-nation policy by pushing for formal independence. Beijing even claimed that, in case needed, it will use force to unite the two territories.

Taiwan has its own constitution and leaders are elected democratically and the US says it backs the sovereignty of the island nation - the same war reiterated by Pelosi during her visit.

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On Wednesday, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters at parliament in Taipei that the Chinese carrier, the Shandong, was spotted andat that time, it was 200 nautical miles off Taiwan's east coast.

Chiu said, adding aircraft had yet to be seen taking off from its deck: "It is training but the timing is quite sensitive, and what it is up to we are still studying."

China reacted to Tsai's headliner meeting with the US speaker but did not threaten specific action. The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement: "The Chinese People's Liberation Army adheres to its duties and missions, maintains a high degree of alert at all times, resolutely defends national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely maintains peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

(With inputs from agencies)

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