Beijing Criticizes The Meeting Of President Tsai And Speaker Of The US House Of Representatives, Taiwan Warship Monitors Chinese Carrier From A Close Range

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Twitter/@SpeakerMcCarthy)

JAKARTA - Taiwan's warship is closely monitoring Chinese aircraft carriers, after Beijing criticized President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, but has not seen any escalation caused, the Taipei government said on Thursday.

China's aircraft carrier, Shandong, was seen on Wednesday and is currently 200 nautical miles (370 km) off Taiwan's east coast, Taiwan's Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters in parliament in Taipei.

"It was a training but the timing was quite sensitive, and we are still studying what he did," Minister Chiu said, adding that no aircraft had been seen taking off from its deck.

He later told lawmakers the ship was to the east of the southern tip of Taiwan, and Taiwan's warships monitored it at a distance of five to six nautical miles.

Meanwhile, Japan's Ministry of Defense said the Chinese group of ships consisted of three ships, including frigates and support ships, with a Japanese warship monitoring the group.

It said this was the first time Japan had seen Shandong, assigned in 2019, entering the Pacific.

During a discussion with President @iingwen and @TECRO_USA, members of Congress from both sides spoke with one voice.I’m optimistic we will continue to find ways for the people of America and Taiwan to work together to promote economic freedom, peace, and stability in Asia. pic.twitter.com/uwd3BoeKjV

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) April 5, 2023

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the aircraft carrier and what it was doing.

Previously, China had sailed on its carrier near Taiwan at the same time it was sensitive. In March last year, Shandong sailed through the Taiwan Strait, just hours before the Presidents of China and the US were scheduled to speak.

The US carrier, USS Nimitz, is also about 400 nautical miles east of Taiwan, Minister Chiu said.

"It cannot be said that the ship was here for us, but once this situation happened - everything was related," he added.

The US Navy declined to comment, adding that it "will not speculate on the USS Nimitz operation".

It is known that McCarthy - the third-highest official in the leadership hierarchy of Uncle Sam's country - along with other Republican and Democratic lawmakers, met with President Tsai on Wednesday at Presidential Library Ronald Reagan in Simi Valley, California.

The meeting took place at a time when US-Chinese relations were receding and despite the threat of retaliation from Beijing, which claimed democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own and never abandoned the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.