TAIPEI – Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter and three warships had been detected around the self-ruled island, after President Tsai Ing-wen met United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

“One PLA (People’s Liberation Army) aircraft and three PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6am today,” said Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence.

“Armed forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP (combat air patrol) aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities.”

Taiwan has identified one of the carriers as the Shandong, which was spotted on Wednesday and is currently 200 nautical miles off the island’s east coast, Taiwanese Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters in Parliament in Taipei.

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

He later told lawmakers that the ship was east of the very southern tip of Taiwan, and Taiwanese warships were monitoring it at a distance of five to six nautical miles.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said two of the Chinese vessels were a frigate and a support ship, and a Japanese warship was monitoring the group.

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

Mr Chiu said the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is also roughly 400 nautical miles east of Taiwan.

“It can’t be said it’s here for us, but as soon as this situation happened – it’s all related,” he added.

The statement came after Ms Tsai met Mr McCarthy in California during a stopover on her way back from a trip to Guatemala and Belize, which are among Taiwan’s 13 diplomatic allies.

China had threatened a “resolute” response to the meeting.

Taipei’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the island’s top China policymaking body, on Wednesday accused Beijing of “obstructing” trade in the Taiwan Strait with on-site inspections on cargo and passenger ships.

The Chinese maritime authorities had earlier said they were stepping up patrols in the waters separating the island from mainland China, without providing more details.

“The Chinese side’s action deliberately escalates cross-strait tensions,” the MAC said.

“It is a clear violation of the cross-strait shipping agreement and maritime practice, which will have a serious adverse impact on the normal traffic between the two sides.” AFP, REUTERS