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Taipei [Taiwan]April 7 (ANI): The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong conducted exercises near Taiwan on Thursday, amid high-profile talks between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Al Jazeera reported.
When Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen returned home after meeting the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Shandong carrier immediately caught the attention of the East Coast.
Al Jazeera quoted Taiwan’s defense minister, Qiu Guozheng, as saying the aircraft carrier was located 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off Taiwan’s east coast. He then informed that Taiwanese warships were monitoring the carrier from a distance of five to six nautical miles.
China strongly condemned the drills, which coincided with a stopover in California between Tsai Ing-wen and McCarthy. Beijing believes Taiwan is its own and has not ruled out using force to seize control of the island.
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It is worth noting that the Shandong ship is China’s first domestically produced aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier, along with a number of other Chinese naval vessels, entered the Pacific Ocean through the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House of Representatives Speaker McCarthy in California on Wednesday (local time). This is the first time a Taiwanese president has met with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives on US soil.
The two leaders shook hands briefly after her SUV pulled up at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles.
Taiwan’s president met with McCarthy despite Chinese threats of retaliation. According to the New York Post, Washington’s current “one China” policy recognizes Beijing’s claim but does not endorse it.
The meeting between the two heads of state is regarded as something that China strongly disapproves of and has repeatedly expressed opposition to.
Before their meeting, China sent several sea vessels off the coast of Taiwan. China’s Fujian Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement that Beijing sent a “large patrol rescue ship” to the central and northern Taiwan Strait on Wednesday evening local time for a three-day “joint patrol and inspection” operation.
In early March, the US State Department said China had “overreacted” to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the US.
U.S. State Department chief deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said the Taiwan president’s transit was consistent with Washington’s consistent policy.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated that China firmly opposes Tsai Ing-wen’s “transit” visit to the United States to meet with U.S. officials, and will resolutely counter this. CGTN report. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen began a 10-day visit to Central America on Wednesday that will include a stopover in the United States, CNN reported. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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