Chinese aircraft, warships spotted near Taiwan

Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Thursday said that it has detected a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter and three warships around the island country.

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

The statement from Taiwan's defense ministry comes on the heels of the meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy which took place in the US despite China's threat of a "resolute" response to the meeting.

"It is training, but the timing is quite sensitive, and what it is up to we are still studying," Taiwan's Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said. The aircraft has not taken off from its deck yet, he added.

Taiwan was closely monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier, Shandong, which was spotted on Wednesday and was currently 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off Taiwan's east coast, Chiu said while addressing the media at parliament in Taipei.

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

Taiwan president says meeting US officials was important, urges Chinese restraint

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen before departing the US later Thursday said that Taipei was working "to prevent China's interference" in its territorial waters amid Chinese drills.

"During the time I am out of the country, our national security team has been closely monitoring the situation. What we have been doing is to ensure that our ships can sail safely at sea and to prevent China's interference in our territorial waters," Tsai said.

She said that face-to-face meeting with US officials were important for "regional peace" and called on Beijing to remain calm. "I also hope the Chinese side can exercise self-restraint and don't overreact," she added.

The US on Thursday called on China to "to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful diplomacy." 

"We remain committed to maintaining open channels of communication so as to prevent the risk of any kind of miscalculation," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. 

China launched extensive military drills around Taiwan when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island last year, raising concerns over its response to Tsai's meeting with US officials this time.

Escalating tensions between China and Taiwan

Without much detail, the Chinese authorities had earlier said that they were amping up the patrols in waters between China and Taiwan.

"The Chinese side's action deliberately escalates cross-strait tensions," Taipei's Mainland Affairs Council, which is the island's top China policy-making body, said as it accused China of "obstructing" trade in the Taiwan Strait by inspections of cargo vessels and passenger ships.

"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," the MAC said.

rm, mf/es (Reuters, AFP)