China aircraft carrier ‘Shandong’ engages in drills near Taiwan after Tsai

China’s aircraft carrier Shandong conducted an exercise near Taiwan on Thursday amid a high-profile meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

When Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen came home after meeting with US House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Shandong carrier grabbed immediate attention off the East Coast. According to Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, the aircraft carrier was 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) off Taiwan’s east coast. Taiwanese warships were watching the carrier from a distance of five to six nautical miles away, he later said.

The drills overlap with Tsai and McCarthy’s visit to California, which China has strongly condemned. Beijing considers Taiwan to be its own and has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of the island.
Shandong is notable for being China’s first home-built aircraft carrier. According to Al Jazeera, the aircraft carrier, together with a number of other Chinese navy vessels, reached the Pacific on Wednesday by passing via the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met with McCarthy, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, in California on Wednesday (local time). Taiwan’s President met with a US House speaker for the first time on US territory