A PLA fleet led by the Shandong aircraft carrier passed within 400km of the island of Taiwan on Thursday, as Taiwanese president Tsai-Ing wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
According to the Taiwanese defence ministry, the Shandong carrier group passed through the Bashi Channel – which separates the island from the Philippines – before reaching waters southeast of Taiwan on its way to manoeuvres in the West Pacific.
