UPDATED at 5:40 p.m. EDT on April 10, 2023.
China’s Shandong aircraft carrier continues to take part in a multi-branch exercise around Taiwan, staged in response to the recent meeting between Taiwan’s president and the U.S. House speaker, the Chinese military said Monday.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command released a video showing a J-15 fighter jet taking off from the dock of the Shandong, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier.
The Shandong carrier group has been in the sea east of Taiwan since Thursday, the first time the carrier has ventured out of its regular operational area, the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that as of 6:00 p.m. local time Monday, 91 Chinese military aircraft and 12 vessels were detected around Taiwan. It said 54 of the aircraft intruded into the island’s air defense identification zone, including four J-15s.
According to the flight path it provided, all the J-15s appeared to have been launched from the Shandong.
The Japanese defense ministry on Monday also released a statement saying that the Shandong carried out air operations in waters near its Okinawa islands on Sunday.
The aircraft carrier group that also includes three other Chinese military vessels has come as close as 230 kilometers (143 miles) from Japan's Miyako island.
The ministry said carrier-based jet fighters and helicopters took off and landed 140 times between Friday and Sunday.
Japan has been following China's military drills around Taiwan "with great interest," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday.
"The importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only important for the security of Japan, but also for the stability of the international community as a whole," he told reporters in Tokyo.
U.S. ‘keeping a close watch’
Last Thursday, Taiwan's Minister of Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng said the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was also in the area after taking part in a maritime exercise in the East China Sea.
While he said he couldn’t confirm that the Nimitz was there for the Shandong, given the situation “there’s a connection.”
Observers citing data obtained via open sources, such as flight paths of carrier-based C-2A Greyhound aircraft, said that the nuclear-powered Nimitz was sailing “within 200 nautical miles” of the Shandong on Monday. RFA was not able to independently verify this information.
The U.S. is keeping a close watch on China's military drills around Taiwan, its de-facto embassy in Taipei said on Sunday.
A spokesperson from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) was quoted by Reuters as saying that Washington is "comfortable and confident" it has the means to maintain peace and stability in the region.
AIT also said the U.S. has repeatedly asked China to show restraint and refrain from unilaterally altering the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Sunday that he is “open” to sending U.S. troops to Taiwan to help defend the island in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Graham, who has visited Taiwan three times, told Fox News Sunday that he'd "up our game" with a series of deterrent measures such as providing more training for Taiwan's military and speeding up weapons supply to the island.
While his comments don't necessarily reflect the stance of the Biden administration, they do show growing bipartisan concern in Washington over China's assertive behavior.
Cross-Strait tensions are heightened after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen made two stopovers in the U.S. during her recent 10-day trip to Central America.
Last Wednesday she had a meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in California.
China condemned the meeting, and on Saturday announced military exercises around Taiwan.
‘Joint Sword’ exercise
On Monday, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command said it continued the combat readiness patrol and drills around as the "Joint Sword" exercise enters its third and final day.
During the exercise, also known as "United Sword," the PLA simulated precision air and naval strikes on Taiwan over the weekend, while the last day focused on blockade drills.
Troops are also conducting a drill on Pingtan island in Taiwan Strait, China’s closest point to Taiwan.
Senior Col. Shi Yi, the command's spokesperson, said that the operations are "a serious warning to the collusion and provocations by Taiwan independence separatists and external forces, and a necessary move to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
On Sunday, Chinese naval vessels in the Taiwan Strait, together with ballistic and cruise missile units deployed along the mainland's coast, tracked targets southwest of Taiwan.
“Fighter jets, bombers as well as early-warning, reconnaissance and electronic warfare planes formed assault groups, and provided target guidance and simulated fire support to other forces,” said a report by China Central Television.
Taiwan's defense ministry said it was monitoring the situation and has tasked patrol aircraft, Navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This story has been updated to correct Sen. Lindsey Graham's designation as ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.