China on Thursday sent warships to waters around Taiwan after deploying an aircraft carrier, vowing a "firm" response after a meeting between Taiwan's president and the speaker of the US House of Representatives in California, Taiwan's defense ministry said.

China also warned the United States not to cross the red line in the two countries' relations regarding Taiwan, according to a statement by the Chinese parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, in response to a meeting of members of the US Congress, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, on Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, California.

Beijing, which has long threatened to retaliate if such a meeting takes place, deployed an aircraft carrier near Taiwan hours before the meeting.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "The United States and Taiwan have conspired to strengthen their relations, which seriously undermines Chinese sovereignty and is a bad sign of support for Taiwanese separatists."

China will take firm and strong measures to resolutely defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, she said at a press conference on Thursday.


Red line

"Ignoring China's strong opposition, McCarthy and other members of the U.S. Congress insisted on meeting with Tsai, who is making a transit flight through the United States," a statement from the Chinese parliament's foreign affairs committee said.

The U.S. meeting with Taiwan's leader seriously violated the one-China principle and the three joint statements between Beijing and Washington, and also seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations, the statement said, stressing that the Taiwan issue lies at the heart of China's core interests, the political basis between Beijing and Washington and the first red line that should not be crossed in the relations of the two countries.

The Chinese parliament noted that the meeting severely undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing its condemnation and firm opposition to the US move, stressing that there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory, and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China.

The parliament reiterated Beijing's firm opposition to all formal interaction between the United States and Taiwan, and urged the U.S. government and Congress to stop distorting the one-China principle.

Three other warships were spotted on Thursday around 3 a.m. (22:00 GMT) in the strait separating China from the democratical island, Taiwan's defence ministry said, adding that an anti-submarine helicopter had crossed Taiwan's air defense zone. China has also deployed coast guard ships to conduct extraordinary patrols protested by Taipei.

In August, Beijing held unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan during a visit to the island by Democratic former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China.

Meeting between Taiwan's president and U.S. House of Representatives speaker in California sparked Chinese outrage (Reuters)

Sensitive timing

Taiwanese Defense Minister Shiu Kuo-sheng said there was a Chinese aircraft carrier 200 nautical miles off the coast of eastern Taiwan, noting that the timing of the deployment of the Shandong was sensitive, but did not indicate that any maneuvers had been detected in the vicinity of the warship.

"When an aircraft carrier comes out, there are usually takeoffs and landings. But we haven't detected any landing or takeoff" so far.

On her way back from a tour of Central America, Tsai welcomed the United States' "unwavering support" for Taiwan, stressing that Taiwanese were "not isolated."


The tensions between Beijing and Taipei coincide with a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, where the latter met his counterpart Xi Jinping.

It also comes on the same day that an eight-member delegation of U.S. Congress arrived in Taiwan for talks on trade and security.

Beijing, which adheres to the one-China principle, considers Taiwan's island of 23 million people an integral part of its territory, does not rule out reclaiming it by force if necessary, and opposes any official contact between Taipei and other countries.

Only 13 countries recognize Taiwan, including Belize and Guatemala, which Tsai visited during her tour after a first stop in New York.