China sent warships to the waters around Taiwan on Thursday, shortly after deploying an aircraft carrier, following a meeting between President of the island Tsai Ing-wen and the US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Beijing said it would take “resolute and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” in a statement issued Thursday by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It urged the US “not to walk further down a wrong and dangerous road.” The Chinese vessels were engaged in a joint patrol and inspection operation in the Taiwan Strait that will last three days, state media said Thursday morning.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said that it has detected a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter and three warships around the island country.

“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. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency