Tension rises as China conducts military drills near Taiwan.

Taiwan is closely monitoring a Chinese aircraft carrier and threats to inspect ships in the Taiwan Strait after Beijing condemned a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Chinese carrier, the Shandong, was spotted on Wednesday and was currently 200 nautical miles off Taiwan's east coast. The US aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz is also some 400 nautical miles east of Taiwan. China has sailed its aircraft carriers near to Taiwan before and at similarly sensitive times. Taiwan has told shipping operators that if they encounter such requests from China they should refuse them and immediately notify Taiwan's coast guard to render assistance.