TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Just hours before President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was due to meet with United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) showed a picture of a Chinese aircraft carrier on Wednesday (April 5).

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) aircraft carrier Shandong passed through the Bashi Channel, which separates the Philippines from Taiwan, before reaching waters southeast of Taiwan on its way to its first-ever maneuvers in the West Pacific, according to the ministry.

The vessel is China’s second aircraft carrier and the first to be domestically produced. Its home base is Sanya, on the island of Hainan, per CNA.

The appearance of the Shandong occurred after China had announced it was launching a joint military “patrol and inspection” of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. The increased military activity coincided with the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, which took place in the early hours on Thursday (April 6) Taiwan time.

The MND said the Navy, Air Force, and land-based radar systems were closely monitoring all Chinese movements, the Military News Agency reported. The recurrent actions by China’s military not only posed a continuous threat to Taiwan’s safety but also to regional security and stability, a ministry statement said.