There were high concerns that Beijing might counter the meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy with military maneuvers. And that these may threaten Taiwan even more immediately than those following the August 2022 visit of McCarthy’s Democratic predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. On the day of the meeting in Los Angeles, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that a Chinese naval squadron under the command of the aircraft carrier „Shandong“ had crossed the Bashi Strait southeast of Taiwan.