China Flies Fighter Jets Near Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — Taiwan’s government says China has sent warships and dozens of fighter jets toward the island claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. The exercise on Saturday was in retaliation for a meeting between the U.S. House of Representatives speaker and the president of the self-ruled island democracy. The Chinese military announced the start of three-day “combat readiness patrols” as a warning to Taiwanese who want to make the island’s de facto independence permanent. Speaker Kevin McCarthy held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday in California, adding to a series of foreign lawmakers who have met Tsai to show support in the face of Chinese intimidation.