Taiwan president discusses ‘regional situation’ ahead of McCarthy talks

Tsai “listened to a briefing on the overall regional situation”, her office said in a statement.

“The president asked relevant units to continue to grasp the surrounding situation, and to enable the visiting delegation to continue to grasp the situation in real-time,” it added, referring to keeping Tsai and her team updated while they are overseas.

Tsai “expressed her gratitude” to colleagues who are sticking to their posts to ensure national security during a long weekend holiday this week, the office said.

Officials on the call included National Security Council secretary-general Wellington Koo and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who are with the president, as well as National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen, who has remained in Taipei, the statement added.

Taiwan has no far not reported any unusual Chinese military movements ahead of the McCarthy meeting.

Tsai is due to return to Taipei on Friday.