Taipei coast guard says 12 Chinese ships detected around outlying Taiwan island

Taipei's coast guard said Thursday (May 9) that a fleet of seven Chinese ships and five coast guard vessels were detected around Taiwan's outlying island of Kinmen. 

"Around 15:00 (0700 GMT), a fleet of seven ships ... belonging to China's maritime and fishery departments entered our restricted waters," it said. 

Taipei's coast guard added that another four Chinese coast guard ships did the same and that a fifth "sailed outside our waters". 

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China criticises US 

Meanwhile, the Chinese military slammed an American destroyer's passage through the Taiwan Strait less than two weeks before the island's new president takes office. 

Navy Senior Capt. Li Xi, who is also the spokesperson for China's Eastern Theatre Command, accused the United States of having "publicly hyped" the passage of the USS Halsey on Wednesday. 

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Li said in a statement that the command, which oversees operations around the strait, "organised naval and air forces to monitor" the ship's transit. 

According to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, the Halsey "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on May 8 through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law". 

In a statement, the fleet said that the guided missile destroyer transited through a corridor in the strait that is "beyond the territorial sea" of any coastal state. 

(With inputs from agencies)