France, which is a NATO member, and China have sent their aircraft carriers to the hotly contested South China Sea earlier this week, where territorial disputes remain unsolved. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Taiwan's coast guard said it was investigating whether the incident was sabotage but said "it cannot be ruled out that it was a gray zone intrusion."

The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been deployed for a five-month Indo-Pacific mission since last November.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, Bloomberg reported that Moscow and Washington were discussing economic cooperation in the far north, which could "drive a wedge" between Russia and key trading ally China. It could also be part of a detente between the U.S. and Russia sought by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The two sides agreed to hold a new round of strategic security consultations at an appropriate time, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping upending of US foreign policy has alarmed allies and nations in need – as his administration has frozen foreign aid, threatened to take control of other countries’ sovereign territory,

Former French President François Hollande asserts that President Donald Trump and his administration are "no longer" allies, saying a U.S.-Europe "divorce" could be on the horizon.

China and Russia “cannot be moved away” from one another, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin Monday, in their first phone call since US President Donald Trump upended American foreign policy with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow as he pushes for peace in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine appears poised to hand key concessions to Russia, leaving Kyiv and its European supporters on the sidelines as they face the prospect of a peace deal made over their heads.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines ... Simply put, the U.S. is now the global order’s disruptor. As a result, China sees an opportunity to regain favor in Europe after ...

In the communiqué, NATO member countries said China has become a war enabler through its “no-limits partnership” with Russia and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base.

BEIJING - China and Russia need to continue to strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs, President Xi Jinping told Mr Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, in Beijing on Feb 28, Chinese state media reported.