Josep Borrell says safeguard would show Europe’s commitment to the ‘absolutely crucial’ area
European navies should patrol the disputed Taiwan Strait, the EU foreign policy chief has said, echoing earlier comments stressing how crucial Taiwan is to Europe.
Josep Borrell wrote in an opinion piece in the Journal Du Dimanche that Taiwan “concerns us economically, commercially and technologically”.
Continue reading...Experts say Australia should look beyond criticism that is largely for domestic Chinese consumption and engage on a broader level
Australia’s strategic defence review, to be made public on Monday, is likely to spark a hostile response from China and set off a new round of claim and counterclaim about the precarious relationship between the two countries.
Sir Angus Houston, the former head of the Australian military who led the review with the former defence minister Stephen Smith, said when it was launched last year the strategic circumstances were “the worst I have ever seen in my career and lifetime”.
Continue reading...Comments indicate extent to which Taiwan is trying to bolster western support before possible invasion
Taiwan’s foreign minister has said he is preparing for the possibility of a conflict with China in 2027.
Speaking on LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr, Joseph Wu said: “We are taking the Chinese military threat very seriously … I think 2027 is the year that we need to be serious about.”
Continue reading...Documents among those shared by alleged leaker raise questions over island’s military readiness
China would probably establish air superiority very rapidly in any attack on Taiwan, according to leaked US intelligence assessments that raise disturbing questions about the self-ruled island’s military readiness.
The documents, part of a series allegedly leaked by the US air national guardsman Jack Teixeira, emerged as G7 foreign ministers met to discuss a common China strategy and Beijing briefly halted flights over part of the East China Sea on Sunday.
Continue reading...Defence ministry says it cannot rule out ‘cognitive warfare tactics’ after disinformation during Chinese drills
Taiwan’s defence ministry has raised the alarm about disinformation attacks during the recent Chinese military drills and alerted local media to the dangers of helping spread disinformation.
Last week Beijing launched three days of military exercises near Taiwan, in retaliation for President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, in the US. Taiwan’s military and civilian analysts confirmed that Taiwan was also targeted with information warfare. “Last year’s military exercise and this year’s military exercise both used a combination of information and military actions to affect our morale,” a defence spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Continue reading...French president reaffirms Sunday’s call for Europe to act more independently from US over China and Taiwan
Emmanuel Macron has stood by his controversial comments on Taiwan, repeating that being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”.
At the end of a state visit to the Netherlands during which he has also faced protests over pension reforms at home, Macron appeared to reaffirm the remarks he made in an interview on Sunday, in which he called for Europe to act more independently from the US over Taiwan.
Continue reading...French president also criticised for saying Europe should act independently from US over Taiwan
Emmanuel Macron was heckled and jeered on a state visit to the Netherlands as he faced pressure over both raising the French pension age and his warning that Europe must not become “vassals” in a US conflict with China over Taiwan.
The French president was due to give a speech on European strategic autonomy when two demonstrators against his pension changes were arrested as they ran towards him on his arrival at the University of Amsterdam.
Continue reading...Taipei says Beijing has confined flight ban north of island to 27 minutes on Sunday after initial three-day plan
China has appeared to backtrack after reports it was planning to declare a three-day no-fly zone in the airspace north of Taiwan next week, reducing the planned duration to just 27 minutes.
A spokesperson from Taiwan’s defence ministry told a press conference the no-fly zone was about 85 nautical miles north of Taiwan, and they believed it could be related to aerospace activities, perhaps satellite launches.
Continue reading...Former PM to say in speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake
Liz Truss will say Emmanuel Macron’s recent trip to China was a “sign of weakness”, after the French president asked Beijing for support in ending the war in Ukraine.
In the latest of a series of foreign policy interventions designed to encourage Rishi Sunak to take a tougher approach towards China, Truss will say in a speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake.
Continue reading...Biggest show of force since August was more targeted and showed intent to annex island, say analysts
China’s recent military drills near Taiwan were a substantive and “war-like” escalation on those conducted last August despite not including any missile launches, some analysts have said.
The drills were launched in retaliation to Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, traveling to the US and meeting the US house speaker, Kevin McCarthy. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a province despite that being rejected by its government and people, declared the meeting a provocation by Taiwan “separatists”, enabled by the US.
Continue reading...Alarm on both sides of Atlantic as French president warns against being drawn into any Taiwan conflict
Emmanuel Macron has flown into a storm of criticism after he said Europe should not become a “vassal” and must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan.
The French president made the remarks in an interview on his plane after a three-day state visit to China, where he received a red carpet welcome by China’s president, Xi Jinping – a show of pageantry that alarmed some European China watchers.
Continue reading...Ship-launched fighter jets have previously never been seen in island’s air defence zone
China’s military exercises targeting Taiwan have concluded after three days in which it encircled the island, simulated missile attacks on cities, and practised ship-launched strikes from the east.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Monday the combat readiness drills had “comprehensively tested the troops under actual combat conditions”.
Continue reading...Show of force comes after Taiwanese president Tsai met US House speaker McCarthy this week, despite Beijing warning against it
China sent dozens of warplanes towards Taiwan for a second day of military drills on Sunday, launching simulated attacks in retaliation to the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, meeting the US House Speaker during a brief visit to the US.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said it was monitoring the movements of China’s missile forces, as the US said it too was on alert.
Continue reading...Three-day operation comes after Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen met with Kevin McCarthy in California
China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, in what it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker.
The move sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely”.
Continue reading...‘Combat readiness’ exercises come after Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen met US house speaker Kevin McCarthy this week, angering Beijing
China’s military said on Saturday it had begun three days of drills around Taiwan, a day after the island’s president Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.
Tsai met the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, while in Los Angeles in Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its own territory.
Continue reading...US thinktank and Reagan Foundation targeted, as well as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US, in row over President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip
China has imposed sanctions on US figures linked to the Taiwan president’s visit to the US this week, as well as further restrictions on Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States.
The sanctions targeted the Ronald Reagan library which hosted the meeting between Tsai and US House speak Kevin McCarthy, and the Hudson Institute which hosted Tsai in New York and presented her with an award.
Continue reading...China has said it would take ‘resolute’ measures to defend sovereignty, after denouncing Tsai’s meeting in California with McCarthy
Taiwan authorities are monitoring Chinese military activity including a carrier strike group about 200 nautical miles (370km) off the main island’s coastline, after the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, met US House speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
In the meeting, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, McCarthy stressed the urgency of arms deliveries to Taiwan, while Tsai praised the “strong and unique partnership” with the US..
Continue reading...Tsai Ing-wen to meet the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, which China has called a ‘provocation’
Pro- and anti-Taiwan protesters gathered at Los Angeles airport for the arrival of Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, before a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Protesters also crowded outside Tsai’s LA hotel on Tuesday evening, banging drums, chanting and holding Taiwanese flags and photos of the president, who shook hands with supporters as she entered. A smaller, pro-Beijing group gathered nearby on the pavement, separated by a police line, at times chanting “One China”.
Continue reading...China previously warned McCarthy he is ‘playing with fire’ over the meeting and risks ‘serious confrontation’
Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen will meet with US House speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, the Republican’s office has confirmed, in defiance of warnings from Beijing that such a meeting would be a “provocation”.
Tsai is scheduled to make a stopover in California after state visits to Belize and Guatemala, Taiwan’s last remaining Central American diplomatic allies. McCarthy’s office said on Monday the “bipartisan” meeting would take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, outside Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Taiwan sends aircraft to warn away nine Chinese fighter jets and one drone that breached unofficial barrier between two sides
Ten Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, normally an unofficial barrier between the mainland and the island, Taiwan’s defence ministry has said.
Nine Chinese fighter jets and one military drone crossed the median line in the 24 hours to 6am on Saturday, the ministry said in its daily report on Chinese military activities.
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