TAIPEI (BLOOMBERG) – From the South China Sea to the Himalayas, Beijing has shown a willingness to seize on perceived missteps by its rivals to tighten its grip over disputed territory. That’s now playing out around Taiwan. In recent days, the People’s Liberation Army has sought to establish a new status quo on Taiwan with […]
TAIPEI (BLOOMBERG) – China’s economic measures against Taiwan are unlikely to have a major impact on trade between the two economies given how closely they’re intertwined, a finance ministry official said. The electronics industries in both economies are “highly dependent on each other”, and Taiwan is China’s biggest source of imported integrated circuits, Beatrice Tsai, […]
PINGTUNG (AFP, REUTERS) – Taiwan’s military held a live-fire artillery drill on Tuesday (Aug 9) simulating a defence of the island against an attack after days of massive Chinese military exercises, an AFP journalist at the site of the exercise said. China launched its largest-ever war games around Taiwan last week in a furious response to […]
BEIJING – As tensions escalated between China and the United States last week over Taiwan, a surprisingly vociferous wingman has emerged in the form of the Hong Kong government. Moments after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed on the island, the territory’s leader John Lee joined other mainland government departments in condemning the trip.
TAIPEI (AFP) – Taiwan will hold live-fire military drills this week simulating a defence of the island against a Chinese invasion, officials said on Monday (Aug 8), as Beijing carries out fresh exercises around its neighbour. The Taiwanese drills were already scheduled and are not being held in response to China’s exercises, authorities said. The […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS) – Air traffic around Taiwan is gradually returning to normal after airspace surrounding the island reopened, Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Monday (Aug 8), although China later announced fresh military drills in the area. China last week deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles near during military exercises sparked […]
BEIJING (AFP) – A senior Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman has prompted a storm of ridicule online, after a late-night tweet where she used restaurant listings to assert Beijing’s claim over Taiwan. “Baidu Maps show that there are 38 Shandong dumpling restaurants and 67 Shanxi noodle restaurants in Taipei,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying posted on the social […]
BEIJING (AFP) – China’s response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit brought cross-Strait tensions to their highest level in years and sparked an outpouring of nationalist zeal online, but the mood on the streets in mainland China is a little more circumspect. Enraged by Pelosi’s trip, Beijing last week launched some of its […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS) – China’s military announced fresh military drills on Monday (Aug 8) in the seas and airspace around Taiwan – a day after the scheduled end of its largest ever exercises to protest against last week’s visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. China’s Eastern Theatre Command said it would conduct joint drills focusing on […]
BEIJING (REUTERS) – China’s defence ministry on Monday (Aug 8) defended its shelving of military talks with the United States in protest against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last week, warning that Washington must bear “serious consequences”. Mrs Pelosi’s visit last week infuriated China, which regards the self-ruled island as its own and […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS) – Taiwan on Sunday (Aug 7) said flights through its airspace had gradually resumed from about noon as most notifications for Chinese military drills near the island were “no longer in effect”. The Transport Ministry said in a statement, however, that Taiwan would continue to direct flights and ships away from a Chinese military […]
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Saturday (Aug 6) that criticism by its envoy to China against US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan isn’t the official position of the Malaysian government. Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the Malaysian Prime Minister’s special envoy to China, on Friday said Mrs […]
HONG KONG (REUTERS) – China’s cutting of some of its few communication links with the US military raises the risk of an accidental escalation of tension over Taiwan at a critical moment, according to security analysts, diplomats and US officials. China called off planned formal talks involving theatre-level commands, defence policy co-ordination and military maritime […]
TAIPEI/BEIJING (BLOOMBERG, AFP, REUTERS) – China’s aircraft and warships rehearsed an attack on Taiwan on Saturday (Aug 6), island officials said, as Chinese forces appeared to be getting close to Taiwan’s shores. China doubled down on the exercises, held in retaliation for a visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that also saw […]
BEIJING (AFP, REUTERS) – China has doubled down on its retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, announcing a suspension of cooperation with Washington on key issues as it was set on Saturday (Aug 6) to continue massive military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Relations between the two superpowers have nosedived in […]
PHNOM PENH (REUTERS) – The chair of this week’s Asean meetings said Saturday (Aug 6) that discussions among foreign ministers over Taiwan tensions were lively and included some strong arguments, but it was better disputes were handled with words. Mr Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia’s foreign minister, said he told a meeting of foreign ministers they must […]
BEIJING (AFP) – China’s foreign ministry announced sanctions against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday (Aug 5), after her visit to Taiwan this week prompted fury and shows of military force from Beijing. The ministry said Mrs Pelosi was “seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs and seriously undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” with […]
PHNOM PENH (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken told an Asian meeting of top diplomats on Friday (Aug 5) that China’s reaction to US house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was “flagrantly provocative”, a western official said. Blinken, speaking at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, said China had sought […]
BEIJING (CAIXIN GLOBAL) – Beijing announced a slew of countermeasures against Taiwan on Wednesday (Aug 3) in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, including suspending trade in certain products and imposing sanctions on institutions regarded as pro-independence. China’s General Administration of Customs announced that the import of citrus fruits and […]
BEIJING – The ongoing military drills around Taiwan are aimed at rehearsing a possible future invasion of the self-ruled island, Chinese military observers and state media have said. The drills, which have for the first time involved firing ballistic missiles directly over the island, are also a thinly veiled threat against those pushing for formal […]