Taiwanese military jets scrambled to shadow a Chinese aircraft carrier passing through the Taiwan Strait en route to Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Saturday swore in Hong Kong’s new leader with a stark warning that Beijing would not tolerate any challenge to its authority in the divided territory, in his strongest speech yet amid concerns over what some perceive as increased meddling by Beijing.
The Soviet-built Liaoning, whose home port is in northern China, on Saturday entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and was sailing just west of the middle of the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan deployed military jets and ships to monitor the fleet’s passage, the ministry said.
Nothing abnormal had been detected as the Chinese battle group headed southwest and was expected to leave Taiwan’s ADIZ by yesterday evening, the ministry said.
The naval formation headed by the Liaoning entered Taiwan’s ADIZ on Saturday and was yesterday sailing southwest along the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The battle group was sailing west of the Taiwan Strait’s mid-line, the ministry said, predicting that it would leave the ADIZ by 8:30pm yesterday. This could not be confirmed as of press time last night.
Under the military’s regulations for handling quickly changing conditions during periods of regular combat readiness, aircraft and ships were dispatched to monitor the formation’s movement and the military would take responsive action in the event of any abrupt developments, the ministry said.
“Currently no such situation has occurred,” it added.
The Liaoning is to be open to the public in Hong Kong to showcase the “military might” of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, Xinhua news agency cited its spokesman, Liang Yang (梁陽), as saying.
It is due to arrive on Friday, Hong Kong media said.
The formation is comprised of the Liaoning, the destroyers Jinan and Yinchuan, the frigate Yantai, and a squadron of J-15 fighter jets and helicopters, Yang told reporters.
It was the third time that the Liaoning has sailed near Taiwan in past months for what Beijing has said were routine drills in December last year and again in January.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS