China unveiled a new navy commander, a move that comes amid worsening tensions in the South China Sea and as the Philippines rejected China’s accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing’s territory.
Hu Zhongming (胡中明) was promoted to the rank of admiral at a ceremony in Beijing attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Monday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The report marked the first time that Hu has been publicly referred to as commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. China’s military is known for providing few details on key personnel moves.
Photo: The Philippine Coast Guard via AP
The report did not say what is next for Hu’s predecessor, Dong Jun (董軍), who appeared as head of the navy in 2021. Dong was also attended the ceremony, a Xinhua photograph showed.
Hu previously served as the navy’s chief of staff, and before that captained a submarine. He joined a celebrated mission in 2002 in which a Chinese destroyer sailed around the world over four months.
Xinhua also said that Wang Wenquan (王文全) was the new political commissar of the Southern Theater Command, which oversees Chinese military activity in the South China Sea.
Wang was also promoted, to general.
The changes comes as China flexes its muscles in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims as its own, and in the Taiwan Strait.
Philippine military spokesman Medel Aguilar yesterday rejected China’s accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing’s territory.
It was the latest salvo amid rising tensions as the two have traded accusations in the past few months over a series of maritime run-ins, including China allegedly ramming a ship this month carrying the Philippines’ military chief.
“The Philippines is not provoking conflict,” Aguilar told state broadcaster the People’s Television Network. “We follow international law and we are only implementing our domestic law, meaning the limits of our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, where we have sovereign rights.”
The comments came a day after China’s People’s Daily wrote that the Philippines had relied on US support to continually provoke China.
This “extremely dangerous” behavior has seriously harmed regional peace and stability, it said.
Aguilar said Philippine activities would not put vessels and seafarers in danger, instead accusing China of carrying out dangerous maneuvers that sometimes result in collisions at sea.
“They are the ones committing all the violations,” he added.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS