The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games.
China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night.
Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes near the nation almost daily.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
In its daily morning report on Chinese military activities, the ministry said there were 14 Chinese warships operating nearby, up from the eight it reported the previous day.
Six of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial demarcation zone between Taiwan and China, the ministry said.
The ministry said it had detected four Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait, one of which had brushed the top of the Taiwan proper.
Weather conditions would likely be a factor in China’s decision on any war games, security sources said.
Weather in the Strait has been poor this weekend.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense did not answer calls yesterday.
However, in a strongly worded commentary on its WeChat account yesterday, the Chinese Ministry of State Security said Lai’s efforts to “use arms to seek independence” and cosy up to the US were doomed to fail.
Taiwan’s government is putting on a “false display of power” while the US government is “acting in cahoots with gangsters and jackals” in supporting Taiwan, it said.
No one should presume they can “step out of line on the Taiwan issue without having to pay a price,” it added.
Lai on Friday called on China to refrain from threats and said Beijing’s military exercises “will not be able to win the respect” of neighboring countries.
Speaking to reporters in Palau on the final day of his tour, Lai said “It is better to open your hands than to clench your fists.”
“No matter how many military drills China stages and how many ships and aircraft they dispatch to intimidate regional countries, China will not win the respect from any country,” he added.
Additional reporting by AP and staff writer
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
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,
RSS