The US and the EU have reiterated their opposition to a unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait after China’s military launched a new round of joint military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday that ended last night.
Asked about the latest military exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US National Security Council on Tuesday briefed her on the exercises.
US President Donald Trump “is emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, encouraging the peaceful resolution of these cross-strait issues, [and] reiterating our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion,” Leavitt said.
Photo: AP
US Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told the Central News Agency that China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric “only serve to exacerbate tensions, and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk.”
“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including through force or coercion,” she said.
The US’ “enduring commitment to our allies and partners, including Taiwan, continues,” she added.
Meanwhile, the EU diplomatic branch, the European External Action Service (EEAS), expressed its concern over the Chinese exercises, saying the drills were “increasing cross-strait tensions.”
“The EU has a direct interest in the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We oppose any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion,” an unnamed EEAS spokesperson said.
“We call on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any actions that may further escalate tensions, which should be resolved through cross-strait dialogue,” the EEAS spokesperson said.
Japan and German express concerns
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that the government has conveyed its concern to Beijing over a Chinese military drill near Taiwan.
"Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are extremely important to the entire international community, including our country," the top government spokesman said in a press conference, adding that Tokyo will "take all possible measures for vigilance and surveillance activities" in light of increased Chinese military activity near Taiwan in recent years.
Germany’s foreign ministry on Wednesday strssed that the status of Taiwan must not be changed unless done via a peaceful agreement, when asked about China’s military drills off Taiwan’s coast.
"We have a direct interest in preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Strait ... It must not be changed unless in a peaceful way and based on mutual understanding," a ministry spokesperson said during a government press conference.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday morning announced the beginning of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan, featuring the army, navy, air and rocket forces to “close in” on the nation in “multiple directions.”
The exercises served as “a stern warning” to “Taiwanese independence” separatist forces, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said.
Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星), director of the Ministry of National Defense’s joint operations planning division, said that the military has established an ad hoc emergency operations center and deployed military aircraft, vessels and coastal missile systems.
The military was also conducting patrols and monitoring Chinese troops, Tung said.
The PLA last night announced that the drills had concluded.
As the drills entered their second day yesterday, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said it was conducting a “Strait Thunder-2025A” drill in parts of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
CHAMPIONS: President Lai congratulated the players’ outstanding performance, cheering them for marking a new milestone in the nation’s baseball history Taiwan on Sunday won their first Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) title in 29 years, as Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School defeated a team from Las Vegas 7-0 in the championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was Taiwan’s first championship in the annual tournament since 1996, ending a nearly three-decade drought. “It has been a very long time ... and we finally made it,” Taiwan manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男) said after the game. Lai said he last managed a Dong Yuan team in at the South Williamsport in 2015, when they were eliminated after four games. “There is
Democratic nations should refrain from attending China’s upcoming large-scale military parade, which Beijing could use to sow discord among democracies, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said. China is scheduled to stage the parade on Wednesday next week to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. The event is expected to mobilize tens of thousands of participants and prominently showcase China’s military hardware. Speaking at a symposium in Taichung on Thursday, Shen said that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to New Delhi.
FINANCES: The KMT plan to halt pension cuts could bankrupt the pension fund years earlier, undermining intergenerational fairness, a Ministry of Civil Service report said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposal to amend the law to halt pension cuts for civil servants, teachers and military personnel could accelerate the depletion of the Public Service Pension Fund by four to five years, a Ministry of Civil Service report said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Aug. 14 said that the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) should be amended, adding that changes could begin as soon as after Saturday’s recall and referendum. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that the fund already faces a severe imbalance between revenue