The Taiwan Strait is international waters, not China’s “inland waters” as it claims, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, as expressed gratitude to like-minded countries for voicing concern about China’s military exercise around Taiwan on Monday.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday launched military drills, called “Joint Sword-2024B,” in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding Taiwan, which it said served as “a stern warning to the separatist acts of Taiwanese independence forces.”
The one-day joint drills came four days after President William Lai (賴清德) reiterated that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate” to each other, in his first Double Ten National Day address.
Photo: Huang Chin-hsuan, Taipei Times
The MOFA strongly condemns the PLA’s drills, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
“The Taiwan Strait is international waters, not inland waters as China claims,” he said, adding that Taiwan is not only in the center of the first island chain, but also plays a crucial role in the “non-red supply chain” and democratic global value chain.
“Maintaining freedom, openness and peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is already an international consensus,” he said.
The ministry also expresses its regards and sincere gratitude to like-minded countries for expressing serious concerns shortly after China launched its military drills, and for reiterating their opposition to unilateral actions to change the “status quo” in the Strait, and urging China to show restraint, he said.
The US Department of State said the US is “seriously concerned” about the PLA’s “unwarranted” and “provocative” drills, while Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the Japanese ministers of foreign affairs and defense also stressed the importance of peace in the Strait.
The EU warned against “unilateral actions” that change the “status quo” in the waterway.
The UK said it was concerned by China’s military exercises around Taiwan as they increased tensions and risked a “dangerous escalation” in the Strait.
“We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo... We call for restraint and the avoidance of any further actions that may undermine peace and stability,” the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.
Shortly after announcing the completion of the drills on Monday, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense issued a statement saying the exercise was an increase in pressure against Taiwanese independence, and that more could follow.
The Pentagon strongly criticized the Chinese military’s war games, calling them destabilizing.
“This military pressure operation is irresponsible, disproportionate and destabilizing,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
Japan yesterday expressed its “concerns” to China over the drills, adding that it scrambled fighter jets near its southern island of Yonaguni.
“The government is closely monitoring the related activities with great interest, and has conveyed Japan’s concerns to the Chinese side,” Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki told reporters.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS