China launched live-fire naval exercises in the Yellow Sea yesterday after voicing opposition to similar war games to be staged there this month by the US and South Korea.
The Beihai fleet of the navy of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct a “live ammunition drill” through Saturday off the east coast near Qingdao, Xinhua news agency reported.
Many of the planes, vessels and battlefield weaponry to be used in the exercises were unveiled at the National Day military parade on Oct. 1 last year, Xinhua said.
“This is an annual routine training, mainly involving the shooting of shipboard artillery,” Xinhua had said in a previous report, citing China’s defense ministry.
The US and South Korea are set to carry out a new round of joint drills in the Yellow Sea from Sunday in another show of force against North Korea following the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
Any military drills involving the US in the Yellow Sea are a sensitive issue because of the area’s proximity to China and the disputed maritime boundary between North and South Korea.
China has bristled at the idea of a US aircraft carrier group patrolling waters near its coast, although the Pentagon has said this month’s anti-submarine exercise would not involve a carrier.
As China launched its war games, PLA commander Zhang Youxia (張又俠) met in Pyongyang with North Korea’s No. 2 leader, Kim Yong-nam, and pledged to step up military exchanges, Xinhua said. Zhang is commander of the PLA’s Shenyang military region, which adjoins the North.
“In the future, North Korea will consolidate and develop exchanges and cooperation with China in every sphere, and make increasing efforts to strengthen friendly cooperation between our two militaries,” Kim told Zhang.
The US and South Korea staged massive joint naval and air exercises in July in the Sea of Japan despite criticism from Beijing.
China staged its own naval, air and artillery exercises in late July, though it was not clear if the drills were in response to the US-South Korea maneuvers.
Last month, the South staged its largest-ever anti-submarine exercise, including live-fire training near the disputed Yellow Sea border, prompting a North Korean artillery barrage fired into the sea.
The US and South Korea also held their annual 10-day war games on land last month.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
RSS