Taiwanese will gradually get used to Chinese air force drills that encircle the nation, China said yesterday, while Premier William Lai (賴清德) reiterated the nation’s desire for peaceful relations with Beijing.
China has taken an increasingly hostile stance toward Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), last year won the presidential election, and has stepped up its rhetoric and military exercises.
Beijing suspects Tsai of pushing for Taiwanese independence, a red line for China.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Tsai said she wants peace with China, but also that she would defend Taiwan’s security and way of life.
Chinese state media has given broad coverage to “encirclement” exercises near Taiwan this month, including showing photographs of Chinese bombers with what they said was Taiwan’s highest peak, Yushan (玉山), visible in the background.
Asked about the continuing drill’s and the footage released by the air force, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense had repeatedly described the exercises as routine.
“Everyone will slowly get used it,” office spokesman An Fengshan (安峰山) told a routine news briefing, without elaborating.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has carried out 16 rounds of exercises close to Taiwan in the past year or so, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense said in a white paper this week.
China’s military threat was growing by the day, it added.
The government has accused Beijing of not understanding democracy when it criticizes Taipei.
The US, Japan and South Korea are paying close attention to the PLA’s activities, Lai said at an end of year news conference in Taipei.
“Under the president’s leadership, the Executive Yuan pushes forward government affairs, stabilizing cross-strait relations toward peaceful development,” Lai said.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS