Anti-landing barricades are pictured on the beach, with China’s Xiamen city in the background, in Kinmen, Taiwan.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Taiwan on July 5 reported renewed Chinese military activity nearby with another “combat patrol” as the government called on Beijing not to escalate tensions after the seizure of a Taiwanese fishing boat.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up its pressure over the past four years, both militarily and politically.

On July 2, Chinese officials boarded and detained a Taiwanese fishing boat for illegally operating in the country’s waters, in what a senior Taiwan official said may be an act of psychological warfare.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said that starting just before 7 a.m. (2300 GMT) on July 5, it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” with Chinese warships.

The Chinese aircraft flew into airspace to the north, centre and southern parts of Taiwan, the Ministry said.

Taiwan has detected at least 127 Chinese military aircraft operating near the island since the start of this month.

China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Speaking to reporters earlier on July 5, Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said fishermen should raise their alert level and not do anything that could be considered illegal.

“At the same time, I also want to ask the Chinese side not to escalate with any the use of any excessive measures, because this can easily cause tension and unnecessary confrontation which is extremely unnecessary,” he added.

China says the root cause of its problems with Taiwan is what Beijing views as the “separatist” views of new President Lai Ching-te.

China staged war games shortly after Lai took office in May, and has rebuffed his repeated calls for talks.

Mr. Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

A Korean Air plane was forced to U-turn and make an emergency landing after dropping more than 25,000 feet due to a fault in the aircraft’s pressurization system. According to the Independent, flight KE189 departed Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN) on June 22, 2024, at about 16:45 local time, headed for Taichung International Airport (RMQ) in Taiwan.

However, 50 minutes into its journey, the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane started descending sharply and fell about 26,900 feet in around 15 minutes. According to FL360aero, the message ”pressure system (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality” was displayed while the aircraft was flying over Jeju Island.

As a result, several passengers experienced hyperventilation and ear pain, prompting oxygen masks to be released inside the cabin of the plane. One passenger told The Taipei Times that children on the flight were crying when oxygen masks were deployed during the flight’s plunge.

 Another passenger said she felt something was amiss as the aircraft seemed to be hovering in the air and the flight attendants remained in their seats.

Upon landing in Taichung, Taiwan, 17 people were evaluated at medical facilities and were later discharged without severe injuries.

Korean Air apologised to ”all affected by this incident”, and said, ”We are fully cooperating with all relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. We have provided comprehensive support to affected passengers, including accommodation, meals, and transportation arrangements.’

The flight resumed on the morning of June 23 with a different aircraft, about 19 hours after the initial departure schedule. passengers, who arrived at Taichung International Airport, said they were frightened and that they would not take a flight for a while, Taipei Times reported.

A Korean Air spokesperson said the airline is conducting a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the pressurisation system malfunction, intending to address any maintenance issues before returning the aircraft to service.

Boeing, the plane that suffered a malfunction during the flight, has been under massive pressure following a string of incidents involving their planes. 

Taipei:

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence detected 36 Chinese aircraft and seven shipping vessels around its territory in the last 24 hours till 6 am on Friday.

Thirty four of the aircraft entered Taiwan’s SW and eastern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) . Following this, the Taiwanese forces monitored the situation and responded accordingly.

“36 #PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around #Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 34 of the aircraft entered Taiwan’s SW and eastern ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly,” Taiwan’s MND posted on the X platform on Friday morning.

36 #PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around #Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 34 of the aircraft entered Taiwan’s SW and eastern ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. pic.twitter.com/TGOibZW1YB

— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. (@MoNDefense) June 21, 2024

Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan tracked 11 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around the island nation during the last 24 hours till 6 am Thursday, reported Taiwan News.

According to Taiwan’s MND, out of 11 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, seven crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the northern and southwestern sectors of the country’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) while one PLA helicopter was tracked in the southeast ADIZ.

Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of gray zone tactics by increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships that operate near Taiwan’s territory.

Gray zone tactics are called “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force,” according to Taiwan News.

This latest incident adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, has long been a contentious issue in China’s foreign policy. China continues to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan and considers it a part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hong Kong:

The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended.

The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China might use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons if it faced defeat in a conflict over Taiwan. Beijing views the democratically governed island as its territory, a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

“They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons,” said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organiser of the Track Two talks, the details of which are being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Participants in Track Two talks are generally former officials and academics who can speak with authority on their government’s position, even if they are not directly involved with setting it. Government-to-government negotiations are known as Track One.

Washington was represented by about half a dozen delegates, including former officials and scholars at the two-day discussions, which took place in a Shanghai hotel conference room.

Beijing sent a delegation of scholars and analysts, which included several former People’s Liberation Army officers.

A State Department spokesperson said in response to Reuters’ questions that Track Two talks could be “beneficial”. The department did not participate in the March meeting though it was aware of it, the spokesperson said.

Such discussions cannot replace formal negotiations “that require participants to speak authoritatively on issues that are often highly compartmentalized within (Chinese) government circles,” the spokesperson said.

Members of the Chinese delegation and Beijing’s defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The informal discussions between the nuclear-armed powers took place with the U.S. and China at odds over major economic and geopolitical issues, with leaders in Washington and Beijing accusing each other of dealing in bad faith.

The two countries briefly resumed Track One talks over nuclear arms in November but those negotiations have since stalled, with a top U.S. official publicly expressing frustration at China’s responsiveness.

The Pentagon, which estimates that Beijing’s nuclear arsenal increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2023, said in October that China “would also consider nuclear use to restore deterrence if a conventional military defeat in Taiwan” threatened CCP rule.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has over the past four years stepped up military activity around the island.

The Track Two talks are part of a two-decade nuclear weapons and posture dialogue that stalled after the Trump administration pulled funding in 2019.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, semi-official discussions resumed on broader security and energy issues, but only the Shanghai meeting dealt in detail with nuclear weapons and posture.

Santoro, who runs the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum think-tank, described “frustrations” on both sides during the latest discussions but said the two delegations saw reason to continue talking. More discussions were being planned in 2025, he said.

Nuclear policy analyst William Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre think-tank, who was not involved in the March discussions, said the Track Two negotiations were useful at a time of glacial U.S.-Chinese relations.

“It’s important to continue talking with China with absolutely no expectations,” he said when nuclear arms are at issue.

NO FIRST-USE?

The U.S. Department of Defense estimated last year that Beijing has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably field more than 1,000 by 2030.

That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the U.S. and Russia respectively. The Pentagon said that by 2030, much of Beijing’s weapons will likely be held at higher readiness levels.

Since 2020, China has also modernised its arsenal, starting production of its next-generation ballistic missile submarine, testing hypersonic glide vehicle warheads and conducting regular nuclear-armed sea patrols.

Weapons on land, in the air and at sea give China the “nuclear triad” – a hallmark of a major nuclear power.

A key point the U.S. side wanted to discuss, according to Santoro, was whether China still stood by its no-first-use and minimal deterrence policies, which date from the creation of its first nuclear bomb in the early 1960s.

Minimal deterrence refers to having just enough atomic weapons to dissuade adversaries.

China is also one of two nuclear powers – the other being India – to have pledged not to initiate a nuclear exchange. Chinese military analysts have speculated that the no-first-use policy is conditional – and that nuclear arms could be used against Taiwan’s allies – but it remains Beijing’s stated stance.

Santoro said the Chinese delegates told U.S. representatives that Beijing maintained these policies and that “‘we are not interested in reaching nuclear parity with you, let alone superiority.'”

“‘Nothing has changed, business as usual, you guys are exaggerating’,” Santoro said in summarising Beijing’s position.

His description of the discussions was corroborated by fellow U.S. delegate Lyle Morris, a security scholar at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

A report on the discussions is being prepared for U.S. government but would not be made public, Santoro said.

‘RISK AND OPACITY’

Top U.S. arms control official Bonnie Jenkins told Congress in May that China had not responded to nuclear weapons risk reduction proposals that Washington raised during last year’s formal talks.

China has yet to agree to further government-to-government meetings.

Bejing’s “refusal to substantively engage” in discussions over its nuclear build-up raises questions around its “already ambiguous stated “no-first-use” policy and its nuclear doctrine more broadly,” the State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

China’s Track Two delegation did not discuss specifics about Beijing’s modernisation effort, Santoro and Morris said.

Albergue of the Henry Stimson Centre said that China relied heavily on “risk and opacity” to mitigate U.S. nuclear superiority and there was “no imperative” for Beijing to have constructive discussions.

China’s expanded arsenal – which includes anti-ship cruise missiles, bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines – exceeded the needs of a state with a minimal deterrence and no-first-use policy, Alberque said.

Chinese talking points revolved around the “survivability” of Beijing’s nuclear weapons if it suffered a first strike, said Morris.

The U.S. delegates said the Chinese described their efforts as a deterrence-based modernisation programme to cope with developments such as improved U.S. missile defences, better surveillance capabilities, and strengthened alliances.

The U.S., Britain and Australia last year signed a deal to share nuclear submarine technology and develop a new class of boats, while Washington is now working with Seoul to coordinate responses to a potential atomic attack.

Washington’s policy on nuclear weapons includes the possibility of using them if deterrence fails, though the Pentagon says it would only consider that in extreme circumstances. It did not provide specifics.

One Chinese delegate “pointed to studies that said Chinese nuclear weapons were still vulnerable to U.S. strikes – their second-strike capability was not enough”, said Morris.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended. The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China might use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons if it faced defeat in a conflict over Taiwan.

“They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons,” said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organiser of the Track Two talks, the details of which are being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Participants in Track Two talks are generally former officials and academics who can speak with authority on their government’s position, even if they are not directly involved with setting it. Government-to-government negotiations are known as Track One. Washington was represented by about half a dozen delegates, including former officials and scholars at the two-day discussions, which took place in a Shanghai hotel conference room.

Beijing sent a delegation of scholars and analysts, which included several former People’s Liberation Army officers.

A State Department spokesperson said in response to Reuters’ questions that Track Two talks could be “beneficial”. The department did not participate in the March meeting though it was aware of it, the spokesperson said. Such discussions cannot replace formal negotiations “that require participants to speak authoritatively on issues that are often highly compartmentalized within (Chinese) government circles,” the spokesperson said.

Members of the Chinese delegation and Beijing’s defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The informal discussions between the nuclear-armed powers took place with the U.S. and China at odds over major economic and geopolitical issues, with leaders in Washington and Beijing accusing each other of dealing in bad faith.

The two countries briefly resumed Track One talks over nuclear arms in November but those negotiations have since stalled, with a top U.S. official publicly expressing frustration at China’s responsiveness. The Pentagon, which estimates that Beijing’s nuclear arsenal increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2023, said in October that China “would also consider nuclear use to restore deterrence if a conventional military defeat in Taiwan” threatened CCP rule.

Track Two negotiations

The Track Two talks are part of a two-decade nuclear weapons and posture dialogue that stalled after the Trump administration pulled funding in 2019.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, semi-official discussions resumed on broader security and energy issues, but only the Shanghai meeting dealt in detail with nuclear weapons and posture.

Nuclear policy analyst William Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre think-tank, who was not involved in the March discussions, said the Track Two negotiations were useful at a time of glacial U.S.-Chinese relations.

“It’s important to continue talking with China with absolutely no expectations,” he said, when nuclear arms are at issue.

No first-use?

The U.S. Department of Defence estimated last year that Beijing has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably field more than 1,000 by 2030.

That compares to 1,770 and 1,710 operational warheads deployed by the U.S. and Russia respectively. The Pentagon said that by 2030, much of Beijing’s weapons will likely be held at higher readiness levels. Since 2020, China has also modernised its arsenal, starting production of its next-generation ballistic missile submarine, testing hypersonic glide vehicle warheads and conducting regular nuclear-armed sea patrols. Weapons on land, in the air and at sea give China the “nuclear triad” – a hallmark of a major nuclear power.

A key point the U.S. side wanted to discuss, according to Santoro, was whether China still stood by its no-first-use and minimal deterrence policies, which date from the creation of its first nuclear bomb in the early 1960s.

Minimal deterrence refers to having just enough atomic weapons to dissuade adversaries. China is also one of two nuclear powers – the other being India – to have pledged not to initiate a nuclear exchange. Chinese military analysts have speculated that the no-first-use policy is conditional – and that nuclear arms could be used against Taiwan’s allies – but it remains Beijing’s stated stance.

Santoro said the Chinese delegates told U.S. representatives that Beijing maintained these policies and that “‘we are not interested in reaching nuclear parity with you, let alone superiority.'”

“‘Nothing has changed, business as usual, you guys are exaggerating’,” Santoro said in summarising Beijing’s position.

His description of the discussions was corroborated by fellow U.S. delegate Lyle Morris, a security scholar at the Asia Society Policy Institute. A report on the discussions is being prepared for U.S. government but would not be made public, Santoro said.

‘Risk and opacity’

Top U.S. arms control official Bonnie Jenkins told Congress in May that China had not responded to nuclear-weapons risk reduction proposals that Washington raised during last year’s formal talks.

China has yet to agree to further government-to-government meetings.

Bejing’s “refusal to substantively engage” in discussions over its nuclear build-up raises questions around its “already ambiguous stated “no-first-use” policy and its nuclear doctrine more broadly,” the State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

China’s Track Two delegation did not discuss specifics about Beijing’s modernisation effort, Santoro and Morris said.

Alberque of the Henry Stimson Centre said that China relied heavily on “risk and opacity” to mitigate U.S. nuclear superiority and there was “no imperative” for Beijing to have constructive discussions.

China’s expanded arsenal – which includes anti-ship cruise missiles, bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines – exceeded the needs of a state with a minimal deterrence and no-first-use policy, Alberque said.

Chinese talking points revolved around the “survivability” of Beijing’s nuclear weapons if it suffered a first strike, said Morris.

The U.S. delegates said the Chinese described their efforts as a deterrence-based modernisation programme to cope with developments such as improved U.S. missile defences, better surveillance capabilities, and strengthened alliances. The U.S., Britain and Australia last year signed a deal to share nuclear submarine technology and develop a new class of boats, while Washington is now working with Seoul to coordinate responses to a potential atomic attack.

Washington’s policy on nuclear weapons includes the possibility of using them if deterrence fails, though the Pentagon says it would only consider that in extreme circumstances. It did not provide specifics.

One Chinese delegate “pointed to studies that said Chinese nuclear weapons were still vulnerable to U.S. strikes – their second-strike capability was not enough”, said Morris.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference to mark his first month in office in Taipei, Taiwan, June 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Wednesday that China was attempting to force the self-ruled island into submission but that it would not bow to pressure.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control.

In recent years, Beijing has upped military and political pressure on the Taipei government, with the latest show of force coming three days after Mr. Lai’s inauguration, when China conducted war games around the island.

Speaking at a Wednesday press conference marking his first month in office, Mr. Lai said: “The annexation of Taiwan is a national policy of the People’s Republic of China”.

“In addition to military force, they have increasingly employed non-traditional methods of coercion to try to force Taiwan into submission,” he said.

“However, Taiwan will not bow to the pressure. The people of Taiwan will resolutely defend national sovereignty and uphold the democratic and free constitutional way of life.”

China had said the war games – launched days after Mr. Lai’s May 20 inauguration – were “punishment” for his inaugural speech, which Beijing dubbed a “confession of Taiwan independence”.

Encircling Taiwan with warships, fighter jets and coastguard vessels, China said the three-day drills – dubbed Joint Sword-2024A – were a test of its ability to seize control of the island.

After the exercises, Beijing vowed military pressure would continue “as long as ‘Taiwan independence’ provocations continue”.

U.S. weapons sale

Taiwan – separated from China by a narrow 180-kilometre (110-mile) strait – has its own government, military and currency.

As China has increased pressures around the island, Taiwan has sought to strengthen economic ties with friendly countries while ramping up military purchases from the United States, a key partner.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but it has remained Taiwan’s biggest arms supplier, sparking repeated condemnations from China.

On Tuesday, the US Pentagon in Washington announced the approval of two arms sales to Taiwan: $300 million in unmanned aerial vehicles, and $60.2 million for equipment including more than 700 Switchblades – a miniature, precision-guided missile.

Taiwan’s defence ministry on Wednesday thanked Washington for the approval of the deals, which are expected to take effect in a month’s time.

“In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s frequent military operations around Taiwan, the US side in this case agreed to sell arms items that… can respond quickly to enemy threats,” the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Washington also approved the sale of equipment and parts for F-16 fighter jets worth approximately $300 million.

Mr. Lai on Wednesday thanked the United States for its support, reiterating the need to develop “resilience” in Taiwan’s defence strategy.

“The people of Taiwan love peace and are kind to others, but peace must be backed by strength. Achieving peace through preparedness is the way to avoid conflict,” he said.

The new president is regarded as a “dangerous separatist” by China and has hewed closely to the rhetoric of his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, saying that there is no need for Taiwan to formally declare independence as it is “already independent”.

Mr. Lai and Mr. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party has long asserted Taiwanese sovereignty, and China has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016.

During his inaugural speech, Mr. Lai signalled an openness to resuming dialogue with Beijing, calling for both sides to develop exchanges.

China, however, has appeared to rebuff those overtures.

It continues to maintain a near-daily presence of naval vessels and warplanes around the island, so-called grey zone tactics that fall short of an outright act of war but serve to exhaust Taiwan’s military.

In recent months, Chinese coast guard ships have also been spotted around Taiwan’s outlying islands, at times briefly entering its restricted waters.

Taiwan’s deputy coast guard head Hsieh Ching-chin said Wednesday that in the first 14 days of June, the agency had detected an average of four Chinese coast guard vessels in waters around the Taipei-administered island of Kinmen.

TAIPEI:

Taiwan is not seeking war with Beijing, and its policy is to build up a defensive, multi-level deterrence capability to make it harder for China to capture the island, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has faced a stepped-up military and political pressure campaign from Beijing to accept sovereignty claims that the government in Taipei rejects.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that China views the annexation and “elimination” of Taiwan as its great national cause, telling Taiwanese military cadets not to give in to the defeatism of “the first battle is the last battle”, a theory that Taiwan could collapse as soon as China launched an attack.

Asked at parliament by reporters how long Taiwan could hold out without U.S. support in the event of a Chinese attack, Koo said that was not the point of their strategy.

“It’s not an issue of how long we can last. Our strategy, our hypothesis, is asymmetric warfare to build our multi-domain deterrence, and during this process to weaken” China’s ability to invade, he said.

As part of ongoing military reforms, Taiwan is promoting the idea of “asymmetric warfare”, to make its forces, which are much smaller than China’s, more mobile and harder to attack, with for example vehicle-mounted missiles and drones.

China says Lai is a “dangerous separatist” who risks conflict by pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed.

Koo said it was China who is the “trouble maker” and provoker of tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

“We have never sought war. We are very clear that our entire strategy is defensive operations,” he added.

U.S. President Joe Biden has upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the United States would defend Taiwan if it were attacked, a deviation from a long-held U.S. position of “strategic ambiguity”.

Koo said the whole point of U.S. strategic ambiguity was to complicate China’s plans for any invasion of Taiwan.

“They will never be able to rule out the possibility of a U.S. military intervention,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

President Lai Ching-te warned cadets of Taiwan’s military academy on Sunday that their biggest challenge was “the strong rise of China”, which he said regards the “elimination” of the self-ruled island as a national cause.

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, and Chinese leaders have escalated their rhetoric in recent years to suggest “unification” is an “inevitability”.

Beijing has also stepped up military pressures, most recently launching war games that encircled the island with warplanes and naval vessels days after Mr. Lai was sworn into office last month.

Speaking Sunday at the centennial anniversary of the founding of Taiwan’s Whampoa military academy, Mr. Lai said teachers and cadets must recognise “the challenges and missions of the new era”.

“The greatest challenge is to face the strong rise of China, which has been destroying the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

“(It) aims for the annexation and the elimination of the Republic of China for its cause of great national revival,” Mr. Lai said, referring to Taiwan by its official name.

“The highest mission is to bravely take up the heavy responsibility and grand task of protecting Taiwan, and safeguarding the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The academy was founded in 1924 in Guangzhou, southern China. It moved to Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan, after the defeated Nationalists fled to the island in 1949.

Mr. Lai is regarded as a “dangerous separatist” by China, which said before the launch of war games in May that his inaugural speech was akin to a “confession of Taiwan independence”.

Mr. Lai had vowed in his speech to defend Taiwan’s democracy and freedom, while also calling for dialogue with China – which has been severed since 2016.

Like his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, Mr. Lai maintains that Taiwan does not need to have a formal declaration of independence – a redline for China – as it is “already independent”.

Singapore:

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun warned Sunday his military is ready to “forcefully” stop Taiwan independence but called for greater exchanges with the United States.

The remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore followed the first substantive face-to-face talks in 18 months between the two countries’ defence chiefs.

“We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet each other halfway,” Dong told the Shangri-La Dialogue where he met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday.

“We believe that we need more exchanges precisely because there are differences between our two militaries.”

Dong and Austin met for over an hour at the luxury hotel hosting the forum, which is attended by defence officials from around the world and in recent years has been seen as a barometer of US-China relations.

After the meeting, Austin said that telephone conversations between US and Chinese military commanders would resume “in the coming months”, while Beijing hailed the “stabilising” security relations between the countries.

This year’s Shangri-La Dialogue comes a week after China held military drills around self-ruled Taiwan and warned of war over the US-backed island following the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te, who Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist”.

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has always been an indestructible and powerful force in defence of the unification of the motherland, and it will act resolutely and forcefully at all times to curb the independence of Taiwan and to ensure that it never succeeds in its attempts,” Dong told the forum on Sunday.

“Whoever dares to split Taiwan from China will be crushed to pieces and suffer his own destruction.”

On the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely and where it has been involved in confrontations with Philippine vessels, Dong warned of “limits” to Beijing’s restraint.

“China has maintained sufficient restraint in the face of rights infringements and provocation, but there are limits to this,” Dong said.

Flashpoint disputes

President Joe Biden’s administration and China have been stepping up communication to ease friction between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month.

A key focus has been the resumption of military-to-military dialogue, which is seen as critical to preventing flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control.

China scrapped military communications with the United States in 2022 in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing were further stoked by issues including an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace, a meeting between Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi’s successor Kevin McCarthy and American military aid for Taipei.

China is also furious over the United States’ deepening defence ties in the Asia-Pacific, particularly with the Philippines, and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

Beijing views this as part of a decades-long US effort to contain it.

The two sides agreed after a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Biden last November to restart high-level military talks, including over military operations near Taiwan, Japan and in the South China Sea.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Taiwan’s new president said Sunday he was still ready to work with China, despite this week’s military drills around the self-ruled island.

Three days after Lai Ching-te was sworn in, Chinese warships and fighter jets encircled Taiwan in drills that China said were a test of its ability to seize the island.

During the two-day drills, China vowed that “independence forces” would be left “with their heads broken and blood flowing”.

Lai told reporters on Sunday that he wanted Taiwan and China to “jointly shoulder the important responsibility of regional stability”.

“I also look forward to enhancing mutual understanding and reconciliation through exchanges and cooperation with China… and moving towards a position of peace and common prosperity,” he said at an event in Taipei.

Communications between China and Taiwan were severed in 2016 after former president Tsai Ing-wen took office, pledging to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Lai, who comes from the same Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as Tsai, has vowed to maintain her policies of building up Taiwan’s defence capabilities, while remaining open to dialogue with China and strengthening relations with the island’s partners — particularly the United States.

But China said Lai’s inaugural speech on Monday amounted to calls for independence, “pushing our compatriots in Taiwan into a perilous situation of war and danger”.

“Every time ‘Taiwan independence’ provokes us, we will push our countermeasures one step further, until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved,” defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Friday.

Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told AFP that Lai would “hold firm to project resolve” after this first interaction between his administration and Beijing.

“However, he will no doubt be looking to leverage other international partners and friends to help facilitate more back-channel communications with Beijing,” Sung said.

On Sunday night, the United States’ de facto embassy announced that Republican Congressman Michael McCaul will lead a delegation to visit Taiwan from Sunday to Thursday “to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment”.

Taiwan’s presidential spokesperson Wen Lii said the delegation will be meeting with Lai on Monday.

The visit “conveys an expression of support for the new administration and the people of Taiwan through concrete actions,” he said.

Intimidation tactics

Since 2016, China has upped military and political pressures on Taiwan, and its naval vessels, drones and warplanes maintain a near-daily presence around the island.

The dispute has long made the Taiwan Strait one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.

During this week’s drills, fighter jets loaded with live ammunition scrambled towards targets and bombers formed formations to combine with warships to simulate “strikes against important targets”, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said.

Tong Zhen, from China’s Academy of Military Sciences, told state news agency Xinhua that the drills “mainly targeted the ringleaders and political centre of ‘Taiwan independence’, and involved simulated precision strikes on key political and military targets”.

Meng Xiangqing, a professor from Beijing-based National Defense University, told Xinhua that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) vessels “were getting closer to the island than ever before”.

“The drills have shown that we can control that eastern area,” Meng said, referring to the direction considered by the PLA the most likely from which external intervention could come.

The United States, which does not diplomatically recognise Taiwan but is its biggest ally and arms supplier, on Saturday urged China to “act with restraint”.

Experts say Beijing is seeking to intimidate and exhaust Taiwan’s military.

On Sunday, two days after the drills ended, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported that seven Chinese aircraft, 14 naval vessels and four coast guard ships were “operating around” the island in a 24-hour period ending at 06:00 am (2200 GMT Saturday).

The ministry also said in a separate statement that it had found a cardboard box containing political slogans that it said was left by Beijing on a dock in Erdan, an islet part of Taiwan-controlled Kinmen next to China’s Xiamen.

The defence ministry shrugged off the incident, saying it suspected it was intended to create online chatter.

‘Major test’

Lai’s first week in office also saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets of Taipei to protest bills proposed by the opposition Kuomintang — regarded as pro-Beijing — and the Taiwan People’s Party.

DPP lawmakers have been accusing the opposition of fast-tracking the bills — which expand parliament’s powers — without proper consultation.

With Lai’s DPP no longer holding the majority in parliament, his party will likely face challenges in passing his administration’s policies, such as bolstering the defence budget.

“The pressures are coming fast and early for the Lai administration,” Amanda Hsiao of the International Crisis Group told AFP.

“This is going to be a major test of their ability to manage multiple challenges, domestic and external, at the same time.”