Asia

China to hold fresh drills around Taiwan despite US condemnation

by By Sebastien Ricci with Beiyi Seow in Beijing and Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France-Presse PINGTAN, China (AFP) — China was set to press ahead Friday with its largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan despite firm statements of condemnation by the United States, Japan and the European Union. Beijing’s decision to fire ballistic missiles and deploy fighter jets around Taiwan saw Washington lambast what it said was a gross overreaction to a visit to the […]

Chinese missiles ‘serious problem that impacts our national security’: Japan PM

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister on Friday condemned China’s firing of ballistic missiles during military drills around Taiwan, calling them a “serious problem that impacts our national security and the safety of our citizens”. Five Chinese missiles appear to have fallen in the country’s exclusive economic zone, Tokyo has said, with four of those believed to have flown over Taiwan’s main island. “China’s actions this time around have a serious impact on the […]

China’s Taiwan war games threaten more global supply chain disruption

Beijing, China | AFP by Poornima WEERASEKARA Chinese military exercises around Taiwan are set to disrupt one of the world’s busiest shipping zones, analysts told AFP, highlighting the island’s critical position in already stretched global supply chains. The drills — China’s largest-ever around Taiwan — are a major show of strength after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi infuriated Beijing by visiting the island. The manoeuvres kicked off Thursday and will take place along some of […]

US House Speaker Pelosi lands in Japan, final stop on Asia trip

  Tokyo, Japan | AFP by Katie Forster US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan on Thursday for the final stop on her Asian tour, following a visit to Taiwan that incensed China. AFP reporters saw the politician disembark from her plane at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, before greeting the US ambassador and other officials with hugs and handshakes. Beijing has launched large-scale military drills in the waters around Taiwan after Pelosi this […]

China fires missiles around Taiwan in major military drills

Pingtan, China | AFP by Sebastien Ricci, with Beiyi Seow in Beijing and Amber Wang in Taipei China fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets and warships on Thursday as it held its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force sparked by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. Pelosi was the highest-profile US official to visit Taiwan in years, defying a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the […]

Radio warnings signal Taiwan angst over China blockade drills

  Keelung, Taiwan | AFP by Sean Chang and Amber Wang In Taiwan’s Keelung port dispatchers spent much of Thursday broadcasting warnings to fishing boats heading north, reminding them that China’s military was conducting live-fire drills nearby. “This is the Keelung radio station,” the radio system crackled. “China’s People’s Liberation Army will conduct military exercises from August 4th at noon…” The warnings, at the top of every hour, were a stark reminder that Taiwan’s 23 […]

Myanmar junta charges Japanese journalist with encouraging dissent

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP A Japanese journalist detained in Myanmar has been charged with breaching immigration law and encouraging dissent against the military, the ruling junta said Thursday. Myanmar’s military has clamped down on press freedoms since its coup last year, arresting reporters and photographers as well as revoking broadcasting licences as the country plunged into chaos. Toru Kubota, who was held while covering a protest in Yangon last week, “has been charged under section […]

Chinese missiles believed to have landed in Japan’s EEZ: defence minister

  Tokyo, Japan | AFP Ballistic missiles fired by China are believed to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone for the first time, Tokyo’s defence minister said Thursday. “Five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China are believed to have landed within Japan’s EEZ,” Nobuo Kishi told reporters, as China holds massive military drills in the waters around Taiwan. Japan had “lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels”, Kishi said, calling the […]

ASEAN ministers warn Taiwan tensions could spark ‘open conflicts’

  by Lisa Martin and Rose Troup Buchanan Agence France Presse PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers urged restraint Thursday as China launched massive military drills off Taiwan, warning the situation risked spiralling into “open conflicts”. A furious Beijing kicked off its biggest-ever exercises around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit this week to the self-ruled island. Ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in […]

Taiwan govt websites attacked during Pelosi visit

  TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Major Taiwanese government websites were temporarily forced offline by cyber attacks believed to be linked to China and Russia during US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, Taipei said Thursday. The websites of the presidential office, foreign ministry and the main government English portal came under attack Tuesday night when Pelosi arrived for a landmark visit that enraged Beijing. China, which claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of […]

China begins major Taiwan military drills after Pelosi visit

  by Sebastien Ricci, with Beiyi Seow in Beijing and Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France Presse PINGTAN, China (AFP) — China’s largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan kicked off Thursday, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes after a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi left Taiwan Wednesday after a trip that defied a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its […]

A stone’s throw from Taiwan, beachgoers aren’t worried about war

by Sebastien RICCI Agence France-Presse XIAMEN, China (AFP) — On a beach in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, just a few kilometers from an island controlled by the Taiwanese authorities, life is carefree despite some of the worst cross-strait tensions in decades. Ignoring stark warnings from Beijing, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived late Tuesday in Taiwan — the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the island in 25 years — sparking a diplomatic […]