It includes 108.3 billion TWD for the purchase of advanced fighter jets, among other things…reports Asian Lite News
Amid rising tensions with China, Taiwan’s defence budget is set to go up by 13.9 per cent next year, according to a proposal announced by the Cabinet on Thursday.
According to the proposal, the total expenditure involving national defence in 2023 will amount to 586.3 billion Taiwan dollars (TWD) ($19.4 billion), reports dpa news agency.
It includes 108.3 billion TWD for the purchase of advanced fighter jets, among other things.
The Chinese military held large-scale manoeuvres around Taiwan earlier this month in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island on August 2.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday that the country had in recent years faced an expansion of military activities by China involving aircraft and warships.
The Ministry has vowed to strengthen Taiwan’s capability to conduct asymmetric warfare to deter the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
China in 2021 significantly increased the frequency of warplane sorties entering Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contacts between Taipei and others.
Holcomb plans to meet with other senior government officials and representatives from the semiconductor sector..reports Asian Lite News
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday received another delegation from the US amid rising tensions with China.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb arrived in Taipei on Sunday night for a four-day trip, reports dpa news agency.
Upon his arrival, he said in a tweet: “I landed in Taipei to kick off an economic development trip in Taiwan and South Korea. Indiana’s home to 10 Taiwanese & 12 South Korean businesses. This week marks my 2nd trip to South Korea as Governor and I’m proud to be the first governor to visit Taiwan since before the pandemic.”
His visit comes after recent trips by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrat Ed Markey drew ire from Beijing, which rejects official contacts between Taipei and other countries.
Beijing started large-scale military manoeuvres around Taiwan in response to Pelosi’s August 2 visit.
Tsai stressed in a presidential office meeting with Holcomb that the US and Taiwan are key security and economic allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Taiwan has been confronted by military threats from China, in and around the Taiwan Strait. At this moment, democratic allies must stand together and boost cooperation across all areas,” Tsai told the Indiana Governor.
She also said Taiwan was eager to strengthen cooperation to build sustainable supply chains.
Holcomb signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to facilitate bilateral business, trade and scientific cooperation.
He told Tsai that Indiana will continue to seek strategic partnerships with Taiwan and said he was excited about the prospect of future collaborations with Taiwan.
Holcomb plans to meet with other senior government officials and representatives from the semiconductor sector, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the island part of its territory.
Expert said that in terms of submarine capabilities, Taiwan has been able to hire foreign experts over the years to help with its development plans. …reports Asian Lite News
Amid heightened tension between China and Taiwan in the backdrop of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visit to the self-governed island, defence experts are of the view that a new fleet of modern submarines could help Taipei build strong deterrence against Beijing.
Analysts said in an RTI report published on Thursday that new subs would help Taiwan boost deterrence against China.
Michael Thim, a researcher focusing on Taiwan’s defence at the Prague-based think tank Association for International Affairs, said that Taiwan’s indigenous defence submarine program is necessary. Though submarines cannot prevent a Chinese invasion on their own, they constitute a strong deterrent force, Thim said, reported Taiwan News.
Subs patrolling in the shallow Taiwan Strait can use surrounding white noise as cover, he said, thus posing a threat to Chinese military transport ships at risk, he said.
Thim also said that in terms of submarine capabilities, Taiwan has been able to hire foreign experts over the years to help with its development plans. The US has so far been the primary partner in providing key submarine technologies, he said, reported Taiwan News.
More countries should be included in the future, such as Japan, which can build excellent submarines, the scholar said.
He added that the Hai Chien-class subs acquired by Taiwan in the 1980s have undergone substantial upgrades and can inflict damage on enemy ships, but have little deterrence effect.
China currently has about 60 conventional submarines that can be used to carry out maritime blockades, he pointed out.
Seth Cropsey, the former US deputy undersecretary of the Navy, suggested Japan hand over its retired submarines to Taiwan to strengthen the nation’s maritime defence capabilities, reported Taiwan News.
Holmes Liao, a former National Defence University distinguished lecturer, pointed out that in 2021, the People’s Liberation Army dispatched 961 fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, 17 per cent of which were variants of the Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft.
Given this unusually high statistic, submarines from the US Navy, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, or other foreign naval forces may be in Taiwan’s waters, but Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence rarely discloses these activities, Liao said.
The Taiwan Navy currently only has four conventional submarines, of which two are Hai Shih-class subs from World War II, and the other two are the above-mentioned Chien Lung-class ships built by the Netherlands in the early 1980s, reported Taiwan News.
Taiwan’s first domestically produced submarine is expected to be launched next September, a person familiar with the matter said on July 12.
Last week, a new delegation of US lawmakers visited Taiwan, less than two weeks after Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island angered China and set off large-scale military drills in the Taiwan Strait.
In response to this visit, China’s military conducted combat alert patrols and military drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan. On Tuesday, China staged military exercises in five areas of the South China Sea off the coast of the southeastern Guangdong province. Several zones of the Yellow Sea are also involved in the ongoing drills on August 17-19. (ANI)
Washington and Taipei had unveiled the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in June…reports Asian Lite News
The US and Taiwan have announced trade talks will officially launch after both sides agreed on a mandate.
Both sides had set out the broad objectives for trade talks aiming to “deepen our trade and investment relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, and promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for our workers and businesses”, Deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi said in a statement late Wednesday.
Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations also announced the launch of formal talks on Thursday , saying they are aiming for negotiations to attract more US and overseas investment and pave the way for the island to join international trade blocs such as the Japan-led Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), reports dpa news agency.
Tariffs will not be discussed, Taiwan’s trade office said.
Trade negotiations are expected to start in early autumn, the US Trade Representative’s office announced.
Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency reported the same time frame.
Washington and Taipei had unveiled the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in June.
The latest announcement on the talks comes after the August 2 visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan drew China’s ire.
Beijing started large-scale military manoeuvres around Taiwan in response.
After a delegation of US lawmakers travelled to Taiwan a few days ago, Beijing spoke of a new “provocation” from the US and announced further manoeuvres.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the island part of its territory.
Beijing rejects official contacts between other countries and Taipei.
Russian president says Washington needs conflicts to retain hegemony and they had turned Ukrainian people into cannon fodder…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Washington of seeking to prolong the conflict in Ukraine and of fueling conflicts elsewhere in the world, including with the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
“The situation in Ukraine shows that the US is trying to prolong this conflict. And they act in exactly the same way, fueling the potential for conflict in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” Putin said in televised remarks, addressing the opening ceremony of a security conference in Moscow via videolink.
“The American adventure in relation to Taiwan is not just a trip of an individual irresponsible politician, but part of a purposeful, conscious US strategy to destabilize and make chaotic the situation in the region and the world,” he added.
He said the visit was a “brazen demonstration of disrespect for the sovereignty of other countries and for its (Washington’s) international obligations.”
“We see this as a carefully planned provocation,” Putin said.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have been in tatters since Russia in late February launched a military intervention in pro-Western Ukraine.
Pummeled by a barrage of unprecedented Western sanctions, Putin has sought to bolster ties with countries in Africa and Asia, especially with China.
Moscow was in full solidarity with key ally Beijing during Pelosi’s August visit to self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, which China considers its territory.
Addressing a security conference attended by military officials from Africa, Asia and Latin America, Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that he sent troops into Ukraine in response to Washington turning the country into an “anti-Russia” bulwark.
“They need conflicts to retain their hegemony,” Putin charged. “That’s why they have turned the Ukrainian people into cannon fodder. The situation in Ukraine shows that the United States is trying to drag the conflict out, and it acts in exactly the same way trying to fuel conflicts in Asia, Africa and Latin America.”
The speech represented the latest attempt by the Russian leader to rally support amid bruising Western sanctions that targeted the Russian economy and finance along with its government structures, top officials and businesses for Moscow’s action in Ukraine.
“The American adventure in Taiwan wasn’t just a trip by an irresponsible politician. It was part of a deliberate and conscious U.S. strategy intended to destabilize the situation and create chaos in the region and the entire world, a blatant demonstration of disrespect for another country’ sovereignty and its own international obligations,” Putin said.
The Russian leader claimed that “Western globalist elites” were trying “to shift the blame for their own failures to Russia and China,” adding that “no matter how hard the beneficiaries of the current globalist model try to cling to it, it’s doomed.”
“The era of the unipolar world order is nearing its end,” he added.
Speaking at the same conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu charged that along with supplies of weapons to Ukraine, Western allies also have provided detailed intelligence information and deployed instructors to help the Ukrainian military operate the weapons systems.
“Western intelligence agencies not only have provided target coordinates for launching strikes, but Western specialists also have overseen the input of those data into weapons systems,” Shoigu said.
He dismissed allegations that Russia could potentially use nuclear or chemical weapons in the conflict as an “absolute lie.”
“From the military viewpoint, there is no need for using nuclear weapons in Ukraine to achieve the stated goals,” Shoigu said. “The main mission of the Russian nuclear forces is providing a deterrent against a nuclear attack.”
Shoigu added that the claims of a possible chemical attack by Russia were equally “absurd,” saying that Moscow fully liquidated its chemical weapons stockpiles in compliance with an international treaty banning chemical weapons.
China has long claimed sovereignty over the island. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims and says the island’s people should decide its future…reports Asian Lite News
A delegation of US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a two-day trip during which they will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, the second high-level group to visit while there are military tensions between the self-ruled island and China.
Beijing, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted military drills around the island after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in early August.
China has long claimed sovereignty over the island. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims and says the island’s people should decide its future.
The de facto US embassy in Taipei said the delegation is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is being accompanied by four House lawmakers on what it described as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
Taiwan’s presidential office said the group would meet Tsai on Monday morning.
“Especially at a time when China is raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the region with military exercises, Markey leading a delegation to visit Taiwan once again demonstrates the United States Congress’ firm support for Taiwan,” it said in a statement.
Markey chairs the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee. The co-leaders of the visit are Representative John Garamendi of the congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group and Representative Don Beyer, a spokesperson for Markey said.
China’s embassy in Washington said on Sunday that “members of the US Congress should act in consistence with the US government’s one-China policy” and argued the latest congressional visit “once again proves that the US does not want to see stability across the Taiwan Straits and has spared no effort to stir up confrontation between the two sides and interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said members of Congress have gone to Taiwan for decades and will continue to do so, adding that such visits were in accordance with the United States’ long-standing one-China policy.
Under that policy, the United States has official diplomatic relations with Beijing, and not Taiwan. However, Washington does not take a position on whether Beijing has sovereignty over Taiwan, and is bound under US law to provide Taiwan with means to defend itself.
Markey’s office said the lawmakers in Taiwan “will reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan as guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, US-China Joint Communiques, and Six Assurances, and will encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.”
The group will meet “with elected leaders and members of the private sector to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation, including investments in semiconductors,” Markey’s office said.
The delegation made a prior stop in South Korea, where Markey met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry published pictures of four lawmakers being met at Taipei’s downtown Songshan airport having arrived on a US air force transport jet, while Markey arrived at the Taoyuan international airport.
“The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest,” the de facto USembassy said.
While China’s drills around Taiwan have abated, it is still carrying out military activities.
Eleven Chinese military aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line or entered Taiwan’s air defense zone on Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said. Thirteen planes crossed the strait on Saturday, the ministry said.
US officials have said Beijing “overreacted” to Pelosi’s visit and used it as a pretext to try to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese officials are planning for President Xi Jinping to visit Southeast Asian nations and meet face-to-face with US President Joe Biden in November, Wall Street Journal reported.
This visit comes after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan which has irked the Chinese government and in response, they launched a military drill around the self-ruled island.
This visit would mark the Chinese leader’s first international trip in nearly three years and his first in-person meeting with Biden since the American leader’s inauguration.
According to the publication, this trip preparations suggest that Xi is confident about his fortunes at a twice-a-decade congress set to take place this fall, where he is expected to break with recent precedent and claim a third term as Communist Party chief.
The Chinese leader is first expected to conclude the party Congress and then would likely attend a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations on the Indonesian island of Bali from November 15 to 16. And after two days, Xi is expected to travel to Bangkok, Thailand’s capital to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, they said.
However, the plans can change as it is still at the early stage and the part of preparations is to prepare a possible meeting between Xi and Biden on the sidelines of one of the two summits, the people said.
“China supports Indonesia and Thailand as the hosts of the two conferences, and is willing to work with all parties to promote the conference to achieve positive results,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a response to The Wall Street Journal’s question on Xi’s potential trip.
Meanwhile, the White House said that the two leaders discussed a possible face-to-face meeting during their recent call and agreed to have their teams follow up to sort out the specifics. The official declined to provide details on the time or location, according to Wall Street Journal.
Recently, when Pelosi visited Taiwan against China’s wishes, Beijing started holding large-scale military exercises while threatening to take over the self-ruled island. After more than a week-long training near Taiwan, China on Wednesday announced that it has concluded its military drills, simulating an attack on the island.
PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said it had successfully completed various missions during recent drills around Taiwan and effectively tested the troops’ joint operation combat capacity, state media outlet Global Times reported.
The Chinese military said they will regularly organize combat readiness patrols in the Taiwan Strait.
Justifying its large-scale military drills and airspace violations in the East and South China sea, China said that after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the country is now preparing itself for every possible scenario.
Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Pelosi’s Taiwan visit is a major provocation that upgraded US-Taiwan relations and a real threat to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity adding that China has to prepare itself for every possible scenario.
Recently, on Friday, as many as 24 Chinese aircraft and six vessels were detected by the Taiwan Defence Ministry near its territory, two days after China halted its large-scale military drills near the self-ruled island. (ANI)
Military training and other preparations will also continue, the PLA command said, adding that it would “resolutely protect” China’s sovereignty and territorial integrit….reports Asian Lite News
China’s military exercises around Taiwan have been “successfully” completed for “the time being”, the eastern command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced, easing a crisis that had escalated fears about the risk of armed conflict.
Through joint military operations by the armed forces in the sea and air space around the island, the combat capability of the army had been “effectively tested”, dpa news agency quoted the PLA as saying on Wednesday evening.
However, changes in the situation in the Taiwan Strait would continue to receive close attention and “regular patrols” are planned.
Military training and other preparations will also continue, the PLA command said, adding that it would “resolutely protect” China’s sovereignty and territorial integrit.
In response to a visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi last week, China had been conducting large-scale military exercises around the self-governing island.
It was originally announced that the “combat exercises” were to end on Sunday, but they were then extended.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said late Wednesday that its armed forces will flexibly adjust their stance in accordance with threats posed by the enemy and the regional characteristics.
According to the Ministry, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, 10 Chinese navy warships and 36 warplanes were detected in the region surrounding Taiwan over the course of the day.
Among them, 17 Chinese jet fighters crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, it said.
Earlier, China had again threatened to take Taiwan by military means if necessary.
“We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification,” it said in a white paper on the Taiwan issue published by the Chinese government on Wednesday morning.
“But we will not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures.”
China has repeatedly made similar threats regarding Taiwan in the past.
“We want to make it clear here that the people of Taiwan hope to see peace. We don’t provoke, We don’t escalate conflicts. Taiwan will never retreat when we defend sovereignty and national security,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan’s government agency on policy dealings with Beijing, said that the white paper conveyed false statements.
The MAC clarified that the fact of the status quo is that Taiwan insists that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other and Taiwan rejects the model of “One Country, Two Systems” that Beijing used to bring Hong Kong back under its control.
The Council urged Beijing to acknowledge Taiwan’s constitutional system, which upholds democracy and freedom, and urged it further not to violate Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The Council also called on democratic partners in the world to continue to support Taiwan.
The Chinese leadership rejects official contact by other countries with Taiwan because it regards the island as part of its territory.
Taiwan, on the other hand, has long seen itself as independent.
The latest tensions were triggered last week by a visit to Taipei by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who travelled there despite Beijing’s fierce opposition….reports Asian Lite News
Amid the continuing tensions over Taiwan, China on Wednesday again threatened to take the democratic self-governing island by military means if necessary.
“We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification,” dpa news agency quoted a white paper on the Taiwan issue published by the Chinese government as saying.
“But we will not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures. Use of force would be the last resort taken under compelling circumstances. We will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.
Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2022 shows a Taiwan military vessel as seen from a warship of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during the navy’s combat exercises and training in the waters around the Taiwan Island. The Eastern Theater Command on Friday continued joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island. (Photo by Lin Jian/Xinhua/IANS)
“Let there be no doubt, we will tolerate no foreign interference in Taiwan, we will thwart any attempt to divide our country, and we will combine as a mighty force for national reunification and rejuvenation.
“The historic goal of reuniting our motherland must be realized and will be realised,” it said.
China has repeatedly made similar threats regarding Taiwan in the past.
The latest tensions were triggered last week by a visit to Taipei by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who travelled there despite Beijing’s fierce opposition.
In response, China launched war games including live-fire drills in six maritime areas around Taiwan.
The Chinese leadership rejects such official contact by other countries with Taiwan because it regards the island as part of its territory.
Taiwan, on the other hand, has long seen itself as independent.
Taiwan is a critical part of the global supply chains dealing with microchips and semiconductors, which go into everything ranging from mobile phones to electric cars…writes Atul Aneja
China’s decision to extend military drills around Taiwan, is an effort to sharpen the message to the United States not to join the island territory in a possible war with Beijing.
On Monday, China’s eastern theatre command announced that it was extending the military manoeuvres surrounding Taiwan, which began following the controversial visit to the territory by the US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The four-day exercises which were to terminate on Sunday, were an effort to demonstrate that China could blockade the island and disrupt global trade.
Taiwan is a critical part of the global supply chains dealing with microchips and semiconductors, which go into everything ranging from mobile phones to electric cars.
In the last four days, the Chinese had curated their exercises to send some unvarnished messages to deter Taiwan and more so, the United States, from interfering in case Beijing decided to capture the territory, which it has designated as its own.
Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2022 shows a Taiwan military vessel as seen from a warship of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during the navy’s combat exercises and training in the waters around the Taiwan Island. The Eastern Theater Command on Friday continued joint combat exercises and training in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island. (Photo by Lin Jian/Xinhua/IANS)
According to China’s logic, Pelosi’s visit would further encourage forces inside Taiwan to declare independence-a clear violation of the one-China principle. China has declared that apart from Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang are also its inalienable territorial units. It cites Hong Kong and Macao as examples of “peaceful unification”-a template that Taiwan must also follow or face the possibility of a military takeover.
Before announcing the extension of the exercise, the Chinese had fired 11 ballistic missiles. Five of them fell in the sea east of Taiwan, the Taiwanese foreign ministry said. By targeting the area, China was apparently showing intent to stop the US seventh fleet from joining Taiwan in the war against China through the Taiwan straits.
Located between China’s Fujian province and the main Taiwan island, the Taiwan strait at its narrowest point is only 160 kilometres wide.
Based in Yokosuka in Japan the Seventh Fleet deploys massive fire power comprising 50-70 ships, 150 aircraft and 27,000 Sailors and Marines.
Two of the missiles were fired into the sea southwest of Taiwan near the Bashi Channel. The Bashi channel is part of the Luzon strait, which separates the orchid island of Taiwan from the Philippines. Significantly, several undersea cables that carry data and telephone traffic to southeast Asia pass through the channel, making it a prized target to disrupt the internet in the region.
Besides, the Bashi channel is crucial for the transit of US aircraft carriers from the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea to the north. By trying to demonstrate their missile reach, the Chinese are trying to send the message that they can delay the arrival of US firepower by at least a week, during which the military operation to take over Taiwan could apparently conclude.
The extended round of the exercise that began on Monday included anti-submarine drills, to deter the US from using these highly potent underwater platforms.
In trying to enforce a blockade, the Chinese have been attempting to exercise control over the territory’s key ports. These include the Keelung Port and Taipei Port in the north, the Taichung port, Kaohsiung port in the south and Hualien Port in the east. “If the PLA exercises take a long time, it will constitute a substantial blockage of Taiwan,” Global Times, the garrulous mouthpiece of the CPC, quoted a Chinese military expert as saying.
The PLA’ s drills this time are “comprehensive and highly targeted,” showing the determination of resolving the Taiwan question once and for all, another Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping told the daily.
The drill should be viewed as a war plan rehearsal, Song said, “In the event of a future military conflict, it is likely that the operational plans currently being rehearsed will be directly translated into combat operations.”
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