By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
Taiwan says it detected multiple Chinese aircraft and naval vessels taking part in military drills around the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, in what could be a possible simulated attack against the island.
China calls the shoal Huangyan Dao. China has already deployed some of its biggest CCG vessels in the area to assert its claims.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday directed that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the ships in her strike group will remain on station in the general area to monitor the situation.
United States President Donald Trump said that China 'knows the consequences' if it attacks Taiwan, asserting that Chinese President Xi Jinping understands the situation 'very well'.
The eastern theatre command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army successfully completed all tasks of its combat readiness patrols and exercises around Taiwan Island, official media in Beijing reported.
With tensions between China and Taiwan rapidly increasing, the tone of China's official media has also become progressively more strident, observes former senior RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
'... with the rest split between mid and smallcaps, as valuations are becoming more attractive across segments.'
China has also announced that it would hold six live-fire military drills in waters around Taiwan.
China urged the US to immediately address its wrongdoings, take practical measures to undo the adverse effects caused by Pelosi's visit.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a substantial amount from Indian equities in the first half of March, driven by geopolitical tensions, rupee depreciation, and concerns about crude oil prices.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
President Xi Jinping has said that no one can ever stop Taiwan's reunification with China as he signed off 2024 amid growing anxieties in the country over the continued slowdown of the economy and the return of Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose punitive tariffs and trade measures against Beijing in his second term.
China's official media reported air and ground movement of troops in Taiwan Straits -- the waters that separate China and Taiwan -- as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday disregarding Beijing's stern warnings.
The incursions, according to Taiwan, were made by aircraft, including 12 J-11, 6 J-10, 18 J-16, six SU-30, CH-4, WZ-7, Y-8 EW, Y-8 ESW and KJ-500.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
China on Wednesday announced military drills around Taiwan, days after United States President Joe Biden said Washington would intervene militarily if Beijing tried to reunify with the island by force.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
The Chinese army's Eastern Theatre Command stated in a terse statement that it had conducted 'combined combat readiness patrols and joint firepower strike drills' surrounding Taiwan.
The Chinese military, on the last day of its largest-ever military exercises to vent out its anger over United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, carried out island saturation attack drills in the Taiwan Straits, amid global concerns of a full-scale attack to annex the breakaway island which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
Biden met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan on Monday to advance cooperation on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.
China on Monday continued its unprecedented military drills around Taiwan, extending the schedule of war games launched in retaliation to the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the breakaway island which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
China on Tuesday warned the United States that it will pay a 'heavy price' for its attempts to show support to Taiwan's independence as a delegation of ex-American defence officials dispatched by President Joe Biden landed in Taipei amid apprehensions that Beijing may attempt action against the self-ruled island akin to Russia's military assault in Ukraine.
The drills kickstarted on Saturday (April 8) right after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen returned from the US where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting to which China strictly showed opposition to.
Taiwan's air force showed their preparedness as Chinese aircraft flew past the 68 nautical mile closest pointsto the island.
The Taiwanese foreign minister said the time has come for all democratic countries to find ways to deal with China's expansionist agenda and its military muscle flexing, especially in the maritime domain.
In turn, President Biden said that the US does not support 'Taiwan's independence'.
Demonstrators believes the US is aggravating tensions between Beijing and Taipei, encouraging the Communists to perhaps strike militarily at Taiwan after Nancy Pelosi leaves the island.
In an interview, Biden reiterated a previous pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war but Beijing still claims the self-ruled island as part its territory.
According to the MND, 15 of the 26 People's Liberation Army aircraft were observed in Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone.
China, which considers the estranged island of Taiwan as part of its mainland, vociferously objects to any high-level foreign dignitaries meeting Taiwanese leaders.
Brinkmanship in the Taiwan Strait will not only be a recipe for disaster to both China and Taiwan, but also to international peace and stability, warns Rup Narayan Das.
A joint statement was issued by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa after their in-person meeting in Phnom Penh on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
two Mirage fighters landed on a freeway in southern Taiwan as China launched a huge military excercise in the strait.
China on Friday announced sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members for her visit to Taiwan this week, disregarding the strident warnings from Beijing, asserting that it violated China's sovereignty and the "One China policy".
A Taiwanese warship on Friday "mistakenly" fired a supersonic "anti-ship missile" towards China as it celebrated 95th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party amid assertions by President Xi Jinping ruling out independence for Taiwan.
Chinese experts on international studies warn that the strengthening of the US-Japanese alliance is targeted at China and would further complicate the nation's security environment.
