As China continue to hold military drills near Taiwan coast after United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to Taipei, President Tsai Ing-wen has appealed for international support for the island nation and halt the escalation of the regional security situation.
Donald Trump is believed to be the first US President or President-elect to have spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan after its recognition of the People's Republic of China, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
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.
An independent Taiwan under President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party is anathema to China, observes Rup Narayan Das.
'If the situation deteriorates and there is further escalation, the USA is in preparedness.'
In an interview, Biden reiterated a previous pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.
Breaking decades of US diplomatic policy, President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and discussed various issues, a move which could infuriate China.
A White Paper which was released by the Chinese Communist Party on the Taiwan issue read that in order to reunify the island nation into the mainland, Beijing will use force and will turn towards 'armed re-unification'.
Pelosi said that she is in Taiwan to listen and learn from Taiwanese people as to how can they come together.
The photo published by the People's Liberation Army Air Force showing a long-range strategic bomber flying within visible range of Yushan, Taiwan's highest mountain, has caused great concern in Taiwan amid debate about whether the mainland will reunify the island by force, state-run Global Times reported.
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.
'Chinese pressure on Taiwan is unlikely to ease till Beijing feels that stability is being restored in the Sino-US relationship,' says former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
After taking over as Britain's prime minister, Theresa May has joined a small but growing band of female world leaders.
How will China deal with Taiwan's first woman president? Srikanth Kondapalli explains the significance of a historic election.
This military visit came amid heightened tensions between China and United States, with issues pertaining to disagreements over Taiwan and the COVID-19 pandemic.
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to 'seize control of the sea, air and information', days after a meeting between the United States House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.
China and the US flexed their naval might by deploying aircraft carriers in a rare showdown in the Taiwan Strait, the narrow channel that separates the Chinese mainland from Taiwan, as Beijing fumed over US House Speaker's meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Washington.
The President-elect has already infuriated China by talking over phone with the Taiwanese President, the first by a top American leader since 1979.
India needs to take note of China's assertiveness in implementing its national security law as also its recently exhibited sensitivity to criticism of Xi Jinping by the Indian media, says former senior R&AW officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said 30 Chinese warplanes made incursions into its air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, the highest daily figure in more than four months.
Much on the expected lines, Beijing reacted angrily to Hands' visit, saying that it violates the one-China principle to which London is a signatory.
China chose a sports contest to announce the change of the name of Taiwan, a self-governed cash-rich island.
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.
Taiwan on Sunday expressed gratitude to India and several other countries for their calls for exercising restrain and avoiding unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in the face of China's belligerent military posturing following United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.
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.
Taiwan has been comparatively successful in containing the spread of the virus, reporting to date 388 cases and six deaths in a population of around 24 million. No fans were allowed in the 20,000-seater stadium to watch the Lions win 4-1, with health concerns limiting attendees to a total of 200 players, coaches, umpires, cheerleaders and journalists, local media reported.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
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.
It said that the transit was "ongoing" and that there had been "no interference from foreign military forces so far."
"I fully understand the One-China policy. But I don't know why we have to be bound by a One-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," the US President-elect told Fox News.
Taiwan had shifted its purchases of large military platforms and systems, like fighter jets and naval vessels, to smaller lethal anti-ship and surface-to-air-missiles, reported The Singapore Post citing local media.
A naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning has conducted take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea.
China on Monday said it is keeping a close watch on reports of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan though it was conspicuously missing from her official Asia tour itinerary and warned of a resolute response by its military and strong countermeasures if she went ahead with the trip to Taipei.
China, which considers the estranged island of Taiwan as part of its mainland, vociferously objects to any high-level foreign dignitaries meeting Taiwanese leaders.
China on Wednesday said it will take "strong and effective" countermeasures against the US and Taiwan for violating the "One-China policy", as the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi successfully completed her visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's vociferous threats.
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.
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.
The women on the 17th annual Forbes Power List hail from 30 countries and were born across four generations.
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.
This is one of those crises where it does not only matter that you do something, but how you do it, suggests Mihir S Sharma.
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