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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Biden met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan on Monday to advance cooperation on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.
In an interview, Biden reiterated a previous pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.
According to the MND, 15 of the 26 People's Liberation Army aircraft were observed in Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone.
In turn, President Biden said that the US does not support 'Taiwan's independence'.
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 scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
During a daily briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao said Beijing hopes Washington, DC will work with China to implement the spirit of the two heads of state's virtual meeting through concrete actions to bring bilateral relations back onto the track of sound and steady development.
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.
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.
Taiwan's air force showed their preparedness as Chinese aircraft flew past the 68 nautical mile closest pointsto the island.
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.
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".
"I would like to wish India all the best. I also know that tomorrow, my dear friend, you are about to celebrate your birthday. "As per the Russian tradition, we never offer Congratulations in advance. So, I cannot do that right now," Putin said.
Two of Xi Jinping's chosen officials have disappeared from view, an indication of turmoil in Xi's government, months after he installed a collection of loyalist leaders in his cabinet, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
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.
China claims Taiwan as part of the mainland and vows to integrate what it calls the rebel province even by force.
'On the LAC, China can undertake military action at any place with much fewer resources. It can do 'salami slicing'.'
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned China that its 'material support' for Russia's war against Ukraine would attract sanctions and condemned the 'unacceptable violation' of American sovereignty by a Chinese spy balloon as he met Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi.
The United States, he said, will continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the face of Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine it, and to support Taiwan, in line with its longstanding policy.
In a show of strength, China is deploying its aircraft carrier group and a nuclear submarine in large-scale military drills in the Taiwan Strait in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-stakes visit to Taipei which infuriated Beijing as it claims the island as part of its territory.
"China creeps towards hegemony in Asia, threatens India's borders, and treats other countries as junior partners, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.
China, which considers the estranged island of Taiwan as part of its mainland, vociferously objects to any high-level foreign dignitaries meeting Taiwanese leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left for the Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that will also see the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi among other top world leaders.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday held their first in-person meeting in Bali, with both leaders underscoring the need to manage their differences and prevent a conflict, amid Beijing's coercive military posturing against Taiwan and in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war, China has been conducting military drills on its far north-eastern border, raising expert concerns that Beijing could be considering a push into Russian territory.
The first five months of 2023 have witnessed at least six major events/trends that augur badly for global economic and socio-political prospects, points out Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
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.
Blinken also underlined that diplomacy is the only way to definitively end the Russian conflict in Ukraine.
Taipei on Friday termed China's military exercises around the island nation 'highly provocative' after some Chinese aircraft and warships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
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.
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.
The about two-hour-long conversation between the two leaders over a secure video call focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it said.
Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.
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