Page 4 - South China Sea

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese Army aircraft, 7 naval vessels near its territory

According to Taiwan's MND, four of the PLA aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern and southwest Air Defense Identification Zone

Chinese premier Li Qiang flies to Australia after New Zealand visit

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is due to arrive in Australia on Saturday on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda. China's most powerful politician after President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Adelaide Zoo and a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in the Kwinana Beach industrial estate, as well as Australia's Parliament House, during a visit that will end on Tuesday. Li's visit is the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and is expected to pave the way for Xi's first journey to Australia since 2014. China initiated a reset of the bilateral relationship after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor Party was elected in 2022. The relationship collapsed during the previous conservative administration's almost decade in power over legislation that banned covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese-owned telecommunications giant

China's action against Philippine vessels threatens global security: Sweden

Sweden's defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing's repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, saying such actions threaten security, undermine stability and underscore the need to invest for our security and freedom. Defense Minister Pl Jonson spoke Thursday night in a diplomatic reception in Manila for Sweden's national day after meeting his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., on expanding defense relations. Sweden is one of the possible sources of supersonic fighter jets that the Philippines plans to acquire as its military shifts focus from decades of fighting communist and Muslim insurgencies to territorial defense. Let me express my deep concern on the repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippines vessels that have been taking place in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, Jonson said. He did not mention China in his speech but drew applause from an audience that included top Philippine military and security ...

Taiwan detects Chinese military aircraft, vessels encircling nation

According to Taiwan's MND statement, seven PLA aircraft, 14 PLAN vessels, and four China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels were tracked operating in the island's vicinity

US 'deeply concerned' about China's military drills around Taiwan

Matthew Miller stated that US remains committed to its longstanding one China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act

Taiwan dispatches forces to areas around island after China's drills

The drills are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait, the north, south and east of Taiwan

Taiwan detects Chinese incursion with military vessels around island

seven People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels and four China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels operating around the nation up until 6 am

US, Taiwan navies quietly held drills in April amid rising China threat

US-Taiwan military engagement, including visits and training, are kept low-key and are often not officially confirmed because of China's objection to military contacts between Washington and Taipei

Taiwan defence min reports surge in Chinese military activity near island

Since September 2020, China has intensified its use of 'grey zone tactics' by operating more military aircraft and naval ships near Taiwan

India needs to have stable leadership amidst global turbulence: Jaishankar

The world will witness a "very, very stormy" churn because of conflicts, power shifts and sharpening competition in this decade, which makes it all the more important for India to have a stable and mature leadership, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said. In an exclusive interview to PTI late Thursday, Jaishankar painted a picture of the world radically different from the one we are living in now by the end of 2020s when asked to draw on his nearly 50 years of experience in diplomacy and politics to give an assessment of the global power balance. "Multiple conflicts, tensions, divides! With all these variables that I am putting to you, I am painting to you, actually, a very, very stormy international scene for the balance of the decade," said Jaishankar, a former ambassador to China and the United States, who was tapped for the political role by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. Jaishankar especially referred to the declining influence of the United States, the conflict in

US, Oz and Philippine forces sink a ship during war drills in S China Sea

Military force from the United States, Australian and the Philippines launched a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a ship Wednesday as part of largescale war drills in waters facing the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing. Military officials and diplomats from several countries, along with journalists, watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City on Wednesday in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s northern home province. More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippines, backed by a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries were participating in annual combat-readiness drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder, which started on April 22 and will end on Friday. It's the latest indication of how the United States and the Philippines have bolstered a defense treaty alliance that started in the ...

3 Indian Naval ships arrive in Singapore for deployment to South China Sea

Three Indian Naval Ships have arrived in Singapore as part of the operational deployment of the Navy's Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea, underscoring the strong linkages between both navies. Led by Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankha, Indian Naval Ships Delhi, Shakti, and Kiltan reached the city-state on Monday, the Indian Navy spokesperson said in a post on X. The visit is part of the "Op Deployment of #IndianNavy's @IN_EasternFleet to the #SouthChinaSea," it said, amidst China flexing its muscles in the South China Sea. Currently, the Chinese navy is involved in a standoff with the US-backed Philippines naval ships in the South China Sea. The Philippines is trying to assert its claim over the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea which is strongly resisted by China. China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims. The three Indian naval ships were welcomed by personnel of the Singapore Navy and the High Commissioner of

Taiwan detects nine Chinese aircraft, five naval vessels around nation

In response to Chinese action, Taiwan monitored the situation and deployed combat patrol aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal missile systems, according to Taiwan's MND statement

China angry over US aid to Taiwan, says island putting itself in 'danger'

China on Wednesday blasted the latest package of US military assistance to Taiwan on Wednesday, saying that such funding was pushing the self-governing island republic into a dangerous situation. The US Senate late Tuesday passed USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The package included USD 8 billion for Taiwan, meant to counter the threat of invasion by China, which claims the entire island as its own territory and has threatened to take it by force if necessary. The mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office said the aid seriously violates US commitments to China and sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces. Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian added that Taiwan's ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which won a third four-year presidential term in January, is willing to become a pawn for external forces to use Taiwan to conta

US, Philippine forces launch combat drills in disputed South China Sea

American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in years Monday in a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing. The annual exercises by the longtime treaty allies will run until May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel, along with more than 250 French and Australian forces. While the Philippine military maintains that the Balikatan Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder trainings are not directed at a particular country, some of their main conflict scenarios are set in or near the disputed South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine coast guard and accompanying ships have figured in a series of increasingly tense territorial faceoffs since last year. In encounters in disputed areas, Chinese coast guard vessels have resorting to water cannons, blocking and other dangerous maneuvers that have caused injuries to Philippine navy personnel and damaged supply boats. The Philippine military said a key focu

From AUKUS to Philippines: This week's events will keep China on its toes

US, UK and Australia slated to begin discussions on bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact to deter China in the Indo-Pacific

US, Japan, Oz and Philippines to stage military drills in S China Sea

The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing's aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The four treaty allies and security partners are holding the exercises to safeguard the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, they said in a joint statement issued by their defence chiefs Saturday. China was not mentioned by name in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims on historical grounds, was final and legally binding. China has refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the ruling and continues to defy it. The Philippines brought its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 aft

Taiwan detects 7 Chinese naval vessels, 3 military aircraft encircling it

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan

After China visit, Indonesia prez-elect vows to strengthen ties with Japan

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto said he wants to further strengthen relations with Japan as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday on the heels of a visit to China. Subianto, who's currently defence minister, told Kishida that the two countries are longtime friends who have built a cooperative relationship, and that he hoped to further strengthen the relationship. Japan has been seeking closer ties with Southeast Asian countries, especially in maritime security and defence, in the face of China's increasingly assertive military presence. Subianto, who will succeed Joko Widodo in October, chose Beijing for his first official overseas trip after his February election victory in a bid to emphasise steady ties with China amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have had repeated high-seas confrontations. In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Subianto pledged a continued friendly policy toward China. Chi

Chinese coast guard ships blast Philippine boat with water cannon

Two Chinese coast guard ships fired at a Philippine supply boat with water cannon on Saturday in the latest confrontation near a disputed South China Sea shoal, causing heavy damage to the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said. It was not immediately clear if the Philippine navy crew was injured, or whether their damaged boat, the Unaizah May 4, managed to maneuver past the Chinese coast guard blockade to deliver supplies to Philippine forces manning a territorial outpost in the nearby Second Thomas Shoal. It's the second time this month the Unaizah May 4 has been damaged during an attempt to resupply the outpost. The shoal has been occupied by a small contingent of Philippine navy personnel on a marooned warship since the late 1990s, but has recently been surrounded by Chinese coast guard and suspected militia vessels in an increasingly tense territorial standoff. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the ...