Taiwan on Alert over China's Military Activities in Pacific
Lai, in a statement released by his office after meeting with defense officials, said the conflict between Israel and Iran has led to a "chain of global security challenges."
"From the perspective of our country and even the Indo-Pacific region, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that China's military pressure in the entire region of the first and second island chains has not slowed due to the situation in the Middle East," he said.
"The actions of the two aircraft carrier groups of the Shandong and Liaoning in the relevant waters of the first and second island chains in the past few days have posed considerable risks for the Indo-Pacific region and have aroused the heightened concern of the international community."
The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan southeast to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places such as the U.S. territory of Guam.
Lai said he had asked the defense and security teams to strengthen their monitoring of regional developments and enhance their "intelligence gathering and research capabilities."
At the same time, Taiwan should maintain close coordination with its "friends" to ensure a swift response to any "emergencies," he added.
China's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.
China's navy, which has been honing its abilities to operate farther from the country's coast, said last week the carrier operations were "routine training" exercises that did not target specific countries or regions. China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan says US doubling tariffs on India presents ‘strategic opening' for Islamabad
KARACHI: US President Donald Trump's move to double tariffs on Indian goods presents a 'strategic opening' for Islamabad to deepen its trade partnership with Washington, Pakistan's finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday. Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to place an additional 25 percent tariff on India on top of a 25 percent tariff that went into effect on Thursday. The move made India one of the most heavily taxed US trading partners in Asia. Pakistan, India's traditional arch-rival, has meanwhile improved its ties with Washington. Pakistan and the US finalized a trade agreement last week under which a 19 percent tariff was imposed on a wide range of Pakistani goods. The new rate marked a considerable reduction from the initially proposed 29 percent under a sweeping executive order signed by Trump. 'The US tariff hike on Indian goods presents a strategic opening for Pakistan,' Schehzad told Arab News. Washington's 19 percent tariff on Pakistani goods makes them less expensive than Indian goods, making Pakistan one of the countries with the lowest tariff profiles in the region. 'We see this as a moment of opportunity to deepen trade and economic ties with the United States,' the finance official added. The US is Pakistan's largest export destination, State Minister for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani said on Thursday. He added that out of $32 billion of Pakistan's exports in the last fiscal year, $6 billion went to the US. Pakistan's tariff deal with the US took place at a time when Islamabad is pushing for an economic revival, buoyed by a $7 billion financial bailout package by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pakistan has undertaken financial reforms over the past two years. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked authorities to ensure Islamabad's $32 billion annual exports surge to over $60 billion by fiscal year 2028-29. Pakistan, having one of the lowest regional tariff profiles and also attracting a growing US investment interest, is positioned to expand its exports, particularly in textiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, technology, mining & minerals, and other value-added manufacturing, Schehzad said. 'This agreement will help us realize the long-term export targets we have set under Uraan Pakistan program,' he said, referring to the government's economic plan that aims to make Pakistan a trillion-dollar economy by 2035. 'MAJOR OBSTACLES' Pakistani businesspersons, especially those related to textiles, think otherwise. Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), said the US has imposed the lowest trade tariffs in the region on Pakistan, which Islamabad should take full advantage of. However, he said higher production costs in Pakistan could neutralize this benefit. 'Taxes and high electricity and gas prices for the industry are major obstacles to taking advantage of low tariffs,' Sheikh said. The textile industry is Pakistan's biggest foreign exchange earner, fetching $18 billion during the last fiscal year, most of which came from the US. Kamran Arshad, chairman of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), was also unsure whether the new trade agreement with the US would benefit Pakistan significantly. 'The costly power and high interest rates would not allow us to compete (in the global textile market) at this 19 percent tariff,' Arshad told Arab News. Last week, Pakistan's central bank kept the policy rate unchanged at 11 percent, adopting a cautious approach. According to the APTMA, Pakistan has a higher interest rate of 11 percent, compared to India's 5.5 percent, Bangladesh's 10 percent, Vietnam's 4.5 percent, Sri Lanka's 7.75 percent, Indonesia's 5.25 percent and Cambodia's 3 percent. The power tariff for industries in Pakistan, meanwhile, stands at $0.16 kilowatt per hour as compared to $0.096 in India, $0.10 in Bangladesh, $0.08 in Vietnam, $0.06 in Sri Lanka, $0.07 in Indonesia and $0.135 in Cambodia, the data shows. Pakistani businesses are paying 29 percent corporate income tax and as much as 10 percent super tax compared to the 27.5 percent preferential taxes their competitors from India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Cambodia are paying on incomes. 'Pakistan's corporate tax, policy rate, labor costs, electricity rate put us at a disadvantage with India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia,' Arshad noted. Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based brokerage firm Topline Securities, said the US is a 'big market' for pharmaceuticals, textiles and food products. 'If Pakistan gets preferential treatment in the US market, this will help our companies grow further,' he said.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
India vows to protect national interests after Trump threatens Delhi with 50 percent tariff
NEW DELHI: India has vowed to take 'all actions necessary' to protect its national interests after President Donald Trump doubled US tariffs on India to 50 percent over Delhi's purchase of Russian oil. Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to place an additional 25 percent tariff on India on top of a 25 percent tariff that is set to go into effect on Thursday, making the South Asian country one of the most heavily taxed US trading partners in Asia. The order finds India is 'currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,' and says it is 'necessary and appropriate' to apply the new 25 percent tariff on Indian goods. The US is India's top export market, making up around 18 percent of exports and 2.2 percent of its GDP. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the US decision to impose additional tariffs were 'extremely unfortunate,' as Delhi's imports from Russia 'are based on market factors' and done to ensure energy security for the 1.4 billion Indian population. 'We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,' he said in a statement. The 50 percent tariff could cut Indian GDP by 0.6 to 0.8 percent, according to Arupam Manur, an economist at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore. The cut would risk India's economic growth slipping below 6 percent this year. As the combined tariffs will go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, India still has time to negotiate with the Trump administration. 'There is speculation that the 25 percent additional tariffs might be a negotiating tactic by the Trump administration, which can be used as a leverage point against India in the upcoming round of trade talks,' Manur said. 'So, India will continue negotiating with the US, but the room for making concessions to the US is getting smaller due to the bad-faith nature of dealings.' India will likely look at diversifying trade partners, as Washington becomes increasingly 'unreliable trading partner with multiple ad-hoc tariff impositions.' 'The recently concluded FTAs (free trade agreements) with Australia and the UK have come at a good time. India will hope to sign a trading arrangement with Europe as well. India will also look to strengthen its trading relationship with the Middle East,' Manur said, highlighting how UAE and Saudi Arabia are India's third and fifth largest trading partners, respectively. As India exports around $81 billion goods annually to the US, the impact would be felt in India domestically in labor-intensive industries, such as gems and jewelry, apparel, textiles, auto parts, sea food and chemicals. Lalit Thukral, president of the Noida Apparel Export Cluster, which employs about one million people, said the 50 percent tariff rate is 'too much' for his industry. 'The 50 percent is out of reach now. We cannot do that. It means you have to close your factories, close your business … Buyers who are in the US are running away … They are placing orders to China, Vietnam or a third country. They will not come to India now,' he told Arab News. 'I have been in this field for the last 45 years and for the first time we have seen this kind of situation. This is a very horrible situation. Had we known that this trouble was coming we could have planned it, but we were not ready for this kind of thing to come.'
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Sri Lankan activists call on govt to revoke visa-free policy for Israeli nationals
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan activists are calling on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to revoke the government's decision to grant visa-free entry to Israeli nationals, a policy they say contradicts the island nation's long-standing solidarity with Palestine. Sri Lanka has moved to extend its visa-free entry policy to tourists from 40 countries, including Israel, to attract more tourists and speed up the country's economic recovery, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath announced last month. The decision to include Israel was swiftly opposed by members of Sri Lanka's civil society, who demanded that Dissanayake exclude Israelis from the policy. Sri Lankans have also taken to the streets to protest the government's decision, including a demonstration outside the presidential secretariat in Colombo on Tuesday, and a similar rally in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week. Thanzeela Ousman, who participated in Tuesday's protest, told Arab News: 'This (visa-free) policy was introduced while the world is witnessing what many, including even Israeli human rights organizations, are calling a genocide in Gaza. 'These groups are urging the international community to impose political and economic pressure on Israel to stop the violence. Instead, our government is offering free access to Israeli nationals, effectively rewarding an aggressive state. 'At the very minimum, Sri Lanka should suspend this visa-free policy and re-evaluate all ties with Israel. We should be aligning with global calls for (a) ceasefire, humanitarian access, and justice, not offering red carpets.' Swasthika Arulingam, a Sri Lankan lawyer and human rights activist, said that since Israel has mandatory military service for citizens over 18, effectively making most of them members of the Israel Defense Forces, the visa policy was a matter of national security. 'This is a terrible policy for the country … When they are being encouraged to come to a tourist area in Sri Lanka, that itself is a national security concern because they're fighting in a foreign army,' she told Arab News. Arulingam also highlighted how the Sri Lankan government has recognized Palestine as a state since 1988 and voted to support numerous UN resolutions opposing Israel. 'They can't maintain a duplicity by essentially inviting the same IDF soldiers who are committing war crimes to the Palestinian people — committing genocide — to come to Sri Lanka for recreation. When you do that, you are directly complicit in the genocide,' she said. 'During the 1940s, it would have been like inviting the Nazis to come and have a holiday camp in Sri Lanka … It's very similar to that.' Concerns over tourists from Israel have been growing in Sri Lanka. The government has vowed to crack down on reported illegal activities carried out by Israeli tourists in the coastal town of Arugam Bay earlier this year, following a series of complaints regarding their arrival in the country. Civil society groups have protested and petitioned for special screenings of Israelis, after at least one Israeli tourist was identified as a soldier accused of war crimes. Israel has killed more than 61,100 Palestinians and wounded over 151,400 since October 2023. The true death toll is feared to be much higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent. The study says the toll may be higher, as it does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to healthcare, caused by the Israeli military's destruction of most of Gaza's infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid. In a letter to Dissanayake, lawmaker Mujeebur Rahman described the government's decision to include Israel in the visa-free policy as a 'shameful decision.' 'This allows credibly accused war criminals to enter our motherland and possibly escape justice. It is further alarming to note that Palestine is not among the nations that can enter Sri Lanka without a visa. This is not what is expected from the leadership of a country that has consistently supported a free Palestine,' he wrote. 'Your government's decision to open the country without due diligence, scrutiny and vetting to IDF members, war criminals, criminal settlers in (the) occupied West Bank and Zionist extremists will inevitably land you and Sri Lanka among the international rejects complicit in the genocide. This will certainly outweigh the currency you expect to gain from tourism.' Despite the protests, Sri Lankan activists say there has been no response from the government. Shaamil Hussein, a member of the Free Palestine Movement of Sri Lanka, told Arab News: 'Many Sri Lankans over here … empathize with the Palestinian struggle for justice and self-determination. 'By allowing visa-free entry for Israelis, the government may be seen as compromising its historical support for Palestine.' 'It's vital for Sri Lanka to maintain its principal stance against injustice and oppression.'
