China escalates military pressure on Taiwan with ‘more provocative' aircraft carriers, ships
China conducted military expansion exercises around Taiwan, officials said.
Up to 70 Chinese ships were monitored in May.
A total of 75 Chinese aircraft were involved in three patrols near Taiwan.
China deployed two aircraft carrier groups and dozens of ships in waters north and south of Taiwan in May, a Taiwanese security official said on Monday, as Beijing keeps up military pressure on the self-ruled island.
Up to 70 Chinese ships, including navy vessels, were monitored from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea from 1 to 27 May, a security official said on the condition of anonymity.
Beijing has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around Taiwan in recent years as it pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty over the island.
China has refused to rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control, leaving the island to face the constant threat of invasion.
'Its military actions and grey-zone activities have included large-scale deployments across the entire island chain, involving comprehensive maximum pressure,' the security official said in remarks released on Monday.
'On average, there have been between 50 to 70 naval vessels and government ships as well as hundreds of sorties by various military aircraft continuously conducting harassment operations.'
READ | 'Blatant provocation': Taiwan detects record 45 China aircraft, 14 warships near island
Some of the ships passed through the Miyako Strait to the Western Pacific Ocean for 'long-distance training, including combined air-sea exercises', the official said.
Another 30 Chinese vessels with no name, documentation or port of registry were detected near Taiwan's Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait on 19 May and had been 'deliberately sent to harass', the official said.
And a total of 75 Chinese aircraft were involved in three 'combat readiness patrols' near the island during the month, Taiwan's defence ministry figures show.
Asia-Pacific's so-called first island chain links Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines, while the Yellow Sea is west of South Korea - all partners of the US and critical to its influence in the region.
The Taiwanese security official said China's activities in May were 'more provocative than previously observed'.
In one incident, Tokyo and Beijing exchanged diplomatic protests each accusing the other of 'violating' national airspace, after a Chinese helicopter and coast guard vessels faced off with a Japanese aircraft around disputed islands.
The Chinese actions were a demonstration of 'military expansion' and were aimed at controlling the 'entire island chain and improving their capabilities', the official said.
I-Hwa Cheng/AFP
China's deployment coincided with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's speech on 20 May marking his first year in office and came ahead of an annual security forum in Singapore at the weekend.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China was 'credibly preparing' to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia.
Beijing, which did not send its Defence Minister Dong Jun to the summit, warned Washington 'should not play with fire'.
'It felt like they were in a state where they could announce something at any moment, trying to seize on some opportunity or excuse to act,' the Taiwanese official said of the Chinese.
China has carried out several large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vanguard new ex-China ETF followed push from Missouri Republicans
By Suzanne McGee and Ross Kerber (Reuters) -Investment manager Vanguard's new exchange-traded fund targeting emerging markets outside of China appears to have followed a push from the Missouri State Treasurer's office for products excluding Chinese stocks. The product highlights a new front in the decoupling of economic links between the U.S. and China as a result of the trade war U.S. President Donald Trump has begun between the world's two largest economies. Vanguard filed on May 30 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the Vanguard Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF. Vivek Malek, Missouri's Treasurer, told Reuters the announcement came six weeks after a series of requests and meetings with Vanguard, a claim backed by letters and e-mails reviewed by Reuters. Malek successfully pushed for the state's pension fund to divest from publicly traded Chinese stocks in December 2023 and also pressed for a China-free fund option for the state's $4.5 billion 529 educational savings plan in an April 14 letter to the plan's program manager working with Vanguard. "I believe we moved the needle in the direction that helped them reach this decision," Malek said. Vanguard did not directly comment on Malek's statements, citing quiet period restrictions on discussing fund products still under SEC review. A Vanguard spokesman said the firm's goal is to offer investors of all kinds of lower-cost options. Had Vanguard not filed for its ex-China ETF when it did, the firm risked losing its position as the main provider of investment products in the state's 529 plan, Malek said. Next year, Missouri will be reconsidering which asset managers will be entrusted with those savings, and one of the conditions any firm must meet will be offering a fund that excludes Chinese stocks, Malek said. MORE EX-CHINA PRODUCTS Ex-China ETFs have been launched with growing frequency within the last three years, according to Morningstar, and Vanguard's ETF would bring the total to 13, four of which debuted in 2024. Like other Republicans, Malek has been a critic of investments in China and made removing them from state investment portfolios a political objective. In his April 14 letter, Malek pointed to economic, legal and geopolitical risks associated with Chinese stocks, adding these are "real, accelerating and incompatible with long-term fiduciary responsibility". Malek's staff met with Vanguard executives in early May, according to e-mails reviewed by Reuters, ahead of a May 21 meeting of the board of trustees for the Missouri college savings plan, the agenda for which included discussion of other investment options excluding China. On May 30, Vanguard advised the Missouri Treasurer's office that it would be launching the ex-China ETF. At nearly the same time as the e-mail was sent, it filed with the SEC. "Typically, the product development cycle is a matter of months, not weeks, so it's quite possible that Vanguard had already been looking at this as an area to explore," said Bryan Armour, an ETF analyst at Morningstar. Malek said he sees the new ETF as an example of effective collaboration between conservative state treasurers and asset managers. Since Vanguard has responded favorably to his request, Malek plans to make sure the new ETF is a success, pointing out that he has influence with the 120 or so other smaller pension funds across Missouri. "I'll be using my bully pulpit to encourage those pension funds to utilize this particular ETF from Vanguard," he said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Top China Diplomat Blasts ‘Negative Moves' by US in Envoy Meet
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi used his first meeting with new US Ambassador David Perdue to complain about recent actions by Washington, underscoring a downturn in relations between the world's two biggest economies. 'Unfortunately, the US has recently introduced a series of negative measures on unfounded grounds, undermining China's legitimate rights and interests,' Wang said during the sitdown in Beijing, according to a Chinese government statement.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Labour is cosying up to China after years of rollercoaster relations
The sprawling city of Chongqing in southwestern China is an incredible sight. Built on mountainous terrain and crisscrossed by rivers, it is connected by vast elevated roads. Trains even run through some buildings. TikTokers have begun documenting their commutes in the striking urban architecture, generating millions of likes and much hype. But it is also where, on a somewhat quieter trip, mayors and their deputies from the UK recently visited - the largest British civic delegation to visit the country in modern history. The whole trip, which took place in March, received substantial Chinese media coverage, despite flying more under the radar in the UK. The impression it left on some of the politicians who travelled there was vast. "[The city is] what happens if you take the planning department and just say 'yes' to everything," reflects Howard Dawber, deputy London mayor for business. "It's just amazing." The group travelled to southern Chinese cities, spoke to Chinese mayors and met Chinese tech giants. So impressed was one deputy mayor that, on returning home, they bought a mobile phone from Chinese brand Honor (a stark contrast from the days the UK banned Huawei technology from its 5G networks, just a few years ago). Roughly half-a-dozen deals were signed on the back of the trip. The West Midlands, for example, agreed to establish a new UK headquarters in Birmingham for Chinese energy company EcoFlow. But the visit was as much about diplomacy as it was trade, says East Midlands deputy mayor Nadine Peatfield, who attended. "There was a real hunger and appetite to rekindle those relationships." To some, it was reminiscent of the "golden era" of UK-China relations, a time when then-Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared a basket of fish and chips and a pint. Those days have long felt far away. Political ties with China deteriorated under former UK Conservative Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. The last UK prime minister to visit China was Theresa May, in 2018. But the recent delegation - and the talk of Sir Keir Starmer possibly visiting China later this year - suggests a turning point in relations. But to what greater intent? The course correction seemed to begin with the closed-door meeting between Sir Keir and Chinese President Xi in Brazil last November. The prime minister signalled that Britain would look to cooperate with China on climate change and business. Since then, Labour's cautious pursuit of China has primarily focused on the potential financial upsides. In January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves co-chaired the first UK-China economic summit since 2019, in Beijing. Defending her trip, she said: "Choosing not to engage with China is no choice at all." Reeves claimed re-engagement with China could boost the UK economy by £1bn, with agreements worth £600m to the UK over the next five years — partially achieved through lifting barriers that restrict exports to China. Soon after, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband resumed formal climate talks with China. Miliband said it would be "negligence" to future generations not to have dialogue with the country, given it is the world's biggest carbon emitter. Labour simply describes its approach as "grown-up". But it all appears to be a marked shift from the last decade of UK-China relations. During the so-called "golden era", from 2010, the UK's policy towards China was dominated by the Treasury, focusing on economic opportunities and appearing to cast almost all other issues, including human rights or security, aside. By September 2023, however, Rishi Sunak said he was "acutely aware of the particular threat to our open and democratic way of life" posed by China. Labour claimed in its manifesto that it would bring a "long-term and strategic approach". China has a near monopoly on extracting and refining rare earth minerals, which are critical to manufacturing many high-tech and green products. For example, car batteries are often reliant on lithium, while indium is a rare metal used for touch screens. This makes China a vital link in global supply chains. "China's influence is likely to continue to grow substantially globally, especially with the US starting to turn inwards," says Dr William Matthews, a China specialist at Chatham House think tank. "The world will become more Chinese, and whilst that is difficult for any Western government, there needs to be sensible engagement from the get-go." Andrew Cainey, a director of the UK National Committee on China, an educational non-profit organisation, says: "China has changed a lot since the Covid-19 pandemic. To have elected officials not having seen it, it's a no brainer for them to get back on the ground". Certainly many in the UK's China-watching community believe that contact is an essential condition to gain a clearer-eyed view of the opportunities posed by China, but also the challenges. The opportunities, some experts say, are largely economic, climate and education-related. Or as Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Studies at King's College London, puts it: "China is producing information, analysis and ways of doing things that we can learn from". He points to the intellectual, technological, AI, and life sciences opportunities. Not engaging with China would be to ignore the realities of geopolitics in the 21st century, in Dr Matthew's view, given that it is the world's second largest economy. However he also believes that engagement comes with certain risks. But Charles Parton, who spent 22 years of his diplomatic career working in or on China, raises questions about the UK's economic and national security. For example, the government is reportedly weighing up proposals for a Chinese company to supply wind turbines for an offshore windfarm in the North Sea. Mr Parton warns against allowing China access to the national grid: "It wouldn't be difficult in a time of high tension to say, 'by the way, we can turn off all your wind farms'". But earlier this year, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU issued a statement expressing concern over the "politicisation" of deals between wind developers in Europe and Chinese turbine suppliers. Xi's real test is not Trump's trade war North and South Korea are in an underground war - Kim Jong Un might now be winning The Conservative Party faces problems - is its leader one of them? James Sullivan, director of Cyber and Tech at defence think tank Rusi, notes there are also some questions around cyberspace. "China's activities in cyberspace appear to be more strategically and politically focused compared to previous opportunistic activities," he says. As for defence, the UK's recently published defence review describes China as a "sophisticated and persistent challenge", with Chinese technology and its proliferation to other countries "already a leading challenge for the UK". Ken McCallum, MI5 director general, meanwhile, has previously warned of a sustained campaign on an "epic scale" of Chinese espionage abroad. But Prof Brown pushes back on some concerns about espionage, saying some media narratives about this are a "fairytale". Beijing has always dismissed accusations of espionage as attempts to "smear" China. Sir Keir and his team will no doubt be closely monitoring how this is all viewed by Washington DC. Last month, President Donald Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro described Britain as "an all too compliant servant of Communist China", urging the UK against deepening economic ties. "When it comes to foreign policy towards China, America's influence on policy will be quite substantive compared with say continental Europe," says Dr Yu Jie of China Foresight at LSE IDEAS think tank. Most analysts I speak to in both the UK and China are still clear on the need for the two countries to get back in the same room, even if they differ on where to draw the line: in which areas should Westminster cooperate and where should it stay clear. These red lines have not yet been drawn, and experts say that without some kind of playbook, it is difficult for businesses and elected officials to know how to engage. "You can only keep firefighting specific issues for so long without developing a systematic plan," warns Mr Cainey. Certain thorny issues have arisen, including Chinese investments in the UK. For example in April when the government seized control of British Steel from its former Chinese owner Jingye, to prevent it from being closed down, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted that he would "look at a Chinese firm in a different way" when considering investment in the UK steel industry. China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, warned that Labour should avoid "linking it to security issues, so as not to impact the confidence of Chinese enterprises in going to the UK". After Starmer met Xi last year, he said the government's approach would be "rooted in the national interests of the UK", but acknowledged areas of disagreement with China, including on human rights, Taiwan and Russia's war in Ukraine. Securing the release of pro-democracy activist and British citizen Jimmy Lai from a Hong Kong prison is, he has said, a "priority" for the government. Labour's manifesto broadly pledged: "We will cooperate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must." What is still lacking, however, is the fine print. Asked about the British government's longer-term strategy, Mr Parton replied: "No.10 doesn't have a strategy." He tells me he has some specific advice: "Go with your eyes open," he says. "But have a clear idea of what needs protecting, and a willingness to take some short-term financial hits to protect long-term national security." Labour has suggested that some clarity on their approach will be provided through the delayed China "audit", a cross-government exercise launched last year, which will review the UK's relations with China. The audit is due to be published this month, but many doubt that it will resolve matters. "If we see a visit from Starmer to Beijing, that will be an indication that the two sides have actually agreed with something, and that they would like to change and improve their bilateral relationship," says Dr Yu. But many people in Westminster remain China-sceptic. And even if the audit helps Britain better define what it wants out of its relationship with China, the question remains, do MPs and businesses have the China-related expertise to get the best out of it? According to Ruby Osman, China analyst at the Tony Blair Institute, there is an urgent need to build the UK's China capabilities in a more holistic way, focusing on diversifying the UK's points of contact with China. "If we want to be in a position where we are not just listening to what Beijing and Washington want, there needs to be investment in the talent pipeline coming into government, but also think tanks and businesses who work with China," she argues. And if that's the case, then irrespective of whether closer ties with China is viewed as a security threat, an economic opportunity, or something in between, the UK might be in a better position to engage with the country. Top image credit: PA BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
