Latest news with #TaiwanForeignMinistry
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Responding to Trump invasion comments, Taiwan says must rely on itself for security
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan must rely on itself for its security, the island's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping told him he would not invade the island while Trump was in office. Democratic Taiwan has over the past five years or so faced ramped up military and political pressure from China, which views the separately governed island as its "sacred" territory. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Asked about Trump's remarks, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei said the government closely monitored interactions between senior U.S. and Chinese officials. "Taiwan's security must be achieved through its own efforts, so our country has been dedicating itself to raising its self defence capabilities and resilience. Our country will keep working hard to do this," Hsiao told reporters in Taipei. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, although there are no formal diplomatic ties. There is also no defence treaty so should China attack Washington is under no obligation to help. The United States, which is however bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has long stuck to a policy of "strategic ambiguity," not making clear whether it would respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Trump made the invasion comments in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's war in Ukraine. On Monday, China's foreign ministry said Taiwan was an internal matter that was for the Chinese people to resolve. Taiwan's government vehemently opposes China's sovereignty claims.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
After Trump's invasion comments, Taiwan says must rely on itself
Taiwan must rely on itself for its security, the island's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, responding to US President Donald Trump saying Chinese President Xi Jinping told him he would not invade the island while Trump was in office. Democratic Taiwan has over the past five years or so faced ramped up military and political pressure from China, which views the separately governed island as its 'sacred' territory. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Asked about Trump's remarks, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei said the government closely monitored interactions between senior US and Chinese officials. 'Taiwan's security must be achieved through its own efforts, so our country has been dedicating itself to raising its self defense capabilities and resilience. Our country will keep working hard to do this,' Hsiao told reporters in Taipei. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, although there are no formal diplomatic ties. There is also no defense treaty so should China attack Washington is under no obligation to help. The United States, which is however bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has long stuck to a policy of 'strategic ambiguity,' not making clear whether it would respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Trump made the invasion comments in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's war in Ukraine. On Monday, China's foreign ministry said Taiwan was an internal matter that was for the Chinese people to resolve. Taiwan's government vehemently opposes China's sovereignty claims.
CNA
08-08-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Solomon Islands bars China and Taiwan from top Pacific summit
WASHINGTON: Pacific nation Solomon Islands has said it would exclude non-member nations from a key regional summit in September, a group that includes China, Taiwan and the United States. Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said earlier this week he would defer a meeting of the Pacific Island Forum's non-member "dialogue partners". Manele's decision heads off a brewing diplomatic squabble over the presence of Taiwanese diplomats at this year's forum in Solomon Islands' capital Honiara. There were fears that China - which counts Solomon Islands among its closest partners in the Pacific - would use its muscle to see Taiwan excluded. Solomon Islands recognised Taiwan until 2019, when it switched allegiance to China. Taiwan and other dialogue partners have historically been allowed to meet with Pacific nations on the sidelines of the forum, known as PIF. "We know this issue is all about China and Taiwan," opposition politician Peter Kenilorea Jr told parliament earlier this week. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it should be welcomed to this year's meeting of regional leaders. "Taiwan has adhered to the 'Pacific Way' spirit of diversity and inclusiveness shared by all PIF member countries in our participation in Pacific affairs," it said in a statement. "Taiwan believes that its participation can sustainably expand cooperation with the PIF, allies in the Pacific, and like-minded countries, and jointly make positive contributions to peace, stability, regional development, and prosperity in the Pacific region." The regional summit is expected to be a key topic of discussion when the region's top diplomats meet in Fiji's capital, Suva, next week. The forum will be held in Honiara from Sep 8 to 12.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China criticises UK warship sailing in Taiwan Strait
China's military has called a British warship's recent passage through the Taiwan Strait an act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace and stability" in the contested waterway. The British Royal Navy says the HMS Spey's patrol was part of a long-planned deployment and was in accordance with international law. Wednesday's transit - the first by a British naval vessel in four years - comes as a UK carrier strike group arrives in the region for a deployment that will last several months. China considers Taiwan its territory - a claim that self-ruled Taiwan rejects - and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunify" the island. China has criticised the UK for "publicly hyping up" the journey of the HMS Spey, and said the UK's claims were "a distortion of legal principles and an attempt to mislead the public". It added that it had monitored HMS Spey throughout its journey in the strait. China's "theater command troops are on high alert at all times and will resolutely counter all threats and provocations", it said. Taiwan's foreign ministry has meanwhile praised the transit as an act that safeguarded the freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait. While American warships regularly conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the strait, the last time such a journey was undertaken by a British naval vessel was in 2021 when the warship HMS Richmond was deployed to Vietnam. That transit was similarly condemned by China, which had sent troops to monitor the ship. The HMS Spey is one of two British warships permanently on patrol in the Indo-Pacific. Its passage through the Taiwan Strait comes as a UK carrier strike group, led by the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, arrives in the Indo-Pacific region for an eight-month stint. British PM Keir Starmer has described it as one of the carrier's largest deployments this century that is aimed at "sending a clear message of strength to our adversaries, and a message of unity and purpose to our allies". Around 4,000 UK military personnel are taking part in the deployment. The group will be engaging with 30 countries through military operations and visits, and conduct exercises with the US, India, Singapore and Malaysia. Cross-strait tensions between China and Taiwan have heightened over the past year since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who champions a firm anti-Beijing stance, took office. He has characterised Beijing as a "foreign hostile force" and introduced policies targeting Chinese influence operations in Taiwan. Meanwhile, China continues to conduct frequent military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, including a live-fire exercise in April that it claimed simulated strikes on key ports and energy facilities. China's latest criticism of the HMS Spey's transit comes as two Chinese aircraft carriers conduct an unprecedented simultaneous military drill in the Pacific off the waters of Japan, which has alarmed Tokyo.
