The Ministry for National Defence of Taiwan detected 13 Chinese military aircraft, five naval vessels, and four coast guard ships around Taiwan
The Ministry emphasised that the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) military exercises, indicative of its hegemonic mindset, have undermined regional peace and stability
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and denounces Lai as a 'separatist'
The two days of drills in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast started just three days after Lai took office
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
The US ambassador to Japan stressed Friday the importance of increased deterrence and his country's commitment to its key ally as he visited two southwestern Japanese islands at the forefront of Tokyo's tension with Beijing. Rahm Emanuel visited Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island just east of Taiwan, a self-governed island also claimed by China. He later visited another Japanese island, Ishigaki, home to Japan Coast Guard patrol boats defending the disputed East China Sea islands and Japanese fishermen from armed Chinese coast guard ships that routinely enter Japanese waters. Japan has been making a southwest shift of its defense posture, and is further accelerating its military buildup under a 2022 security strategy that focuses on counter-strike capability with long-range cruise missiles. Emanuel was the first US ambassador to visit Yonaguni. Escorted by Mayor Kenichi Itokazu, he looked toward Taiwan, only 110 kilometres (68 miles) away. He met with Japanese Self Defense Force .
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently said India would soon begin building its third aircraft carrier, even as China's third and latest carrier completed its maiden test voyage
Chinese Navy is in the beginning stages of operating a 'multi-carrier force', warns the Pentagon's 2023 annual report on China's military power
The US agrees that China has more missiles, more ships and more men, but it has a plan to counter Beijing's quantitative military edge
Fujian, entirely designed and built domestically, is larger and more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in late 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998
In retaliation, Taiwan sent planes and naval ships and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the PLA activity
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday launched an Information Support Force, a new wing of the People's Liberation Army, which he said will be a strategic branch, a key pillar and a vital power in modern warfare for the world's largest military. Xi, 71, who also heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the Chinese military, besides heading the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Presidency, said that the establishment of the Information Support Force (ISF) is a major decision made by the CPC and the CMC in light of the overall need of building a strong military. The Information Support Force (ISF) was regarded as the revised version of the PLA's Strategic Support Force (SSF), established in 2015 by the Chinese military to deal with space, cyber, political and electronic warfare to fight what was described as "informationised wars". The leadership and structures of the PLA Space Force and the PLA Cyberspace Force have been rearranged ...
China has been using grey zone tactics more frequently since September 2020, gradually expanding the number of military planes and navy vessels in the Taiwan area
According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, Taiwanese armed forces have monitored the situation and deployed naval vessels and coastal systems in response to China's activities
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
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 ...
It was a heart-pounding moment far out in the disputed South China Sea: One of at least five Chinese coast guard ships aggressively approached and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel, creating a loud, jarring noise that sent its Filipino crew scrambling to lower rubber fenders to cushion the boat's hull. As the high-seas faceoff unfolded on Tuesday, two Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against a smaller supply boat carrying a Filipino admiral and his sailors. The high-pressure spray shattered the boat's windshield and mildly injured the admiral and four sailors with glass shards and splinters of debris. "That's very concerning and very worrisome, Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos later told reporters, after witnessing firsthand the Chinese actions against the supply boat Unaizah Mae 4, which he was aboard. As the highest-ranking Filipino military commander overseeing the disputed waters, Carlos joined the trip to ensure that any confrontation would not spiral out of control, th
A 4,500-tonne high-tech Chinese research vessel which made a port call here last week has left the shores of the Maldives, local media reports said on Wednesday. Officially, the Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 3 was here to "make a port call, for the rotation of its personnel and replenishment." Xiang Yang Hong 03 has returned to the boundary of the Maldives' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) after docking in Male on February 22. However, despite departing from the Male harbour, tracking sites have shown the vessel's last signal near Hulhumale' two days ago, news portal Adhadhu.com said. Hulhumale is less than 10 kms northeast of Male. The vessel had docked on February 23 in Thilafushi, about 7.5 kms to the west of Male. The vessel is expected to have turned off tracking systems, which it also did en route to Male' on January 22 when it was in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia, it reported. The news portal also provided some details about the type of vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03. Th
Hu Zhongming was promoted to the rank of general at a ceremony in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping on Monday
Taiwan responded by sending planes and navy ships, as well as deploying air defence missile systems, to track the People's Liberation Army (PLA) actions, as per MND