China intensifies belligerence against Taiwan - but what is the conflict about?
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On October 4 Beijing sent 56 military aircraft in Taiwan ’s air defence identification zone, raising concerns that tensions could escalate into a military conflict. The 56 aircraft included 34 J-16 fighter jets and 12 H-6 bombers, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence, the highest number since China began operations in the area in September 2020.
Chinese vessel shadows UK and US carriers in satellite pics
Taiwan’s defence ministry released pictures of Chinese military aircraft in the island’s air defence zone.
The flights coincided with a joint drill by the US and its allies, where HMS Queen Elizabeth was seen with two US aircraft carriers.
The flagship Royal Navy aircraft carrier sailed through the Bashi Channel to enter the waters of the South China Sea.
On Tuesday Taiwan’s premier, Su Tseng-chang, said the “over the top” activity violated regional peace, and Taiwan needed to be on alert.
Additionally, president Tsai Ing-wen said: “Amid almost daily intrusions by the People’s Liberation Army, our position on cross-strait relations remains constant.
“Taiwan will not bend to pressure, but nor will it turn adventurist, even when it accumulates support from the international community.”
READ MORE: China vs Taiwan: What would happen if Taiwan falls?
Lithuania vs. China: A Baltic Minnow Defies a Rising Superpower
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VILNIUS, Lithuania — It was never a secret that China tightly controls what its people can read and write on their cellphones. But it came as a shock to officials in Lithuania when they discovered that a popular Chinese-made handset sold in the Baltic nation had a hidden though dormant feature: a censorship registry of 449 terms banned by the Chinese Communist Party.
Lithuania’s government swiftly advised officials using the phones to dump them, enraging China — and not for the first time. Lithuania has also embraced Taiwan, a vibrant democracy that Beijing regards as a renegade province, and pulled out of a Chinese-led regional forum that it scorned as divisive for the European Union.
Furious, Beijing has recalled its ambassador, halted trips by a Chinese cargo train into the country and made it nearly impossible for many Lithuanian exporters to sell their goods in China. Chinese state media has assailed Lithuania, mocked its diminutive size and accused it of being the “anti-China vanguard” in Europe.
In the battlefield of geopolitics, Lithuania versus China is hardly a fair fight — a tiny Baltic nation with fewer than 3 million people against a rising superpower with 1.4 billion. Lithuania’s military has no tanks or fighter jets, and its economy is 1/270th the size of China’s.
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