French senators to visit Taiwan amid soaring China tensions ] A Taiwanese flag flaps in the wind in Taoyuan, Taiwan, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo TAIPEI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A group of French senators including a former defence minister will visit Taiwan this week, the island’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, with the visit coming at a time of soaring tensions between Taipei and Beijing and despite China’s opposition. ...
US capable of ’tamping down’ China’s potential invasion of Taiwan: Deputy defense secretary ] WASHINGTON: The United States is capable of “tamping down” China’s potential invasion of Taiwan, said the country’s deputy defense secretary Kathleen Hicks on Friday.Speaking at the online forum held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of the US major policy research groups, Hicks also reiterated the US commitment to strengthening Taiwan’s self-defence capability, Focus Taiwan reported.Asked to comment on a potential invasion by China of Taiwan, Hicks said the US has been watching the situation in the region very carefully “day to day”.“We have a significant amount of capability forward in the region to tamp down any such potential,” Hicks said. “We have good relations, of course, with Taiwan. We have commitments to Taiwan that are enduring since the 1970s.“Hicks said the primary issue is that the US is helping Taiwan to raise its self-defense capabilities against a potential invasion by China.“That’s really important. The Taiwanese, their ability to defend themselves effectively, is a game-changer in terms of that deterrent calculus for China,” Hicks said.Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its grey-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island. ...
‘Shrilling’: China cites Mao in attack on Taiwan foreign minister ] China has launched an angry tirade against Taiwan’s foreign minister, evoking the words of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong to condemn him as a “shrilling” fly for his efforts to promote Taiwan internationally. Joseph Wu, self-ruled Taiwan’s foreign minister and a fluent English speaker, is an outspoken advocate for the island amid increasing pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its own, and appears regularly on international panels and in the media. ...
China sends more aircraft toward Taiwan, one day after largest ever incursion ] The Chinese air force has sent more aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense zone, Taiwan’s military said on Saturday, one day after the largest incursion ever into the zone. China sent 20 aircraft, followed by a second wave hours later, toward Taiwan. It means that nearly 80 planes, including fighter jets and bombers, have now moved toward the democratically-run country in the last two days. ...
Texans-Bills Preview: Watch, Listen To BRB On Crowd Assist Podcast ] Time. It really moves. One second, you are watching Josh Allen go full Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson hit DeAndre Hopkins down the sideline against Tredavious White, drag defenders for a touchdown run, and turn a car crash into a Taiwan Jones dump-off to set up a game-winning field goal in overtime. The following second, Allen is a MVP caliber quarterback, something called a Davis Mills is throwing the ball to Brandin Cooks, and Justin Reid is the best player on Houston’s defense. Yeah, I guess time does work like that. ...