China Says it Conducted Military Exercise around Taiwan to Warn US

Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. (Reuters)
Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. (Reuters)
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China Says it Conducted Military Exercise around Taiwan to Warn US

Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. (Reuters)
Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China January 21, 2021. (Reuters)

China's military said on Wednesday it recently conducted an exercise around Taiwan as a "solemn warning" against its "collusion" with the United States, Chinese state media reported.

US President Joe Biden angered China on Monday by appearing to signal a change in a US policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan by saying the United States would get involved militarily if China were to attack the island.

But he said on Tuesday there was no change to US policy.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command said it had recently carried out a patrol and drill in the airspace and sea around Taiwan.

"This is a solemn warning against recent collusion between the United States and Taiwan," said spokesman for the command, Shi Yi said, according to state television.

"It is hypocritical and futile for the United States to say one thing and do another on the Taiwan issue," he said.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratically ruled Taiwan under its control, and the Taiwan Strait remains a potential military flashpoint.

While the United States abides by a "one China" policy, recognizing only Beijing, it has made a commitment under its Taiwan Relations Act "to help provide Taiwan the means to defend itself".

Despite that, it has long held a policy of not specifying how it might react in the event of a Chinese attack on the island.



Passenger Plane Catches Fire at South Korean Airport. All 176 People on Board Evacuated

FILE PHOTO: A child wearing a face mask to prevent from contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks at Incheon International Airport, in Incheon, South Korea, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Heo Ran
FILE PHOTO: A child wearing a face mask to prevent from contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks at Incheon International Airport, in Incheon, South Korea, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Heo Ran
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Passenger Plane Catches Fire at South Korean Airport. All 176 People on Board Evacuated

FILE PHOTO: A child wearing a face mask to prevent from contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks at Incheon International Airport, in Incheon, South Korea, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Heo Ran
FILE PHOTO: A child wearing a face mask to prevent from contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks at Incheon International Airport, in Incheon, South Korea, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Heo Ran

The tail of a passenger plane with 176 people on board caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea Tuesday night, news reports said. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated.

The Air Busan plane at Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern city of Busan was bound for Hong Kong, Yonhap news agency reported. The 169 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated using an inflatable slide, the report said, adding that three people were injured but their condition wasn’t serious, The AP news reported.

Calls to fire authorities in Busan were unanswered.

In December, a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

The Boeing 737-800 skidded off the airport's runaway on Dec. 29 after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames. The flight was returning from Bangkok and all of the victims were South Koreans except for two Thai nationals.