China: Taiwan is Not Part of US but Chinese Territory

China's Wang Yi, state councillor and foreign minister, waves as he leaves a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo
China's Wang Yi, state councillor and foreign minister, waves as he leaves a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo
TT
20

China: Taiwan is Not Part of US but Chinese Territory

China's Wang Yi, state councillor and foreign minister, waves as he leaves a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo
China's Wang Yi, state councillor and foreign minister, waves as he leaves a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File Photo

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that Taiwan is not part of the United States but Chinese territory, in the latest diplomatic invective against US policy since a visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The United States has been engaging in "sophistry" on the Taiwan question, and China's actions on Taiwan have been just, appropriate and legal, as well as being aimed at safeguarding the country's sacred sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wang said during a visit to Bangladesh.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it had detected 66 Chinese air force planes and 14 Chinese warships conducting activities in and around the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.

The Chinese military will from now on conduct "regular" drills on the eastern side of the median line of the Strait, Chinese state television reported, citing a commentator.

The median line in the narrow strait between the island of Taiwan and mainland China is an unofficial line of control that military aircraft and battleships from either side normally do not cross.

The median line has never been legally recognized, and is an "imaginary" line drawn up by the US military for their combat requirements in the previous century, according to the state television commentator.



Russian Duma Speaker Volodin Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang

This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
TT
20

Russian Duma Speaker Volodin Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang

This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an official visit to Pyongyang, the Russian parliament said on Thursday.

Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, conveyed greetings from the Russian leader and thanked Kim for North Korea's support of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Putin held a phone call with Kim on Tuesday and updated him on planned talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Kim sent a reply to a letter from Putin that was delivered by Volodin to celebrate the 80th anniversary of liberation from Japan's colonial rule, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.

In the letter to Putin, Kim said the soldiers of North Korea and Russia formed "friendship and unity" in the battlefield to fight against "a mutual enemy" which he didn't identify, according to KCNA.

Pyongyang and Moscow have both confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia's offensive against Ukraine to reclaim the Kursk region.

South Korea's intelligence agency said in June that North Korea was potentially ready to send more troops to Russia.