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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
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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.

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UK Announces $19 billion Investment in 1st Major Nuclear Plant since the 1990s

Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
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UK Announces $19 billion Investment in 1st Major Nuclear Plant since the 1990s

Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo

Britain will invest 14.2 billion pounds ($19 billion) to build a new nuclear station that will reduce the UK's reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets, the government said Tuesday.

Officials said the investment will go into building the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, on England's eastern coast, saying it will generate enough low-carbon electricity to power 6 million homes when it becomes operational in the 2030s.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said previous governments had dithered and delayed over nuclear power. No new nuclear plant has been opened in the UK since Sizewell B in 1995, The AP news reported.

“Having our own energy in this country that we control, gives us security, gives us independence, so (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can’t put his boot on our throat," Starmer said. “And it means that we can control the prices in a way that we haven’t been able to in recent years, which has meant very high prices for businesses, for households and for families."

The government also announced that Rolls-Royce is the preferred bidder to develop a number of small modular reactors, which it said can power around 3 million homes and help fuel power-hungry industries like AI data centers.

The Treasury said building Sizewell C will create 10,000 jobs. The investment announced Tuesday is in addition to 3.7 billion pounds the UK government already committed to the project.

Nuclear power is seen as an increasingly important electricity source as the government seeks to decarbonize Britain’s electricity grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon power.

The UK also wants to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas, especially in light of soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But critics have said nuclear plants are far more expensive and slow to build compared with renewable energy options such as solar and wind power. Environmental groups have also argued Sizewell C will damage local nature reserves that host wildlife like otters and marsh birds.

About 300 people joined a protest against the development at the Suffolk site over the weekend.

“Net zero is supposed to happen by 2030 — there is no way this is going to be completed by then," said Jenny Kirtley, a local resident who chairs the campaign group Together Against Sizewell C.