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Japan Urges Peace in Taiwan Strait as Beijing Simulates Attack

A China Marine Surveillance ship, bottom, is followed by a Japan Coast Guard ship near disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Nov. 15, 2012. (AP)
A China Marine Surveillance ship, bottom, is followed by a Japan Coast Guard ship near disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Nov. 15, 2012. (AP)
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Japan Urges Peace in Taiwan Strait as Beijing Simulates Attack

A China Marine Surveillance ship, bottom, is followed by a Japan Coast Guard ship near disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Nov. 15, 2012. (AP)
A China Marine Surveillance ship, bottom, is followed by a Japan Coast Guard ship near disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Nov. 15, 2012. (AP)

Japan stressed on Monday the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait during a meeting of senior Japanese and Chinese officials after Beijing held three days of war games around the island.

The talks, focusing on concerns over disputed waters in the East China Sea, came as China was ending simulated strikes in reaction to a visit by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States, where she met House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Tokyo also urged Beijing to stop its coastguard ships entering Japanese waters, adding that it was deeply concerned about Beijing's military activity near Japan and its coordination with Russia.

"We conveyed our deep concerns over the situation in the East and South China seas, and reiterated the importance of having peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," a Japanese foreign ministry statement said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also told reporters: "The importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only important for the security of Japan, but also for the stability of the international community as a whole,"

At Monday's talks, Chinese officials criticized Japan's recent "negative moves" on the issues of the East and South China Seas, the Diaoyu (Senkaku) islands, and the Taiwan Strait, said the foreign ministry in Beijing.

Coastguard ships of both nations regularly confront each other around the islands known in Japan as the Senkaku and in China as the Diaoyu. They are controlled by Japan.

Beijing also demanded on Monday that Tokyo stop "all words and deeds" that violate China's territorial sovereignty, undermine its maritime rights and interests, and refrain from meddling in the Taiwan issue, the Chinese ministry said.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a part of China, regards meetings between senior U.S. and Taiwanese officials as interference in its internal affairs and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control.

Japan also said it had protested against the construction of two new structures in the East China Sea discovered last year, where China has constructed more than a dozen gas explorations platforms west of an equidistant line between the two countries.

The area has no official border.

Last month, China and Japan set up a military hotline to help defuse any incidents in the waters.

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Kremlin Says Christmas Ceasefire Proposed by Ukraine Depends on Reaching Peace Deal

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russia's President with Iranian President in Ashgabat on December 12, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russia's President with Iranian President in Ashgabat on December 12, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)
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Kremlin Says Christmas Ceasefire Proposed by Ukraine Depends on Reaching Peace Deal

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russia's President with Iranian President in Ashgabat on December 12, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russia's President with Iranian President in Ashgabat on December 12, 2025. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a Christmas truce that Ukraine has proposed would depend on whether a peace deal is reached or not.

Russia does not want a ceasefire that would allow Kyiv to prepare for further fighting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He added that Moscow had not yet seen details of proposals on NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine that US and European officials said Washington has offered to provide, according to Reuters.

World

Zelenskyy Says Peace Proposals to End War in Ukraine Could Be Presented to Russia within Days 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
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Zelenskyy Says Peace Proposals to End War in Ukraine Could Be Presented to Russia within Days 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says proposals negotiated with US officials on a peace deal to end his country’s nearly four-year war with Russia could be finalized within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin before further possible meetings in the United States next weekend.

Zelenskyy told reporters late Monday that a draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is “very workable.” He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by invading Russian forces — remain unresolved.

US-led peace efforts appear to be picking up momentum. But Russian President Vladimir Putin may balk at some of the proposals thrashed out by officials from Washington, Kyiv and Western Europe, including postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.

American officials on Monday said there's consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90% of the US-authored peace plan. US President Donald Trump said: “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever” to a peace settlement.

Plenty of potential pitfalls remain, however.

Zelenskyy reiterated that Kyiv rules out recognizing Moscow’s control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia's army doesn’t fully control either.

“The Americans are trying to find a compromise,” Zelenskyy said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. “They are proposing a ‘free economic zone’ (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.”

The land issue remains one of the most difficult obstacles to a comprehensive agreement.

Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory.

Zelenskyy warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defense. Kyiv would seek enhanced air defense systems and long-range weapons if diplomacy collapses, he said.

Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelenskyy said.

He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.

“Overall, there was a demonstration of unity,” Zelenskyy said. “It was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.”

World

China Reiterates Demand That Japanese PM Retract Taiwan Remarks 

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
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China Reiterates Demand That Japanese PM Retract Taiwan Remarks 

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a session of the House of Councillors budget committee in the National Diet in Tokyo on December 15, 2025. (AFP)

China on Tuesday reiterated its demand that Japan retract Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan, more than a month after Takaichi said an attack on the democratically governed island could be deemed an existential threat to Japan.

"On key issues, Japan is still 'squeezing toothpaste' and 'burying nails,' attempting to obfuscate and muddle through," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular press briefing, adding that Beijing is "firmly opposed to this."

Diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Beijing have been at their lowest in years after Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.