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Taiwan Is Not Alone, Vice President Says After Breakthrough Europe Trip

A view of the Taipei skyline with clouds hanging over distant mountains, seen from across the Tamsui River in Taipei, Taiwan, November 8, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the Taipei skyline with clouds hanging over distant mountains, seen from across the Tamsui River in Taipei, Taiwan, November 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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Taiwan Is Not Alone, Vice President Says After Breakthrough Europe Trip

A view of the Taipei skyline with clouds hanging over distant mountains, seen from across the Tamsui River in Taipei, Taiwan, November 8, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the Taipei skyline with clouds hanging over distant mountains, seen from across the Tamsui River in Taipei, Taiwan, November 8, 2025. (Reuters)

Taiwan is not alone and has more and more friends around the world and will continue to show the world its resolve, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said on Sunday after returning from a landmark diplomatic-breakthrough trip to Europe.

While Taiwan foreign ministers on occasion visit Europe and other parts of the world that have no formal ties to Chinese-claimed Taipei, it is rare for an official as senior as the vice president to do so, given the risk of backlash from Beijing against the host nation.

Hsiao spoke at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's annual summit, held in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Hsiao, speaking at the airport upon returning home, said Taiwan's international situation has been extremely difficult but Taiwan has never backed down, because it should have the chance to participate in the international community.

"Taiwan is not alone. We have more and more like-minded friends around the world who are willing to walk with us," she said.

"And we will continue, with confidence, pragmatism, and firm steps, to show the world Taiwan's resolve, goodwill, and the power of our democracy."

China refuses to speak to President Lai Ching-te and his administration, saying he is a "separatist".

China's mission to the European Union condemned Hsiao's visit, saying it was a serious interference in China's internal affairs, and severely undermined political mutual trust between China and the EU.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced use of force to "reunify" with the island. Taiwan's government says it has the right to engage with other countries and that China has no right to claim the island or to dictate Taipei's actions.

Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting Berlin to address a conference this week.

Writing on her Facebook page late Saturday before leaving, Tsai said Hsiao going to Brussels was of "extraordinary significance for Taiwan".

"As President Lai Ching-te has stated, Taiwan stands as a trusted partner in the international community. We will steadfastly stand with Europe and other like-minded partners."

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World

Running App Reveals Location of France Aircraft Carrier in Mediterranean

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
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Running App Reveals Location of France Aircraft Carrier in Mediterranean

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

A member of the French navy using an app to track his jogging performance broadcast the exact position of his country's flagship aircraft carrier, a newspaper has reported.

France deployed the Charles de Gaulle -- and accompanying frigates -- to the Mediterranean in early March shortly after US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked war in the Middle East.

It has been in the eastern Mediterranean since March 9 as part of what Emmanuel Macron has called a "purely defensive" posture in support of France's allies in the conflict.

Le Monde newspaper reported on Thursday that the runner jogged in circles on a ship in movement on March 13 in the middle of the sea northwest of Cyprus, according to his public profile on the Strava fitness tracking app, while satellite images showed the aircraft carrier was in the immediate vicinity at the time.

The same person had also been running in Copenhagen, Denmark, in late February, across a bridge from Malmo, Sweden, where the Charles de Gaulle was anchored at the time, Strava data showed.

The French armed forces told AFP appropriate measures would be taken if the report was true, as members of the navy were regularly reminded about the risk of security breaches using such apps.

"The reported case -- if confirmed -- does not comply with the current instructions," it said.

Running app profiles have given away sensitive information before.

World

Israeli Reservist Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for Iran

A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
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Israeli Reservist Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for Iran

A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Israeli police said on Friday they had arrested an army reservist who served on the Iron Dome air defense system on suspicion of passing secrets to Iran.

The arrest comes as Israel and the United States are locked in a war with Iran that has spread across the Middle East.

"Raz Cohen, a 26-year-old resident of Jerusalem who served in the reserves in the Iron Dome system, was recently arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses involving contact with Iranian intelligence," Israeli police said.

"Over the course of several months, the citizen maintained contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and, under their instructions, was asked to carry out various security missions, including passing on sensitive security information."

Iran has been firing barrages of missiles at Israel in retaliation for a US-Israeli bombing campaign that began on February 28 with the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel's state-of-the-art air defenses have managed to intercept many of the missiles fired by Tehran, but there have been deaths and damage to some strategic sites.

According to Israeli rescue services and authorities, Iranian missile fire toward Israel has killed 15 civilians in the country since the start of the war.

Four Palestinian women also died after Iranian missile fire in the occupied West Bank, the Ramallah-based health ministry said.

World

Italy, Germany and France Offer Help with Hormuz Only after Ceasefire

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
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Italy, Germany and France Offer Help with Hormuz Only after Ceasefire

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz".

The grouping said they "welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning", as they condemned "in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf".

But Italy, Germany and France made clear later Thursday that they were not talking about any immediate military help, but rather a potential multilateral initiative after a ceasefire.

The declaration came as an effective Iranian blockade of the strait has paralyzed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, which in peacetime sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.

The war, which erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, has led Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the Gulf region.

Twenty-three commercial vessels, including 10 tankers, have reported incidents or having been attacked.

The situation has left around 20,000 seafarers stranded on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization.

"We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict," the allies' joint statement said.

"We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping," it added.

"Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The effects of Iran's actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable."

- Not a 'war mission' -

US President Donald Trump has urged other world powers, and NATO, to help reopen the Hormuz Strait to commercial shipping.

But they have rebuffed his call in the short term while insisting they were open to discussions and planning.

Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the statement by the six countries should not be seen as a "war mission".

"No entry into Hormuz without a truce and a comprehensive multilateral initiative", for which "it is right and appropriate for the United Nations to provide the legal framework", he said in a statement.

And in Berlin, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that any German military involvement "would depend on the situation after a ceasefire... and whether we could participate within the framework of an international mandate".

Military involvement would also require approval by the German parliament, he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters his country planned to sound out permanent members of the UN Security Council on the possibility of establishing a UN framework for future plans -- once the ongoing exchange of fire had ended -- to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We have initiated an exploratory process, and we will see in the coming days whether it stands a chance of succeeding," he said in Brussels following a European summit that took place on Thursday.

A UK defense official told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that "the level of threat is such that I don't see many nations being willing to put warships into the middle of that threat right now".

The defense official noted London has sent a "small number" of additional military "planners" to US Central Command to "help with the planning and option development for... whatever comes next in the Strait of Hormuz might look like".