Chinese Military Launches Drills Around Taiwan

An Air Force aircraft takes part in military drills by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) around Taiwan, in this screengrab from a handout video released August 19, 2023. Eastern Theater Command/Handout via REUTERS
An Air Force aircraft takes part in military drills by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) around Taiwan, in this screengrab from a handout video released August 19, 2023. Eastern Theater Command/Handout via REUTERS
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Chinese Military Launches Drills Around Taiwan

An Air Force aircraft takes part in military drills by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) around Taiwan, in this screengrab from a handout video released August 19, 2023. Eastern Theater Command/Handout via REUTERS
An Air Force aircraft takes part in military drills by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) around Taiwan, in this screengrab from a handout video released August 19, 2023. Eastern Theater Command/Handout via REUTERS

The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island's vice president stopped over in the United States.
Taiwanese Vice President William Lai's recent trip to Paraguay to reinforce relations with his government's last diplomatic partner in South America included stops in San Francisco and New York City. The mainland’s ruling Communist Party claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and says it has no right to conduct foreign relations.
A spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command said in a brief statement that the military exercises involved the coordination of vessels and planes and their ability to seize control of air and sea spaces.
It was also testing the forces' “actual combat capabilities," Shi Yi said. The drills were a warning over provocations from pro-Taiwan independence forces and foreign forces, he added.
The command released footage of the drills online that showed soldiers running, as well as military boats and planes.
State media CCTV reported that missile-equipped boats and fighter jets were involved in the operation and that units worked together to simulate the surrounding of Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defense ministry strongly condemned what it called “irrational, provocative moves" in a statement. It said it would deploy appropriate forces to respond to the drills and take action to “safeguard freedom and democracy.”
It said its military would stand ready in the face of the threats posted by the Chinese army, adding that its forces have “the ability, determination and confidence to safeguard national security.”
It posted a video on Facebook that showed previous military drills and said the Chinese military exercises reflected a militaristic mentality.

The Taiwanese government's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council also said that Taiwan's people are determined to defend themselves and will never succumb to threats of force.
China should stop using force and intimidation and start dialogue, it said in a statement.

As for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, it stated that as well as trying to put pressure on the island, China's military drills are also intended to influence Taiwan's elections, which take place in January.



Erdogan Invites Trump to Visit Türkiye

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
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Erdogan Invites Trump to Visit Türkiye

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

President Tayyip Erdogan sought to reset Türkiye's strained ties with the United States by inviting President-elect Donald Trump to visit, and said Trump spoke very positively about Türkiye during a phone call.

Trump's election victory this week was generally met with cheer in NATO-member Türkiye, with markets rallying and some officials cautiously optimistic about prospects for new US economic policies.

Erdogan told reporters on a flight back from a European summit in Budapest that he hoped Trump would accept the invitation.

He said he hoped a visit would strengthen cooperation between Türkiye and the United States and lead to a relationship "different from (Trump's) previous term", when clashes on a number of issues led to Washington imposing punitive tariffs that hurt Türkiye's economy.

"We had a sincere call with Mr. Trump while he was at a family dinner (that included) Elon Musk and Musk's child," Erdogan said of the Wednesday call, according to an official Turkish readout.

"He had very nice things to say about Türkiye regarding the period ahead. We invited him to our country. I hope he accepts..."

Ankara's cooperation with Trump's White House could also help solve regional crises, added Erdogan, who has led Türkiye for more than 21 years in what opponents call an increasingly authoritarian style, accusations he denies.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden did not visit Türkiye during his term and Erdogan's planned White House visit early this year fell through with little explanation, underlining the cool relations.

While Erdogan and Trump had closer personal bonds in Trump's 2017-21 term as president, it was also a period of strained bilateral ties due to disputes over Washington's ties with Kurdish fighters in Syria and over Ankara's ties with Moscow.

An official in Erdogan's AK Party told Reuters that Ankara expects the Trump administration to be more flexible and understanding of its security needs, especially against the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in Syria and Iraq.

After Trump's election win, Türkiye's lira touched its strongest level in weeks, while Istanbul stocks have since risen more than 5%.

Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on Thursday he expected Trump to lower tariffs on Türkiye's steel and textile exports, even as Trump has promised to levy 10% tariffs on all imported goods.

The fallout still lingers from clashes between Türkiye's and the United States during Trump's first term, when Washington was angered by Türkiye's purchase of a Russian missile defense system and the jailing of US citizens including a pastor.

The Turkish economy bore the brunt of the strains, including higher tariffs on metal imports imposed by Trump in 2018, contributing to the first in a series of lira currency crises that set off years of soaring inflation.

The strains grew in 2019 as Türkiye launched an incursion against a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara calls a terrorist group but which is a US ally against ISIS.

At the time, Trump threatened to "totally destroy and obliterate" Türkiye's economy over the operation. He sent Erdogan a letter saying: "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy - and I will."

Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and director of the Center for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) said Ankara would probably be happy with a Trump victory in the short term, making it easier to open dialogue after the stand-offish Biden years.

But broader foreign policy differences on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Syria could still become thorny in the long term, he added.

"Ankara will try to create an agenda aimed at a reset in Turkish-American ties. This can easily turn into a more transactional relationship that Trump can get on board with," he said. "What the United States' expectation will be of Türkiye in such a relationship, that needs to be cleared up."