Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
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Chinese Carrier Sails Through Northeast Taiwan Waters 

The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)
The Liaoning seen in Hong Kong waters in 2017. (AFP)

A Chinese naval formation led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier sailed through waters northeast of Taiwan on Wednesday and continued towards the southeast of Japan's Yonaguni Island, Taipei's government said.

"During this period, the armed forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement.

The voyage came after the Chinese military tailed a US aircraft that flew through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Beijing's army said, vowing to "resolutely defend national sovereignty".

"On September 17, a US P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait," Li Xi, a senior captain and spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said in a statement.

"Theater troops are on constant high alert to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability."

Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and claims jurisdiction over the waterway that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have sailed through the Taiwan Strait several times in recent years as Beijing intensified military and political pressure on the island.

Taiwan's military has reported near daily sightings of Chinese warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island.

On Wednesday, the defense ministry said nine Chinese military aircraft, 13 naval vessels and one official ship were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday).

It said in a second statement that a further 15 Chinese warplanes were detected on Wednesday, of which 12 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait "in conducting air-sea joint training" with Chinese naval vessels.

"The People's Liberation Army also fired multiple launched rockets in the inland Gansu area," it added.



Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his "victory plan" to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Thursday, but a blazing row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv.
Zelensky's trip to the White House is set to feature the announcement of a surge in US support, although it is unclear whether he will get the green light he wants for Ukraine to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Republican presidential contender Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Harris in November's close election, had also been due to meet Zelensky but their talks now appear to be on ice, said AFP.
Trump accused Zelensky on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the United States was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Biden will host Zelensky in the Oval Office at 1:45 pm local time (1745 GMT), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Harris will deliver remarks at 3:05 pm before their meeting in the vice president's office.
Zelensky was also due to visit the US Congress.
During a meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday, Biden "informed president Zelensky that he has directed a surge in US security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly" on Thursday, the White House said.
Zelensky gave a defiant address at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a bid to rally international support amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian has for several weeks touted the so-called "victory plan" he will present to Biden, but has given no details of his proposals to end the war, which is now in its third year.
'Greatest salesman'
The United States has provided around $175 billion in both military and economic assistance to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans.
The Biden administration announced another $375 million on Wednesday, including munitions for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles.
But Zelensky has been pushing the United States hard to give the green light for Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory -- permission Biden has so far refused.
Russia has strongly warned against such a step. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday unveiled new rules meaning Moscow would consider using nuclear weapons in response to a massive air attack.
Kyiv has relied on the United States as its main military backer, but the knife-edge US election on November 5 means that support may now hang in the balance.
Trump has echoed many of Putin's talking points about previous US policy being to blame for the Russian invasion, and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
At an election rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president "probably the greatest salesman on Earth."
"We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelensky," he said.
Republicans were livid after Zelensky told The New Yorker magazine this week Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance did not understand the war's complexity.
Trump has claimed that he could arrange a peace deal within 24 hours if elected, but Kyiv fears it would involve ceding swathes of territory seized by Russia.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has declined a meeting with Zelensky in Congress, called on the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States to quit on Wednesday after Zelensky visited an arms factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with the state's Democratic governor.
Johnson accused the ambassador of having deliberately excluded Republicans.