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.



White House Envoy Says Iran Deal Hinges on Verification of Uranium Enrichment and Weapons 

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, US, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, US, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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White House Envoy Says Iran Deal Hinges on Verification of Uranium Enrichment and Weapons 

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, US, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, US, March 6, 2025. (Reuters)

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday that a diplomatic agreement with Iran will depend on working out details around verification of the country's uranium enrichment and weapons programs.

"This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization," Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News' Hannity.

"That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb."

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

Trump spoke to reporters after Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said they held "positive" and "constructive" talks. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.