Taiwan President Is Escalating Tensions, China Says Ahead of Key Speech

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits Republic of China Military Academy, an officer training academy, for its 100th anniversary celebrations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits Republic of China Military Academy, an officer training academy, for its 100th anniversary celebrations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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Taiwan President Is Escalating Tensions, China Says Ahead of Key Speech

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits Republic of China Military Academy, an officer training academy, for its 100th anniversary celebrations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits Republic of China Military Academy, an officer training academy, for its 100th anniversary celebrations in Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is escalating tensions with "sinister intentions", China's government said, ahead of a keynote speech Lai will give in Taipei that could set off a Chinese military response.

Lai, who took office in May after winning election in January, is detested by China which calls him a "separatist". Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view Lai and his government reject.

Responding late on Tuesday to comments Lai gave at the weekend on how it is "impossible" for the People's Republic of China to become Taiwan's motherland because Taiwan has older political roots, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said he was confusing right from wrong.

Lai continues to peddle a theory that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are two separate countries, it said in a statement.

"Lai Ching-te's Taiwan independence fallacy is just old wine in a new bottle, and again exposes his obstinate stance on Taiwan independence and his sinister intentions of escalating hostility and confrontation," it added.

Lai will give his main national day speech on Thursday, which marks the overthrow of the last Chinese dynasty in 1911 and the ushering in of the Republic of China.

The defeated republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists. The Republic of China remains Taiwan's formal name.

Taiwan's China policy making Mainland Affairs Council said it was an objective fact that since 1949 the People's Republic of China had never ruled the island.

"The Taiwan Affairs Office's remarks have made Taiwan's people see clearly that the Chinese communists regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of China and simply do not allow any room for the survival of the Republic of China," it said.

China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai's speech as a pretext to pressure the island to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials say.

CHINESE DRILLS

A US State Department spokesperson said they could not speculate on what China would or would not do.

"However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures undermines peace and stability," the spokesperson said.

China's defense ministry on Wednesday reiterated its objections to US weapons sales to Taiwan, after the Biden administration approved $567 million in further defense support.

"What needs stressing is that arming Taiwan is encouraging Taiwan independence, and Taiwan independence means war," the ministry said, echoing previous language it has used.

China's military operates on an almost daily basis around Taiwan and regularly stages what Taiwan refers to as "joint combat readiness patrols", most recently on Sunday.

China has also been carrying out a series of other drills in recent weeks, including operations with Russia in the Western Pacific and test firing an intercontinental ballistic missile last month.

Taiwan's defense ministry told Reuters in a statement that China has been using various reasons to "legitimize its targeted military drills".

"We continue to monitor and analyze the training dynamics of the Chinese communists around the Taiwan Strait in order to anticipate the situation," the ministry added.

Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future, and has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed.

China staged "punishment" war games around Taiwan shortly after Lai's May inauguration.



Iran Turns to Moscow and Beijing to Thwart ‘Snapback’ Sanctions Threat

Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
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Iran Turns to Moscow and Beijing to Thwart ‘Snapback’ Sanctions Threat

Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)
Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in Beijing on July 13 (Reuters)

Iran is turning to Russia and China in a bid to head off the potential reimposition of international sanctions, amid escalating tensions over its nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held talks with his Chinese and Russian counterparts to discuss the future of the nuclear accord and the possibility that the European troika could trigger the “snapback” mechanism.

Iranian state media reported on Monday that Araghchi arrived in Beijing at the head of an official delegation to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s foreign ministers. The trip comes as debate intensifies within Iran over the stances of Moscow and Beijing, particularly in the aftermath of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel.

Speaking at a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei stressed that Gulf security remains a priority for China.

“Araghchi’s visit follows an official invitation from the Chinese Foreign Minister,” he said, adding that the Iranian diplomat will hold bilateral meetings Tuesday on the sidelines of the gathering.

Baghaei emphasized Tehran’s ongoing coordination with both Russia and China, who are parties to the nuclear deal.

“Russia and China have consistently expressed their readiness to play a constructive role in the process related to Iran’s nuclear file, and this continues,” he noted. “We have longstanding, friendly relations with both countries and a strategic partnership.”

Addressing reports that Moscow has privately urged Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, Baghaei said: “We have not received any specific proposal from Russia on this matter.”

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed Iran’s nuclear issue with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, alongside other bilateral and international topics.

Meanwhile, Moscow on Sunday denounced a report claiming President Vladimir Putin had urged Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would bar it from enriching uranium. Russia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim as “defamation” aimed at inflaming tensions over the Iranian nuclear program.

According to the American outlet Axios, sources familiar with the issue said Putin recently pressed Iran to agree to “zero enrichment.”

But Russia rebuffed the report as baseless, insisting its position is well known: "Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions," the ministry statement read.

It added that Moscow stands ready to help broker mutually acceptable solutions.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has strengthened its ties with Tehran. While publicly backing Iran’s right to enrich uranium, Putin has reportedly adopted a tougher line behind closed doors following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.

According to European and Israeli officials, Moscow has encouraged Tehran to accept a “zero enrichment” compromise and shared this position with Israeli authorities. “We know this is what Putin told the Iranians,” a senior Israeli official confirmed.

Last week, Putin is said to have relayed his stance in calls with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.