Taiwan Says China Has Sent Naval Ships into Nearby Waters Ahead of Anticipated Drills

This handout photograph taken between December 7-8, 2024 and released on December 9 by the Taiwan Coast Guard shows a crewmember on board a Taiwan Coast Guard ship monitoring a Chinese coast guard vessel in waters east of Taiwan. (Taiwan Coast Guard handout / AFP)
This handout photograph taken between December 7-8, 2024 and released on December 9 by the Taiwan Coast Guard shows a crewmember on board a Taiwan Coast Guard ship monitoring a Chinese coast guard vessel in waters east of Taiwan. (Taiwan Coast Guard handout / AFP)
TT
20

Taiwan Says China Has Sent Naval Ships into Nearby Waters Ahead of Anticipated Drills

This handout photograph taken between December 7-8, 2024 and released on December 9 by the Taiwan Coast Guard shows a crewmember on board a Taiwan Coast Guard ship monitoring a Chinese coast guard vessel in waters east of Taiwan. (Taiwan Coast Guard handout / AFP)
This handout photograph taken between December 7-8, 2024 and released on December 9 by the Taiwan Coast Guard shows a crewmember on board a Taiwan Coast Guard ship monitoring a Chinese coast guard vessel in waters east of Taiwan. (Taiwan Coast Guard handout / AFP)

China's military appears to be preparing for widely anticipated drills in response to a recent visit by Taiwan's president to Hawaii and Guam.

Taiwan's defense ministry said Monday that it detected Chinese naval and coast guard ships entering the Taiwan Strait and the western Pacific and that China had restricted airspace along its southeast coast through Wednesday.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Chinese side.

It comes as US President-elect Donald Trump said he would not commit to defending Taiwan if China were to invade during his presidency.

China says Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes American support and military sales to the self-governing island. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te made stops in Hawaii and Guam during a weeklong tour of the Pacific that ended Friday.

China maintains that Taiwan is a province that should not have its own president or foreign relations.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it has set up an emergency response center and launched combat readiness exercises in response to Chinese activity in the Taiwan Strait. It did not say what those exercises entailed.

“It must be pointed out that there is no such thing as a defense ministry in Taiwan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said when asked about the Taiwanese statement. “Taiwan is part of China, and the Taiwan issue is China’s internal affairs. China will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

China, which views Lai as a separatist, held major military exercises around Taiwan following his inauguration in May and his national day speech in October. It also held a major drill after Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in 2022.

The Taiwan defense ministry statement said China had restricted air space in seven zones off Fujian province, which faces Taiwan, and off Zhejiang province, which stretches north from Fujian to Shanghai.

Trump was asked during a televised interview if he would commit to defending Taiwan.

“I never say, because I have to negotiate things, right?” he told NBC's “Meet the Press.”

He said he had spoken in recent days with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but the two did not discuss the Taiwan issue.

“We talked about other things,” he said. “But I have a very good relationship, and I hope he doesn’t do it.”



Greek PM: Only US Can Engage Israel and Iran in Discussions

FILE - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks in parliament ahead of the submission of a no-confidence motion by opposition parties over the government's handling of Greece's worst rail disaster two year ago, in Athens, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
FILE - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks in parliament ahead of the submission of a no-confidence motion by opposition parties over the government's handling of Greece's worst rail disaster two year ago, in Athens, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
TT
20

Greek PM: Only US Can Engage Israel and Iran in Discussions

FILE - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks in parliament ahead of the submission of a no-confidence motion by opposition parties over the government's handling of Greece's worst rail disaster two year ago, in Athens, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
FILE - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks in parliament ahead of the submission of a no-confidence motion by opposition parties over the government's handling of Greece's worst rail disaster two year ago, in Athens, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

Only the United States has the clout to engage Israel and Iran in negotiations as the two countries continue to trade air attacks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

"Europe alone does not have the necessary influence to bring the parties concerned to the (negotiation) table. Only the United States can do that. So I think it is up to the President of the United States to decide which path to take," Mitsotakis said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Athens.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.

"We are all very concerned about any factor that will push inflation up and significantly disrupt energy markets," Mitsotakis said.

He said Greece was also very worried about the safety of around 180 Greek-flagged and Greek-owned ships that sailed in the wider Arabian Gulf region when Israel first attacked Iran last week.

Greek owners control the world's largest fleet of oil tankers. Commercial ships are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, shipping sources said on Wednesday.