China Says it Takes 'Necessary Measures' to Defend Sovereignty over Taiwan

A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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China Says it Takes 'Necessary Measures' to Defend Sovereignty over Taiwan

A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

China said on Wednesday it takes "necessary measures" to defend the country's sovereignty and will not tolerate "separatist" activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations.
Beijing's military has yet to comment on the military activity and has not confirmed it is carrying out exercises, Reuters reported.
A senior Taiwanese official said they believed the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
A security diplomat in the region briefed on the matter told Reuters the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was "unheard of" in recent years.
"We have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years," they said citing their country's assessment while declining to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te's tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday and included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.
"We will absolutely not let things go unchecked. We take necessary measures to resolutely defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said when asked about the increased military activities.
China's government was "highly vigilant to the trend of separatist Taiwan forces colluding with external forces", she said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
Taiwan's defense ministry said on Wednesday it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight "official" ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.
"PROVOCATIVE ACTS"
Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
Presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement that China's military actions were a "blatant disruption" of regional stability and Beijing should immediately stop all "provocative acts".
It is customary for Taiwan presidents to go overseas and "Taiwan's normal international exchanges with other countries are not an excuse for China's provocations", she added.
Taiwan's military had gone on alert on Monday after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.
On Tuesday, Taipei's defense ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games.
However, a US military official said China's naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea were elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.
A senior Taiwan security official, offering the government's assessment of China's activities, told a briefing in Taipei it took China's military nearly 70 days to plan and deploy the current sea operations and that they were meant for the incoming Trump government and US allies, rather than specifically Lai's visit to the Pacific.
"They are trying to draw a red line and exert authority for the new master of the White House," the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It was "extremely rare" for China to deploy sea operations of such scale at this time of the year when sea conditions are usually rough, the official said.
Taiwan's government believes China's decision not to announce the drills could be because Beijing is trying to minimize the impact on two major events with Taiwanese businessmen and politicians, one taking place this week and another next week, the official added.
"It's a carrot and stick approach," the official said, pointing to Beijing's annual charm offensive programs towards Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei by one of Shanghai's deputy mayors next week.



Spain Cancels Contract for Anti-tank Missiles Built by Israeli Subsidiary

 Israeli soldiers fire a mortar towards Gaza from their position near the border, as seen from Israel, June 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar towards Gaza from their position near the border, as seen from Israel, June 2, 2025. (Reuters)
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Spain Cancels Contract for Anti-tank Missiles Built by Israeli Subsidiary

 Israeli soldiers fire a mortar towards Gaza from their position near the border, as seen from Israel, June 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar towards Gaza from their position near the border, as seen from Israel, June 2, 2025. (Reuters)

Spain has cancelled a deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company, in a bid to move away from Israeli military technology, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The decision will affect the license for 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of 285 million euros ($325 million). The systems would have been developed in Spain by Pap Tecnos, a Madrid-based subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, according to local press.

“The goal is clear...a total disconnection from Israeli technology,” government spokesperson Pilar Alegría told reporters, adding the government is studying “the effects of the cancellation.”

Israel's Defense Ministry referred questions on the decision to Rafael, which told Associated Press it wasn't aware of the cancellation. Pap Tecnos, located on the outskirts of Madrid, did not comment.

Spain approved the deal on Oct. 3, 2023, four days before an assault led by Hamas on southern Israel that sparked a devastating war in Gaza. Authorities argued at the time that the systems used by the Spanish forces were obsolete and should be replaced for up-to-date versions like those used by allied armies.

Spain's leftist government says it stopped exporting arms to Israel as of Oct. 2, 2023, but there were reports some shipments slipped through.

United States late last year opened an investigation into whether NATO ally Spain denied port entry to at least three cargo vessels reportedly transporting US weapons to Israel.

Spain formally recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024 in a coordinated effort with Norway and Ireland. A month later, Spain became the first European country to ask the top United Nations court, the International Court of Justice, permission to join a case mounted by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the charge.