China Says Military Exercises Near Taiwan Punishment for 'Separatism'

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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China Says Military Exercises Near Taiwan Punishment for 'Separatism'

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

Chinese military exercises near Taiwan on Monday were punishment for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's continued promotion of "separatism", according to a stern statement out of Beijing, as Taiwan hit back by calling China a troublemaker.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring democratically governed Taiwan under its control, has stepped up military and political pressure against the island in recent years.

Taiwan's defence ministry said China had carried out "joint combat readiness patrols" - one in the morning and one in the afternoon - sending 54 Chinese warplanes including J-10 jets and drones to areas near Taiwan.

It said the Chinese aircraft flew in airspace to the north, west, southwest and east of Taiwan, and that Taiwanese air and naval forces were dispatched to keep watch, Reuters reported.

Among them, 42 planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides, the ministry said.

If the Lai administration "dares to provoke and play with fire, it will only bring about its own destruction," a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in the statement.

Taiwan routinely reports such military activity by China, but China's government very rarely offers comment on them.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said Beijing had continued to threaten the island militarily, raising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and destabilizing regional peace and stability.

The Chinese Communist Party is a "troublemaker" in every sense of the word, the council said, urging ally countries to stop China's military expansion.

Taiwan's security officials have said China was trying to normalize drills near Taiwan, carrying out such patrols near the island every 7-10 days on average.

Lai said last week that China had deepened its influence campaigns and infiltration against the island, pledging measures to tackle Beijing's efforts to "absorb" Taiwan.

China views Taiwan as its territory, a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

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

 

 

 



Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran, UK, France, Germany to Hold Nuclear Talks on Friday

Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk near a building bearing an anti-US mural with the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing the stars on the US flag, on Tehran's Karim Khan Zand avenue on April 26, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran will hold nuclear talks in Rome on Friday with Britain, France and Germany, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, with the aim of improving strained ties at a time of high-stakes nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
The meeting will precede a fourth round of nuclear talks this weekend between Iran and the United States, also to be held in Italy.
"In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role (in the nuclear file) due to the wrong policies they have adopted. Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome," Araqchi told state media.
Reuters reported on Monday that Tehran had proposed meeting the European countries, collectively known as the E3, which are parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
E3 political directors confirmed they would meet with Iran on Friday.
Trump has threatened to attack Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal. Iran has far exceeded the 2015 agreement's curbs on its nuclear program since the United States withdrew, and the European countries share Washington's concern that Tehran could seek an atomic bomb. Iran says its program is peaceful.
A UN Security Council resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires in October, and France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Paris would not think twice about re-imposing international sanctions if negotiations fail to reach a deal.
"These sanctions would permanently close off Iranian access
to technology, investment, and the European market, with devastating effects on the country's economy," Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Iran's UN representative responded: "If France and its partners are truly seeking a diplomatic solution, they must stop threatening."
On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on what it described as a network based in Iran and China accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Araqchi said US sanctions during negotiations sent the "wrong message".
Trump has said he is confident of clinching a new pact that would block Iran's path to a nuclear bomb.