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Taiwan President Offers Peace with China but Says Island Must Strengthen Defenses 

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
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Taiwan President Offers Peace with China but Says Island Must Strengthen Defenses 

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Taiwan wants peace and dialogue with China but the government must continue to strengthen the island's defenses, President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday as he completed one year in office.

China calls Lai a "separatist" and has rebuffed his multiple offers for talks. Lai rejects China's sovereignty claims over the democratic and separately governed island, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

The government has warned that Beijing could mark the anniversary with military drills but speaking to reporters at the presidential office in central Taipei, Lai offered a message of peace.

"I, too, am committed to peace. Because peace is priceless and war has no winners. But when it comes to seeking peace, we cannot have dreams nor illusions," he said.

Taiwan will continue to strengthen its defenses as preparing for war is the best way to avoid it, Lai added.

"I also reiterate here - Taiwan is happy to have exchanges and cooperation with China as long as there is reciprocal dignity. Using exchanges to replace hemming in, dialogue to replace confrontation."

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China's defense ministry last week said Lai was a "Taiwan Strait crisis maker" who had increased antagonism and confrontation and undermined peace and stability.

Lai also faces a challenge from possible US tariffs, currently on pause, and said talks with Washington were continuing "smoothly".

The government also plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund to boost the tech-focused economy, he added.

"The government will set up a sovereign fund to create a national investment platform, making full use of Taiwan's industrial strengths, led by the government, in collaboration with the strengths of private enterprises," Lai said, without giving details.

After finishing his media event, Lai attended the opening ceremony for the ongoing Computex trade show, where Taiwan-born Jensen Huang, the CEO of AI darling Nvidia, is the star attraction.

Lai visited the booths of Nvidia suppliers and partners, including Foxconn and Mediatek, chatting with senior executives there.

Last month, China held war games code-named "Strait Thunder-2025A" around Taiwan, the "A" at its end suggesting there could be more to come.

China called its May 2024 drills just after Lai took office "Joint Sword-2024A", and in October of that year staged "Joint Sword-2024B".

In a daily report detailing Chinese military activities, Taiwan's defense ministry said in the past 24 hours it had detected six Chinese planes and 11 vessels near the island.

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World

China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
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China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song

China accused the US on Thursday of distorting its defense policy in an effort to thwart an improvement in China-India ties.

Foreign ministry ‌spokesperson Lin ‌Jian was ‌responding ⁠to a question ‌at a press briefing on whether China might exploit a recent easing of tensions with India over disputed border areas to keep ⁠ties between the United States ‌and India from ‍deepening.

China views ‍its ties with ‍India from a strategic and long-term perspective, Lin said, adding that the border issue was a matter between China and India and "we object to ⁠any country passing judgment about this issue".

The Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday that China "probably seeks to capitalize on decreased tension ... to stabilize bilateral relations and prevent the deepening of US-India ties".

World

UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
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UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP

Four United Nations rights experts on Wednesday condemned the US partial naval blockade of Venezuela, determining it illegal armed aggression and calling on the US Congress to intervene.

The United States has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and has recently intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions, AFP said.

"There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the UN experts said in a joint statement.

A blockade is a prohibited use of military force against another country under the UN Charter, they added.

"It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognized as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly's 1974 Definition of Aggression," they said.

"As such, it is an armed attack under article 51 of the Charter -- in principle giving the victim state a right of self-defense."

US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of using oil, the South American country's main resource, to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders, and kidnappings".

Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking. It says Washington is seeking to overthrow its president, Nicolas Maduro, in order to seize Venezuelan oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges, without showing evidence, were transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed.

Congress should 'intervene'

"These killings amount to violations of the right to life. They must be investigated and those responsible held accountable," said the experts.

"Meanwhile, the US Congress should intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they added.

They called on countries to take measures to stop the blockade and illegal killings, and bring perpetrators justice.

The four who signed the joint statement are: Ben Saul, special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism; George Katrougalos, the expert on promoting a democratic and equitable international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, who covers the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

UN experts are independent figures mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.

On Tuesday at the UN in New York, Venezuela, having requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council, accused Washington of "the greatest extortion known in our history".

World

North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
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North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a nuclear submarine factory and received a message from Russia's Vladimir Putin hailing the countries' "invincible friendship", Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.

North Korea and Russia have drawn closer since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, and Pyongyang has sent troops to fight for Russia, AFP said.

In return, Russia is sending North Korea financial aid, military technology and food and energy supplies, analysts say.

The "heroic" efforts of North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region "clearly proved the invincible friendship" between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in a message to Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Their work demonstrated the nations' "militant fraternity", Putin said in the message received by Pyongyang last week.

The provisions of the "historic treaty" the two leaders signed last year, which includes a mutual defense clause, had been fulfilled "thanks to our joint efforts", Putin wrote.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to Kursk, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Around 2,000 troops have been killed and thousands more have been wounded, according to South Korean estimates.

North Korea acknowledged this month that its troops in Kursk had been assigned to clear mines and that some had died on deployment.

KCNA reported Putin's letter on the same day that it published details of Kim's undated recent visit to a manufacturing base for nuclear-powered submarines.

There, the North Korean leader vowed to counter the "threat" of South Korea producing its own such vessels.

US President Donald Trump has given the green light for South Korea to build "nuclear-powered attack submarines", though key details of the project remain uncertain.

Photos published by KCNA showed Kim walking alongside a purportedly 8,700-tonne submarine at an indoor assembly site, surrounded by officials and his daughter Kim Ju Ae.

In another image, Kim Jong Un smiles during an official briefing as Kim Ju Ae stands beside him.

Pyongyang would view Seoul developing nuclear subs as "an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty", Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.

It was therefore "indispensable" to "accelerate the radical development of the modernization and nuclear weaponization of the naval force", he said.

Kim clarified a naval reorganization plan and learned about research into "new underwater secret weapons", KCNA said, without giving details.

Pyongyang's defense ministry said it would consider "countermeasures" against US "nuclear muscle flexing", a separate report said Thursday.

- Help from Russia? -

Only a handful of countries have nuclear-powered submarines, and the United States considers its technology among the most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.

In the North's first comments on the US-South Korea deal, a commentary piece by KCNA last month said the program was a "dangerous attempt at confrontation" that could lead to a "nuclear domino phenomenon".

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP the submarine photos raise "considerable speculation" over whether Russia helped North Korea assemble a nuclear-powered submarine "within such a short time frame".

Kim also reportedly oversaw the test launch on Wednesday of "new-type high-altitude long-range anti-air missiles" over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

The projectiles hit mock targets at an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles), KCNA said. That height, if correct, would be in space.

One photo showed a missile ascending into the sky in a trail of intense orange flame, while another showed Kim walking in front of what appeared to be a military vehicle equipped with a vertical missile launcher.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had been aware of the launch preparations and had braced for the firing in advance.

"South Korean and US intelligence authorities are currently closely analyzing the specifications," it said.