TAIPEI: Frequent and increased Chinese military drills pose an “enormous threat” to Taiwan’s security, Taipei warned on Tuesday in an annual defense review that starkly highlighted rising cross-strait tensions.
China views Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified at some point — by military force, if necessary.
The two sides split after a civil war in 1949. Although Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy, it has never formally declared independence.
Beijing has stepped up drills around the island since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office last year, as she refuses to acknowledge both sides are part of “one China.”
Local media estimate Chinese warplanes have conducted at least 20 drills around Taiwan this year, compared to just eight in 2016.
The latest known drill took place last week when several Chinese planes, including jet fighters, passed through the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan to the Pacific and back.
The frequent drills “have created enormous threat to security in the Taiwan Strait,” Taiwanese defense minister Feng Shih-kuan said in the 14th national defense report released Tuesday.
The report highlighted the David versus Goliath mismatch between the two rival’s forces, saying Taiwan’s military needed to adapt to a “multiple deterrence strategy” in the face of the fast-growing Chinese army.
The report estimated Chinese troop numbers at two million compared to around 210,000 in Taiwan’s army.
“Taiwan cannot compare with China’s defense budget and military developments,” Feng said in the report.
Instead Taiwan was “seriously reviewing and drawing a plan to develop asymmetric warfare to deter advances by the Chinese military,” he added.
In response to increasing China’s electronic warfare capabilities, Taiwan established its own cyber army command center this year, which currently has around 1,000 people, according to the ministry.
It has also restructured its air force to centralize its anti-aircraft and missile defense command.
Chinese jets also flew over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) earlier this month, prompting South Korea and Japan to scramble jets.
China’s air force said then it was the first time its aircraft had flown through the Tsushima Strait between South Korea and Japan.
Earlier this year, China sent its only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, through the Taiwan Strait during a drill as a show of strength, but it did not enter Taiwanese waters.
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Taiwan warns Chinese military drills pose ‘enormous threat’
Taiwan warns Chinese military drills pose ‘enormous threat’
India’s prime minister says it has reached a free trade deal with the EU
- It touches a whopping 2 billion people and is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce
- The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
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