TAIPEI: Taiwan says the US Navy is free to sail through its strait after an American warship did so shortly following warnings from Beijing against foreign interference in its relationship with the island.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Thursday the warship sailed northward through the Taiwan Strait. It said joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance task force was monitoring surrounding waters from start to finish and nothing “unusual” took place.
Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said the “USS Antietam conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” Wednesday to Thursday “in accordance with international law.”
China on Wednesday warned that it could use force against anyone who intervenes in its efforts to reunify Taiwan, a democratically-governed island which China considers its territory.
US warship sails through Taiwan strait amid China tensions
US warship sails through Taiwan strait amid China tensions
- US Navy Seventh Fleet spokesman said it was a routine transit and legal under international law
- China threatened to use force against those who stand in the way of them reuniting Taiwan
Britain restricts some visas from four nations in major overhaul
- Britain had previously said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up deportations of those who arrive illegally, in an overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system
LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday the government would end study visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, and work visas for Afghans, in a major crackdown as anti-immigration sentiment rises in the country.
“An ‘emergency brake’ on visas has been imposed for the first time on nationals from four countries following a surge in asylum claims from legal routes,” the Home Office said in a statement.
Britain had previously said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up deportations of those who arrive illegally, in an overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said that “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.”
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity,” she added.
The Home Office said Mahmood will introduce new legislation this week to restore order and control to the country’s borders.
