BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday condemned the way Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko treats refugees, adding that Germany would consult closely with its European partners on a coordinated response.
“President Lukashenko is using refugees, for example from Iraq, in a hybrid way to undermine security, and of course we condemn this in the strongest possible terms,” Merkel said at a news conference with the Estonian prime minister.
The European Union accuses Lukashenko of using the refugee crisis to pressure the bloc to reverse sanctions it imposed on Belarus over a disputed presidential election last August and its treatment of the political opposition.
“We are closely coordinating with European partners on everything. We will also try to take a common position because this hybrid kind of confrontation, as used by Belarus, is an attack on all of us in the European Union,” she said.
With the Afghan capital Kabul now in the hands of the Taliban following the withdrawal of most US and international forces, EU leaders are increasingly concerned that thousands of migrants will try to come to Europe.
The bloc’s foreign ministers will discuss further action at a crisis meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
A draft statement for an extraordinary summit of EU interior ministers on Wednesday says the European Union stands ready to provide additional border officers and money to tackle a migrant surge on Lithuania’s border with Belarus.
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Germany’s Merkel condemns Belarus’ treatment of refugees
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Germany’s Merkel condemns Belarus’ treatment of refugees
- President Lukashenko is using refugees in a hybrid way to undermine security, said Angela Merkel
- EU accuses Lukashenko of using refugee crisis to pressure the bloc to reverse sanctions imposed on Belarus
Taiwan says Chinese drone made ‘provocative’ flight over South China Sea island
TAIPEI: A Chinese reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea on Saturday, in what Taiwan’s defense ministry called a “provocative and irresponsible” move.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, reports Chinese military activity around it on an almost daily basis, including drones though they very rarely enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese reconnaissance drone was detected around dawn on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude outside the range of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our side broadcast warnings on international channels, it departed at 0548,” it said in a statement.
“Such highly provocative and irresponsible actions by the People’s Liberation Army seriously undermine regional peace and stability, violated international legal norms, and will inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will continue to maintain strict vigilance and monitoring, and will respond in accordance with the routine combat readiness rules, the ministry said.
Calls to China’s defense ministry outside of office hours on a weekend went unanswered.
In 2022, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast controlled by Taiwan.
Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than 400 km (250 miles) — from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan’s military, but lie at a highly strategic location at the top end of the disputed South China Sea.
China also views the Pratas as its own territory.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
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