Taiwan’s navy will support patrols around the Taipei-controlled Dongsha Islands after mainland Chinese coastguard activity near the South China Sea atoll surged over the past year. The activity has fuelled concerns in Taipei that Beijing is using the remote outpost to test Taiwan’s responses and refine its grey-zone tactics. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said mainland Chinese coastguard vessels had appeared around the atoll 39 times since February last year, compared with only occasional...
The PLA Navy’s aircraft carrier base in Hainan could prove vital to the fleet’s survivability and crucial in countering US containment along the first island chain in wartime, according to a prominent mainland Chinese magazine. Such a posture could also support efforts to impose a maritime blockade around Taiwan in the event of a conflict, Defence Review reported this month. China now operates three aircraft carriers: the Liaoning, the Shandong, and the most advanced, the catapult-equipped...
The Philippines is likely to be involved in any conflict over Taiwan because of its proximity and the nearly 200,000 Filipinos working there, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr told Japanese media on Monday, ahead of a state visit to Japan next week. He said Manila did not want to be involved in any war over Taiwan, but would be forced to because of its geography. “Except that if there is actual confrontation, if there is conflict, just looking at the map, you can tell that the northern Philippines,...
Taiwanese civilians are flocking to self‑defence courses, amid fears China could one day use force to seize the island.