The U.S. on Thursday called on China to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue following Beijing’s military exercises near Taiwan.
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that China’s military activities and rhetoric “increase tensions” and urged Beijing to cease its military pressure against Taiwan, while engaging in meaningful dialogue. He added that the United States “supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion.”
The drills, named Justice Mission 2025, began on Monday, shortly after the United States approved a one-time arms sale to Taipei worth over $11 billion.
China’s PLA Eastern Theater Command announced on Wednesday that the exercises had been completed successfully. Senior Captain Li Xi, the command spokesperson, said the drills tested integrated joint operations, strengthened combat readiness, and aimed to deter Taiwan independence movements and external intervention, while safeguarding national sovereignty.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian described the exercises as a “punitive and deterrent response to Taiwan independence separatist forces who attempt to seek independence through military buildup.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said its armed forces had adjusted their force posture in response, maintaining a measured and controlled approach to ensure sovereignty, democracy, and public safety. The MND released a video titled “Life Goes On,” showing deployments and monitoring of PLA ships, and emphasising that daily life in Taiwan continued as normal despite the drills.
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention the exercises in his New Year message, though he highlighted Taiwan in other contexts, emphasising the shared “bond of blood and kinship” and declaring that reunification with Taiwan was a “trend of the times” and “unstoppable.”
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said Beijing “has continued to escalate military tension in the region, which is not the behaviour of a responsible world power,” according to Focus Taiwan. He added that Taiwan “will not provoke a confrontation, nor seek conflict with China.”
China regards Taiwan as a “breakaway province,” while Taipei maintains that it has operated independently since 1949.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as ...
A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country&...
The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and ...
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key I...
The U.S. Department of Defense has released a video of a submarine strike on an Iranian warship off the southern Sri Lankan coast. At least 80 peop...
A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country’s deputy foreign minister said. Meanwhile, Iran postponed the funeral of its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to state media.
The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
The U.S. Department of Defense has released a video of a submarine strike on an Iranian warship off the southern Sri Lankan coast. At least 80 people died in the U.S. attack on the vessel, Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment