3 d. ago No major PLA activities near Taiwan after ‘troublemaker’ Lai’s policy speech

The People’s Liberation Army has refrained from conducting a large-scale drill near Taiwan following its leader’s annual policy speech – an address seen as less provocative than last year’s, which drew sabre-rattling from Beijing. Figures released by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed there was no increase in the number of PLA warplanes and warships detected near the island following William Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth address on October 10. According to the Taiwanese figures, the PLA conducted...

Events

3 d. ago No major PLA activity near Taiwan after ‘troublemaker’ Lai’s policy speech

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has refrained from conducting a large-scale drill near Taiwan following its leader’s annual policy speech – an address seen as less provocative than last year’s, which drew sabre-rattling from Beijing. Figures released by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed there was no increase in the number of PLA warplanes and warships detected near the island following William Lai Ching-te’s Double Tenth address on October 10. According to the Taiwanese figures, the PLA...

Events

8 d. ago ‘Can I meet Eric?’: Prabowo’s hot mic moment amplifies private

The viral hot-mic moment in which Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was heard asking US President Donald Trump if he could meet his son Eric shortly after the Gaza ceasefire summit in Egypt has raised questions about Jakarta’s neutrality and its ties to the Trump family business. The offhand exchange has also sparked scrutiny of Prabowo’s diplomatic judgment and stirred debate about whether his Gaza diplomacy reflects national strategy or personal ambition. The brief conversation between the...

Politics

1 week ago William Lai’s pledge to ‘help make America great again’ stirs debate in Taiwan

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s pledge to support Washington’s re-industrialisation drive and “help make America great again” has reignited debate over how far Taipei should go in aligning with US objectives. Lawmakers, scholars and business leaders have warned that excessive reliance on Washington could hollow out Taiwan’s industrial base and weaken its geopolitical leverage, underscoring the Lai administration’s delicate balancing act in a shifting global order. Lai expressed support...

Politics

1 week ago Mainland China offers US$1,400 for arrest of Taiwanese military ‘secessionists’

Police in the mainland Chinese province closest to Taiwan issued a reward notice on Saturday for information leading to the capture of Taiwanese military officers accused of inciting secession. The move comes a day after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te pledged to boost the island’s defence, using his Double Tenth speech to outline an increase in Taiwan’s military budget to deter a cross-strait attack. The Public Security Bureau in the coastal city of Xiamen, in Fujian province, identified...

Events

1 week ago Trump is shaking down US trade partners – in a reverse Marshall Plan

In what Martin Wolf at the Financial Times called “pure gangsterism”, US President Donald Trump has extracted pledged investments of at least US$1.5 trillion from America’s trading partners. This amounts to the Marshall Plan in reverse. The scheme Washington initiated in 1947 essentially provided economic aid to Europe and later Japan. Of the US$13 billion provided, 90 per cent were grants. But in the US-Japan trade deal, seen as a political trophy for Trump, money will flow in the other...

Politics

1 week ago In a reverse Marshall Plan, Trump is squeezing US allies for cash

In what Martin Wolf at the Financial Times called “pure gangsterism”, US President Donald Trump has extracted pledged investments of at least US$1.5 trillion from America’s trading partners. This amounts to the Marshall Plan in reverse. The scheme Washington initiated in 1947 essentially provided economic aid to Europe and later Japan. Of the US$13 billion provided, 90 per cent were grants. But in the US-Japan trade deal, seen as a political trophy for Trump, money will flow in the other...

Politics

4 w. ago Death toll rises in Taiwan after Super Typhoon Ragasa bursts landslide lake

A township in eastern Taiwan was struggling to come to terms on Wednesday with the devastation of a deadly torrent triggered by Super Typhoon Ragasa. At least 17 people died when the typhoon burst the banks of a mountain lake formed by a landslide two months ago, tearing through Guangfu township in Hualien county on Tuesday. The deluge has not only devastated entire neighbourhoods in Guangfu, it threatens to become a political issue for the administration of Taiwanese leader William Lai...

Events