Taiwan

PRAGUE, June 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan wants to secure peace and stability by maintaining the status quo in its relationship with neighbouring China and needs the support of European states to do so, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Wednesday. "In order for Taiwan to stay strong and resilient and to have the courage to continue the policy of maintaining the status quo, we do need support from European friends," Wu said in a speech at a conference in the Czech capital, Prague. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future. Wu said Taiwan was drawing lessons from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to strengthen its resilience towards China, which he referred to by the initials of its official name, the People's Republic of China. "For many observers around the world, the (Chinese army) invasion may not be imminent or unavoidable and Taiwan and partners are trying to prevent it from happening," Wu said. "But the PRC is following Sun Tzu's 'Art of War', trying to crush the enemy without going to war. As we speak, the PRC is continuing to flex its muscle to intimidate Taiwan, including sending its war planes and vessels across the medium line of the Taiwan Strait." Taiwan has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican. But it maintains extensive informal relations, and...

TAIPEI, June 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan activated its defence systems on Thursday after reporting 37 Chinese military aircraft flying into the island's air defence zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific, in Beijing's latest mass air incursion. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past three years regularly flown its air force into the skies near the island, though not into Taiwan's territorial air space. Taiwan's defence ministry said that from 5 a.m. (2100 GMT on Wednesday) it had detected 37 Chinese air force planes, including J-11 and J-16 fighters as well as nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, flying into the southwestern corner of its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ. The ADIZ is a broader area Taiwan monitors and patrols to give its forces more time to respond to threats. Some of the Chinese aircraft flew to Taiwan's southeast and crossed into the western Pacific to perform "air surveillance and long distance navigation training", the ministry said in a statement. Taiwan sent its aircraft and ships to keep watch and activated land-based missile systems, it added, using its standard wording for how it responds to such Chinese activity. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China Japan's defence ministry said it scrambled a jet fighter on Thursday morning in response to a Chinese information-gathering aircraft Y-9 flying over the Pacific Ocean and east of Taiwan. Japan a...

Taiwan, formerly Formosa, Island, western Pacific Ocean, off southeastern China, and since 1949 the principal component of the Republic of China (which also includes Matsu and Quemoy islands and the Pescadores). Area: 13,976 sq mi (36,197 sq km), including its outlying islands. Population: (2023 est.) 23,205,000. Seat of government: Related Article Summaries

Taiwan’s presidential offices are located in a sprawling, stately complex built by the Japanese colonial administration in the early 20th century—a reminder that, for all the belligerent rhetoric coming from the Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan has not been firmly under Beijing’s control for well over 100 years. When I arrived at the offices in September for an interview with President Tsai Ing-wen, it occurred to me that the large tower rising above the entrance might become a target in the event of an invasion. Explore the December 2022 Issue Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. Now in her sixth year in power, Tsai is Taiwan’s first female president. We met in a cavernous room decorated with orchids and a grandfather clock. When she entered, she was trailed by a retinue of aides—mostly men. Tsai was brisk, friendly, and businesslike. There was little small talk as we sat across from each other in armchairs. Tsai projected a reserved assurance. I told her that I wanted to know what it was like to face a mounting threat, particularly after the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin—Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “It’s real that this thing could happen to us,” Tsai said. “So we need to get ourselves ready.” At another point, she emphasized: “There is a genuine threat out there. It’s not hype.” Fate has placed Taiwan and Ukraine in similar positions. Both have giant neighbors who once ruled them as imperial possessions. Both...

Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east, with gently sloping plains in the west. The Region Area •Total 36,197km 2 (13,976sqmi) •Land 89.7% •Water 10.3% Coastline 1,566.3km (973.3mi) Highest point Climate Natural resources Small deposits of Environmental issues Exclusive economic zone 83,231km 2 (32,136sqmi) Taiwan Taiwan Transcriptions Táiwān ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ Tair'uan T'ai²-wan¹ Táiwan Táiwān Thòi-vàn Toi 4 Waan 1 Tâi-oân Tâi-uân Dài-uăng island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territories under ROC control. The main island measures 35,808 square kilometres (13,826sqmi) and lies some 180 kilometres (112mi) across the Geologically, the main island comprises a tilted [ quantify] active The climate ranges from Physical boundaries [ ] For a more comprehensive list, see The total land area of Taiwan is 36,197km 2 (13,976sqmi), 2 (32,136sqmi) with 200 Taiwan proper, the main island of the archipelago, was known in the West until after Formosa, from the Ilha Formosa ( 2 (13,826sqmi). The island of Taiwan is separated from the southeast coast of To the south, the island of Taiwan is separated from the Smaller islands of the archipelago include the 2 (49sqmi), the tiny islet of 2 (69sqmi); Geology [ ] The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5million years ago at a complex Most of the island comprises a huge The tectonic boundary remains active, and Taiwan experiences 15,000 to 18,000 earthquakes each year, of which 800 to 1,000 are notic...

Bremmer is a foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large at TIME. He is the president of Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. He teaches applied geopolitics at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and his most recent book is It’s no surprise then that Western media have covered this story as a potential emergency, particularly since it comes at a time when U.S.-China relations are bad and getting worse. China’s President Xi Jinping has gone further than his predecessors in declaring that Taiwan will be returned to the People’s Republic of China by any means necessary, and President Joe Biden has said multiple times that It would be foolish to ignore China’s provocations, for several reasons. With this much hostile hardware moving through narrow lanes of air and water, accidents can happen, and any incident that increases the risk of direct armed conflict between the two most powerful countries on Earth must be taken seriously. Second, China’s maneuvers amount to a rehearsal. Though China will not show Taiwan, the U.S., or anyone else exactly how it would launch a full blockade or invasion of Taiwan, China’s armed forces find it very valuable to practice. After all, Chinese troops haven’t faced a shooting war since a brief conflict with Vietnam in 1979. Finally, Taiwan will hold national elections next year. Though China’s lates...