China to stage Taiwan live-fire drills - CNA

LIVE-FIRE EXERCISES

Exercises on Monday will include live-fire drills off the rocky coast of China's Fujian province, about 80km south of the Matsu islands and 190km from Taipei.

The local maritime authority said the exercises would be held between 7am and 8pm (7am and 8pm, Singapore time) around Pingtan, a southeastern island that is China's nearest point to Taiwan.

"These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces and against their provocative activities," said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman, about "Joint Sword".

AFP journalists on Pingtan did not see any immediate military activity in an offshore area on Monday.

A small number of fishing boats and small cargo ships were near the shore on Monday morning.

It was not possible to discern the identities of some more distant ships, and much of the cordoned-off area was not visible from the shoreline.

Taipei's defence ministry said it had detected 11 Chinese warships and 70 aircraft around Taiwan on Sunday.

It said 45 aircraft had crossed the median line separating Taiwan from mainland China on Saturday - the most incursions this year, according to figures maintained by AFP.

Over the weekend there were around 150 detections of Chinese ships or aircraft, including fighter jets, drones, bombers, and transport aircraft, according to the ministry.

In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.

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2023-04-10 01:07:00Z
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Macron says Europe must not be 'follower' of US, China on Taiwan - CNA

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Sunday that Europe must not be a "follower" of either the US or China on Taiwan, saying that the bloc risks entanglement in "crises that aren't ours".

His comments risk riling Washington and highlight divisions in the European Union over how to approach China, as the US steps up confrontation with its closest rival and Beijing draws closer to Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

"The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction," Macron told media including French business daily Les Echos and Politico as he returned Friday from a three-day state visit to Beijing.

Citing his prized ideal of EU "strategic autonomy", the French leader said that "we must be clear where our views overlap with the US, but whether it's about Ukraine, relations to China or sanctions, we have a European strategy".

"We don't want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic," he added, saying Europe "should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren't ours".

China views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

Angered by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen's meeting last week with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Beijing launched massive military exercises around the island immediately after Macron departed for France, including simulated strikes on its territory.

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2023-04-09 15:58:00Z
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Macron trip, hailed as success, still raises questions about EU-China relations - South China Morning Post

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1. Macron trip, hailed as success, still raises questions about EU-China relations  South China Morning Post
2. Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron  POLITICO Europe
3. Ukraine war - latest: Russian forces 'struggling to advance anywhere' - and why sledgehammer was placed by war blogger's coffin  Sky News
4. France’s Macron ends China trip with pact to bolster business, military ties  South China Morning Post
5. POLITICO Confidential: Inside Macron’s China trip — Dispatch from the sauna — ChatGPT braces for pain  POLITICO Europe
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-04-09 10:00:11Z
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Third massive whale in a month beaches itself, dies in Bali - CNA

DENPASAR: A 17m long sperm whale died after washing up on a beach in Bali, a conservation official said Sunday, making it the third whale that beached itself on the Indonesian island in just a little over a week.

The male sperm whale was found stranded on Yeh Leh beach in west Bali's Jembrana district on Saturday afternoon.

"We are currently trying to pull the carcass to the shore to make it easier for the necropsy test and we will bury it after the test is concluded," Permana Yudiarso, a local marine and fisheries official, told AFP Sunday.

This is the third whale that has beached itself in Bali, a popular destination for holidaymakers, in April alone.

On Wednesday, an 18m long male sperm whale was stranded in Klungkung district, on Bali's eastern coast.

Before that, a Bryde's whale weighing more than two tonnes and at least 11m long was founded stranded on a beach in Tabanan on Apr 1 - its carcass already rotted when discovered by locals.

Yudiarso told AFP that their initial suspicion is that the sperm whale found Saturday also died of sickness, "just like the whale found stranded a few days ago".

"The body looked skinny and sickly," he said.

Yudiarso said it would take at least three weeks for the necropsy test to be concluded but forensic experts found some bleeding in the whale's lungs and its colon was filled with fluids.

Police have cordoned off the location to prevent people from stealing the mammal's meat or body parts.

In 2018, a sperm whale was found dead in Indonesia with more than 100 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach, raising concerns about the Southeast Asian archipelago's massive marine rubbish problem.

Indonesia is the world's second-biggest contributor to marine debris after China.

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2023-04-09 06:10:09Z
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China in second day of 'Joint Sword' military drills encircling Taiwan - CNA

In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said the United States had "consistently urged restraint and no change to the status quo", but noted it had ample resources to fulfil its security commitments in Asia.

The United States has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would defend Taiwan militarily, although for decades it has sold weapons to Taipei to help ensure its self-defence.

LIVE-FIRE EXERCISES

Exercises on Monday will include live-fire drills off the coast of China's Fujian province, which faces Taiwan.

"These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces and against their provocative activities," said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman.

"The operations are necessary for safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

China views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday that as many as nine Chinese warships had been detected around the island, along with dozens of aircraft.

The number of aircraft crossings into Taiwan's southwestern air defence identification zone (ADIZ) was the highest recorded in a single day this year, according to data collected by AFP.

"The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, which... has a negative impact on the security and economic development of the international community," the defence ministry said.

The drills came hours after the departure from Beijing of French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in China to urge his counterpart Xi Jinping to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.

Tsai returned to Taiwan on Friday after visiting her island's dwindling band of official diplomatic allies in Latin America, with two US stopovers that included meetings with McCarthy and other lawmakers.

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2023-04-09 01:03:34Z
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Singapore’s Shanmugam on US-China ties, ‘socialist’ policies and the wealth gap - South China Morning Post

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1. Singapore’s Shanmugam on US-China ties, ‘socialist’ policies and the wealth gap  South China Morning Post
2. Preparations for Singapore's leadership transition going 'as well as they can': Shanmugam  CNA
3. ‘Be prepared to debate’: Shanmugam on the drug war and alternative viewpoints  South China Morning Post
4. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-04-08 00:58:48Z
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'Young and energetic' French President Macron wins Chinese fans during Guangzhou visit - The Straits Times

BEIJING - French President Emmanuel Macron met a warm welcome from the Chinese public on his state visit this week, a sharp contrast to the ongoing anger and protests against pension reforms back home.

Mr Macron’s three-day trip is intended to strengthen economic ties and press Beijing on the Ukraine crisis – but many in China were charmed by the 45-year-old head of state, praising his looks and relaxed demeanour.

A screaming crowd of students and fans greeted Mr Macron in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou on Friday, while social media bubbled over with posts about his appearance.

“He’s very approachable, and he doesn’t have the airs of other presidents,” Beijing resident Yue Liang, 34, said.

“Macron is a very young and energetic president, and he has also made great efforts in various reforms.”

Ms Liu Xin, a 43-year-old student of the French language at Beijing’s Alliance Francaise, said: “I love his voice.

“He is a man with a lot of charm.”

Multiple hashtags related to Mr Macron’s visit made the top 10 most searched items on the popular Weibo social media platform on Friday.

Many Weibo commenters said they were envious of students at Guangzhou’s Sun Yat-sen University, who took part in a question-and-answer session with the French President.

Mr Macron and his entourage squeezed through a crowd of campus well-wishers, who held up their phones and reached out to touch him, fans shrieking in delight as he shook hands.

“I’m not gonna wash my hands today!” people can be heard saying in the background of videos of the encounter posted to Weibo.

Ms Ye Ziyu, a 26-year-old dining at a French restaurant in Beijing’s trendy Sanlitun neighbourhood, said she was also a Macron fan.

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2023-04-07 11:58:04Z
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