Taiwan

TAIPEI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan is "not for sale", the island's foreign minister said in a stern rebuke to Elon Musk who asserted Taiwan was an integral part of China, as the billionaire again waded into the thorny issue of relations between Beijing and Taipei.

Musk, the owner of the social media platform X formerly known as Twitter, as well as the Tesla (TSLA.O) electric car company and Starlink satellite network, made the comments to the All-In Summit in Los Angeles uploaded to YouTube this week.

TAIPEI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry said it spotted 28 Chinese air force planes in its air defence zone on Wednesday morning, part of what Taipei calls regular harassment by Beijing amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Democratically-governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has complained in recent years of stepped-up Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.

TAIPEI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A Chinese naval formation led by the aircraft carrier Shandong passed 60 nautical miles (111km) to Taiwan's southeast on Monday and entered the western Pacific for training, the island's defence ministry said.

The ministry said that beginning at 5:40 a.m., it also spotted 11 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, in Taiwan's air defence identification zone and that its forces had made an "appropriate response".

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Australia and China opened their first high-level dialogue in three years Thursday in a sign of a slight thaw to relations between countries that have clashed on everything from human rights to COVID-19 origins to trade.

“I welcome the recent positive developments in the bilateral relationship, but we know that there is more work to do,” said Craig Emerson, the head of the Australian delegation and a former trade minister.

The dialogue being held in Beijing will focus on trade, people-to-people links and security.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — As People’s Liberation Army fighter jets from China sped toward Taiwan on Friday, life on the self-governing island carried on as normal.

Andy Huang, a restaurateur in Taipei, said he has become desensitized to military threats from the mainland.

“I’ve been hearing about China invading for 30 years,” he said.

TAIPEI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry warned on Tuesday of a possible "sharp increase" in military tensions after reporting renewed Chinese military activity including fighter jets crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for three years of increased military pressure from Beijing, mostly in the form of China's air force flying near the island.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test result for incoming travelers starting Wednesday, a milestone in its reopening to the rest of the world after a three-year isolation that began with the country’s borders closing in March 2020.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the change at a briefing in Beijing on Monday.

TAIPEI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it has not seen large-scale exercises or any other action by the Chinese military near the island after China condemned a brief U.S. visit by Taiwan Vice President William Lai.

China on Sunday denounced Lai's U.S. stopover on his way to Paraguay, saying that he was a separatist and "troublemaker through and through", and that it would take strong steps to protect its sovereignty.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China sent navy ships and a large group of fighter jets toward Taiwan, continuing its military pressure on the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has regularly sent flights toward the island in reaction to the island’s political activities. In the past year, it has also sent navy vessels as well as drones to circle the waters near the island.

TAIPEI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ten Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence zone on Wednesday accompanying five Chinese warships engaged in "combat readiness" patrols, the island's defence ministry said, the second such incursion this week.

Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, has repeatedly complained of Chinese military activity near it over the past three years, as Beijing steps up pressure to try to force the island to accept its sovereignty.