Taiwan does not seek military standoff: Prez

TAIPEI/WASHINGTON: Taiwan does not seek military confrontation, but will do whatever it takes to defend its freedom, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, amid a rise in tensions with China that has sparked alarm around the world.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, reported close to 150 Chinese air force aircraft flew into its air defence zone over a four-day period beginning last Friday, though those missions have since ended.

Taiwan has complained for more than a year of such activities, which it views as “grey zone warfare”, designed to wear out Taiwan’s armed forces and test their ability to respond.

“Taiwan does not seek military confrontation,” Tsai told a security forum in Taipei.

“It hopes for a peaceful, stable, predictable and mutuallybeneficial coexistence with its neighbours. But Taiwan will also do whatever it takes to defend its freedom and democratic way of life.”

US state department spokesman Ned Price called the Chinese activity “destabilising” and “provocative”.

“We strongly urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan,” he said, calling US commitment to the island “rock-solid”.

“Let me just say this, we are going to take action now to try to prevent that day from ever coming to pass,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told the BBC when asked if Washington was prepared to take military actions to defend Taiwan.

US special forces quietly training Taiwanese

US special operations forces have been quietly training Taiwanese troops for months, risking the ire of China, a Pentagon official said on Thursday.

A contingent of around 20 special operations and conventional forces has been conducting the training for less than a year, the official, who declined to be identified, told AFP, adding that some of the trainers rotate in and out.

CIA creates special unit focusing on China

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is creating a highlevel unit aimed at sharpening the agency’s focus on China, at a time of tense relations between the world’s two largest economies.

CIA director William Burns said on Thursday that the China Mission Center would cut across “all of the agency’s mission areas”, noting the CIA’s concern was “the threat ...from the Chinese government, not its people”.

A senior CIA official compared it to the agency’s tight focus on Russia during the Cold War and its concentration on counter-terrorism following the 9/11 attacks. No such unit focusing explicitly on China had previously been set up.

The China unit was one of several reshuffles resulting from a broad review the agency launched last spring, the senior official said.