Tag Archives: Taiwan

U.S. expects ‘very serious’ talks with China after missile reports

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday the United States expects to have “very serious” talks with China about militarization of the South China Sea after reports that Beijing deployed advanced surface-to-air missiles to a disputed island.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the missile batteries had been set up on Woody Island in the Paracels chain, which has been under Chinese control for decades but also is claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

A U.S. defense official also confirmed the “apparent deployment” of the missiles, first reported by Fox News.

“There is every evidence, every day that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another,” Kerry told reporters when asked about the reported deployment. “It’s of serious concern.

“We have had these conversations with the Chinese and I am confident that over the next days we will have further very serious conversation on this.”

The United States claims no territory in the South China Sea but has expressed serious concerns about how China’s increasingly assertive pursuit of territorial claims there could affect the vital global trade routes that pass though it.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters the “limited and necessary self-defense facilities” China had on islands and reefs where it has personnel stationed was “consistent with the right to self-protection that China is entitled to under international law.”

The Chinese Defense Ministry told Reuters the latest reports about missile deployment were nothing but “hype.”

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

TOPIC AT ASEAN MEETING

News of the missile deployment came as U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concluded a summit in California, where they discussed the need to ease tensions in the South China Sea.

It also followed a patrol by a U.S. Navy destroyer within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracels last month, a move China condemned as provocative.

The United States also has conducted sea and air patrols near artificial islands that China has built in the Spratly islands chain farther south in the South China Sea, including by two B-52 strategic bombers in November.

Obama said the United States planned to continue such patrols in the name of freedom of navigation.

Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said at a news briefing in Tokyo that deployment of missiles to the Paracels would not be a surprise but would be a concern and contrary to China’s pledge not to militarize the region.

Some analysts believe China’s increasing military presence in the South China Sea could lead to a Beijing-controlled air defense zone there.

“(The missile deployment) reinforces the view that China intends to exert growing control in these international waters, including potentially by declaring an Air Defense Identification Zone,” said Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, a South China Sea expert from the Center for a New American Security, said it was not the first time China had sent air-defense missiles to the Paracels, but the latest move appeared to be a response to U.S. patrols.

She noted that while China had said it did not seek to militarize islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands, it had made no such commitment for the Paracels, where it has stationed military assets for years.

Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said Woody Island belonged to China.

“Deploying surface-to-air missiles on our territory is completely within the scope of our sovereign rights,” he said. “We have sovereignty there, so we can choose whether to militarize it.”

Fox News said images from civilian satellite firm ImageSat International show two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers on Woody Island, as well as a radar system.

The missiles arrived in the past week and, according to a U.S. official, appeared to show the HQ-9 air defense system, which has a range of 125 miles and would pose a threat to any airplanes flying close by, the report said.

(Additional reporting by Faith Hung in Taipei, David Brunnstrom and Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Jeff Mason and Bruce Wallace in Rancho Mirage, Megha Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Tim Kelly in Tokyo, Martin Petty in Hanoi, Matt Siegel in Sydney; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Bill Trott)

Taiwan earthquake death toll rises, building developer in custody

TAINAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – A local court in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan ruled on Tuesday to take into custody the developer of a building which collapsed during an earthquake at the weekend that killed at least 39 people.

Lin Ming-hui, the Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building’s developer, and two other men from his management team are being held without bail on suspicion of negligent homicide while the authorities finish their investigation, the Tainan District Court said in a statement.

The investigation is being led by the Tainan District Prosecutors Office.

The quake struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all of the dead found in Tainan’s toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building. Two people died elsewhere in the city.

Rescue work has focused on the wreckage of the 17-story building, where more than 100 people are listed as missing and are suspected to be buried deep under the rubble.

No survivors have been brought out since Monday evening.

Questions have been raised about the building’s construction quality, especially materials used to build it.

Lawyers for the three detained men were not immediately available to comment.

Hsiao Po-jen, director of the legal affairs department of the Tainan city government, told Reuters that Lin had been arrested on Monday evening.

Reuters witnesses at the scene of the collapse have seen large rectangular, commercial cans of cooking-oil packed inside wall cavities exposed by the damage, apparently having been used as building material.

Taiwan media has also reported the presence of polystyrene in supporting beams, mixed in with concrete.

The Wei-guan, completed in 1994, was the only major high-rise building in the city of two million people to have completely collapsed.

Its lower stories, filled with arcades of shops, pancaked on top of each other before the entire U-shaped complex toppled in on itself.

Deputy Tainan Mayor Tseng Shu-cheng told family members that 103 people were still missing in the rubble.

(Reporting by J.R. Wu, and Faith Hung in TAIPEI; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Nick Macfie and Mike Collett-White)

More rescued two days after Taiwan quake, death toll could exceed 100

TAINAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Rescuers pulled out alive an eight-year-old girl and her aunt from the rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday, more than 60 hours after it was toppled by a quake, as the mayor of the southern city of Tainan warned the death toll could exceed 100.

The official death toll from the quake rose to 38, with more than 100 people missing.

The girl, named as Lin Su-Chin, was conscious and had been taken to hospital, Taiwan television stations said. Her aunt, Chen Mei-jih, was rescued shortly after.

The quake struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all the dead found in Tainan’s toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building.

Rescue efforts are focused on the wreckage of the 17-story building, where more than 100 people are listed as missing and are suspected to be buried deep under the rubble.

Earlier, Wang Ting-yu, a legislator who represents the area, told reporters that a woman, identified as Tsao Wei-ling, was found alive, lying under her dead husband. Their two-year-old son, who was also killed, was found nearby.

Another survivor, a man named Li Tsung-tian, was pulled out later, with Taiwan television stations showing live images of the rescues. Several hours later, Li’s girlfriend was found dead in the rubble.

Tsao and Li were both being treated in hospital.

Tainan Mayor William Lai said during a visit to a funeral home that rescue efforts had entered what he called the “third stage”.

“There are more fatalities than those pulled out (alive), and the number of fatalities will probably exceed 100,” Lai told reporters.

Rescuers continued to scramble over the twisted wreckage of the building as numbed family members stood around, waiting for news of missing relatives.

Taiwan’s government said in a statement 36 of the 38 dead were from the Wei-guan building, which was built in 1994.

President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who won election last month, said there needed to be a “general sorting out” of old buildings to make sure they were able to cope with disasters like earthquakes.

“There needs to be a continued strengthening of their ability to deal with disasters,” she said.

Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters at a Tainan hospital, said the government needed to be a better job in ensuring building quality.

“In the near future, regarding building management, we will have some further improvements. We will definitely do this work well,” Ma said.

Reuters witnesses at the scene of the collapse saw large rectangular, commercial cans of cooking-oil packed inside wall cavities exposed by the damage, apparently having been used as building material.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also conveyed condolences to the victims, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Sunday, and repeated Beijing’s offer to provide help.

China views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, to be bought under its control by force if necessary.

(Additional reporting by Faith Hung in Taipei and Megha Rajagopalan in Beijing; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)

Powerful earthquake causes damage in southern Taiwan

TAIPEI (Reuters) – A powerful earthquake struck southern Taiwan on Saturday near the city of Tainan, toppling at least one apartment building and collapsing other structures although there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries.

At least five aftershocks of 3.8-magnitude or more shook Tainan about half an hour after the initial quake, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.

Taiwan’s Formosa TV showed images of police, firefighters and some troops in camouflage uniforms at the site of a collapsed residential building and said its reporters could hear the cries of some residents trapped inside.

The firefighters were hosing down part of the building to prevent a fire, while others used ladders and a crane to enter the upper floors.

The building appeared to have collapsed onto the first story where a child’s clothes were visible fluttering on a laundry line.

Taiwan lies in the seismically active “Pacific Ring of Fire” zone and it was struck by a magnitude 7.7 quake that killed more than 2,400 people in September 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the latest quake, a magnitude 6.4, was centered 27 miles southeast of Tainan, a city of nearly 2 million people.

The quake was very shallow, at depth of 6.2 miles, which would have amplified its effects, the USGS said.

Taiwan’s China Post newspaper said on its website that more than one building collapsed in the quake.

“Collapsed buildings reported in Tainan, with rescue workers arriving on scene. The city government there has set up a level one emergency response center. Onlookers are urged not to block access to emergency crews moving into the area,” the newspaper said.

Tainan city’s fire department confirmed earlier that at least one building had partially collapsed and Liu Shih-chung, an official with the Tainan City Government, told Reuters the city had set up an emergency response center. Official information about the extent of damages from the quake was not immediately available.

According to the USGS, the last time Taiwan was struck by a quake of the same magnitude as Saturday’s was in April 2015, but that temblor was much deeper.

(Reporting by JR Wu and Tomasch Janowski; Additional reporting by Eric Walsh and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler and Tom Brown)

China Angry After U.S. Sells $1.83 Billion in Weapons to Taiwan

The United States government on Wednesday authorized selling a $1.83 billion defense package to Taiwan, a transaction that immediately drew objections, criticisms and sanctions from China.

CNN reported the package Taiwan purchased mainly consists of weapons used for defense. It includes amphibious assault vehicles, a pair of frigates and anti-aircraft and anti-ship weapons.

A state department spokesman addressed the sale at a news conference on Wednesday, saying it was “based on our assessment of Taiwan’s defense needs” and in line with the government’s existing diplomatic policies regarding China and Taiwan, nations that have long been at odds.

China, though, doesn’t see it that way.

Speaking to Xinhua, China’s state-run media service, Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said Beijing “strongly opposes” the transaction, which it believes violates the diplomatic agreements. Zheng told the news agency that China imposed sanctions on the companies involved in the sale.

“No one can shake the firm will of the Chinese government and people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to oppose foreign interference,” Zheng told Xinhua.

Relations between China and Taiwan have been fragile since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949. Taiwan governs itself, though Beijing claims that the island remains Chinese territory.

It isn’t the first time that the United States has sold weapons to Taiwan.

Focus Taiwan, a news agency, reported it was the fourth transaction since 2008, the year in which U.S. President Barack Obama was elected and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office. Those deals have been worth more than $20 billion, but this was the first exchange since 2011.

A spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, Yang Yujun, told Xinhua on Thursday that the arms transaction was “wrongdoing” that would “inevitably harm China-U.S. military relations.” Xinhua reported Zheng summoned officials at the U.S. embassy in China to discuss the sale.

The U.S. state department doesn’t see why the sale would hurt its relationship with China.

“There’s no need for it to have any derogatory effect on our relationship with China, just like there was no need in the past for it to ever have that effect on China,” spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday. “We still want to work to establish a better, more transparent, more effective relationship with China in the region, and we’re going to continue to work at that.”

China and Taiwan Leaders to Meet for First Time Since 1949

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday, the first time since the two governments split in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war.

Both leaders have stated that Saturday’s meeting will focus on relations across the Taiwan Straits.

Reuters reports that the timing of the meeting takes place at the same time as a rising anti-China sentiment sweeps Taiwan. With elections in Taiwan only a few weeks away, analysts believe the meeting is a sign that China is worried about the opposing party winning the election. This would ruin the currently rebuilt relations between China and Taiwan that the current Taiwanese president made a key policy since he took office in 2008. Since Ma has been president, China and Taiwan have signed 23 deals covering transit, investments, and mainly trade.

This could mean war between China and Taiwan as the Chinese government has threatened to use military force against Taiwan if the country ever tried to gain total independence, according to BBC News. China does claim sovereignty over Taiwan and believes the two will be reunited in the future.

Last year, Chinese President Xi recommended a one-country, two-system joint rule where Beijing controlled Taiwan, but Taiwan would continue to retain a political system and some autonomy.

Taiwanese officials and President Ma will hold press conferences regarding the meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

Typhoon Dujuan Hits Mainland after Pummeling Taiwan

Over half a million homes are without power in Taiwan while officials survey the damage caused by Typhoon Dujuan.  Two deaths were reported as well as hundreds of injuries. Dujuan made landfall in China Tuesday morning with an average sustained wind at 74 mph.

Two to three feet of rain have been reported from Taiwan in a number of mountain locations with wind gusts as high as 154 mph.  

The torrential rainfall from what is left of the Typhoon still torment the already battered Taiwan, threatening more flooding and dangerous mudslides.

Typhoon Dujuan is forecasted to rapidly weaken and dissipate as it moves over the terrain of southeastern China.

Typhoon Dujuan Slams into Taiwan

With wind gusts over 150 miles per hour Typhoon Dujuan has slammed into Taiwan.  Dujuan has been categorized as a Super-typhoon and has left 24 injured as the incredible winds and massive rain battered the Island on Monday evening.

Most of the 24 people hurt suffered minor injuries, the island’s Emergency Operation Center said, many of them hit by flying debris.

More than 7,000 people have been evacuated in anticipation of the storm. About 200 people staying in emergency shelters.   

So far, more than 330,000 home are without electricity and tens of thousands of troops are on standby.  

Rainfall amounts have already reached 30 inches in some areas spawning fears of mudslides in the mountains.  

China has issued its top alert as the storm approaches the mainland.  

At Least 28 Dead from Typhoon Soudelor

Officials in China and Taiwan report that at least 28 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Typhoon Soudelor.  The death toll has been steadily rising since the storm roared through Taiwan into mainland China.

Taiwanese officials say that six people are confirmed dead including a mother and her twin daughters who were swept out to sea.  At least 379 people were injured by the storm and over four million homes were without power, a record for most homes without power at one time.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the storm’s heavy rains caused mudslides which buried homes in the Wenzhou and Lishui areas.

Some areas reported 27 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, the most for that area in over 120 years according to state media.

Damage to crops from the storm is estimated at $644 million with overall damage estimated at $1.43 billion.

The western Pacific has experienced ten typhoons this year.

Typhoon Soudelor Could Strike with Same Force as Hurricane Katrina

Forecasters are reporting the Typhoon Soudelor, which has weakened from earlier this week when it became the strongest storm of the year, could strike Taiwan head-on with the same level of force as 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

“It is barreling down on Taiwan and winds will strengthen to around 130 mph by the time it hits at some point [Friday] afternoon U.S. time,” Weather Channel forecaster Michael Palmer told NBC. “There will undoubtedly be some significant damage, there will be some massive waves and flash flooding.”

The storm is tracking over the center of the country and about 7 million people in capital city Taipei’s metropolitan area could be impacted by the storm.

The storm has already killed one person.  An 8-year-old girl was confirmed dead after being swept out to sea according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency.  Another child is missing and feared dead in the incident that was survived by a 38-year-old woman and another child.

Taiwanese authorities forced the evacuations of over 600 residents along coastal areas.  Flights to the island have been cancelled and all schools and public offices and facilities will be closed.

The storm is drawing comparisons to 2009’s Typhoon Morakot that killed 700 people and caused over $3 billion in damage.

Chinese officials have started evacuations from the coastal province of Fujian where the storm is expected to hit after crossing over Taiwan.