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Chinese warships, fighters encircle Taiwan, simulate precision strikes

  • Angered over President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the US last week, China has launched a three-day military drill to intimidate Taiwan and as a warning to the US. The patrol also has a standby nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (see pix below).
  • Meanwhile, Tsai's meeting with Kevin McCarthy indicates a bipartisan move in the US, probably a Biden plan for legislation to end the ambiguity over official relations with Taiwan.
  • And, next year's election in Taiwan will be fought by the US and China by proxy.
  • The US seeks to check the growing Chinese military presence in the Pacific with new alliances.

TAIPEI, April 9: Chinese warships, including an aircraft carrier, and fighters have encircled Taiwan in response to its President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the US days ago. The patrol also has a standby nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine.

China launched a three-day drill on Saturday. Of 71 warplanes despatched, 41 fighter jets crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.

On Sunday, the second day of its drills, China simulated precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and its surrounding waters after encircling the island.

Beijing had condemned Tsai's Wednesday meeting with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

The US embassy in Taiwan said on Sunday that the United States was monitoring China’s drills and is “comfortable and confident” it has sufficient resources and capabilities regionally to ensure peace and stability.

The US supports Taiwan with military aid. Japan is also an ally. An emerging alliance that also includes Australia is poised to check China's growing military infuence in the Pacific.

The US stand has been that it would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan. It pledges to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons. And it has been supplying. Officially, the US has a "One-China" policy, which recognises only Beijing.

Meanwhile in Taiwan the presidential election next year is hotting up to be fought by the US and China by proxy with an Opposition likely aligning with the mainland and the result would be that Taiwan will be caught in a larger warfare.

China considers the self-ruled island as its breakaway province. President Xi Jinping has said several times "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled." He is ready to use force.

The island is separated from the mainland China by 130 km of Taiwan Strait, which is part of the South China Sea and connects it with the East China Sea in the north.

When former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August last year also China had conducted military exercises, including firing of ballistic missiles, in the seas around Taiwan and even closer to Japanese islands.

At that time it was thought to be a publicity stunt as Xi was seeking re-election as the President. China had imposed a two-term limit on its President in 1990 but in 2018 it was removed so that he could seek re-election every time, for life. This year, therefore, again he was re-elected, the rubber-stamp parliament handing him a third term as President on March 10.

Tsai Ing-wen is the President of Taiwan (Republic of China - ROC) since 2016.

Taiwan is important for the world as it depends on it for everyday requirements for electronic equipments like mobiles, laptops, watches and games consoles which are powered by computer chips made there. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC controls half of the world's market.

Taiwan the contentious issue

The Chinese Government sees Taiwan (Republic of China - ROC) as a part of the mainland (People's Republic of China - PRC) and wants to annexe while Taiwan remains as an independent democratic republic. Taiwan has been an independent island since after the Chinese civil war.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized control of most of China and declared the seized territory as PRC in 1949 when the civil war between the ROC government (Kuomintang - KMT), which was ruling the mainland China for long, and the CCP ended. That is, Chiang Kai-shek's (Kuomintang) ROC troops were defeated by Mao Zedong's Communist army. Since then the ROC government moved to Taiwan and formed the government there. Chiang ruled for 25 years.Two Chinas came into being. The CCP or the PRC could not seize Taiwan then and has been at it since then. With the increased international trade and maritime activity and the strategic significance of Taiwan Straits falling between Taiwan and China, Beijing is all the more wanting to seize Taiwan as its. However, continuing the old rivalry between the ROC and the PRC, just as the PRC claims the Taiwan territory, ROC claims the mainland. ROC had constitutionally amended its name to Taiwan in 1991. Taiwan's sovereignty is not internationally recognised although it has an elected government and a constitution. (Only 13 countries recognise Taiwan). The ROC lost its UN seat as "China" in 1971.

In World War II, in 1945, Japan had surrendered Taiwan and the then ruling ROC government of mainland China was entrusted with the administration of the island territory. Its status has since continued to be ambiguous at international fora, even after the ROC government was established there after its defeat and withdrawal from mainland in 1949. Even later neither of the two warring Chinas was a party to the Treaty of Peace of 1951.

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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

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