Taiwan Detains TSMC Employees Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets
Law enforcement authorities detained three current and former employees of chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as part of an investigation into allegedly stealing trade secrets; it is the first such probe since Taiwan’s 2022 enhancement of a national security law to guard its strategic technologies (CNN)
Boris Johnson Visits Taiwan
As former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Taipei and met with President Lai Ching-te, he condemned China’s “bullying of Taiwan” and emphasized that Western countries should deepen economic and political relations with Taiwan, regardless of “pressure from any other country” (Reuters)
Chinese, Taiwanese Coastguards Stand Off Near Dongsha Islands
Near the disputed Dongsha Islands in the north South China Sea, a Chinese vessel entered the area and ignored radio warnings to turn back, prompting a twenty-two-hour stand-off; the ships came as close as one nautical mile to each other, in what Taipei says was a test of its maritime response (SCMP)
Taiwanese Deputy Minister: “China is Preparing to Invade Taiwan”
In an interview with Sky News, Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Wu said that Taiwan’s “population need to not be naive like in the past,” as “China is preparing to invade;” he added that “Trump knows that without Taiwanese chips, he cannot make America great again” and emphasized the importance of U.S. military presence in the area (Taipei Times)
Taiwan’s Government Alleges Chinese Interference in Upcoming Election
In a Facebook post citing a recent Reuters report and research by Taiwan’s Information Operations Research Group, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council stated that “the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to interfere with Taiwan’s democratic operation is evident and clear” and added that it “rejects the Chinese Communist Party’s intervention” (Reuters)
Vice President Says Taiwan “Will Not Provoke Confrontation”
In a speech to the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Taipei, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said that Taiwan does “not seek conflict” and “will not provoke confrontation” with China; Hsiao also said Taiwan’s people want peace, and reiterated President Lai’s offer of talks with China (Reuters)
Taiwan Simulates Drill of Enemy Advance Into Taipei
On the ninth day of the Han Kuan exercises, Taiwanese forces simulated how their forces would respond to a People’s Liberation Army invasion in Taipei while repairing damaged equipment; Taiwan held mass evacuation drills in squares, schools, subway stations, and highways, and casualty event rehearsals simulating missile and bomb strikes on buildings (BBC)
Separately, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense detected fifty-eight aircraft near Taiwan, with forty-five crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line, while ten Chinese naval vessels were operating in the Taiwan Strait (Taipei Times)
In Second Week of Drills, Taiwan’s Military Focuses on Escorting U.S. Ships
On the eighth day of the Han Kuang military exercises, Taiwanese forces simulated escorting U.S. supply ships to the east coast city of Hualien; anonymous military officials claimed that the United States could safely support Taiwan through the Port of Hualien in the event of a war (Taipei Times)
According to researchers from Proofpoint, a cybersecurity firm, sustained hacking campaigns from China-aligned groups targeting the Taiwanese semiconductor industry have increased amid U.S. restrictions on exports of U.S.-designed chips to China; the targets included fifteen to twenty organizations, including semiconductor design, manufacturing, and supply-chain organizations, by using compromised Taiwanese university email accounts (Reuters)
Philippines, Taiwan Cooperation to Counter China “Further Along” Than Disclosed
Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. enacted a policy easing restrictions on Filipino-Taiwanese relations, the two countries have deepened their cooperation on security issues—progress that some officials suggest is more advanced than publicly acknowledged; cooperation has included Taiwanese observance over joint U.S.-Philippine-Japan military exercises, Philippine academics’ attendance at security conferences with high-ranking Taiwanese generals, and joint Coast Guard patrols of the Bashi Channel (Taipei Times; WaPo)
Taiwan Deploys New Artillery Weapons in Military Drill
On the fourth day of Taiwan’s ten-day military drill, the military began deploying two armored trucks with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems near Taiwan’s central coast (Reuters)
Meanwhile, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby and the Pentagon have been demanding that Japan and Australia clarify how they would support the United States if it went to war with China over Taiwan; both countries were reportedly caught off guard by the request (Reuters)
Taiwan Continues Live-Fire Military Drills
President Lai Ching-te observed the second day of Taiwan’s annual military drills, in which Taiwanese forces engaged in live-fire drills with four Abrams M1A2T tanks provided by the United States; the Abrams tanks are Taiwan’s first new tanks in twenty-four years (Reuters)
Taiwan Begins Longest-Ever Military Exercise
Taiwan launched its ten-day Han Guang military drills with 22,000 reservists to test new weaponry and tactics, including Abrams tanks and unmanned waterborne drones; the first day included drills to counter Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia ships (AP)
Meanwhile, China added eight organizations with ties to Taiwan’s military to an export control list; Beijing said the action served as a “warning” against entities that work with “Taiwanese separatist forces” (AP)
China Calls Taiwan Military Exercise a “Bluffing and Self-Deceiving Trick”
Spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense and Senior Colonel Jiang Bin criticized Taiwan’s planned ten-day military exercise beginning on July 9, calling it a part of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party’s efforts to “hijack Taiwan compatriots on-board its ‘Taiwan Independence’ war chariot”, and emphasized that no military drill or weapon will deter Chinese countermeasures against Taiwan (China MoD)
Beijing Activates New Taiwan Strait Flight Route
China’s Civil Aviation Administration activated the last of three branches of a north-south flight path that connects various cities across China’s eastern coastline by flying near the unofficial median line of the Taiwan Strait; Taiwanese authorities considered the decision a unilateral breach of the 2015 consensus (SCMP)
Taiwan to Simulate Chinese Blockade in Military Exercises
In next week’s annual Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s military will simulate a ten-day blockade of the island, mobilizing 22,000 reservists in what will be the longest and largest exercise the country has ever conducted (Reuters)
Roughly sixty nautical miles from the coast of Keelung in northeastern Taiwan, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense confirmed the spotting of a Chinese Type 072A landing ship tank carrier; the spotting in the northeast was atypical, since Type 072A ships are generally seen off Taiwan’s east coast (Taipei Times)
Taiwan’s President Continues Speaking Tour Defending Taiwan’s Sovereignty
During his third address on a speaking tour titled “Ten Speeches on National Unity,” President Lai Ching-te reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty as an independent entity separate from China; however, critics argue that his rhetoric is deepening divisions both within Taiwan and in its relationship with China (NYT)
After a report that Chinese authorities allegedly tried to intimidate and use force against Taiwanese Vice-President Hsiao Bi-Khim in March 2024, China’s foreign ministry denied any wrongdoing and said that the Czech Republic had infringed on China’s internal affairs by allowing Hsiao to visit the country (Reuters)
China Accused of Plotting Car Crash Targeting Taiwan’s Vice President During Czech Visit
Over a year after Taiwanese Vice-President Hsiao Bi-Khim’s visit to Prague in March 2024, Czech military intelligence officials reported that Chinese authorities purportedly followed Hsiao on her trip and planned to stage a car crash in an act of intimidation (Reuters)
China’s Military Holds Joint Combat Readiness Patrol Near Taiwan
The Chinese defense ministry reported that the military had conducted a “joint combat readiness patrol” with warships and twenty-one military aircraft, including Russian Su-30 fighters; a spokesperson reiterated previous Chinese claims that Taiwanese President Lai was distorting history and that Taiwanese independence was a separatist act (Reuters)
China to “Take Forceful Measures” Toward Taiwan Over Export Control List
One week after Taiwan added Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) to its export control list, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson stated that China will “take forceful measures” to regain normalcy between the two entities (MarketWatch; Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, days after Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said that Taiwan is its own country, Zhu Fenglian and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, when speaking to European ambassadors and reporters in Beijing, expressed that Taiwan is part of China, and there is therefore “no invasion to speak of” (Reuters)
China Accuses Taiwan’s President of “Heresy”
One day after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stated that Taiwan was “of course” a country, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office stated that President Lai was intentionally distorting history to promote Taiwan’s independence agenda and making claims with “fallacies and heresies full of errors and omissions” (Reuters)
China Sends Over Sixty Planes Across Central Line in Taiwan Strait
One day after a UK ship conducted a navigation of the Taiwan Strait, China sent six warships and seventy-four warplanes toward Taiwan, including sixty-one planes that crossed the de facto dividing line between China and Taiwan (AP; Euronews)
First Domestically Made Submarine Completes Maiden Trip
Representatives from the Taiwanese shipbuilding company CSBC Corporation announced that the first vessel in a planned fleet of eight successfully completed its initial sea trial; the submarines are expected to be used in Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare strategy amid a potential conflict with China (Reuters)
Taiwan’s Submarine Trial
Taiwan completed the initial sea test for its first domestically built submarine, the Narwhal; the Indigenous Defense Submarine program is a main pillar of Taiwan’s efforts to modernize its military amid fears of potential conflict with China (Reuters)
Taiwan Strikes Deal for Ukrainian Drone Software
Taiwan agreed to partner with the U.S. and German-based firm Auterion to procure unmanned drone software that has been battle-tested in Ukraine and may be used in “millions” of Taiwanese drones (Reuters)
Separately, the Taiwan government’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology tested the capabilities of a sea drone made by Taiwanese shipbuilder Lungteh; the Unscrewed Sea Vehicle (USV) can be used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and striking targets (AFP)