China holds day-long military drills surrounding Taiwan to 'warn separatists'
Beijing/Taipei, Oct 14: China on Monday conducted day-long large-scale military drills aimed at surrounding Taiwan by deploying an aircraft carrier group, besides army, navy, air force and missile forces, in an apparent response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's remarks that Beijing has no authority to represent Taipei.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Monday evening that it had wrapped up its blockade drills surrounding the island, fully testing the integrated joint operation capabilities of its troops.
The PLA has been periodically conducting such drills to showcase its military might.
Earlier, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command dispatched its troops of army, navy, air force and rocket force to conduct joint military drills code-named "Joint Sword-2024B" in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island, Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson of the Command, said in a statement.
"The drill also serves as a stern warning to the separatist acts of "Taiwan independence" forces. It is a legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding national sovereignty and national unity," Captain Li said.
He also said China's Liaoning aircraft carrier task group has been deployed to conduct joint drills with other forces of the PLA “in the waters and airspace to the east of Taiwan Island".
He said that the drills are to test the joint operation capabilities of all services and arms around the island.
The Chinese Defence Ministry said the drills focussing on key-port blockade, seizure of regional control, and assault on maritime and ground targets in areas to the north and south of Taiwan Island, are a test of the PLA troops' capabilities of multi-domain collaboration, systems confrontation and precision strikes on key targets.
The drills were in response to assertions by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te in his speech on the National Day of Taiwan four days ago, asserting that the two sides “are not subordinate to each other” and Beijing had no authority to represent the island.
Lai, who has been firm in asserting Taiwan’s independence after his election in May, said the two sides of the strait should have equal status, and that he was committed to peace across the strait.
China claims the stringed island of Taiwan as part of its mainland and President Xi Jinping has been vocal in recent years to unify it with “motherland”.
In Taipei, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has denounced China's military threats and urged Beijing to pull back and immediately cease its military provocations.
“MOFA solemnly denounces China and urges it to neither use false pretexts aimed at justifying disagreement and strife nor become a troublemaker that undermines regional peace and stability," it said.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said "Taiwan independence" is incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Strait, and the provocations of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces will inevitably be countered.
Asked about the PLA drills around Taiwan, Mao told a media briefing here that China has always been committed to maintaining regional peace and stability, which is evident to countries in the region.
Taiwan is an integral part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is China's internal affair, which brooks no outside interference, Mao said.
About the US calls for restraint by China, she said if the United States truly cares about peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the prosperity of the region, it should abide by the one-China principle and earnestly act on its leaders' commitment to not supporting "Taiwan independence," stop arming Taiwan and stop sending any wrong signals to separatist forces of "Taiwan independence."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee falls 28 paise to 94.77 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 28 paise to 94.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as market sentiment took a dramatic turn after reports emerged that the US and Iran are discussing a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing tensions and reopening negotiations.
Forex traders said Brent oil prices, which had fallen to USD 98 on the US-Iran peace deal, edged slightly higher to USD 101 per barrel after investors weighed the prospects for a Middle East peace deal.
Moreover, factors such as unabated foreign capital outflows amid rising geopolitical uncertainties further dented investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.77 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 28 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 69 paise to close at 94.49 against the US dollar.
"Markets are currently focused on the critical 48-hour window during which the US expects Tehran’s formal response through Pakistani mediators," said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.01, down 0.01 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.65 per cent at USD 101.83 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 160.24 points to 77,798.28 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 30.25 points to 24,300.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,834.90 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, the country's goods and services exports rose 4.6 per cent to an all-time high of USD 863.11 billion during 2025-26, up from USD 825.26 billion in 2024-25, despite global economic uncertainties, according to revised commerce ministry data.
Merchandise exports grew 0.93 per cent to USD 441.78 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 437.70 billion in 2024-25, the data showed.
