AIRLINK 75.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-0.24%)
BOP 5.11 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.79%)
CNERGY 4.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-3.16%)
DFML 32.53 Increased By ▲ 2.43 (8.07%)
DGKC 90.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.14%)
FCCL 22.98 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.35%)
FFBL 33.57 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (1.88%)
FFL 10.04 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.1%)
GGL 11.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-2.56%)
HBL 114.90 Increased By ▲ 1.41 (1.24%)
HUBC 137.34 Increased By ▲ 0.83 (0.61%)
HUMNL 9.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.37 (-3.74%)
KEL 4.66 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
KOSM 4.70 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.21%)
MLCF 40.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.56 (-1.36%)
OGDC 139.75 Increased By ▲ 4.95 (3.67%)
PAEL 27.65 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.14%)
PIAA 24.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.07 (-4.2%)
PIBTL 6.92 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 125.30 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (0.68%)
PRL 27.55 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.55%)
PTC 14.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-2.41%)
SEARL 61.85 Increased By ▲ 1.65 (2.74%)
SNGP 72.98 Increased By ▲ 2.43 (3.44%)
SSGC 10.59 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.28%)
TELE 8.78 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.24%)
TPLP 11.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.42%)
TRG 66.60 Decreased By ▼ -1.06 (-1.57%)
UNITY 25.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.08%)
WTL 1.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-2.7%)
BR100 7,806 Increased By 81.8 (1.06%)
BR30 25,828 Increased By 227.1 (0.89%)
KSE100 74,531 Increased By 732.1 (0.99%)
KSE30 23,954 Increased By 330.7 (1.4%)

A Taiwanese minister accused China of intimidation ahead of upcoming elections after Beijing sent its first domestically-built aircraft carrier to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, Taipei's defence ministry said.

China, which sees self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, has stepped up military drills around the island since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016.

Taipei's foreign minister Joseph Wu tweeted that China "intends to intervene in Taiwan's elections", adding: "Voters won't be intimidated!"

The defence ministry said in a statement reassuring the public it had dispatched ships and planes to track and closely monitor the carrier's movements.

It added ships from the United States and Japan trailed the carrier in the strait.

Beijing has also ramped up diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan as Tsai's government refuses to acknowledge the island is part of "one China."

Tsai - who has voiced support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement - is seeking a second term against a challenger who favours much warmer relations with China. She has described the January elections as a fight for Taiwan's freedom and democracy.

Earlier Sunday Tsai announced former premier William Lai, who has styled himself as a "Taiwan independence worker," as her running mate in a move likely to irritate Beijing.

In a statement about the ship sailing through the strait, Tsai's office said: "It is a joint responsibility and goal to maintain peace and stability between the two sides... Beijing should cherish peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in the region that have not come easily".

Most recently China's Liaoning - a repurposed Soviet carrier bought from Ukraine that went into service in 2012 - passed through the Taiwan Strait in June.

US navy ships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" operations in the Taiwan Strait, while Canadian and French ships had also sailed through the narrow waterway separating Taiwan from the Chinese mainland this year.

China views any passing through the strait as a breach of its territorial sovereignty - while the US and many other nations see the route as international space.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.