Lai Ching-te is expected to push for deeper relations with Southeast Asia when he becomes Taiwan's next president.
International relations

Taiwan's Lai poised to build on Tsai's Southeast Asia outreach

Expanding largely commercial ties may prove challenging as China's influence grows

20 April 2024
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden found novel diplomatic channels to send each other messages on April 10. Xi used a former Taiwanese president to carry his words, while Biden spoke up by hosting the leaders of Japan and the Philippines. (Source photos by Getty Images and Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Why Xi and Biden chose the same day to send a message on Taiwan

The wording of a 45-year-old U.S. law gives China an opening in the Taiwan Strait

18 April 2024
Surveillance cameras from Dahua Technology are displayed at an exhibition in Beijing in October 2018.
China tech

Sanctioned Chinese security camera maker Dahua divests from U.S.

Sale of last stateside unit to Taiwan group follows repeated blows in tech war

17 April 2024
Flags of NATO member countries fly at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
Taiwan tensions

NATO could be drawn into Taiwan conflict, affiliated report finds

Chinese attack on Hawaii might trigger collective defense, researcher argues

16 April 2024
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, third from left, attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, in Beijing on April 9. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)
International relations

China counters closer U.S.-Japan-Philippines ties with diplomatic flurry

Beijing shows 'it also has friends' in North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, ex-Taiwan leader

12 April 2024
In this image taken from video by Taiwan's TVBS, Chinese President Xi Jinping at right greets Taiwan's former President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on April 10. (TVBS via AP)
Taiwan tensions

China's Xi meets Taiwan's ex-leader Ma amid cross-strait tensions

Critics slam opposition KMT politician's tour for playing into Beijing's hands

10 April 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet in Washington this week.
Your Week in Asia

Japan's Kishida visits Washington, Uniqlo parent earnings, China data

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

7 April 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, center, learns about the TSMC plant in Kumamoto prefecture on April 6. To the right is TSMC CEO C.C. Wei.
Semiconductors

Japan PM Kishida visits TSMC's Kumamoto chip plant

Tokyo spending $8bn to subsidize Taiwan manufacturer's production site

6 April 2024
UMC Co-President Jason Wang, right, speaks at an Intel event in February. (UMC)
Semiconductors

With Intel tie-up, Taiwan chipmaker UMC makes U.S. push

Company fights for market share in mature chips against TSMC, Chinese rivals

2 April 2024
Yonaguni, near Taiwan, will receive evacuation facilities. (Photo by Shogo Kodama)
Politics

Japan plans 2-week shelters on islands near Taiwan

Central government to pay for facility construction for military emergency

30 March 2024
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a commissioning ceremony for two new naval corvettes on March 26. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
Taiwan tensions

Taiwan builds up mobile defenses to fight off possible Chinese landing

New strategy emphasizes asymmetric warfare as force gap widens

29 March 2024
Turbines silhouetted in the sunset at Noshiro Port, Akita, Japan, will form part of the country's biggest offshore wind farm as Japan seeks to allay fears of impacts on fishing communities while ramping up its wind power capacity fivefold by 2030. (Photo by Masayuki Kozono) 
Asia Insight

Japan sails close to offshore wind snags as fisheries, tech challenges lurk

Fishing co-ops must clear plan to connect turbines to central grid amid seabed doubts

26 March 2024
Minghsin University of Science and Technology boasts cutting-edge semiconductor equipment, thanks to support from Taiwan's government and businesses. (Photo by Hideaki Ryugen)
Technology

Taiwan bets on Vietnam, Indonesia for future chip-industry talent

Government, employers and schools seek 320,000 international students by 2030

26 March 2024
Under the new program, interns can attain the skill levels required for "specified skilled worker" status, a visa category that grants residency with no limits on renewals. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Japan immigration

Japan battles Taiwan and South Korea for foreign workers

Tokyo relaxes strict rules, but competitive pay remains a challenge

16 March 2024
Japan Self-Defense Forces soldiers walk past a Patriot air-defense missile system outside the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in 2017.
Opinion

Japan has role to play in bolstering Taiwan's defenses

Tokyo can help keep island's defenses well stocked and ready

15 March 2024
Paraguay's Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano says that Paraguay's ties with Taiwan have not stopped Chinese companies from doing business in the South American country. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
International relations

Paraguay 'committed' to keeping Taiwan ties, foreign minister says

Taiwan's last ally in South America emphasizes shared principles, economic benefits

11 March 2024
A military delegation crosses Tiananmen Square on the way to a meeting as the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) gets underway in Beijing on March 4.
China People's Congress

China defense budget grows 7.2% despite other 'belt-tightening'

Military spending outpaces GDP growth; Beijing keeps firm stance on Hong Kong and Taiwan

5 March 2024
Demonstrators holding sunflowers shout slogans in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on March 30, 2014. 
Politics

Sunflower protests recast Taiwan's ties with the world, activist says

March is 10th anniversary of student movement that stopped a trade deal with China

3 March 2024
China Coast Guard personnel on duty near Taiwan's Kinmen Islands. (China Coast Guard)
International relations

China flexes maritime muscle with bigger, tougher coast guard ships

Navy-style operations raise alarm in Taiwan, Japan and Philippines

28 February 2024
A man drives over a causeway on Nov. 25, 2019 in Funafuti, Tuvalu. The tiny island nation on Monday named Feleti Teo as its new prime minister. 
Indo-Pacific

Taiwan ally Tuvalu names former attorney general as prime minister

Feleti Teo's election shows ties with Taipei remain strong, envoy says

26 February 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, inspects infantry fighting vehicles in November 2015. (Reuters/Alexei Nikolskyi/Sputnik/Kremlin)
Ukraine war

Russia procures tank parts from Japan and Taiwan via China

Documents show company in Shenzhen used to evade U.S., U.K. sanctions

23 February 2024
Members of Taiwan's coast guard inspect a vessel that capsized during a chase off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago on Feb. 14.
Taiwan tensions

Taiwan and China spar over capsizing, inspections near Kinmen islands

Beijing's 'salami-slicing' tactics increase odds of accident escalating tensions

22 February 2024
Anti-landing barricades are seen on the beach with China's Xiamen in the background in Kinmen, Taiwan on Dec. 19, 2023.
Taiwan tensions

China says no banned areas around Taiwan islands after two killed

Taipei has defended the actions of its coast guard near Kinmen islands

18 February 2024
A model of the LY-70 air defense missile weapon system is displayed at Airshow China in Zhuhai, China in 2021. Beijing's military buildup is partly aimed at convincing the U.S. to accept China as a major power, analysts say.  
Indo-Pacific

Xi's playbook for China is different from what U.S. thinks, scholars say

Taiwan, tech and nuclear policies all related to domestic politics

7 February 2024
The Chinese Communist Party's Taiwan Work Office held a Lunar New Year gala with "Taiwan compatriots" including a movie director and Taiwanese students studying in Beijing. (Photo from Taiwan Work Office website)
Taiwan tensions

China courts Taiwan civil and business groups in unification push

Mainland's Taiwan affairs chief hosts back-to-back events with cultural and business leaders

7 February 2024