TAIPEI: Authorities in southeastern Taiwan suspended some ferries and advised fishers to return to shore Tuesday as the island’s weather forecaster warned approaching Typhoon Kong-rey was “rapidly” intensifying.
Packing maximum wind speeds of 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour, the storm could make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, the Central Weather Administration said.
“It is now intensifying rapidly,” Lin Po-tung of the weather agency told a news conference.
Lin warned waves could reach five to six metres (16 to 20 feet) high on Wednesday, with heavy rain also forecast in the capital Taipei.
Disaster officials in Taitung county, which looked set to bear the brunt of Kong-rey based on the storm’s current trajectory, advised fishers to return to shore and secure their boats, while ferry services to outlying islands were suspended.
“The main impact on Taitung will be damage caused by strong winds,” the local fire agency said.
Further north in the coastal city of Hualien, which was hit by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in April, authorities prepared supplies for the vulnerable and vehicles ready to evacuate people.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October but scientists have warned climate change is increasing their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
In July, Gaemi became the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in eight years, killing at least 10 people, injuring hundreds and triggering widespread flooding in the southern seaport city of Kaohsiung.
That was followed in early October by Krathon, which killed at least four people and injured hundreds, as well as triggering mudslides, flooding and record-strong gusts.
In a bid to avoid a repeat of the flooding, there have been “increased efforts on clearing sediment from rivers and in more areas”, said Yi-fung Wang, a spokesman for the Water Resources Agency, under the economic ministry.

Taiwan’s defence chief has warned that a Chinese “blockade” would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade after Beijing held military exercises to encircle the self-governed island.

Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo made his comments on Wednesday as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued exercises near the democratically-ruled island after last week carrying out war games that included a simulated blockade.

“If you really want to carry out a so-called blockade, which according to international law is to prohibit all aircraft and ships entering the area, then according to United Nations resolutions it is regarded as a form of war,” Koo said in remarks to reporters at parliament.

“I want to stress that drills and exercises are totally different from a blockade, as would be the impact on the international community,” Koo added.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has said it reserves the right to use force to bring it under its control, with the PLA regularly holding drills – including simulating blockading key ports and assaulting maritime and ground targets – around the island.

Taiwan, also known by its official name the Republic of China, has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China and rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Beijing also asserts jurisdiction over the entirety of the Taiwan Strait, a 180km-wide (110-mile) waterway separating mainland China from Taiwan.

Taiwan and other members of the international community reject Beijing’s claim, with the United States, Japan and several European countries asserting its status as an international waterway.

The US navy, in particular, regularly sails through the strait to maintain freedom of navigation rights.

Koo, who noted that one-fifth of global freight passes through the strait, said that the international community “could not sit by and just watch” if China were to impose a blockade.

Taiwan’s defence ministry announced earlier on Wednesday that Chinese aircraft carriers, led by the Liaoning carrier, travelled north through the waterway after passing through waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas islands.

During the previous 24 hours, Taiwan’s military detected 15 Chinese military aircraft and six navy vessels in the skies and waters around the island, the defence ministry said.

“The Liaoning is passing through the Taiwan Strait now, sailing north along the west of the median line and we are closely monitoring it,” Koo said.

Taiwan has reported almost daily Chinese military drills around the island for the past five years, but activity has intensified since April’s election of outspoken President William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has labelled a “dangerous separatist”.

On October 14, Beijing launched large-scale military drills – code-named “Joint Sword-2024B” and involving the army, navy, air force and rocket force – in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan.

Beijing said the drills, which came soon after Lai delivered his National Day speech on October 10, were issued as a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”.

The US and Canada sent warships through the Taiwan Strait, with China issuing a warning on Monday, claiming such actions “undermine” peace in the region.

According to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, which operates in the Asia-Pacific, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) conducted a “routine” transit of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.

The US 7th Fleet’s statement said the warships navigated through a “high seas corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial waters of any coastal state.”

The voyage was also described as demonstrating the two nations’ “commitment” to “upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” the statement added.

Rejecting any “assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air,” the US military emphasized that the international community’s rights in the Taiwan Strait “should not be restricted.”

However, China’s military warned that the passage of the US and Canadian warships “disrupted the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.”

Li Xi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), stated that China is “on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguards national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability.”

Li added that naval and air forces organized by the command “closely followed and monitored the vessels’ passage through the strait, addressing the situation in accordance with laws and regulations.”

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the voyage, stating that the warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait from south to north on Sunday. The Taiwanese armed forces “maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace, with the situation remaining normal,” it said on the social media platform X.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called this week for troops to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media reported on Saturday, just days after Beijing staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan.

Xi made his comments while visiting a brigade of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force on Thursday, according to state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Xi said the military should “comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities”, CCTV reported.

Soldiers must “enhance their strategic deterrent and combat capability”, Xi said.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has stepped up its shows of force around the self-ruled island in recent years.

On Monday, Beijing had deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan — its fourth round of large-scale war games around the democratic island in just over two years.

China’s communist leaders have insisted they will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

Xi on Thursday said the Chinese military must “strongly safeguard the country’s strategic security and core interests”, according to the CCTV report.

The dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to a civil war in which the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to the island in 1949.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since then.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is planning more plants in Europe with a focus on the market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips, according to a senior Taiwanese official, as the chipmaker expands its global footprint. 

“They have started construction of the first fab in Dresden, they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen told Bloomberg TV in an interview aired on Monday. 

Wu did not specify a timeline for the Taiwanese chipmaker’s further expansion in Europe. TSMC said in an emailed statement it remains focused on its current global expansion projects and has no new investment plans at this time.

TSMC, which is the world’s biggest chipmaker and produces most of its semiconductors in Taiwan, is spending tens of billions of dollars to set up new sites in the US, Japan and Germany, partly to hedge against rising geopolitical tensions with China. 

It broke ground in August on a EUR 10 billion ($10.9 billion roughly Rs. 91,789 crore) chip fabrication plant in Germany’s Dresden for what will be its first factory in the European Union. About half of the funding for that project will be covered by state subsidies, with production slated to start by the end of 2027.

Wu said the AI market, including chips for US-based Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., will be the most important segment, while other semiconductor companies with alternative designs may also offer opportunities for TSMC.  

“Maybe they can work on the European market as well, so TSMC is looking for that for planning their next few fabs,” he said, adding that the company will need to evaluate whether to expand in Dresden or build in other parts of the EU.

While established European chipmakers including NXP Semiconductors NV and Infineon Technologies AG are focused mostly on mature technologies for the industrial and automotive sectors, a number of next-generation chip designers have emerged in Europe, including Germany’s Black Semiconductor and Axelera AI in the Netherlands. 

TSMC’s overseas factories are also creating opportunities for countries and cities nearby to secure investments from its suppliers. For the Dresden site, the Czech Republic appears to poised emerge as a winner as Prague and Taipei have deepened their relations in recent years. 

The Taiwanese government is considering support for TSMC suppliers to invest in a Czech location that is close to Dresden, according to Wu. He said he is also seeking to facilitate joint research and development programs for academics in Taiwan and the Czech Republic. 

Prague has official diplomatic relations with Beijing, but it has been forging closer trade and informal ties with Taipei. Several senior Taiwanese officials, including Wu, have traveled to the Czech Republic over the past year. Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is also visiting the country as the first stop of her European trip. 

Separately, Wu said he expects Taiwanese chip firms to face further pressure to expand in the US regardless of the outcome of the presidential election in November. TSMC has so far pledged more than $65 billion to create three plants in Arizona. 

“Short term, maybe it’s painful for Taiwanese companies because it’s more expensive if they move over there,” he said. “But in the long run, maybe it’s good for them, from my point of view, because they can improve themselves.” 

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

China has started military exercises with ships and aircraft near Taiwan, just days after the self-ruled democratic island marked its National Day.

The exercises, dubbed Joint Sword-2024B, began early on Monday and were a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”, said Beijing, which claims the island as its own.

Captain Li Xi, the spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command, said the drills were focussed on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas” and would also involve an “assault on maritime and ground targets”.

The drills, he added, were a “legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity”, and gave no date for their conclusion.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence expressed its strong condemnation of China’s “irrational and provocative actions” and said it had “dispatched appropriate forces to respond accordingly to protect freedom and democracy, and defend the sovereignty” of Taiwan.

As of 8am (00:00 GMT), it said some 25 PLA aircraft and a total of 11 ships, including seven from the navy, were found operating around Taiwan.

“I would like to reassure my compatriots that the government will continue to defend the democratic and free constitutional system, protect democratic Taiwan, and safeguard national security,” he wrote on Facebook.

In recent years, China has stepped up its military activity around Taiwan, which it claims as its own. The latest drills come just days after Lai gave his first National Day address on October 10, promising he would resist any “annexation or encroachment” and that Beijing had no right to represent the island’s 23 million people.

China warned on Thursday that “provocations” by Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te, who earlier gave a speech on the self-ruled island’s National Day, would result in “disaster” for its people.

“(Lai’s) provocations in seeking ‘independence’ are the root cause of trouble for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and will bring disaster to the people of Taiwan,” said Chen Binhua, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.

China has not ruled out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, which Lai and his government oppose. Lai pledged in his speech to defend the island’s “national sovereignty”.

But he also said Taipei’s efforts to preserve the “status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait remain unchanged”.

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan to accept its territorial claims and relations have remained tense under Lai, who took office in May.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing that Lai’s speech “exposed his hell bent position on Taiwan independence and his sinister intention to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait for political self-interest”.

TAIPEI: Two people who went missing amid the destructive wind and torrential rains of Typhoon Krathon were found dead Saturday in Taiwan, doubling the death toll for the storm that lashed the island this week.
Across the island, around 20,000 homes were still without power Saturday, mostly in the worst-hit southern seaport city of Kaohsiung, where the typhoon made landfall.
Krathon dissipated into a tropical depression on Friday after slamming into the island the day before, bringing mudslides, flooding and record-strong gusts.
More than 700 people were injured.
On Saturday, two missing people were found dead in northern New Taipei city, bringing the typhoon’s death toll to four, the National Fire Agency said without providing details.
Heavy rains triggered landslides in several districts of New Taipei and flooded streets, temporarily stranding dozens of students at their schools, officials said.
The defence ministry said around 250 soldiers were dispatched on Friday to the city and nearby Keelung, which also reported landslides, to help clear roads and drain floodwater.
In Kaohsiung and neighbouring Pingtung, about 1,500 soldiers were deployed for a second day to aid in typhoon relief work, according to the defence ministry.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October, but scientists have warned climate change is increasing their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
In July, Gaemi became the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in eight years, killing at least 10 people, injuring hundreds and triggering widespread flooding in Kaohsiung.

Southern Taiwan on Friday repaired the damages caused by floods and high winds after Typhoon Krathon struck the island, impacting major metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, financial markets resumed operations as the rest of Taiwan returned to work.
Krathon, which made landfall in the southwestern port city of Kaohsiung, has now been downgraded to a tropical depression, after it caused streets to flood, shattered windows in several buildings, and sent debris flying with its record-breaking winds.
While work resumed earlier on the day, the local governments in Kaohsiung and neighboring Pingtung county declared another day off work, which was the fourth in a row. This decision was taken to remove downed trees, pump out floodwaters and remove detritus from roads.
In Kaohsiung, a city housing almost 2.7 million people, cranes were deployed to remove downed trees and traffic signs, with some roads blocked and drivers and pedestrians diverted.
In a post on the social media platform Facebook, Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-mai said that some parts of the city got more rain than during the last storm, Typhoon Gaemi, in July.
“Given the long duration of the storm, coupled with the strong winds and heavy rain, the city government is doing its best to repair the damage,” he wrote.
Tsai Ming-an, a 51-year old engineer said that his house was flooded about 20 cm, covering his entire house on the ground floor.
“I have never seen winds like that. It was so bad,” Tsai added.
Taiwan is almost always hit by typhoons at the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific Ocean, Krathon, however, unusually struck its flat west coast. Almost all of Kaohsiung and Pingtung power remained down for 100,000 households.
The fire department reported that the death toll remained constant at two, both of whom died on the east coast prior to the typhoon’s landfall. Additionally, one person is missing, and 667 were injured.
Taiwan’s north-south high speed rail line reopened as ordinary, apart from two branch lines. However, air transport was disrupted, with 13 international and 85 domestic flights canceled.
According to the transport ministry, some freight containers were blown off their stacks at Kaohsiung port and were cleared by workers to ensure smooth operations.
Kaohsiung airport suffered damage to two air bridges, while the airport on the outlying Orchid Island had landing aids washed away, though both facilities remained open, the ministry added.
The government also said investigations were conducted for the Pingtung hospital fire that broke out as the typhoon was bearing down, killing nine people.

Taiwan mobilised nearly 40,000 troops on Tuesday to bolster rescue efforts as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approaching its populous southwest coast is expected to bring a storm surge and the coast guard raced to locate 19 sailors who abandoned ship, Reuters reported.
Nearly 40,000 troops have been mobilised in Taiwan to strengthen rescue efforts as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approaching its populous southwest coast.
The typhoons is likely to bring a storm surge after striking parts of northern Phillippines and the coast guard raced to locate 19 sailors who abandoned ship.
the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued the latest sea and land alerts for Typhoon Krathon, six cities and counties around Taiwan have announced schools and office closures on Tuesday.
According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), Krathon is likely to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then move towards the the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and cross out into the East China Sea
Home to some 2.7 million people, Kaohsiung declared a holiday and told people to stay at home as Krathon approached and is expected to strike as a category 4 storm according to Tropical Storm Risk.
Li Meng-hsiang, a forecaster for Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, stated that the storm has reached its maximum intensity and could weaken slightly as it moves closer to Taiwan, warning of gusts of more than 150 kph (93 mph) for the southwest.
More than 38,000 troops have been on standby to deal with the typhoon, said Taiwan’s defence ministry.
The transport ministry stated that 85 domestic flights and nine international ones had been cancelled for Wednesday, with boats to outlying islands also stopped.
Most shops and restaurants pulled down their doors and shutters, and traditional wet markets shut with streets mostly deserted in Kaohsiung.