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Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Air raid sirens bring Taipei to a standstill in civilian drill simulating Chinese attack
TAIPEI, July 17 — Taipei's normally busy streets will come to a brief standstill today when air raid sirens send thousands of people into underground shelters in a rehearsal for a Chinese attack. The annual civilian drill is being held in cities across Taiwan this week, alongside military training, to prepare the self-governed island for a potential Chinese invasion. While Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. At 1:30 pm sirens will be heard across Taipei, bringing the capital city of 2.5 million people to a halt for half an hour. Traffic will be required to stop and people will be directed into shelters, including underground car parks and subway stations. The drills will also involve simulating war-time aid distribution and a mass-casualty event. Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has sought to raise public awareness of the threat posed by China. Of the drills, 25-year-old Oscar Wang said: 'I think this is necessary because tensions across the strait are so high right now.' 'So it's important to let us ordinary people become more familiar with evacuation routes,' he told AFP. 'Reality of modern warfare' Taiwan is also keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability. Taiwanese regular troops were joined by the largest-ever mobilisation of reservists for the 10-day 'Han Kuang' military drills, which end Friday. Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores, Taiwanese troops this year have also practised fighting invading forces in city streets. 'It is as much training as acclimating the Taiwanese population to the reality of modern warfare,' said Kitsch Liao of the Atlantic Council, a US think tank. Heavily armed troops carrying US-provided anti-aircraft Stinger missiles stormed Taipei's metro system in a night-time exercise. High-tech mobile missile launchers from the United States also have been positioned around the capital and elsewhere, in full view of the public. And shoppers in a Taipei supermarket recently became participants in a drill simulating a Chinese missile strike on the city. 'I didn't know there was going to be a drill,' Yang Shu-ting, 70, told AFP. 'My heart was beating very fast and I was inevitably nervous. I think the point is to let you know where you should hide if something happens.' Troops have also simulated various scenarios including 'grey zone harassment'—tactics that fall short of an act of war—and 'long-range precision strikes', defence officials have said. Several minor collisions involving military vehicles during the exercises highlighted the challenge of manoeuvring through Taiwan's narrow streets. Defence expert Chieh Chung said such mishaps were 'difficult to avoid' in urban areas. 'In Taiwan, many roads and bridges create significant limitations for armoured vehicles when they move through,' said Chieh, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight in Taipei. 'So this becomes a problem and obstacle for both attacking and defending forces.' — AFP
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
Taiwan's forces are training to ride the subway into war if China invades
Taiwanese troops were seen on Monday carrying Stinger missiles and grenade launchers on Taipei's subway as they trained to fight off a Chinese invasion. Footage of the drill, part of the island's annual Han Kuang war games, was published by the Military News Agency. The outlet is run by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. Similarly, the US military also conducts combat training in tunnels and subway systems to prepare for urban warfare in megacities. However, the Taiwanese defense ministry's news branch wrote that its soldiers weren't just learning to fight on the subway, but also to "use underground facilities to transfer troops." Several clips showed dozens of heavily armed soldiers riding the subway, taking escalators, and leaving via ticket gantries before taking position away from the station. The training exercise involved soldiers of Taiwan's military police and Third Army Command, who toted anti-armor rockets and practiced tactical movement in subway cars and stations. Some soldiers were filmed driving forklifts to load ammunition and other gear onto service trains of the subway lines. Taiwan's national news agency, Central News Agency, reported that the exercise ran between the Shandao Temple Station and Longshan Temple Station. The stations are three stops apart, and the route goes through Taipei Main Station, a major interchange. Greater Taipei's urban core, home to roughly 6.5 million people, is serviced by six main subway lines and a few extensions. Han Kuang, run for over 40 years, is focused on countering a Chinese invasion and also trains Taiwan's troops for contingencies if Beijing successfully lands its forces on the island. This year's exercise is Taiwan's largest in scale so far, running for 10 days and featuring a heavier emphasis on drills with civil forces and civilians to test the entire island's war readiness. Taiwanese troops on Saturday also deployed the American High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which Taipei received last year, for the first time in the Han Kuang drills. All of this comes as Taipei's current government, known for resisting Beijing, grows increasingly concerned about emerging hostilities with mainland China. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged to reunify the island under Beijing's control, and said his country would never renounce its right to use force to reach that goal.
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan live-streams Han Kuang navy mine deployment as troops test metro tactics
Taiwan's navy on Monday live-streamed a minelaying drill to showcase its determination to block and delay a potential amphibious assault by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The display was part of this year's annual Han Kuang military exercise aimed at strengthening combat readiness for a potential cross-strait conflict. The drill, held off the Zuoying naval base in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, coincided with a separate urban warfare exercise in which military police armed with Stinger missiles carried out an underground redeployment – using the Taipei metro system before dawn to transport troops, ammunition and supplies under simulated air strike threats. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te (centre) oversees a naval minelaying drill on Monday. Photo: AFP Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te oversaw the navy drill, which, like last week's M1A2T Abrams tank live-fire training, was broadcast live for the first time to boost public confidence and showcase operational readiness Monday's demonstration featured fast minelaying boats and LCU-406 landing craft, operating under the protection of amphibious reconnaissance units. Troops deployed Taiwan-made Wan Xiang-series naval mines, including moored and bottom types designed to damage or deter both enemy surface ships and submarines. Play Describing the mines as 'oceanic roadblocks', a minelaying officer said they were cost-effective and hard to remove – a classic asymmetric weapon capable of disrupting PLA landing operations.
Indian Express
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
July 12, 1985, Forty Years Ago: Assassination foiled
The Sri Lankan government said that a plot by Tamil separatists to assassinate President Junius Jayewardene was foiled when the police discovered 120 kg of gelignite wired to a timing device in a parked van. A statement by the Information Minister said the alleged conspirators 'told police that the target was to be the presidential secretariat'. The government said a group called the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students was responsible. The five militant groups and the TULF delegation participating in talks with the Sri Lankan government condemned the alleged attempt and in a joint statement, denied involvement. The United States is rushing to Pakistan 100 AIML sidewinder air-to-air missiles and an unspecified number of shoulder-fired surface-to-air Stinger missiles worth $8.5 million. In addition, a Pakistani request for ground or airborne radar for improved detection and interception of Afghan aircraft remains under study. A state department statement said that the defence equipment is 'in response to repeated violations of Pakistan's airspace and territory by Communist aircraft approaching from Afghanistan'. Chief Justice Y V Chandrachud retired after seven years in the post and 25 years as a judge. Justice P N Bhagwati, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, will be sworn in as the new Chief Justice. While Chandrachud had the longest term as CJI, Justice Bhagwati will have one of the shortest — one-and-a-half years.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How Jane Street co-founder landed in a coup controvesy
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New York-based trading firm Jane Street Capital was recently barred from the Indian securities market by markets regulator Sebi which allegeed the company used its trading strategies to manipulate stock market, leading to losses for millions of retail investors. Jane Street has rejected the allegation. This is not the first controversy the unusually secretive trading company has run June, the quiet, secretive world of high-frequency trading was rocked by revelations that Robert Granieri , a low-profile co-founder of Jane Street Capital, was financially linked to an alleged coup attempt in South Sudan. Granieri, a reclusive but powerful figure in finance, claimed he had been duped. But this revelation threw an uncomfortable spotlight on both Granieri and Jane Street Capital, the enigmatic firm he helped create and still the heart of the controversy is Peter Ajak , a Harvard Fellow and economist, who is now being prosecuted in the US for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to overthrow South Sudan's government and install himself as leader. US prosecutors allege that Granieri, perhaps unwittingly, bankrolled part of this operation. Federal prosecutors in Arizona first charged Ajak and activist Abraham Keech in March 2024 with conspiring to illegally export arms to South Sudan, their home country, to overthrow its government. Both have pleaded not guilty."The indictment reads like a cinematic plot: A Harvard Fellow and another activist allegedly wanted to buy AK-47s, Stinger missiles and grenades to topple South Sudan's government. What they lacked was enough cash," wrote Bloomberg in defense is straightforward: he believed he was funding a humanitarian initiative aimed at promoting democracy and economic growth in the war-ravaged East African nation. He claims Ajak misrepresented the true intent of the reported by the New York Post in June, Granieri allegedly provided $7 million in two payments after meeting Ajak in February 2024 at a Midtown Manhattan condominium, prosecutors said. Ajak's lawyers stated in a May court filing, which was reviewed by The Post and first reported by Bloomberg, that Granieri's financing was 'vital to the plan". They claimed in a court document that without his support, the alleged conspiracy would have been impossible. The attorney for the Jane Street founder, whose firm had hired now-convicted fraudster and former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried in 2013, claimed he was misled by Ajak, whom he believed was a human rights activist. 'Granieri is a longtime supporter of human rights causes,' his lawyer was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. 'In this case, the person Rob thought was a human rights activist defrauded Rob and lied about his intentions.'The New York Post further reported that the case also references chess champion Garry Kasparov, though he is not named as a defendant nor accused of any wrongdoing, for allegedly connecting Ajak with Granieri through their shared work with the Human Rights Foundation. Ajak, a former child soldier who resettled in the US, studied at Harvard's Kennedy School and worked as a World Bank economist before becoming a South Sudanese opposition activist. He and Keech allegedly met with an undercover agent and inspected weapons in a Phoenix warehouse before their arrest, the May 29 motion said. Defense attorneys allege US authorities were aware of the plan, citing a 'public authority' defense and claiming that the State Department told Ajak in October 2023 it would not support non-democratic regime change. They also accused prosecutors of selectively targeting Ajak and Keech, both black men, while sparing Granieri and the legal system will eventually determine the extent of Granieri's culpability, the South Sudan controversy marked a rare public misstep for Granieri and Jane Street Capital. For a firm that has thrived on discretion and outsmarting rivals in silence, the spotlight must have been in 2000, Jane Street Capital is a global proprietary trading firm operates across a range of asset classes, including ETFs, equities, bonds and cryptocurrencies. It has earned a reputation for being both highly profitable and fiercely secretive. With headquarters in New York and offices in many countries, Jane Street is a dominant force in the world of quantitative finance. It is known for hiring elite mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists, and cultivating a culture more akin to a university research department than a traditional trading sets Jane Street apart is its organizational structure. There is no CEO. Instead, it functions as a kind of technocratic republic, where around 40 senior partners run the firm collectively. Among them, Granieri, the last remaining co-founder still active in the firm, is considered first among equals. Unlike other Wall Street firms that engage with media, public investors, and regulatory frameworks in a highly visible way, Jane Street tends to shun attention. Even internally, information flows are tightly controlled. This secrecy has allowed Jane Street to build advanced trading systems and algorithms without interference or allegations against Granieri put it in headlines in June, soon it was hit by a far bigger controversy when Sebi accused it of stock manipulation. Indian regulators have opened a broader probe into Jane Street's activities, while the company denied any wrong-doing on its part. The ban came after an unusually volatile quarter, where Jane Street reportedly made record profits during a spike in global tariffs. Its revenues rivaled those of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley . That kind of financial firepower has always kept Jane Street in regulators' crosshairs, but this time, global scrutiny is controversies come at a time when Jane Street Capital is joining the big league. Its net trading revenues hit $20.5 billion last year, up from $2.1 billion in 2019. In the first quarter of 2025, its net trading revenues hit $7.2 billion, surpassing those of Morgan Stanley and within touching distance of Goldman Sachs.
