China-Taiwan news LIVE updates: Taiwan scrambles jets as Chinese aircraft cross median line

Taiwan scrambled jets on Saturday to warn away 20 Chinese aircraft including 14 that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, Taiwan's defence ministry said.It also detected 14 Chinese military ships conducting activities around the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a statement.

The United States, Australia and Japan on Saturday condemned China's launch of ballistic missiles and urged China to immediately cease the military exercises.Tensions in the Taiwan Strait heightened soon with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan. China has been increasing its military activities and even crossed the median line. Multiple Chinese planes and ships were detected around Taiwan Strait today, simulating an attack on its main island.The Taiwan Defence Ministry said that its armed forces responded to such a situation accordingly with surveillance systems, CAP aircraft, naval vessels and missile systems.On Friday, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said that 68 Chinese military planes and 13 warships crossed over the median line to participate in drills.

A top official who led the missile development team of the self-governed island country was found dead in a hotel room, media reported on Saturday.The official, Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of Taiwan defence ministry's research and development unit was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room, The Jerusalem Post reported citing the Central News Agency.The 57-year-old deputy chief of the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) was on a business trip to Pingtung in Southern Taiwan in of Pingtung, according to CNA, which said the cause of his death is being investigated.According to the Jerusalem Post, authorities are currently saying the official likely died of a heart attack and the hotel room showed no sign of any "intrusion". His family said he had a history of heart disease and had a cardiac stent.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that China should not hold hostage talks on important global matters such as the climate crisis, after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this week. “We should not hold hostage cooperation on matters of global concern because of differences between our two countries,” Blinken said.“Others are rightly expecting us to continue to work on issues that matter to the lives and livelihood of their people as well as our own.”He cited cooperation on climate change as a key area where China shut down contact that “doesn't punish the United States — it punishes the world.”

China hopes that Australia will be prudent on Taiwan-related issues and avoid being led by others that could cause fresh trouble for ties between the two countries, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Australia said on Saturday.The remarks, posted on the embassy's website, were commenting on a statement released by the secretary and foreign ministers of the United States, Australia and Japan on Friday in which they expressed concerns over China's recent military exercises in the Taiwan strait.

Chinese aircraft and warships practised on Saturday for an attack on Taiwan, island officials said, in retaliation for a visit there by US house speaker Nancy Pelosi that also saw Beijing halt dialogue with the United States in several areas. Pelosi's brief unannounced visit during the week to the self-ruled island claimed by China infuriated Beijing and has prompted unprecedented military drills that have included ballistic missiles fired over the capital, Taipei. Read full story

The deputy head of Taiwan defence ministry's research and development unit was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room, according to the official Central News Agency. Ou Yang Li-hsing, deputy head of the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, was found dead in a hotel room in southern Taiwan on Saturday morning, CNA reported. It said authorities were looking into the cause of death. Read full story

North Korea on Saturday called US house speaker Nancy Pelosi "the worst destroyer of international peace and stability," accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week. Pelosi travelled to South Korea after visiting Taiwan, which had prompted China to launch military exercises including missile strike training in waters near the self-governed island. China views Taiwan as part of its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. Read full story