Taiwan Financial News

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that Japan was indispensable in tackling Chinese aggression by helping Washington establish a «credible» deterrence in the region, including across the Taiwan Strait. «We share a warrior ethos that defines our forces,» Hegseth told Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani at a meeting in Tokyo. Calling Japan a «cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific», the Pentagon indicated that suggested President Donald Trump's government would, like past administrations, continue to work closely with its key Asian ally. Japan hosts around 50,000 U.S. military personnel, squadrons of fighter squadrons and Washington's only forward deployed aircraft carrier strike group along a 3,000-km (1,900-mile) archipelago that helps hem in Chinese military power. Hegseth's praise of Japan contrasts with the criticism he levelled at European allies in February, telling them they should not assume the U.S. presence there would last forever.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. What do priests in New Zealand, Taiwanese life insurers and the oil-rich nation of Norway have in common? They have all been riding high on booming U.S. markets—and are now vulnerable to a reversal in fortunes.

In Dholera, India’s first semiconductor cluster that is emerging as a hub for expat talent, the Gujarat government is aiming to recreate the “look and feel” of their home countries for this tribe of globe trotters. Termed the “Global Tent City” in keeping with Dholera’s terrain, the multi-faceted agglomeration is expected to house food streets from across nations – Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the US, as well as some European nations, a high-end mall and a hotel or guesthouse to cater to the cosmopolitan tastes of the well-travelled employees.

Xi Jinping is making China’s presence more felt across the Indo-Pacific region by testing US allies on sensitive issues, as Donald Trump’s attention is taken up elsewhere. From sending warships off Australia’s coast for unprecedented shooting drills to flying a record number of “grey zone” balloons around Taiwan, and putting pressure on Thailand over human rights issues, Beijing is ramping up efforts to project power in the region. China also issued a strongly worded warning on Taiwan to Tokyo — which doesn’t officially recognize Taipei — against “colluding” with separatists. Trump’s sudden embrace of Russia, skepticism of NATO allies and tariffs that punish friendly nations have fueled concerns about the US as a reliable security partner in Asia, where Washington has for decades provided a buffer to Beijing.

Indian benchmark indices fell almost 1% on Wednesday, snapping their seven-day winning streak, as traders found the pace of the recent run-up in the market excessive. NSE's Nifty fell 181.8 points, or 0.77%, to close at 23,486. BSE's Sensex declined 728.6 points, or 0.93%, to end at 77,288.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A new U.S. missile system deployed in the Philippines puts key Chinese military and commercial hubs within striking distance and hands President Trump an early test of his commitment to deterring Chinese aggression against American allies in Asia.

foreign selling. The rebound on the heels of a prolonged period of gloom has helped the main indices erase all their 2025 losses. The rupee advanced to 85.63, its strongest this year against the dollar, rising for the ninth day in a row. The NSE Nifty rose 307.95 points or 1.32% to close at 23,658.35. The BSE Sensex rose 1,078.87 points or 1.4% to end at 77,984.38. Both indices are up 5.1% in the six trading sessions. «Monday's upside was due to a combination of short covering, and expectations of some relaxation or less punitive tariffs which were supposed to be implemented on April 2,» said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Direct.

privileged strategic partnership" with India, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Lavrov said at an event that Russia is actively expanding ties with countries like China, India, Iran, North Korea and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Monday. «We prioritize boosting ties with the majority of global states,» he said at a meeting of the board of trustees of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund. «The relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation with the People's Republic of China boast an unprecedented level of mutual trust. Particularly privileged strategic partnership is developing with India,» the top Russian diplomat said. Lavrov added that serious progress has been reached in expanding and deepening of friendly ties with such states as Iran and North Korea. Moscow puts special emphasis on strengthening of all areas of cooperation with allies and partners among CIS member states, including within the framework of the Commonwealth, as well as the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union, Lavrov said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. China’s armed forces are more ready than ever to surround the self-ruled island of Taiwan, cut it off from the world and try to squeeze it into submission. A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war that sparks a global crisis.

HCL-Foxconn joint venture has begun talks with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as well as Taiwanese major CTCI as it looks to onboard an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) partner for its upcoming outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) facility, people aware of the development told ET. EPC companies essentially handle projects from the initial design and engineering to construction and completion stage. «Since Foxconn's semiconductor group head was in India, HCL arranged a meeting with EPC vendors like L&T and CTCI, who have worked extensively with Foxconn,» one of the people cited earlier said. «It took place as a preliminary discussion to see who could be the partner for the facility, going forward, because HCL-Foxconn are hoping to receive Cabinet approval by the end of this month.»

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang on Tuesday showcased cutting-edge chips for artificial intelligence and new applications for the technology, shrugging off talk of China's DeepSeek disrupting the market and dangers from US President Donald Trump's trade wars. Huang gave a hotly anticipated keynote presentation at Nvidia's annual developers conference that packed the SAP Center in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose, home of the Sharks NHL hockey team. Billing the event as an AI «Super Bowl,» the Taiwan-born tech titan was greeted by an audience of more than 20,000 who sat through his two-hour-plus address announcing the company's latest updates.

The NSE Nifty surged 325.55 points, or 1.45%, to close at 22,834.30. The BSE Sensex rose 1131.31 points, or 1.53%, to end at 75,301.26. Both indices have risen about 2% in the last two days.

The ministry on Tuesday published on its social media several images of Chinese drones and ships and said 43 out of 59 of them entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone but that no confrontations were reported. Taiwan monitored the situation and deployed aircraft, navy ships and coastal anti-ship missile defences in response, the ministry said. China launches such missions on a daily basis in hopes of wearing down Taiwanese defences and morale, although the vast majority of the island's 23 million people reject Beijing's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and its threat to use force to assert its control. It's unclear what prompted the large Chinese deployment. Daily figures often vary widely based on statements by the Taiwanese authorities or their US partners.

Jensen Huang is expected to showcase cutting-edge chips for artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing on Tuesday, shrugging off talk of China's DeepSeek disrupting the market. Huang's keynote presentation at Nvidia's annual developers conference should pack the SAP Center in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose, where the Sharks NHL hockey team plays. Industry watchers expect Huang to spotlight Nvidia's latest Blackwell line of graphics processing units (GPUs), including new updates in the works.

Raisina Dialogue on Monday, marking India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. The Raisina Dialogue is organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). According to the MEA, the conference will host representatives from around 125 countries, encompassing foreign ministers, former heads of state, military leaders, industry executives, technology innovators, academics, journalists, and experts in strategic affairs. Notably, foreign ministers from 20 nations are confirmed to attend. The Ukrainian foreign minister's visit coincides with intensified US efforts to broker a temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia amidst ongoing hostilities. Here's all you need to know

Indian Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian Lakshya Sen bowed out of the All-England Open 2025 after losing his men's singles quarter-final match in Birmingham on Friday. Lakshya Sen, 15th in the men's singles badminton rankings, lost 21-10, 21-16 against reigning Asian Games champion and world No. 6 Shi Feng Li of the People's Republic of China, as per Olympics.com. Sen matched the sixth seed Shi Feng Li shot for shot in the early exchanges to lead 4-3 before the latter picked up nine successive points and took control of the game. The Indian badminton player managed to pick just six points for the rest of the first game as Shi Feng Li comfortably wrapped out the opener. Lakshya Sen mounted a brief comeback to lead Shi Feng Li 11-8 at the second-game interval. However, Shi Feng Li switched gears after the break to win the contest in 45 minutes. This was Lakshya Sen's third defeat in seven meetings against Shi Feng Li.

A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored a February Japan-U.S. statement in condemning «coercion» toward Taiwan, language that heartened Taipei in its increasingly tense standoffs with Beijing. Compared to a G7 foreign ministers' statement in November, the statement added members' concerns over China's nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing's human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for «constructive and stable relations with China» and recognizing the «importance of direct and candid engagement to express concerns and manage differences.» The statement dropped past reassurances, recently stated in November, that there is «no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated One-China policies,» as well as that the G7 is «not decoupling or turning inwards» and recognizing the importance of China in global trade.

Putin expressed gratitude to Donald Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, among other world leaders, for their «noble mission» to resolve the conflict. Speaking at a joint press briefing in Moscow with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said he is «grateful» to all the leaders for their efforts towards the goal. «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to,» Putin told reporters. «But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life,» Putin said. It may be recalled that Modi had repeatedly called for peace over the last three years while resisting huge pressure from the Western powers to take sides in the war.

compressor shortage seems to have been well managed. The industry faced a shortage of high-value intermediaries, i.e., compressors and copper during 3QFY25 which came as a surprise to the manufacturers as BIS certifications for certain players were not extended and imports got impacted.

Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for their efforts in addressing the conflict. Speaking at a joint press conference with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said that Russia agrees with the proposals to cease hostilities but «proceeds from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the crisis.» When asked about Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, Putin said, «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to. But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life.» He further said, «We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities but proceed from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.» He also referred to the recent US-Ukraine discussions in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that Ukraine's willingness for a ceasefire was likely influenced by American pressure.

William Lai Ching-te said Thursday tougher measures are needed to counter stepped-up Chinese infiltration, spying and other efforts to weaken the island's defences. Lai cited a range of recent incidents involving China that fall into a «gray area» of psychological warfare short of open armed conflict. Beijing's efforts to «subvert, obtain secrets, lure members of the armed forces and influence public opinion to lose confidence in our national defence require that we step up our legal safeguards to prevent and detect such incidents,» Lai said at a news conference. Lai's Democratic Progressive Party favours the island's continued de-facto independence from Beijing. China has refused almost all official contact with the DPP since Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, was elected eight years ago. China regularly sends ships and planes into airspace and waters near the island in an effort to intimidate its 23 million people and wear down its armed forces and morale. Taiwan's government recently expelled the Chinese wife of a Taiwanese citizen after the woman repeatedly posted short clips on Chinese social media saying China would conquer Taiwan in half an hour and praising the Chinese leadership.