Free Republic

China and Russia are working on a joint invasion of Taiwan, US intelligence officials fear. 'We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognising that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn't,' Avril Haines, Director of US National Intelligence, told the US Congress on Thursday. Her warning on the potential cooperation between the countries on Taiwan, which China has long claimed as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary, was echoed by Lieutenant General...

A typhoon headed toward Taiwan and the southern coast of China is rapidly gaining in speed and strength ahead of an expected landfall later this week. Typhoon Chanthu has rapidly intensified in the past 36 hours from a tropical depression into a severe typhoon, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, with maximum wind speeds of up to 233 kilometers per hour (145 miles per hour). It is likely Chanthu will expand into a super typhoon in the coming hours. Given the trajectory of the storm, it is still unclear whether Chanthu will first pass over Taiwan before it slams...