China rebuffs U.S.; spying indictments in Taiwan
China called U.S. claims that it is exerting military pressure on Taiwan a "distortion" on April 15, rejecting Washington's characterisation of recent activity (reuters.com). Separately, ten Taiwanese — including former and serving military personnel — were indicted for allegedly spying for Beijing, with authorities presenting the cases as criminal probes into intelligence penetration (hongkongfp.com).
China on April 15 rejected United States accusations of military pressure on Taiwan as Taiwan prosecutors pursued a new batch of alleged spying cases linked to Beijing. (usnews.com) (hongkongfp.com) Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Washington was “rehashing” a “mainland threat” narrative and acting with “malicious intentions” when it described Beijing’s actions around Taiwan as military pressure. Reuters reported his remarks from Beijing on Wednesday, April 15. (usnews.com) The same week, Taiwanese prosecutors said 10 people were indicted for allegedly spying for China, including current and former military personnel. Prosecutors said the defendants passed military information, filmed oaths of loyalty to China, and in some cases took payment for recruitment or intelligence work. (hongkongfp.com) The two developments landed in a month when Taipei has pushed harder on what President Lai Ching-te calls Chinese “infiltration” of the island. In March 2025, Lai announced 17 measures aimed at countering influence operations, tighter scrutiny, and military security breaches. (taipeitimes.com) Washington has also kept using the phrase “military pressure” in public statements about China’s actions near Taiwan. On January 1, 2026, the United States State Department urged Beijing to “cease its military pressure against Taiwan” after Chinese military activity near the island. (state.gov) Beijing says Taiwan is part of China and has increased military activity around the island in recent years, including multiple rounds of war games. Reuters said the most recent drills cited in Chen’s April 15 comments included live-fire exercises in late December. (usnews.com) Taiwan says the pressure is not only military. Reuters reported on March 13, 2025, that Lai accused China of using drills, trade measures and influence campaigns to try to “absorb” Taiwan, while Taipei’s Anti-Infiltration Act already provides penalties for working with hostile outside forces. (politiko.com.ph) (straitstimes.com) Taiwan’s security agencies say espionage prosecutions have risen sharply. The National Security Bureau said 64 people were prosecuted in Chinese espionage cases in 2024, up from 48 in 2023 and 10 in 2022, according to reports citing the bureau’s January data. (straitstimes.com) (taipeitimes.com) Taiwanese courts are also moving past indictments to sentencing. On April 15, a Taiwanese court handed prison terms of four-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years to six former service members convicted of spying for China. (straitstimes.com) China’s answer remains that outside criticism is the problem, not its conduct. Taiwan’s answer is that the pressure now runs on two tracks at once: military activity around the island and alleged intelligence recruitment inside it. (usnews.com) (hongkongfp.com)
