A Taiwanese military aircraft crashed during a training mission on Tuesday, killing two experienced pilots and prompting renewed scrutiny of the island’s ageing fleet of T-34 basic trainers. The T-34C aircraft went down at 8.08am at Gangshan Air Base in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan while conducting a simulated engine-failure exercise, according to the island’s air force. Both pilots on board, Lieutenant Colonel Kuo Chun-nan and Lieutenant Colonel Lu Chi-yu, were killed. The air force said the...

Taiwan’s navy will support patrols around the Taipei-controlled Dongsha Islands after mainland Chinese coastguard activity near the South China Sea atoll surged over the past year. The activity has fuelled concerns in Taipei that Beijing is using the remote outpost to test Taiwan’s responses and refine its grey-zone tactics. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said mainland Chinese coastguard vessels had appeared around the atoll 39 times since February last year, compared with only occasional...