China conducts military drills near Taiwan as research vessel sparks controversy off Australia's coast

China's military has begun a second day of drills around Taiwan and for the first time given them a code name, Strait Thunder-2025A, saying they were focused on honing the ability to blockade the island and make precision strikes. The exercises follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China called a "parasite" on Tuesday, and come on the heels of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticised Beijing. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly denounced Lai as a "separatist". Know the news with the…