Justice Mission 2025 aims at defending justice: expert

The ongoing military exercise around Taiwan Island conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is a necessary measure to maintain peace and defend justice, Fred Tzou, deputy secretary general of the U.S.-based Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification, said on Monday.

The Eastern Theater Command of the PLA on Monday started drills code-named "Justice Mission 2025" in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan Island.

Tzou said the drill is a powerful response to recent U.S. arms sales plan to Taiwan totaling over 11 billion U.S. dollars.

"The root cause of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities refuse to admit the 1992 Consensus and the one-China principle. They seek separation in collusion with external forces and by use of military means. They heap up malicious slander and attacks against the mainland. They claim to be willing to improve the cross-Strait ties, but shows no sincerity in action. The arms sales with the United States this time infringe upon the peace and stability across the Strait and Taiwan people's interests," he said.

"As the spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command said, the drill named 'Justice Mission 2025' is a stern warning to Taiwan separatist forces and external interference. It is also a necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and uphold national unity," said Tzou.

Tzou said the United States needs to work with China and respect China's core interests for common prosperity.

"The total amount of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan this time exceeds 11 billion U.S. dollars, setting a new record. In fact, such act constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental spirit of the three joint communiques between the United States and China, especially the August 17 Communique released in 1982," he said.

"Confrontation between China and the United States over the Taiwan issue does not serve U.S. interests. The two countries share extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation. China and the United States could become partners and friends and achieve mutual success and common prosperity," said Tzou.

Justice Mission 2025 aims at defending justice: expert

The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.

"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.

Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.

Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.

"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.

The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."

The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.

U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official