Kim’s dismissal of top military leaders mirrors the downfalls of history. Top leaders are Kim’s strongest supporters. North Korea’s power could be imploding. “One Korea” could happen peacefully. Japan prepares to make it’s military more deployable. The US gave the… Read More ›

Month: August 2015
Taiwan warns officials not to attend Chinese WWII parade
Taiwan warned officials and veterans Friday not to attend a military parade organised by China to mark Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, as the former bitter rivals vie over the history of the conflict. Beijing claims Communist troops… Read More ›
China’s newest powerful anti-ship missiles can sink Aegis destroyer
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: War.163.com says in its report that the land-based version of the YJ-18 is now using a new generation of Changjian-XX ground-to-surface and ground-to-ground cruise missile… Read More ›
China’s meltdown shows the country is out of control
The world’s second-largest economy may be able to stem a financial crisis, but don’t count on it to stimulate the world’s economy. Global stock markets have rebounded after the shock of Black Monday, but worries over the Chinese economy are… Read More ›
China’s new long-range rocket artillery can hit moving targets at sea and repel invading navy
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: China’s major news site mil.huanqiu.com reports about the intensive training of a rocket artillery battalion in China’s Jinan Military Region. In the second year after… Read More ›
Japan-China relations boosted by Abe’s WWII statement and self-defence bill
By reiterating Japan’s “unshakable” apology for World War II and legalising the necessary enhancements to operate its Self-Defence Forces like a normal national armed force of a state, Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister 2006-7, 2012-present) has done a meritorious job to… Read More ›
China to grant rare prisoner amnesties for war anniversary
China plans to grant prisoner amnesties to mark this year’s commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, only the eighth time this has happened since the Communists took power in 1949, state news agency Xinhua… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, August 24, 2015
North Korea does it’s annual late summer saber-rattling while the US and South Korea run their annual pre-autumn laps on the peninsula. Everyone’s in an uproar and “this time” it could be dangerous—again. Back to school. China’s market slows while… Read More ›
Chinese troops head to North Korean border as tensions mount between North and South Korea
The People’s Liberation Army has sent troops to China’s border with North Korea as escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula have pushed North and South to the brink of possible war. The Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily reported Saturday that internet… Read More ›
China wants great power without great responsibility
Forty-three years after Richard Nixon made his famous visit to China, that country has seemingly decided to take a page from the former U.S. president’s Treasury Department. As China lowers the value of the yuan, the country’s economic policy makers… Read More ›
China’s weapons and Internet giants join forces to compete with American GPS
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: According to a report on Chinese news site mil.huanqiu.com, China’s state-owned weapons giant the China North Industries Group Corporation (North Industries) and private Internet giant… Read More ›
Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin placed ‘under control’ by having his movements restricted in power struggle with current president Xi Jinping
According to a source in Beijing close to China’s top leadership, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has made his first significant move against the former Party boss, and his chief rival, Jiang Zemin. The source said that Jiang and… Read More ›
China to test fly CZ-V rocket in 2016, in preparation for lunar mission
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: Mil.huanqiu.com says in its report that China successfully conducted an ignition test of the second stage of its new heavy rocket the Changzheng-V (CZ-V), and… Read More ›
North Korea announces bold new peace plan (satire)
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Kim Wu-hu, the highly respected director of North Korea’s Ministry of Everlasting Truth. She is variously believed to be Kim Jong-un‘s sister or illegitimate daughter. Kim Jong-un (also known as Kim Chi-un), the… Read More ›
China has made successful test flights of new types of advanced aircraft engines
The following is based on a translation from a Chinese news site: Mil.huanqiu.com says in its recent report on China’s the development of aircraft engines that AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) Turbine Institute has developed a derivative series of… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, August 17, 2015
Chinese marketing, Taiwanese elections, and new military toys. Both Taiwan and China have been touting their military equipment. This goes a bit beyond the usual saber rattling; it’s more like sabre “show and tell”. China launches a recruitment video for… Read More ›
China has been intensively developing homegrown VTOL fighter jet, but admits it lags behind America
The following is based on translations from reports on Chinese websites: Chinese website mil.huanqiu.com describes in its report the difficulties in developing a VTOL fighter jet but concludes that for China at present, development of a VTOL fighter jet within… Read More ›
Chinese companies face culture shock in countries that aren’t like China
Faced with slower growth at home and rising labour costs, Chinese entrepreneurs are seeking foreign markets as never before. But as they rush abroad, they are grappling for the first time with unruly trade unions, independent courts and meddlesome journalists…. Read More ›
China makes breakthrough in finger vein recognition technology
The following is based on a translation of a report in Chinese media: In its primetime news report, CCTV says that in the past there has been a foreign monopoly on finger vein recognition technology. However, they say that China … Read More ›
China says its new JH-7 electronic fighter is able to shoot down stealth aircraft at medium range
The following is based on a translation of a report in Chinese media: In its report, mil.news.sina.com.cn says that the new electronic variant of the JH-7 fighter/bomber is able to shoot down stealth aircraft at medium range. The new JH-7… Read More ›
China’s massive economic advantage over the world is about to disappear
We have finally arrived at a point in history that economists have been dreading for years: The moment when the total number of Chinese workers goes into decline for the first time in decades. Since way before the 1990s, China… Read More ›
China’s delusions of regional hegemony – other Asian states want to squash Beijing’s leadership ambitions
The corollary of the decline of the west is not the rise of Asia. It is the erosion of Asia, at least as an idea, as rivalries within geographic Asia overtake the notion of regional cohesion that once bound these… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, August 10, 2015
A typhoon and some bad follow-up weather beat up Pacific Asia over the weekend and it’s not over. China’s controversial island building got ASEAN’s attention and John Kerry’s time. Beijing claims that island reclaiming has ceased, Kerry has not confirmed…. Read More ›
China concerned that India shows no clear interest in the New Silk Road initiative
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: A report on news.sohu.com expresses China‘s concern that India, the largest country in South Asia, still fails to show any clear interest in China’s Silk… Read More ›
China warns Taiwan against return to ‘evil ways’ of independence
China‘s top policy maker on Taiwan warned the self-ruled island on Thursday it would soon have to choose between continuing the peaceful development of ties, or returning to the “evil ways” of independence, which would threaten the peace. The harsh… Read More ›
China reduces noise levels of nuclear submarines
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: A report on Chinese news site 163.com says that China has mastered the technology of soft Coupling and other vibration reduction technology (raft anti-vibration technology)… Read More ›
Taiwanese athlete and art student speaks out about Ministry of Education pro-China textbook issue
As Typhoon Soudelor bears down on Taiwan, my exceptionally talented Taiwanese high school friend Yen Liao agreed to do an interview concerning the recent textbook crisis and the Ministry of Education. He also spoke about the mentality of Taiwanese parents… Read More ›
China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet has new stealth coating
The following is based on a translation from a report in Chinese media: Chinese news site mil.news.sina.com.cn posted a photo of the new test flight of the new version of the J-20 no. 2013 stealth fighter jet. There are accompanying… Read More ›
Watch out North Korea, your nukes are next!
Having been thoroughly schooled by Iran during the P5+1 nuke negotiations on the necessity for flexibility, the Obama Administration is now even better prepared to take on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. As North Korea and more recently Iran proved, sanctions are feeble devices… Read More ›
China now has ability to intercept ICBMs
The following is based on translations of reports on Chinese news sites: China’s Science and Technology Daily magazine reports that China has now developed the capacity to intercept ICBMs. It has published a report of China’s advances in laser technology,… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, August 3, 2015
Propaganda backfired this week. Beijing wants more Internet censorship, almost to create a “Chinanet” akin to another Great Schism not seen since the Orthodox Church split from the West. TPP failed. Students in Taiwan stormed government offices to keep out… Read More ›
While Beijing repeatedly rejects Japan’s apologies, China has its own horrors to atone for
Japan’s less-than-wholehearted remorse for its World War II-era atrocities has long been an unhealed wound in its relations with neighbours. The bruise is throbbing anew with the approach of August 15, the 70th anniversary of the announcement of Japan’s surrender…. Read More ›
China to build world’s first hybrid fusion-fission reactor before 2030
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: A report on akjunshi.com says the China Academy of Engineering Physics in Sichuan has completed the conception design of the world’s first hybrid fusion–fission reactor…. Read More ›