The United Kingdom and Japan have signed a major defense pact, praised as “historic” by the British prime minister but frowned upon by the Chinese government. The Japan-U.K. Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), signed by Rishi Sunak and his counterpart Fumio… Read More ›
China has removed six officials from Britain – including one of its most senior UK diplomats – two months after violence at its Manchester consulate. The UK had requested the officials waive their right to diplomatic immunity to allow detectives… Read More ›
Beijing has set up more than 100 so-called overseas police stations across the globe to monitor, harass and in some cases repatriate Chinese citizens living in exile, using bilateral security arrangements struck with countries in Europe and Africa to gain… Read More ›
Chinese newspapers turned their front pages black on Thursday and flags were put at half mast in mourning for the death of former president Jiang Zemin, while well-wishers laid piles of bouquets outside his childhood home. Jiang died in his… Read More ›
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the development of China’s first medium-haul passenger jet as the embodiment of the country’s drive towards self-sufficiency, with safety approval awarded to a plane that aims to challenge Western plane giants for high-tech jetliner sales…. Read More ›
For the first time, China has released video footage of its latest Type 094A nuclear-powered ballistic missile sub (SSBN) and Type 093 nuclear attack sub (SSN), a potent show of naval might ahead of China’s 20th Communist Party Congress in… Read More ›
The Chinese military has intensified its drone incursions into the skies above Taiwan with almost daily flights of combat and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) TB-001 drone was spotted crossing the… Read More ›
India’s foreign ministry said on Friday that disengagement along a disputed border area with China will be completed by Sept. 12. Both countries began disengaging from the Gogra-Hot Springs border area in the western Himalayas on Thursday, over two years… Read More ›
Taiwan’s frontline island of Kinmen was once again in the headlines when President Tsai Ing-wen paid tribute this week to the soldiers and civilians who “operated in solidarity and safeguarded Taiwan” 64 years ago. On Aug. 23, 1958 mainland Chinese… Read More ›
China is attempting to establish a “new normal” across the Taiwan Strait, eroding self-ruled Taiwan’s territorial control and increasing the threat of a strike with each military sortie, officials and analysts say. Beijing has ramped up military maneuvers in the… Read More ›
Once China achieves its professed goal of establishing control over Taiwan, a process of “re-education” of the island’s population would follow, according to China’s Ambassador to France Lu Shaye. The ambassador was speaking on French television channel BFM TV on… Read More ›
China’s military drills around Taiwan have led some foreign companies on the island to draw up contingency plans in case there is an attack. Photo: Reuters (image omitted) Multinational businesses in Taiwan are laying plans to evacuate assets and personnel… Read More ›
The Chinese military continued joint air-naval exercises on Sunday, simulating attacks on Taiwan, the Taiwanese defense ministry said as China announced new drills north of the island in the Yellow Sea. It was the last day of drills held as… Read More ›
The Taiwanese military kicked off a five-day annual live-fire exercise on Monday aimed at bolstering the island’s defense capabilities and combat readiness at a time when China and Taiwan’s allies have been facing off in the airspace and seas around… Read More ›
Sri Lanka’s pre-emptive default on its foreign debt obligations in mid-April 2022 and recently resigned president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s flight from Sri Lanka on 12 July provides India with an opportunity to match China in the foreign aid game. The Indian… Read More ›
For all the speculation of quick military action by China to achieve its foreign policy goals, Beijing’s track record has been more akin to peeling an onion, slowly and deliberately pulling back layers to reach a goal at the center…. Read More ›
When Russian President Vladimir Putin dials into the virtual BRICS summit hosted by Beijing on Thursday, it will be his first time attending a forum with the heads of major economies since launching an invasion of Ukraine earlier this year…. Read More ›
China has ordered a nationwide review of school textbooks after illustrations deemed ugly, sexually suggestive and secretly pro-American caused public uproar. The news has alarmed some experts and parents who fear the campaign is turning into a political witch hunt… Read More ›
The Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are destabilizing international order in an effort to expand their global power, Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, warned lawmakers during a House hearing on Tuesday. In his… Read More ›
As President Biden welcomes leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to a special summit this week in Washington, D.C., his administration is affirming Beijing as the U.S.’s main rival and underscoring the region’s importance in U.S.-China competition. The… Read More ›
China plans to develop a system for monitoring asteroids that pose a threat to earth, highlighting the nation’s growing ambitions for its space program. The country will also explore ways for taking out asteroids that endanger the planet, Wu Yanhua,… Read More ›
Formally, Russia is not at war with Ukraine, where it claims to be conducting a so-called “special military operation.” But with Japan, given that Moscow and Tokyo never signed a peace treaty officially ending World War II, the two Asian… Read More ›
A tiny island chain in the South Pacific has Western governments scrambling after it agreed to a security pact with China that the United States and its allies fear could enhance Beijing’s military power in this strategically important region. The… Read More ›
Militaries all around the world are looking at integrating modern technology into their military weapons. China, as usual, appears to be making serious efforts to prepare for the future battleground, this time, with plans to include artificial intelligence and high-speed… Read More ›
A Taiwanese news channel Chinese Television System (CTS) accidentally reported on Wednesday that the Chinese military had invaded the island, setting off what it called a “public panic” before the error was resolved. According to Taiwan News, screenshots from the… Read More ›
Russia used a hypersonic missile against a Ukrainian arms depot in the western part of the country on March 18, 2022. That might sound scary, but the technology the Russians used is not particularly advanced. However, next-generation hypersonic missiles that… Read More ›
Shanghai to New York in just a couple of hours? Not a problem when you fly in a hypersonic space plane. Beijing-based Space Transportation (aka Lingkong Tianxing in China) aims to make this prospect a reality with the development of… Read More ›
China launched cyber-attacks on Ukrainian military and nuclear targets shortly before the Russian invasion, according to a report. The UK government confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre is investigating the allegations, which claim that more than 600 websites, including… Read More ›
The AR-20, a multi-rotor drone domestically developed by China for security surveillance, border patrol and anti-terrorism missions, has spawned a hydrogen-powered variant that recently made its maiden flight. The successful test proved that the agile, plateau-operable light drone has greatly… Read More ›
Russia and China further cemented their alliance on Wednesday, hitting out “illegal” international sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. “The ministers had a thorough exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine,” the Russian foreign ministry said… Read More ›
Late last week, a proposed security treaty between China and a tiny chain of islands in the Pacific sent shock waves across the ocean. The leaked draft signalled that China could deploy troops to the Solomon Islands – and potentially… Read More ›
Global investors have withdrawn money out of China on an “unprecedented” scale since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, according to a report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), with the yuan likely to face more pressure in coming… Read More ›
Tuberculosis (TB) may have been overtaken by Covid-19 as the world’s deadliest infectious disease, but it continues to defy vaccines and antibiotics to wreak a grim global toll. TB was the world’s second-deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19 in 2020 (the… Read More ›
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and offered Beijing’s help in playing a “positive role” for peace while continuing to refrain from criticizing Russia. China has largely sided with Russia in the conflict, which… Read More ›
J-20 jets, China’s most advanced stealth fighter jets powered by domestic engines, made their debut at the opening ceremony of the China Airshow 2021 in the host city Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province on Tuesday.Photo: Cui Meng/GT With efforts including… Read More ›
Internet censors in China have ordered news outlets and social media accounts to avoid posting anything critical of Russia or favorable to NATO, after Russia began moving troops across the border into Ukraine, prompting a flurry of international sanctions against… Read More ›
It has been an amazing twelve years. The first political columns started in summer 2010. In 2011, I predicted that Taiwan would be recognized—a prediction which has not yet failed, but continues to push forward. Since 2014, the Times has… Read More ›
Taiwan’s vice president went on tour. After meeting with the new president of Honduras, Vice President William Lai stopped in San Francisco. While in the States, he held virtual meetings with House Speaker Pelosi and others. Taiwan’s envoy to North… Read More ›
For more than a decade, China has been stealthily buying up European companies in strategic sectors, particularly in technology and energy. China appears to be using these European assets to help fulfil the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ambitions of becoming… Read More ›
Taiwan has showcased some of its indigenous-built warships at an event designed to send a message of deterrence to China, local officials and analysts said. Over the weekend, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense held a naval exercise off the coast of Keelung… Read More ›
Japan signed on Thursday a new security treaty with Australia, a fellow middle power that is similarly aligning against an increasingly assertive China. The blandly-branded Reciprocal Access Agreement, which was signed virtually by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese… Read More ›
Taiwan is on the rise. With chip shortages, stock is booming. You know how graphics cards are astronomically high? A lot of that money is going into Taiwan. Meanwhile, China found an excuse to order a real estate developer to… Read More ›
China responds with propaganda. A lot more keeps happening more. It’s too much for China to track. But, when the US pontificates about democracy, China leaps to opine first. The problem is the vibe. It’s not about what we say,… Read More ›
Jailed Hong Kong media magnate Jimmy Lai, who faces charges alongside several senior editors at the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper under a draconian national security law, has won a press freedom award alongside his colleagues at the paper. Lai’s son… Read More ›
The Pentagon wants to improve bases in Guam and Australia to counter China following a review of U.S. military resources around the globe. The Global Posture Review (GPR), of which an unclassified version is set to be released later on… Read More ›
China’s internet regulator has ordered the operators of a major ride-hailing app, Didi Chuxing, to delist from the New York Stock Exchange, in an ongoing government crackdown on the country’s technology sector, international media reports said on Friday. The Cyberspace Administration… Read More ›
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a routine operation on Tuesday. The transit sparked anger from the Communist Chinese government, which considers Taiwan its territory, and it characterized the… Read More ›
Hundreds of Chinese maritime militia vessels are operating in contested areas of the South China Sea on a consistent basis, according to a new U.S. think tank report that says this poses a significant challenge to “maritime order rooted in… Read More ›
“China has won the artificial intelligence battle with the United States and is heading towards global dominance because of its technological advances”. When the Pentagon’s former software chief Nick Chaillan made this claim, it felt as if the whole world… Read More ›
The three-and-half-hour virtual summit meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not, and could not, solve the fundamental problems that have driven the two great powers toward confrontation. But both men clearly wanted to challenge the… Read More ›
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