Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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SSridhar
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

uskumar, you are absolutely right. The FTAs have done more harm to us in our respective bilateral trades. We are struggling to export due to various internal reasons such as poor quality, not sufficient understanding of the market etc. In some case, like in China (of course we don't have an FTA with it), trade barriers are high too and we have been unable to make them lower it. But, India's options are also getting limited because China is forcing us through RCEP to agree to a liberalized regime which most countries have accepted for themselves. Unfortunately, ASEAN, Japan & Korea are not accepting our stand. The new grouping appears to be another attempt to pressurize us as RCEP races to finalize the deal before this year-end.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by nandakumar »

India has been trying to get ASEAN to agree on free trade in services, especially free movement of professionals accompanied by mutual recognition of professional qualification such as lawyers, accountants etc. That our trade in goods is adverse is something that we had known along. Equally we knew it would be a while before we can we can even hope to balance it. We were hoping that along the way they would agree to some kind of liberalisation in services along the way. But that didn't happen. But China has no illusions about free trade in services. So the Deal is happening.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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China rejects U.S. call for dialogue with Dalai Lama - PTI
China on Tuesday rejected U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad’s call to Beijing to engage in “substantive dialogue” with the Dalai Lama, saying that it was firmly opposed to “foreign interference” in Tibet and its internal affairs.

Mr. Branstad, during his visit to Tibet last week, had asked the Chinese government to “engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences,” according to a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman.

Asked about the U.S. envoy’s call for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media that Chinese officials had briefed the Ambassador about China’s religious and ethnic policies and also about socio-economic development in Tibet.

“The Chinese government’s policy on dialogue and contact with the Dalai Lama and foreigners access to Tibet [were made clear to the Ambassador]. Finally, it was also stressed that China firmly opposes any foreign interference in Tibet affairs and in China’s domestic affairs,” said Mr. Kang.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Japan’s deal to buy F-35 Lightning jets from US ‘may fuel arms race with China in region’ - SCMP
Japan’s decision to buy 105 F-35 Lightning jet fighters from the United States may further fuel the arms race in Asia, analysts have warned.

The deal, first announced in December, was confirmed on Monday during US President Donald Trump’s four-day state visit to Japan.

Japan “has just announced its intent to purchase 105 brand new F-35 stealth aircraft. Stealth, because, the fact is you can’t see them”, Trump said at Japan’s Akasaka Palace. “This purchase would give Japan the largest F-35 fleet of any US ally.”

The F-35 deal is likely to help Japan reassert its role as a leading security player, but also present a new challenge to China’s People’s Liberation Army, which has extended its clout in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.

So far about a dozen US allies have placed orders for the F-35.

The Australian government has budgeted US$17 billion for 72 of the jets and South Korea has ordered 40 F-35As. Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35, also hopes Seoul will buy another 20 of the fighters.

Washington and Tokyo have long been wary of Beijing’s military expansion, with Japan announcing a new foreign policy strategy of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” three years ago to further promote the “rule of law, freedom of navigation and free trade”.

Washington’s concerns are reflected in this year’s version of an annual congressional report that warned: “Over the coming decades, [Chinese leaders] are focused on realising a powerful and prosperous China that is equipped with a ‘world-class’ military, securing China’s status as a great power with the aim of emerging as the pre-eminent power in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Military observers said that the F-35 deal, together with Tokyo’s plans to modernise its fleet of Izumo-class helicopter carriers to accommodate jets, pose a threat to Beijing’s game plan in the South China Sea by increasing the operational reach of its air force.

Japan does not face the South China Sea but views it as strategically important due to its role as a vital shipping lane.

Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military expert, said: “The [F-35 deal] can help Japan counterbalance threats from China … and it can be seen as a vital part of the worldwide coercion strategy of the US.

“This is bound to upset the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, given the large quantity of warplanes ordered by Japan.”

Analysts also pointed out that although China’s fifth-generation J-20 fighter has given the PLA a lead in the stealth fighter race, the Chinese aircraft was known to have suffered from engine problems even after its deployment in 2017.

The latest F-35 deal will also put further pressure on China to accelerate and improve its J-20 development programme.

Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said: “If Japan buys the F-35B, which is carrier-based, then it will upset the South China Sea dynamic. Japan does have plans to deploy F-35B to its aircraft carriers.”

Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a visiting professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, said: “As Japan moves to configure the Izumo class with the ability to launch short take-off and vertical landing features, the F-35B is essentially the only choice.”

The F-35 deal is about “enhancing Japan’s ability to achieve air and naval superiority, which is vital to the defence of the Japanese archipelago”, he added, noting that the further strengthening of military ties between Washington and Tokyo would improve their joint operational capabilities.

Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military analyst and formerly an instructor with the PLA Artillery Corps, said: “The purchase will definitely trigger a regional arms race, prompting China to do the same by developing and deploying more of its own advanced stealth fighter jets in the region to counter the military presence of the US and its allies.

“Japan needs to update its old air force fleet, with its 200 F-15 fighters approaching the end of their service life,” he explained.

“It also wants to catch up with the pace of generational advancement of fighter jets in many countries – entering a new age of stealth fighters.”

Collin Koh, a maritime security expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the F-35s would give Japan a significant boost in the stealth fighter race.

“Japan would retain its position as one of the best-equipped air forces in the region and worldwide,” he said.

Koh suggested that while China was a key concern for Tokyo, North Korea was also a consideration.

“This move could be seen as a response to what Japan has in recent times mentioned to be an increasingly severe security environment it faces: not just China and its rapid military build-up including, of course, the induction of new-generation fighters such as J-20, but also the threat posed by North Korea,” Koh said.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by chola »

abhik wrote:How will India benefit, or are they just counting on FoMo (fear-of-missing-out) from our part, like BRI?

There is benefit in the long term. We are far better served integrated in a group that includes advanced economies like Cheen, Korea and Japan than stuck in a grouping with Pakiland and Bangladesh. But there is no benefit right now so it is FoMo onlee.

East Asia is a real -- and really -- integrated economic entity (forget the political EAS mumble jumble) with real supply chains that we are currently not part of. If we are in the RCEP as it is now then we would serve mainly as a destination market whereas the supply chains allow the other members to benefit both as producers and buyers. Get it?

The problem is not only with Cheen -- and it alone is a big problem. Most of these countries, SoKo, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. actually have trade surplus with Cheen. India would be an even easier market to break into once the barriers falls.

The question is timing. We want to be in this group. But not right now when things are stacked against us. We need to do this on our own time. Most of those nations had their own growth spurts already and are competitive even against Cheen. We haven't had ours yet. In a few years, when the supply chains have move out of Cheen and into India (hopefully) then it would be better.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by kancha »

Wrote two posts about the Chinese peacekeeping experience in South Sudan.
Sharing them here.
Post 1: People's Liberation Army - Calling The Bluff

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So I came across THIS 2015 news report, some days ago. A piece that I found V.E.R.Y interesting. The headline is catchy enough – ‘UN peacekeepers refused to help as aid workers were raped in South Sudan’. But it is the second part of the headline that caught my eye – Chinese troops abandoned their posts rather than engage in fighting and protect civilians.

Interesting, I thought. Did a little more digging around on the www and came across another nugget of V.E.R.Y interesting information. Will come to that in the latter part of this blog post. But first let me share some thoughts on the piece above.

Firstly let us talk about the facts listed out in the news report above:-

The Chinese peacekeepers were entrusted with the responsibility of a one civilian protection site in Juba.
In the month of July 2015, fierce attacks were mounted by one of the rebel groups in Sudan, leading to ‘tens of thousands’ of civilians seeking safety from successive bouts of fighting, at that site.
However, the Chinese peacekeepers stayed on in their bases rather than protect civilians. Heck, even the Ethiopian troops had done far better, helping evacuate wounded civilians and returning fire when needed.
On the last day of the fighting, about 80 to 100 government soldiers attacked a compound in Juba where they raped and gang-raped at least five international aid workers and physically or sexually assaulted at least a dozen others.
All this happened when there was a UN Base manned by Chinese peacekeepers only a few hundred metres from the compound. However despite dozens of appeals for help from the besieged aid workers and personal visits from at least one who escaped from the compound, the Chinese peacekeepers simply REFUSED to leave the safety of their base.
During four days of fighting between the rival forces, artillery rounds and gunfire hit two UN bases, killing two Chinese peacekeepers. And what did the vaunted PLA troopers do? They not only failed to return fire, but in fact, RAN AWAY FROM THEIR POST. To add insult to injury, in their haste to save their skins, they even left behind their weapons and ammo – something a professional soldier would not even dream of doing. EVER.
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Now coming to another interesting nugget I discovered when searching for more info on this incident. I came across THIS report. It was the Indian Army that saved their sorry backsides. The report itself doesn’t mention the abandonment of posts by the PLA peacekeepers. Very ‘convenient’ omission, I say.

However, as per the report, INDBATT II, comprising of the men of 7th Battalion The Kumaon Regiment, who were held in reserve, were asked to take charge and restore the situation, which they did with extreme professionalism and ruthlessness. Here’s a typically modest way the news report chose to describe their actions – ‘It was learnt that troops also secured the perimeter which was smashed by the IDPs and ensured the armed militiamen were weeded out.’ Yes, they ‘secured’ the perimeter and ensured the armed militiamen were ‘weeded out’. Typical Indian media’s way of underselling themselves. Or perhaps, something that they are so used to from the Indian Army, that they take it as a matter of fait accompli – Send in Indian troops, job will be done.

Btw, it was the same militiamen who had scared the hell out of the famed PLA troops and routed them that the Kumaonis calmly ‘weeded out’. Rest of the report makes for an interesting read too.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by kancha »

Post 2: South Sudan - Who Killed The Chinese Peacekeepers

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The previous blog mentioned that two Chinese soldiers were killed during the four days of violence in Juba, prompting the rest of the Chinese troops to run away from their posts. Well, the funeral of the two boys back home was a sombre affair indeed, esp since the Chinese populace is not very used to seeing body bags of their soldiers coming back home because, well, the PLA hasn’t fought at all for nearly four decades since the humiliation at the hands of Vietnam.

One of the peacekeepers killed was merely 22 years old while the other one was 36 years, both of them, in all probability, the only children to their parents, thanks to the ‘One Child’ policy. This makes the losses even sadder. They would have had huge responsibilities towards their parents and both sets of grandparents who will now have to fend for themselves in their old age. More on that sometime later.

Coming back to the topic at hand – who killed them? It would in all probability have been the SPLA, or the govt forces, since it is they who were reported to have destroyed the UN compound in vicinity of the Chinese manned post that was later abandoned by those manning it. But digging a little deeper, things get a bit ‘interesting’. Firstly, let us see why the Chinese are there in South Sudan in the first place. The answer? OIL.

As of 2012, China was consuming nearly 80% of South Sudan’s oil production. This being the case, Chinese sending peacekeepers to South Sudan makes sense – the need to ensure stability and tranquillity in a major source of oil. But why is Sudan STILL in turmoil despite Chinese outreach ever since the 90s – a time when the USSR no longer existed, and the US was busy elsewhere, getting interested only when its pursuit of terrorists brought Sudan into focus. Part of the answer lies in the previous question itself – CHINA.
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More recently too, China has been called out for fuelling the fire by supplying arms to South Sudan by THIS 2015 report from the UN Panel of Experts on South Sudan. The report says places on record that China had continued to supply arms and ammo to South Sudan despite recent violence. And what was the ‘violence’ like? The reports says, “..all parties to the conflict have been targeting civilians as part of their military tactics… Scores of civilians have been killed, maimed, tortured, burned alive inside their homes, displaced, raped and abducted, and children have been recruited and used as part of the war effort..”

The situation has deteriorated dramatically since April 2015, when South Sudan’s military began a major offensive in the oil-rich (Yes, once again, OIL) Upper Nile region. “Since the offensive in the greater Upper Nile area began in April 2015, the intensity and brutality of the violence aimed at civilians are hitherto unseen, even in what has already been, without a doubt, an exceedingly violent conflict,” the report says. The report suggests that South Sudan’s government was emboldened by access to new military technologies – specifically helicopters and amphibious vehicles – and was trying to overwhelm the rebel forces.
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Not making a statement here, but just wondering whether the bullet / shell that killed the Chinese peacekeepers and the weapon that fired it was, in fact, supplied by the Chinese themselves?
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by siqir »

their Chinese host focused on how the US was a "Mediterranean culture" based around belligerence and internal division
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diploma ... icks-clash

btw chinese state media threatened on rare earths quite clearly now

last week xjp visited some rare earth co and had his trade negotiator liu he along as signal but cctv also had toned rhetoric down from calling it trade war to trade friction so it had seemed they stepped back from the brink

but now maybe some talks failed again

tech decoupling between america and china will allow us to quite accurately peg chinese native tech capabilities with huawei os and hisilicon chip since they will have to put their best foot forward and everyone can evaluate
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Larger military exercises on the cards as Singapore and China revise defence pact - Straits Times
SINGAPORE – China and Singapore have agreed to revise a defence pact which could include larger-scale military exercises and frequent high-level dialogues, as part of efforts to deepen defence ties and cooperation.

The revised Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation, expected to be signed later this year, could also include new arrangements for services-to-services cooperation and the establishment of academic and think-tank exchanges.


The announcement came after a bilateral meeting on Wednesday (May 29) between Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, who is making his introductory visit to Singapore.

During the meeting, both ministers agreed on a substantial programme to deepen defence ties and step up bilateral engagements on various fronts, said a Ministry of Defence (Mindef) statement.

These included an agreement for Exercise Maritime Cooperation by both navies to be held in 2020, which will be the second such exercise.

They also welcomed Exercise Cooperation between the two armies this year, which will be the fourth in the series.

“Both ministers also agreed to revise the Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation (ADESC) between Singapore and China, which was first signed in 2008,” said Mindef.

“The proposed exchanges to be introduced or stepped up include the establishment of frequent high-level dialogues, new arrangements for Services-to-Services cooperation, academic and think-tank exchanges, as well as an increase in the scale of existing bilateral exercises.”

The Chinese minister, who is also state councillor, is visiting Singapore from Tuesday to Sunday.

As part of his visit, he will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, and be hosted to dinner by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.

He will attend the annual high-level defence forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), where he is due to speak on Sunday. His attendance this year will make him the highest-ranking Chinese official to attend the SLD since 2011 when former defence minister Liang Guanglie spoke at the event.

China and Singapore had committed to refreshing the defence agreement in a joint statement released during Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Singapore last November.

The first Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation was signed by Mindef and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Jan 7, 2008.

Mindef said then in a statement that the signing marked a significant milestone in the bilateral defence relationship and was testament to the growing defence ties between the two countries.

It formalised ongoing activities between Mindef and the PLA such as the exchanges of visits, attendance at courses and seminars and port calls. It also included areas of cooperation such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

On Wednesday, both ministers also discussed regional security and practical ways in which the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) could build confidence between militaries and prevent conflict.

Dr Ng also invited the PLA Air Force Ba Yi aerobatics team to participate at the Singapore Airshow 2020.

General Wei, a member of the Central Military Commission, was accorded a guard of honour welcome at Mindef on Wednesday before meeting Dr Ng.

A career artillery officer, Gen Wei was appointed defence minister in March last year.

He will visit RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base to tour the Information Fusion Centre, the Archer-class submarine RSS Swordsman and the Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart on Thursday.

On Friday, he will visit the headquarters of the 3rd Singapore Division, which will host Exercise Cooperation later this year.

Mindef said Gen Wei’s visit underscores the longstanding, warm and friendly bilateral defence relations between both sides that have deepened and grown over the years.

It added that the Singapore Armed Forces and the PLA interact regularly through port calls, bilateral exercises, mutual visits, and cross-attendance of courses.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

siqir wrote:btw chinese state media threatened on rare earths quite clearly now . . .
Yeah, that's People's Daily yesterday. "Don't say we didn't warn you", it ends the tirade with these words.

We have seen much more bellicose and abusive words from China in Doka La and fo decades in the 50s through 70s.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Singapore and US to update and renew key defence pact - Straits Times

Singapore is walking a tight rope between the two.
Singapore and the United States have agreed to update and renew a key pact which provides for the US security forces to use Singapore's air and naval bases, and has underpinned the US regional presence for almost 30 years.

In a breakfast meeting on Friday (May 31), Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan welcomed the imminent renewal of the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the United States Use of Facilities in Singapore, as they reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relations.

The two ministers also affirmed the need for stable defence ties between the US and China amid increasing trade tensions, and for countries in the region to work together for the security and prosperity of the region, said a media statement from the Ministry of Defence.

The landmark MOU, signed in 1990 by founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and then US Vice-President Dan Quayle, is to be renewed by 2020.

Under this pact, the US has rotationally deployed fighter aircraft for exercises, refuelling and maintenance, as well as Littoral Combat Ships and P-8 Poseidon aircraft to Singapore.

The renewed pact will incorporate partnership elements of the US National Defence Strategy recently articulated for this region.


Mr Shanahan will also call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana later on Friday, ahead of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue which kicks off in the evening with a keynote speech by Mr Lee.

The three-day dialogue, to be held at the Shangri-La hotel, comes at a time of heightened trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

At Mr Shanahan's meeting with Dr Ng, both sides discussed key bilateral initiatives, including more training detachments for the Republic of Singapore Air Force in a suitable US military base.

Mr Shanahan highlighted the US' intent to remain committed in the region, and to work closely with Asean.

Both sides also exchanged views on a wide range of geopolitical developments and regional security issues, including countering the regional terrorism threat.

Mr Shanahan is in Singapore with a delegation of senior US officials, including Secretary of Navy Richard Spencer and Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson. Members of the US Congress - both the House of Representatives and the Senate - are also attending the dialogue.

Mr Shanahan arrived in Singapore on Thursday after a stopover in Jakarta, during which he called on Indonesian President Joko Widodo. It was the first leg of his Asia tour that will also take him to South Korea and Japan.

In his major policy speech at the dialogue on Saturday, Mr Shanahan is expected to reaffirm continuity in US commitment to Asia, even as the increased tensions in the Middle East claim its attention.

He will also dwell on the Trump administration’s vision for the Indo-Pacific, which his predecessor James Mattis also spoke on at last year’s dialogue.

He may raise concerns about China’s militarisation of contested territory in the South China Sea and stress US support for Taiwan, including the sale of advanced weaponry, which Beijing regards as interference in its sovereign affairs.

As the dialogue is attended by regional defence ministers and military officials, Mr Shanahan may use the opportunity to set out areas in which the US and China can expand cooperation, even as they clash on trade, technology and world views. This may help assuage concerns about miscalculations and accidental encounters between their militaries in the South China Sea setting off wider conflicts between the two superpowers.

Similarly, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, under which it is seeking to invest close to US$1 trillion (S$1.38 trillion) in infrastructure projects across Asia and Europe, may come in for criticism. The US has declined to participate in the Chinese initiative which it bills as “debt-trap diplomacy” through which China builds strategic influence.

Under Mr Trump, the US has restored the military budget cuts enforced by the Obama administration and is pressing ahead with military modernisation programmes after identifying China and Russia as top strategic threats.

Mr Shanahan is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of the dialogue on Saturday, in a much-anticipated encounter.

En route to Singapore, Mr Shanahan had said he expected to be able to isolate the bilateral military talks from the tensions that are roiling the trade relations between the two largest economies in the world.

In his address on Sunday, General Wei, the first Chinese defence minister to address the forum in a decade, may choose to include a rebuttal of the US strategy as he speaks on the topic of China and international security cooperation.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Beijing moves to own the discourse at Shangri-La Dialogue - Straits Times
In the days immediately after attending the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue one year ago, retired People's Liberation Army (PLA) Major-General Yao Yunzhu, from China's Academy of Military Sciences, offered her perspective on the summit.

Lamenting a lack of security infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific, Maj-Gen Yao's key message was that China's military, in its engagement on the international stage, must "break through the discourse barrier" in the face of growing criticism from the West.

In the interview published by China's popular journal, World Affairs, she also demanded China's participation in the dialogue on a similar footing with the United States, traditionally represented by its Secretary of Defence.

A well-respected expert on Sino-US relations, Maj-Gen Yao achieved something of a celebrity status over the course of her participation in six Shangri-La Dialogues. She impressed delegates with her skill in crafting ingenious lines of questioning and concocting acerbic - sometimes humorous - rebuttals, usually aimed squarely at senior US officials at the summit.

Her lively engagement with the Shangri-La Dialogue, however, perhaps belied an underlying frustration: that China's ability to shape international discourse was still not up to scratch and that the military needed to up its game.

It seems that her message got through. This weekend, the Defence Minister of China, General Wei Fenghe, will lead the PLA's delegation and speak in a solo plenary session on the second day of the summit, on an equal footing with the US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan.

Only once before in 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the dialogue, did China's then Defence Minister Liang Guanglie lead the PLA delegation. Since then, a PLA deputy chief of the joint staff has led China's delegation. In the last two years, Beijing has reverted to sending much lower-ranking representatives, amid deteriorating relations between China and the US.

China's heavyweight military delegation this year is comprised not only of experts in international military cooperation and defence relations. It also includes two very senior officers with leadership experience in China's southern theatre command, the military region encompassing the South China Sea.

The summit this year is also special because Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver the keynote address. He will have an opportunity to reflect on Singapore's achievements in its bicentennial year, having navigated through its turbulent post-colonial phase of development. He will also warn of the dangers of great power competition characterising the China-US relationship under Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

The discourse challenge Maj-Gen Yao has described predates the Trump administration. In 2014, the PLA faced a major hurdle at the Shangri-La Dialogue. A few hundred kilometres away from Singapore, in the heart of the disputed waters of the South China Sea, an astounding feat of maritime engineering and construction was underway.

A fleet of state-of-the-art Chinese dredging vessels had consumed and regurgitated a number of coral atolls in the Spratly islands, which were then capped with tonnes of concrete. These artificial islands were rapidly transforming into PLA air and naval bases.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's opening address that year was an irritant for China, especially his thinly veiled criticism of China's actions.

But subsequent accusations by then US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel regarding China's unilateral coercive actions in the South China Sea were apparently the last straw for the PLA's delegation leader, Lieutenant-General Wang Guanzhong, who departed from his script and accused the US of colluding with allies to intentionally target China.

BEIJING'S MESSAGE


Gen Wei and his team will be well-prepared for this summit, in particular to tackle questions on the South China Sea.

China's narrative has consisted of three elements:

Firstly, an insistence that owing to cool-headedness, particularly among Asean members, and strategic composure by Beijing, the waters of the South China Sea have remained calm and tranquil.

The second element in China's narrative is to stress the dual utility of its new islands in the Spratlys and China's provision of public goods such as navigational aids and rescue services, helping to protect the sea lanes that transect the South China Sea.

The third prong of Beijing's discourse is to emphasise the PLA's burgeoning efforts in "non-traditional" security cooperation and in encouraging confidence-building measures, while avoiding discussion of bilateral flashpoints.

Contrary to Beijing's narrative of the tranquillity of the South China Sea, however, this sea-space - vital to Asia's continued growth - has witnessed increased militarisation.

Over the last two years, US allies have closed ranks with the US Navy, deploying significant naval power to the region. Illustrating this, France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is currently berthed at Changi Naval Base.

The United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada and France have all dispatched naval vessels to conduct manoeuvres and exercises in the international waters of the South China Sea, all aimed at underpinning the "rules-based order" and international law.

The US Department of Defence at the Shangri-La Dialogue will also release its Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which will spell out the importance of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".


TAIWAN FLASHPOINT

While international attention has focused overwhelmingly on the PLA's new bases in the South China Sea, the access it offers to Taiwan, China's most sensitive core interest, is often overlooked.

Maj-Gen Yao, in her quest to break what she has described as discourse hegemony, has often pointed out that Taiwan - which occupies Taiping Island in the Spratlys - was militarised well before China's reclamation activities took place.

Dr Brendan Taylor's book, The Four Flashpoints: How Asia Goes To War, describes the "crisis slide" theory propounded by Dr Coral Bell in the 1970s. Dr Bell had described a concatenation of events which, in the aggregate, triggered both the first and second world wars.

Dr Taylor asserts that the components of a "crisis slide" are now evident across Asia. The book argues that since China's occupation of the South China Sea is a fait accompli, Taiwan is a significant flashpoint not to be ignored.

In recent months, the US Navy and coast guard have made several transits of the Taiwan Strait, resulting in angry language from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China has responded by holding military exercises in the vicinity.

Further escalating bilateral tensions, US National Security Adviser John Bolton met his Taiwanese counterpart David Lee earlier this month, the first meeting at this level since 1979. Furthermore, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has openly subscribed to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific policy.

US-China relations have continued to decline as the trade war grinds on, strategic rivalry spills over into the digital domain, and China is accused of exploiting debt trap diplomacy through the Belt and Road Initiative.

While President Xi is actively promulgating his vision for the international global order, the Trump administration has taken an overtly critical approach to China, fuelling the widening strategic mistrust between China and the US. Now, it seems, the US is more eager than ever to play the Taiwan card against China.

In his first address to a large international audience at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing in October last year, Gen Wei condemned the US for accusing Beijing of interfering in US domestic politics and colluding with other countries to form an anti-China alliance. His speech followed one by China's third most powerful Politburo Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu, who also decried alliances aimed at third parties.

But Gen Wei took a further step of calling on the US to "remedy its mistakes", vowing military action against attempts to support Taiwanese independence. It is very likely that he will repeat this message on Sunday, in a renewed effort to break the discourse barrier that China first encountered in 2014.

Meanwhile, China has argued consistently, and increasingly vocally, that the US alliance system in the Asia-Pacific is a moribund relic of the Cold War and that China is in a position to offer an alternative, more pluralistic approach to regional security.

In a year celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Gen Wei will likely place great emphasis on this particular discourse
.

Alexander Neill is a Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific security at IISS-Asia.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Shangri-La Dialogue: Indo-Pacific is our priority theatre, says top US defence official Shanahan - Straits Times
In the midst of the United States' escalating rivalry with China {or is it the other way around?} that has set off alarm bells worldwide, acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan asserted that the Indo-Pacific region was a "priority theatre" where the US would support partner nations against domination attempts by any one nation.

"I am here to affirm the United States' enduring commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and to the values that keep it secure and prosperous, free and open," he said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday (June 1), the annual gathering of defence ministers, military officials and security experts in Singapore.

"The Indo-Pacific is our priority theatre. We are where we belong," he said, asserting that the US has a "natural presence" in the region.

While not mentioning China by name, his words often seemed to be directed at Beijing's attempts to portray the US as an outside power provoking disquiet in the region.

In his speech, marked both by a hard line against China and the frequent reiteration of America's security, economic and trade linkages in the region, Mr Shanahan also called on Asia-Pacific nations to do their part to maintain their ability to make decisions in their own interest.

He touted the "real progress" the US was making to "usher in a new age of technology, partnerships, and posture that presents an unprecedented opportunity for our Indo-Pacific network of allies and partners."

“Partners who pursue interoperability with us as part of a regional security network will be able to access much of these technologies and benefit from the compounding effects of US investments and progress.”

He also listed US' longstanding security alliances in the region and noted that the Trump administration had reversed Obama-era budget cuts to invest in military modernisation.

"We are investing in the region. We are investing in you, and with you. And we need you to invest further in yourselves.

"We need you to invest in ways that take more control over your sovereignty and your own ability to exercise sovereign choices," he said.

"No one nation can or should dominate the Indo-Pacific. It is in all our interests to work together to build a shared future, one that is better than anything any of our nations could achieve on our own.

His speech was peppered with pointed criticism that the Trump administration has often raised against China which has acquired a higher profile in the region under President Xi Jinping.

"Some in our region are choosing to act contrary to the principles and norms that have benefited us all," Mr Shanahan said, going on to describe what he called a "toolkit of coercion" that was manifested in a range of behaviours and activities throughout the Indo-Pacific.

These included militarising disputed areas, threatening the use of force to compel rivals into conceding claims, using influence operations to interfere in the domestic politics of other nations and undermining the integrity of elections, he said.

"If the trends in these behaviours continue, artificial features in the global commons could become toll booths. Sovereignty could become the purview of the powerful."


Without mentioning Mr Xi’s signature project by name, Mr Shanahan also raised Washington's objections to China's US$1 trillion (S$1.38 trillion) Belt and Road Initiative through which Beijing is investing in large infrastructure projects across Asia and Africa. The US has described these as "debt traps" through which China extends its strategic influence.

"Some seem to want a future where power determines place and debt determines destiny," he said, contrasting it with the US blueprint for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific."

This includes the Better Utilisation of Investment Leading to Development, or the Build Act, enacted by Congress last year through which up to US$60 billion will be channelled into what the US says are transparent and privately-steered projects.


"The US does not want any country in this region to have to choose or forgo positive economic relations with any partner," Mr Shanahan said.

He presented his Indo-Pacific vision as one that the US had long offered. "This is not new nor exclusively an American vision; this is an inclusive and enduring approach, embraced by almost all of us who call the Indo-Pacific home.

"Nations are empowered through their relationship with the US and others in this common bond. They remain free to choose their destiny, as strategic partners, exercising strategic independence.

"Regional institutions, like Asean, retain their centrality," he said in an acknowledgement of the South-east Asian grouping's insistence that Asean remain in the driver's seat in the region where both the US and China have vital roles to play.
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Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat

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X Posted on the Indian IT Industry

Technology and politics

Huawei has been cut off from American technology

The ban will be excruciating at best, and fatal at worst

America is no fan of Huawei. Its officials have spent months warning that the Chinese giant’s smartphones and networking gear could be Trojan horses for Chinese spies (something Huawei has repeatedly denied). They have threatened to withhold intelligence from any ally that allows the firm in. On May 15th they raised the stakes. President Donald Trump barred American firms from using telecoms equipment made by firms posing a “risk to national security”. His order named no names. But its target was plain.

For all the drama, the import ban hardly matters. Huawei has long been barred from America, in practice if not on paper. More significant was the announcement by the Commerce Department, on the same day, that it was adding Huawei to a list of firms with which American companies cannot do business without official permission. That amounts to a prohibition on exports of American technology to Huawei.

It is a seismic decision, for no technology firm is an island. Supply chains are highly specialised and globally connected. Cutting them off—“weaponising interdependence”, in the jargon—can cause serious disruption. When zte, another Chinese technology company, received the same treatment in 2018 for violating American sanctions on Iran, it was brought to the brink of ruin. It survived only because Mr Trump intervened, claiming it was a favour to Xi Jinping, China’s president.

Huawei matters more than zte. It is China’s biggest high-tech company, and is seen as a national champion. Its name translates roughly as “Chinese achievement”. Revenues of $105bn put it in the same league as Microsoft. Only Samsung, a South Korean firm, sells more smartphones. Huawei holds many crucial patents on superfast 5g mobile networks, and is the largest manufacturer of telecoms equipment. Were it to go under, the shock waves would rattle all of tech world.

By May 20th the impact of the ban was becoming clear. Google said it had stopped supplying the proprietary components of its Android mobile operating system to Huawei. A string of American chipmakers, including Intel, Qualcomm and Micron, have also ceased sales. Later that day the Commerce Department softened its line slightly, saying that firms could continue to supply Huawei for 90 days, but for existing products—for instance, with software updates for Huawei phones already in use. New sales, on which Huawei’s future revenue depends, remain banned.

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Interdependence, of course, cuts both ways (see chart). Shares in American technology firms fell after the announcement, because Huawei is a big customer. Qorvo, which employs 8,600 people and makes wireless communication chips, derives 15% of its revenue from Huawei. Micron is in the memory business, of which Huawei is a big consumer. A report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a think-tank, also released on May 20th, guessed export controls could cost American firms up to $56bn in lost sales over five years.

Unlike Intel, Qualcomm or zte, Huawei is privately owned, so lacks listed shares whose price swing would hint at the extent of its distress—though the price of its listed bonds has dropped to 94 cents on the dollar. In public, the firm is staying calm. Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder, said it would be “fine” without access to American technology. Huawei has spoken of activating a “Plan b” designed to keep it in business despite American sanctions. It has been stockpiling crucial components for months, and has made a conscious push to become less reliant on American technology over the past few years. Its phones in particular make extensive use of chips designed by HiSilicon, its in-house chipdesign unit.

Yet few analysts are as sanguine as Mr Ren. Three business areas in particular look vulnerable. Without Google’s co-operation, new Huawei phones will lack the latest versions of Android, and popular apps such as Gmail or Maps. That may not matter in China, where Google’s apps are forbidden. But it could be crippling in Europe, Huawei’s second-biggest market. Its telecoms business needs beefy server chips from Intel. The supply of software to manage those networks could dry up too. Huawei is developing replacements for all three, but they are far from ready.

Two questions will determine whether or not Huawei can weather the storm, says Dieter Ernst, a chip expert and China-watcher at the East-West Centre, a think-tank in Honolulu. The first concerns America’s motives. The timing of the ban, a few days after broader trade talks between China and America had broken down, was suggestive. On one reading, it is a tactical move designed to wring concessions from China. If so, it might prove short-lived, and Huawei’s stockpiles may tide it over.

Paul Triolo of Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy, is doubtful. Rather than a negotiating tactic, he sees the ban as “the logical end-game of the us campaign to take down Huawei”. A long-lasting ban would force the firm to look for alternative chips and software that Chinese suppliers would struggle to provide.

The second question concerns the reach of American power. The tangled nature of chip-industry supply chains, says Mr Ernst, means that many non-American companies make use of American parts or intellectual property. They may therefore consider themselves covered, wholly or partially, by the ban. Take Arm, a Britain-based firm whose technology powers chips in virtually every phone in the world, including those made by HiSilicon. Arm says that it will comply with the Commerce Department’s rules. That suggests that Arm will not grant Huawei new licences. It is unclear if Arm will offer support for existing licences, however. As Arm’s technology advances, Huawei risks being left behind.

Other non-American companies are as important. One industry insider with contacts in Taiwan says that American officials are pressing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (tsmc), a big and cutting-edge chipmaker, to drop Huawei, which is its third-biggest customer. That would be a crushing blow, for Chinese chip factories are not up to the task of manufacturing HiSilicon’s sophisticated designs. tsmc’s only peer is Samsung—and South Korea is another of America’s allies. tsmc said on May 23rd that it would continue supplying Huawei for now.

Even if the optimists are right, and the ban is lifted in exchange for trade concessions, a return to business as usual seems unlikely. America has twice demonstrated a willingness to throttle big Chinese companies. Trust in American technology firms has been eroded, says Mr Triolo. China has already committed billions of dollars to efforts to boost its domestic capabilities in chipmaking and technology. For its rulers, America’s bans highlight the urgency of that policy. Catching up will not be easy, believes Mr Ernst, for chips and software are the most complicated products that humans make. But, he says, if you talk to people in China’s tech industry they all say the same thing: “We no longer have any other option.”

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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Trade War, Huawei, 5G—Gen. Robert Spalding
How think tanks in Massa waking up to the Chini threat.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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India cautious on Huawei’s participation in 5G trials, says security issues as vital as technology - S.Ronendra Singh, Business Line
The Centre on Monday for the first time expressed security concerns around Huawei’s technology. The Chinese telecom equipment firm has been engaged in a bitter row with the US government for banning its products.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, who took charge as IT and Telecom Minister on Monday, said the government will take a view on whether Huawei will be allowed to participate in 5G trials. “There are security issues…it is not only a matter of technology, where their participation in 5G is concerned,” he said.

“Participation of 5G is not conditional upon the trial being started. Whether a particular company is allowed to participate or not is a complex question including security issues,” he added. Last month, the government had constituted a committee, headed by the Principal Scientific Advisor, to decide on the fate of Huawei’s participation in the 5G trial.

Chinese intelligence law

“China has passed a National Intelligence Law (in October 2017) which mandates that they can ask any of their companies to provide any kind of data — either onshore or offshore,” a senior government official told BusinessLine. “Tomorrow, if Huawei supplies a network and collects some data, it will be forced to share the data with the Chinese government. We will have to take into account these nuances.”

Indo-China relations

The official said the government also has to factor in India’s relationship with China, which is geopolitically and strategically sensitive. “Given the kind of neighbourhood we are in, we have to be a little more careful than other countries,” the official added.

“We have to do our due diligence before we allow them in. Can we firewall them? What kind of assurances can we receive from them? Can we make them equally dependent on us in some way? These issues have to be looked at. It’s an issue on which India needs to be really careful,” the official further said, adding that technologies such as 5G are more vulnerable to security threats because of their use in the Internet of Things (IoT).


The security concerns around Chinese equipment rose globally after US President Donald Trump’s successive attacks on Huawei, urging allies to boycott its products and blacklisting the Chinese firm from buying some US software.

Last month, the Trump administration placed Huawei and its affiliates on blacklist, banning the company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without its approval. Later, though, it had to relax some of the restrictions to reduce disruption for users in the US.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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Huawei’s role in 5G network under a cloud - Economic Times
Serious concerns have emerged within the government that data of Indian citizens and enterprises could be compromised and accessed by the Chinese establishment if Huawei is allowed to participate in 5G network deployment, according to a top official source.

The development, which comes in the backdrop of Huawei being banned by the US over security and espionage concerns, could also mean that the Chinese company may not be part of the 5G trials that India will undertake shortly. “The threats are real when it comes to allowing Huawei network in 5G,” the source told TOI, on condition of anonymity.

The view comes even as an official committee is looking at Huawei’s bid to participate in India’s upcoming 5G telecom auctions. This committee — formed a few weeks ago — is headed by the principal scientific adviser, and has senior officials from the intelligence bureau, external affairs ministry, home ministry, IT and telecom ministries, and the cyber security wing.

When contacted, Huawei India CEO Jay Chen said the company is in compliance with all rules and regulations. “We have given a full commitment regarding compliance to data security. In fact, all the data that Huawei India handles is stored locally,” Chen told TOI.

He said the stand has also been reiterated by the Chinese government, which has made it clear that it does not demand any information from the company. “We have made our position very clear in our discussions with the government.”

The source said threats regarding Huawei’s 5G network cannot be passed off as mere suspicions.

The source also said 5G “being a more pervasive technology” will have greater interaction with devices, individuals, and businesses, making the threat around security and data leakage more serious. “We need to remember that the fundamental nature of network changes with 5G. It is 100 times more pervasive than 4G… you can imagine what is the kind of security threat it may pose.”
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by rgosain »

The language marks a totally different shift and approach to the PRC by the GOI that would not have happened if the RaGa or the UPa had come to power. Whether India gets the nod at the NSG is irrelevant to keeping Huwei away the 5g infrastructure. India will have to bite the bullet and champion its own 5g hardware and software companies. The price is high but the value is priceless.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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19 years of sensitive data from top Australian university hacked by 'sophisticated operator' - Straits Times
SYDNEY (AFP, REUTERS) - A top Australian university with close ties to the country's government and security services on Tuesday (June 4) said it had been the victim of a vast hack by a "sophisticated operator" who gained access to 19 years of sensitive data.

In a message to staff and students, the Australian National University did not say who was believed to be behind the cyber intrusion, which is thought to have started in late 2018.


But vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt said the data accessed included "names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, personal email addresses and emergency contact details, tax file numbers, payroll information, bank account details, and passport details."

The hack also breached student academic records.

"In late 2018, a sophisticated operator accessed our systems illegally. We detected the breach two weeks ago," Mr Schmidt said.

"We're working closely with Australian government security agencies and industry security partners to investigate further."

"The University has taken immediate precautions to further strengthen our IT security and is working continuously to build on these precautions to reduce the risk of future intrusion."

Australia’s cyber intelligence agency said it was investigating who was behind the attack.

"It does appear to be the work of a sophisticated actor," a representative of the Australian Signals Directorate said in an e-mailed statement. "It is too early to speculate about connections to other compromises."

According to World University Rankings, ANU is Australia’s best university and many of its graduates go on to to hold senior government positions, magnifying security sensitivities over the data breach.

The Canberra-based institution is backed by the federal government and is one of Australia's foremost research and teaching universities.

It started as a research institution after World War II, but today also teaches tens of thousands of students each year, including former prime ministers, Cabinet officials and civil servants.

"National community agencies are recruiting directly out of ANU," said Mr Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at think-tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"To have information around particular people who are working in different departments... that would be very useful."

This is just the latest in a series of hacks targeting the Australian establishment.

Earlier this year, the Australian Parliament reported that its computer network and some political parties had been compromised.

The breach was blamed on a "sophisticated state actor" with experts pointing fingers toward Beijing.

China has consistently denied being involved in any hacking attacks and its embassy in Australia, as well as the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Despite Chinese denials, Australia has cited similar incidents as evidence that China is meddling in its domestic affairs.

The allegations strained ties between China and Australia
, a strong US ally.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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China and Russia to close ranks in united front against American pressure following Xi Jinping’s meeting with Vladimir Putin - SCMP
China and Russia have elevated their already close partnership to a new level, as Beijing and Moscow seek to offset pressure from the US.

The decision to upgrade bilateral ties to “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in new era” was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin following their summit in Moscow on Wednesday, state-owned Xinhua said in a brief report.

After the meeting at the Kremlin, Putin told reporters that he and Xi had discussed a wide range of global topics.

“We confirmed that Russia’s and China’s stances on key global issues are similar or coincide, as diplomats say,” Putin was quoted by Russian news agency Tass as saying. “We stated that they had reached a very high - and without any exaggeration - an unprecedentedly high level,” the Russian leader said.

The commitments came during Xi’s three-day visit to Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As well as the talks with Putin, a formal reception and a taking in a performance at the Bolshoi Theatre, Xi’s itinerary also includes a visit to St Petersburg for an international economic forum.

Prior to the two leaders’ summit, Xi told Putin that relations between China and Russia “have stood the test of time in the context of the changing situation in the world”, according to Tass. “Step by step, we have managed to bring our relations to a new level, the highest in history."

The two countries are expected to issue joint statements putting their ties on a near par with a formal alliance and explicitly stating that China and Russia respect the “core interests” of both sides, according to a source briefed on the visit.

In an interview with Russian media published on Wednesday, Xi said that Beijing and Moscow would “bring our relations to a new era of greater development at a higher level” and push the “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination” into a new era.

“We have the confidence and capability to bring our relations to a new era of greater development at a higher level, based on our experience and achievements of the past 70 years,” Xi was quoted as saying.

The Chinese president said Beijing and Moscow shared common ground on a wide range of issues, including trade, Iran and the Arctic Sea, adding that Putin had been a good friend through the years.

“We have communicated extensively on the broadest range of issues, including international situations, bilateral ties and domestic governance,” Xi said.

“We have also talked about literature, art and sport … President Putin is the foreign colleague that I have interacted with most extensively. He is my best friend and I greatly treasure our friendship.”

In a rare move, Xi called out the United States for its sanctions against Iran, adding that China and Russia held the same position on the issue.

“With the US recently imposing extreme pressure and unilateral sanctions on Iran, tensions over the nuclear issue in Iran and even the entire Middle East have become worrying,” he said.

“China and Russia share a highly unified view on the Iran nuclear issue, and we both hope that all parties involved can remain reasonable and restrained, and strengthen dialogue and consultation to reduce tensions.”

On Venezuela, the Chinese president pledged that China would play a “constructive role” and work to help the country return to normal development. But he stressed that Beijing rejected foreign interference and the use of sanctions or force to push for changes in the oil-rich South American country.

In addition, Xi said China would strengthen communication with Russia and other parties to support Russia’s Northern Sea Route, an ambitious programme to build ports and other facilities to increase cargo shipments across the Arctic.

Xi also said that in efforts to combat terrorism, China and Russia had “set an example” of mutual respect, fairness and justice through their cooperation on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other security concerns in their own countries and across Central Asia.

Shi Yinhong, an adviser to the State Council and a US specialist at Renmin University in Beijing, said Xi’s visit was set to give China more leverage in its competition with the US.

“China’s announcement that its ties with Russia have entered a new era, its emphasis on Xi’s personal ties with Putin, and calling out the US on Iran are all set against the background of unprecedented tensions between the US and China, and the lasting confrontation between Russia and the US,” Shi said.

“There is a major strategic need to strengthen the ties between Russia and China … and China will continue to team up with Russia against the US on international issues.”

Li Lifan, an international relations professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said China and Russia faced similar difficulties, with Moscow grappling with sanctions from the West and Beijing embroiled in the trade war.

“The statement about personal ties between Xi and Putin is a signal to [US President] Donald Trump. He [Trump] has often said that he’s good friends with President Xi. But the Chinese side has only ever only brought up Xi’s ties with Putin,” Li said.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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India to stay out of US-China spat, but every ‘clash has opportunities’ – FM

https://www.rt.com/news/461233-india-se ... trade-war/
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

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US intel shows Saudi Arabia escalated its missile program with help from China

Please watch a video in that article, that I could not link here.
The US government has obtained intelligence that Saudi Arabia has significantly escalated its ballistic missile program with the help of China, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a development that threatens decades of US efforts to limit missile proliferation in the Middle East.

The Trump administration did not initially disclose its knowledge of this classified development to key members of Congress, the sources said, infuriating Democrats who discovered it outside of regular US government channels and concluded it had been deliberately left out of a series of briefings where they say it should have been presented.
The previously unreported classified intelligence indicates Saudi Arabia has expanded both its missile infrastructure and technology through recent purchases from China.

The discovery of the Saudi efforts has heightened concerns among members of Congress over a potential arms race in the Middle East, and whether it signals a tacit approval by the Trump administration as it seeks to counter Iran. The intelligence also raises questions about the administration's commitment to non-proliferation in the Middle East and the extent to which Congress is kept abreast of foreign policy developments in a volatile region.

The development comes amid growing tensions between Congress and the White House over Saudi Arabia.

Despite bipartisan criticism over the Kingdom's war in Yemen and its role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the White House has sought an even closer relationship with the Saudis, as evidenced by its recent decision to sell the Kingdom billions of dollars in weapons and munitions despite opposition in Congress.

While the Saudis' ultimate goal has not been conclusively assessed by US intelligence, the sources said, the missile advancement could mark another step in potential Saudi efforts to one day deliver a nuclear warhead were it ever to obtain one.

The Kingdom's Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, has made clear that should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, Saudi would work to do the same, telling 60 Minutes in a 2018 interview that, "Without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible."

Though Saudi is among the biggest buyers of US weapons, it is barred from purchasing ballistic missiles from the US under regulations set forth by the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime, an informal, multi-country pact aimed at preventing the sale of rockets capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction.

Yet the Saudis have consistently taken the position that they need to match Iran's missile capability and have at times sought help on the side from other countries, including China, which is not a signatory to the pact.

Saudi Arabia is known to have purchased ballistic missiles from China several decades ago, and public reports speculated that more purchases may have been made as recently as 2007. The Kingdom has never been assessed to have the ability to build its own missiles or even effectively deploy the ones it does have.

Instead, the Saudis' arsenal of Chinese-made ballistic missiles was a way to signal its potential military strength to regional foes, primarily Iran.
That, the sources told CNN, has shifted based on the new intelligence.

For decades, the US worked to ensure that Saudi Arabia had air supremacy in the region, largely through its purchases of American military aircraft, precisely so that it wouldn't seek to go around the US to upgrade its missile capabilities.

"Saudi Arabia needn't race Iran to produce or procure ballistic missiles. It already has a significant conventional military advantage," said Behnam Taleblu of the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

But questions have arisen in recent months about whether that rationale still stands, particularly as the Trump administration has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Kingdom faces ballistic missile threats from Iran proxies in Yemen.

Satellite imagery, first reported by the Washington Post in January, suggested the Kingdom had constructed a ballistic missile factory. Analysts who viewed the images said they appeared to match technology produced by the Chinese.

A second image of the same missile facility obtained by CNN shows a similar level of activity at the site on May 14, 2019, according to Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute.

"Saudi Arabia's reported interest in domestic ballistic missile production should rightly raise eyebrows," Taleblu said. "Both the reported missile base and Riyadh's interest in a domestic fuel cycle indicates, however nascent, a desire to hedge against Iran."

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on any intelligence related to Saudi Arabia's ballistic missile activity or whether the US believes the Kingdom is contracting in that area with foreign partners.

A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China and Saudi Arabia are "comprehensive strategic partners," and that both countries "maintain friendly cooperation in all areas, including in the area of arms sales. Such cooperation does not violate any international laws, nor does it involve the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

A State Department official declined to comment on classified intelligence matters, but told CNN that Saudi Arabia remains a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has accepted an obligation never to acquire nuclear weapons. The spokesperson also pointed to a recent statement by a US State Department official reaffirming the US commitment to "the goal of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems."

Sources said there has been no indication from the administration that there has been an explicit policy shift as it relates to non-proliferation of ballistic missiles in Saudi, but noted the administration's awareness of the intelligence -- and lack of concrete action to halt the advances since it was obtained.

US intelligence agencies constantly monitor foreign ballistic missile development and the flow of materials around the world. Related intelligence is analyzed on a daily basis and any significant change would likely make it into the Presidential Daily Briefing, according to two former senior US intelligence officials.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has been given access to the Saudi intelligence, though it has not received a specific briefing on the subject, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

But the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight of the State Department and US foreign policy broadly, learned about the Saudi intelligence earlier this year only after it was discovered by Democratic staff on the committee, including in one instance when a staff member on an unrelated trip to the Middle East was informed of details through a foreign counterpart, two of the sources told CNN.

There had already been at least two classified briefings on issues related to the topic where the information could have been disclosed to senators, according to one source.

When the staff brought the new information to the panel's top Democrat, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, he immediately requested-- and was granted-- a classified, senators-only briefing for committee members on the details, a rare occurrence that underscored the importance of the discovery and the administration's failure to initially brief the committee on the matter.
Several sources said the analysis presented in the classified briefing, held on April 9, went far beyond the January Washington Post story about the satellite images, and provided concrete evidence that Saudi Arabia has advanced its missile program to a point that would run in direct conflict with long-established US policy to limit proliferation in the region.
The day after the classified briefing, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified publicly in front of the committee as part of a routine hearing on the State Department budget.
Over the course of a few hours, the dispute over intelligence sharing began to spill out into the open, turning a relatively benign budget hearing into a debate over a potentially crucial shift in US policy over missile proliferation in the Middle East.
Though at the time, it was hard to notice.
Without going into specifics, Menendez castigated Pompeo for the administration's decision not to share classified information with the committee until it was brought to the administration by the senator himself.
"That's simply unacceptable," Menendez told the country's top diplomat, adding that if Congress is to perform its constitutional duties, the State Department "needs to do a better job of engaging with us, briefing us and responding to our requests."
Later in the hearing, three other Democratic senators obliquely referenced the issue in their questions to Pompeo, citing public reports related to Saudi ballistic missile ambitions.
Sen. Kaine asks Pompeo about Saudi missiles

Sen. Kaine asks Pompeo about Saudi missiles 01:15
Neither the senators nor Pompeo mentioned the previous day's briefing, or that their questions or answers were based on specific intelligence.
But in hindsight, the exchanges shed light on the Trump administration's hardline position that countering Iran is the ultimate priority in the region -- regardless of long-held US non-proliferation positions.
In his responses, Pompeo made clear the administration's preference that Saudi Arabia buy US technology, a possible nod, multiple US officials said, to internal opposition inside the Trump administration to restrictions on US sales of ballistic missiles to the Kingdom.
"There've been those who've urged the United States to take a different posture with respect to Saudi Arabia, not to sell them technology," Pompeo said. "I think you see the risks that are created. It would be better if the United States was involved in those transactions than if China was."
While Pompeo acknowledged under questioning that it is still US policy to oppose proliferation of ballistic missile technology in the Middle East, a telling exchange occurred later.
Sen. Udall asks Pompeo about Saudi and Chinese missiles

Sen. Udall asks Pompeo about Saudi and Chinese missiles 01:50
Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat, citing the Washington Post report on the satellite images, asked what the US was doing to prevent foreign sales of ballistic missile technology to Saudi Arabia.
Pompeo made clear, intentionally or not, a prevailing administration position that has guided much of its policy in the region -- including its knowledge of the expanding Saudi ballistic missile program.
"This is certainly something that we all need to keep an eye on," Pompeo said, before adding that "most of the folks who are working to build out missile systems" were doing so in direct response to Iran's ability to continue to enhance its missile program under the 2015 nuclear accord.
"Others are doing what they need to do to create a deterrence tool for themselves," Pompeo said. "It's just a fact."
Udall, who a source confirmed had been in the classified briefing the day prior, responded after a pause by pressing the administration to stick to the long-held US policy to deter missile proliferation in Saudi "Well, I very much hope that the administration will push back in terms of what's happening in missiles across the Middle East."
Tensions over Saudi policy
The new revelations come at a particularly fraught time in the Saudi-U.S. relationship.
Last year, as evidence of the Saudi government's role in the murder of Khashoggi emerged, GOP Senators including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and then-Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee publicly condemned the Trump administration's timid response.
"There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw," Graham said after emerging from a classified briefing in December, referring to reports that the Saudi team had included a forensic expert who arrived in Turkey with equipment to dismember Khashoggi's body.
Bipartisan group of senators fuming over administration's handling of Khashoggi aftermath
Bipartisan group of senators fuming over administration's handling of Khashoggi aftermath
In an interview with Axios on HBO that aired on Sunday, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner refused to go into details about his private conversations with the Saudi crown prince, and maintained that the Saudis are a key ally in helping the US contain Iran.
Asked whether he would join Khashoggi's fiancée in calling on the Saudi government to release Khashoggi's body, Kushner demurred, saying the decision "would be up to the Secretary of State" and that "we'll do everything we can to try to bring transparency and accountability for what happened."
Anger over the administration's handling of the Khashoggi murder led to bipartisan support for resolutions to end US involvement in the war in Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition has been accused of indiscriminately bombing civilians. The conflict has resulted in widespread famine and put an estimated 14 million people at risk of starvation, according to the United Nations.
In March, lawmakers pushed through the House and Senate a measure that would've forced Trump to get permission from Congress before allowing the US military to aid Saudi Arabia in its fight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Lawmakers were ultimately unable to override Trump's veto.
Tensions between the administration and lawmakers were again exacerbated by the administration's May 24 announcement that it would declare an emergency over escalating tensions with Iran in order to bypass Congress to complete an $8.1 billion sale of weapons, munitions, intelligence and maintenance to various countries including Saudi Arabia and UAE.
A bipartisan group of seven senators, including Menendez and Graham, on Wednesday said they were introducing resolutions to block all 22 arms sales tied to the administration's move.
Trump declares emergency to expedite arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE
Trump declares emergency to expedite arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE
There is also an ongoing bipartisan effort to finalize a new sanctions package targeting Saudi Arabia -- one opposed on its face by the Trump administration, which tends to cast its view of the Kingdom as a binary choice: you either support Saudi Arabia or you support Iran.
For Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sharp critic of the administration's Saudi policy, the choice is not that simple when it comes to ballistic missile proliferation.
"I think it's a total misread of the region to think that the Saudis are the good guys in this equation. The Iranians do really awful things in the region. But so do the Saudis. "
Murphy declined to comment on the Saudi missile intelligence he received during the April 9 briefing, but was willing to address the broader issue, including the long-term implications should the US abandon its policy of missile deterrence in the Middle East.
"For decades the US has had a policy of trying to quell, not ignite an arms race in the Middle East, and for good reason," said Murphy. "It stands to reason we would want less weapons pointed at each other."
'It was egregious'
The whole incident puts the panel's Republican chairman, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, in a tricky spot. Compared to his predecessor Corker, an avid Trump critic, Risch has refrained from criticizing the administration, and has attempted to strike a balance between tending the concerns of angry committee members while also trying not to undercut Trump's foreign policy strategy.
Risch, who also sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissed complaints that the intelligence omission was intentional and chalked it up to a simple oversight, given the sheer volume of information the intelligence community gathers each day.
Trump ally caught in crossfire as White House clashes with GOP over Saudi Arabia
Trump ally caught in crossfire as White House clashes with GOP over Saudi Arabia
"There's no doubt that factual matters that the intelligence community has sometimes don't get into the hands of senators simply because there is too much of it," Risch told CNN, noting that he hadn't received any complaints from Republican members of the panel. "It's not intentional at all. It's just simply that it can't be done."
Menendez doesn't buy into that theory.
"You can't lose track of something like this," said Menendez, who would not discuss the topic of the underlying intelligence at issue. "It was egregious."
Menendez is now pressuring the administration to provide a classified briefing on the issue for all 100 senators.
While frustrations over access to classified information by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee go back years, they have become particularly acute during the Trump administration, senators and aides interviewed for this story said.
"I think our [intelligence community] knows a lot and they don't want to tell us," said Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who declined to address the specific subject matter. Kaine noted that there are a series of issues -- several related specifically to Saudi, including authorizations to sell civilian nuclear technology to the country -- that have remained shrouded in secrecy, despite repeated requests to the administration to provide briefings or documentation.
Kaine on Tuesday revealed for the first time at least two of the technology sales occurred after Khashoggi's murder, including one that was finalized just 16 days after the journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Democratic senators want intelligence community to submit report on Khashoggi's murder
Democratic senators want intelligence community to submit report on Khashoggi's murder
The divide between Congress and the administration on Saudi has led to increasingly hostile receptions for Trump officials who come to Capitol Hill to testify. It's also one that has largely left the US public in the dark as to the administration's actions with its closest allies in the region.
For at least one Democratic Senator who spoke on condition of anonymity even as he declined to address the underlying Saudi intelligence, it's all part of a broader trend of the administration refusing to share intelligence with Congress.
The administration "has taken a position of: you don't need to know anything," the senator said. "Which, of course, is constitutionally inaccurate."
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Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Peregrine »

Banyan

Asian countries fear China but many won’t side with America

Asian countries may not like China’s hectoring, but they have their qualms about America, too

What do you buy the Asian defence minister who has everything? How about a “beautiful” photo-book of North Korean ships illegally transferring oil at sea? Patrick Shanahan, America’s acting defence secretary, presented the collection of grainy aerial shots to his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of military bigwigs in Singapore from May 31st to June 2nd.

It was an emollient gesture in fractious times. When Banyan asked Mr Shanahan what he planned to say to General Wei in private, the answer was not a tirade about Huawei or the South China Sea. Instead Mr Shanahan said he was “excited” to explore areas of cooperation. North Korean sanctions-busting—which often occurs in Chinese waters—was top of the list. Such collaboration would show that America and China could “compete in a constructive way”.

On June 1st the Pentagon published its plans for that competition in an Indo-Pacific strategy. At its heart was the idea of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP), a nebulous concept conceived by Japan and enthusiastically taken up by the Trump administration. In essence, foip is a rules-based rejoinder to China’s vision of spheres of influence, gunboat diplomacy and murky loans. “No one nation can or should dominate the Indo-Pacific,” said the Pentagon in its report.

Mr Shanahan’s notion of responsible competition—in contrast to the no-holds-barred clash of civilisations favoured by some of his head-banging colleagues—is laudable. It is also savvy. Asian states are likelier to sign up to foip if they are persuaded that America is not spoiling for a fight. But on both counts—stabilising the relationship with China, while rallying partners to push back against it—America has an uphill task.

Start with the olive branches. General Wei did not so much ignore them as snap them into pieces. “Arise, all those who do not want be enslaved,” he thundered in his speech on June 2nd, quoting China’s national anthem. “Let us build the new Great Wall with our flesh and blood.” He warned that China’s army was “not afraid of sacrifice” and that “we make no promise to renounce the use of force” against Taiwan.

One might think that such bluster would send Asians rushing to sign up to foip and into America’s arms. In some cases, it has. Narendra Modi will deepen defence ties with America in his second term. Japan is beefing up its armed forces and sending its navy into the South China Sea. Officials from America, Australia, India and Japan—the “Quad”—now confer routinely, most recently on May 31st.

All pay lip service to the idea that the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a club of ten mostly smaller powers, should be at the core of FOIP. The problem is that not all in asean are sold on the idea. For one thing, many are unconvinced that America will truly stick around, as the costs of any war with China grow over time. So why risk China’s ire? “The Chinese coast guard is bigger than Malaysia’s warships,” lamented Malaysia’s defence minister.

Mr Shanahan did his best to assuage these concerns. He pointed out that the Indo-Pacific was America’s “priority theatre”, with four times as many American forces as any other American military command. America’s freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea were also growing more routine: unusually, there were two in May alone.

But muscle is only half of it. The larger issue is that Donald Trump’s unpredictably incendiary foreign policy sits uneasily with the principles of FOIP. Tensions with Iran are pulling America’s attention back to the Middle East. The compulsive resort to tariffs undercuts a rules-based trading order. Mr Trump’s lack of interest in human rights hardly furthers freedom. And to many in Asia, America’s war on Huawei or its sanctions against buyers of Russian arms or Iranian oil look an awful lot like China’s “toolkit of coercion”, as Mr Shanahan put it.

That is unfair. An Asian order sculpted by China would be more capricious and suffocating than anything Mr Trump could devise. General Wei’s defence of the crushing of the Tiananmen Square protests—he called it a “correct policy” that gave China the stability to grow richer—was a reminder of the ideological stakes. Australia, India and Japan are on board. Singapore and Vietnam’s sympathies are clear. But most asean countries hate the idea of taking sides, despite widespread misgivings about China’s intentions. Mr Shanahan reckons they will eventually come round: “I think they’re building up their confidence.”

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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

Huawei engineers go to 24-hour days to beat Trump blacklist - Bloomberg News
Huawei has assigned as many as 10,000 of its developers to work across three shifts a day in offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xi’an to try to eliminate the need for American software and circuitry, according to people familiar with the matter. From janitors to drivers, everyone has been drafted into the struggle and told to brace for escalating political and market pressure. Huawei has declined to comment beyond saying it’s had contingency plans in place for just such an occasion.

Engineers in some groups haven’t gone home for several days, one person says, asking not to be identified when discussing internal matters. Among other items, the person says, the developers are making base-station antennas, a component that U.S. companies such as Rogers Corp. manufacture for a market they dominate, and tweaking the design of entire 4G base stations, which compete toe-to-toe with products from Ericsson AB and Nokia Corp.

“It’s not a question about if we can win—we have to win,” says a Huawei engineer, the head of a small research and development team responsible for communication chips who requested anonymity because employees have been warned not to speak to the press. “This is a war about China having an independent communications technology industry.” On an online employee forum, the following message was posted: “Warriors in golden armor shall never return home until they defeat Trump from America.”
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

Taiwan put on US defence department list of ‘countries’ in latest move likely to goad China - SCMP
The Trump administration’s move to include Taiwan on a list of “countries” in a US defence department report is the latest in a series of provocative moves that appear aimed at confronting China, and putting it on notice.

The wording, an apparent break with long-standing US adherence to a one-China principle, is contained in the 55-page “Indo-Pacific Strategy Report” released on Saturday. The language is part of a section detailing US efforts to strengthen partnerships with democracies in the region; the section cites Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and Mongolia.

“All four countries contribute to US missions around the world and are actively taking steps to uphold a free and open international order,” the report says, citing the four “countries” as “reliable, capable and natural partners”.

The defence department did not respond to questions about its use of language, any intended purpose or message, although a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday that Taiwan was under growing threat from Beijing.

Analysts said the use of “countries” is the latest salvo by the Trump administration as the US and China face off over trade, security, education, visas, technology and competing visions of “civilisation”. Past references to Taiwan as a nation have tended to involve misstatements by US officials rather than wording in a well-edited report, they added.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Lisa »

https://www.breitbart.com/national-secu ... p-details/

Kenya’s Leaked BRI Contract Reveals Shocking China Debt Trap Details

It appears to be an old article but I have just seen it. IMO, interesting reading. Apologies if previously linked.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Singha »

Spain has caved in and deported some 82 taiwanese accused to mainland china in a special flight

Pic came in india today its a big plane like 777 sent for the job 3,4,3 seating

Dominoes are starting to fall after italy signed to obor
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Singha »

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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by NRao »

China Summons Tech Giants to Warn Against Cooperating With Trump Ban
The Chinese government this past week summoned major tech companies from the United States and elsewhere to warn that they could face dire consequences if they cooperate with the Trump administration’s ban on sales of key American technology to Chinese companies, according to people familiar with the meetings.

Held on Tuesday and Wednesday, the meetings came soon after Beijing’s announcement that it was assembling a list of “unreliable” companies and individuals. That list was widely seen as a way of hitting back at the Trump administration for its decision to cut off Huawei, the Chinese electronics giant, from sales of American technology. The United States has accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets and conducting surveillance on behalf of Beijing.

.........


I bet this means China will officially, overtly use IP/trade secrets to further her goals.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by darshan »

I guess that World Cup is on. Just realized with Dhoni controversy. Looking at pictures I noticed that Indian team is wearing oppo logos. Why is Indian national team wearing chinese logos? Is this chosen by India or forced by ICC? Are there no Indic logos like HAL with LCA, DRDO, ISRO, Bharat Forge, etc. that GoI can provide advertising funds for? I presume that tons of Indian population still watches World Cup. This is like sending tons of Indian money to Chinese back by taking some from oppo.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

Oppo is the official sponsor, darshan
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by NRao »

Here you go .........................

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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Philip »

Why India should carve out its own security forum and entity for the IOR involving the Asian nations who fear China but ard wary of the US too.We should be a strong ( military) magnet to which smaller nations gravitate too.As long as our economy is also growing steadily challenging China in several areas, we will attract those against Chinese hegemony.Our girst act shoild be to impose massive trade tarriffs/ banning Chinesd goods into India given security fears ( Huawei) and the huge trade imbalance.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by SSridhar »

^ Of Course we have the the 23-nation IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium). The first ever operational exercise under IONS, called International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) was conducted in November 2017 at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. In addition to the conduct of the exercise, an ‘Extraordinary Conclave of Chiefs (ECoC)’ meeting of IONS was also conducted. The ECoC deliberated upon activities being undertaken by IONS in-addition to reviewing the progress made by three IONS Working Groups (IWG) namely ‘HADR’, ‘Maritime Security’ & ‘Information Exchange and Interoperability’).

In its initiative to forge working-level jointmanship and interoperability among the Navies of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR ), the Indian Navy has been conducting a biennial exercise with navies of the region, called Exercise Milan, since 1995. The tenth edition in Februray 2014 was by far the largest with 17 countries participating in that. Ex. Milan is an international event aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation in anti-piracy and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations among navies in the Bay of Bengal, South East Asia and the larger Indian Ocean region.

On the economic side of IOR, we have the 20-nation IOR-ARC (Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation). Our 'Act East' policy is part of our maritime security paradigm in the IOR. ASEAN is the strong lynchpin around which the ‘Act East’ policy revolves with a strong indirect support from Singapore. Japan, for its own strategic reasons vis-à-vis China, directly and strongly supports the Indian endeavor of ‘Act East’. In December 2017, Japan inaugurated the ‘Act East Forum’ with India in New Delhi, a follow-up to the Memorandum signed between the Abe and Modi. The Act East Forum aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under the rubric of India’s "Act East Policy” and Japan’s "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.

On a global scale, we have started the Raisina Dialogue a few years back.
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Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Peregrine »

Extraordinary rendition

China seems deaf to mass protests in Hong Kong over extradition

A planned law to send alleged criminals to China sparks one of the largest demonstrations since 1997

IT IS COMMONLY said in Hong Kong that many of its 7m people have been suffering from “protest fatigue” since the failure of weeks of demonstrations and sit-ins in 2014 to persuade the government to grant the Chinese territory greater democracy. In the past week there has been clear evidence that this diagnosis is wrong. First, on June 4th, came the biggest turnout in years for the territory’s annual candle-lit vigil commemorating the crushing of the Tiananmen Square unrest thirty years ago. About 180,000 people took part, organisers said. Then, on June 9th, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest against a proposed law that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party. It may have been the biggest demonstration since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997.

Opposition to the extradition bill has been widespread, even drawing in businesspeople who normally support the government. Several senior judges have expressed concern about it. On June 6th hundreds of lawyers staged a rare protest against the legislation. Among those who took part in the massive protest three days later were political parties, student groups and church congregations. Many demonstrators wore white, a symbol of mourning. Some wore yellow, the colour adopted by the protesters in 2014. For hours they filled the streets of central Hong Kong, shouting slogans against the “evil law” and calling on the territory’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, to step down.

The demonstration was largely peaceful. But at 11pm the government issued a statement saying it would press ahead with its plans for getting the bill adopted by the Legislative Council, known as Legco (it is hoping that it will be passed before legislators begin their summer vacation in July). Seemingly in response, some of the hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside the government’s headquarters tried to force their way in. Police armed with pepper spray and batons moved in to disperse them. Several people were injured, including three police officers.

The governments in Hong Kong and Beijing say the bill will close a “loophole” which makes it impossible to send suspects to “other parts of China”. But many people fear the legislation could be abused. Even though the proposed law would not apply to people accused of political crimes, critics of the bill say China’s judiciary could secure the extradition of such people by charging them with other offences. They also say that China’s courts are so prone to political interference, and so opaque, that no suspect can be guaranteed a fair trial. The bill would apply to anyone physically in Hong Kong, including a banker on a business trip or a journalist in transit through the airport. That worries many people beyond Hong Kong itself.

The government says that it has been taking account of such criticisms. It has modified the bill to reduce the number of economic crimes to which it would apply, and to make it cover only more severe offences. It has clarified that it would not consider extradition requests from China’s provincial courts. They would need to be made by the country’s supreme court. Officials in Hong Kong say the bill would comply with Hong Kong’s human-rights standards. Some Hong Kongers are persuaded by this. A group supporting the bill says it has gathered more than 800,000 signatures.

After the demonstration, Mrs Lam denied that she was introducing the legislation at the request of the central government. Officials in Hong Kong say there is a practical reason for getting it passed now. Under the current law, a Hong Kong man who stands accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan cannot be sent back there for trial. But Taiwan says it will not ask for the suspect’s extradition under the new law. That is because the bill refers to Taiwan as part of China’s territory, which the island does not accept.

The scale of the protest will put Mrs Lam under considerable political pressure. In 2003 about half a million people took to the streets to protests against an anti-subversion bill which they feared would be used to crush dissent. The protest resulted in the shelving of the legislation and the eventual resignation of the then chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. In 2014 student-led protests led to the watering down of a plan to introduce a curriculum that would whitewash the Communist Party’s record.

But not all pressure yields results. The weeks-long protests and sit-ins later that year, known as the “Umbrella Movement”, resulted in no concessions. After the demonstration on June 9th Mrs Lam repeated her support for the bill. She is also likely to take her cue from officials in Beijing, who have expressed strong support for the legislation. In response to the demonstration, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the central government would continue to “firmly support” the administration in Hong Kong, and warned against “outside interference”. China Daily, a state-owned newspaper, accused “foreign forces” of aiming to “hurt China by trying to create havoc in Hong Kong.” Such statements do not suggest that the mood in Beijing is conciliatory.

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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by Singha »

China warns usa not interfere in hong kong
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by ricky_v »

https://www.fpri.org/article/2019/05/ch ... portunity/
In January 2018, the Chinese Communist Party put forward a Central Committee Opinion developing the idea for creating a Chinese international commercial court, aimed at servicing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) disputes. Six months later, two Chinese International Commercial Courts (CICC) were established to deal with maritime and overland trade cases with minimum claims of approximately 44.5 million USD.
The CICCs consist of a court in Shenzhen and another in Xi’an. The courts will entertain disputes if the projects meet the monetary threshold, and the disputes will be resolved in the PRC’s highest court of law, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC). It is organized as a “one-stop shop” that can hear any case the SPC deems appropriate, as long as the matter has a “significant nationwide impact,” according to the CICC establishment provisions.
Lawyers practicing in the CICCs must be licensed in China, and the working language of the court is mandarin. Its Rules of Procedure are also brief, consisting of only 40 articles based on Chinese civil procedure law instead of international arbitration rules. A convenient online system for submitting documents and payments sets the courts apart from the above-mentioned competitors.
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by siqir »

that heritage foundation goldman talk linked above was pretty good
worth watching twice for some of the tidbits

i think it shows americans fully waking up to loss of dominance

they seemed to have been much more aware back in the 70s but then probably swallowed some of their own orientalist propaganda about china

but their deep state probably made the shift in 2016 when we saw the thaad push into south korea which likely signalled to the chinese that americans were going full soviet union dissolution strategy and tactics
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Re: Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

Post by ArjunPandit »

I think it happened during Robert gates era in pentagon. He had a CRICKET: China, Russia, Iran, Korea and Terrorism
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