Yale Law School - Paul Tsai China Center // NYU - US-Asia Law Institute // Harvard Fairbank Center for China Studies
Boston, MA
- Tweets 10,532
- Following 524
- Followers 15,165
- Likes 5,873
U.S. refused to help Joshua Wong flee Hong Kong, sources say
… Ouch.
asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Ho…
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Australian naval divers injured after sonar pulses detected from Chinese warship
... The Chinese are stooping to a stunning level of malfeasance at sea.
smh.com.au/politics/federal/…
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China says a US Navy ship 'illegally intruded' into waters in the South China Sea
… Ridiculous. China is making up its own rules. International law is clear. The waters near Second Thomas Shoal are Philippine EEZ and high seas freedoms apply. apnews.com/article/china-us-…
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Philippines, Japan Could Soon Deploy Military Forces on Each Other’s Soil
… Extraordinary development. thedefensepost.com/2023/11/0…
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China's use of force is not about controlling Second Thomas Shoal. It is about controlling East Asia.
zerohedge.com/geopolitical/w…
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International backlash after Chinese vessel fires water cannon on Philippine boats
… The incident “escalates an already tense situation and could see the United States and its allies speed up plans for joint patrols in the waterway.”
… it’s time.
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/08/07/a…
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Canadian Exec Admits Sharing U.S. Navy Data with China
... Speechless.
scl.io/U2aoAtq
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China is Paying a High Price for Its Ban on Australian Coal
... Fascinating too that PRC leaders think bullying is a good foreign relations strategy.
gcaptain.com/china-is-paying…
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Very surprising to me that China would fly a surveillance plane so close to Japanese airspace—let alone e breach it—given the strength and persistence of Chinese objections to US surveillance flights a full 75 miles off China’s coast. asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Int…
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Solomon Islands PM rules out China military base and says Australia is ‘security partner of choice’ | Solomon Islands | The Guardian
… Sensible walk-back. theguardian.com/world/2022/j…
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Chinese Ship Suspected of Subsea Cable Sabotage Has a Twisted Anchor
… If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck… maritime-executive.com/artic…
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War in the Taiwan Strait is not unthinkable
asiatimes.com/2020/01/articl…
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@Artspeakcentral @AustralianLabor
You have the wrong Peter Dutton...I am an American.
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New U.S. Navy Secretary:
“I am going to be exclusively focused on the China threat and exclusively focused in moving our maritime strategy forward in order to protect Taiwan and all of our national security interests in the Indo-Pacific theater.”
scq.io/qHYAbhl
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1 in 5 corporations say China has stolen their IP within the last year: CNBC CFO survey
... Can we just pause to think about the impact of this for a moment?
cnb.cx/2XF8yzw
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New imported coronavirus cases hit record in China's capital
OK wait...China gives the world a virus and then blames the world for it???
reut.rs/2Qq8S2P
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This is a huge development in that it calls out China's practice and holds it up to the mirror of international treaty law and state practice. Looking forward to a very careful read.
US State Dept. today released Limits in the Seas #150 analyzing the PRC's maritime claims in the SCS with a State Practice Supplement to "evaluate the international law position of the PRC relating to territorial sea baselines and outlying archipelagos."
state.gov/wp-content/uploads…
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India Slow-Walks Customs on Chinese Goods After Border Clash ... article suggests India, which has a $50 billion trade deficit with China, may also be moving in the direction of "self-reliance" (i.e.de-coupling).
sgq.io/sBLBqVk
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This is what we get for having hollowed out our diplomatic corps. A competitive strategy requires routine presence to be effective, not just high end war fighting capabilities we hope we never need.
SCOOP – US & allies concerned that #Kiribati, Pacific island nation 3,000km from Hawaii, is negotiating a #securitydeal with #China. Comes on heels of Chinese deal with Solomon Islands, which has been a big issue in the Australian election.
ft.com/content/e2116b29-e58b…
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Brilliant thread. Watch the video, then read how he verified it.
Some want to shut down comparisons of PRC treatment of Uighers to Nazi treatment of Jews. I think there are fair parallels.
What may stand in the way of worse is exposure and world opinion. Consider retweeting.
4 days ago a video showing 3-400 detainees handcuffed & blindfolded at a train station in Xinjiang was uploaded to YouTube (piped.video/watch?v=gGYoeJ5U…)
In this thread I'll share how I've verified that this video was filmed at 库尔勒西站 (41.8202, 86.0176) on or around August 18th.
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Philippines Welcomes US Presence to Maintain Order in South China Sea
“Yes, we need the U.S. presence in Asia,” Locsin said. “ ... we need them because our whole defense posture depends on the Mutual Defense Treaty.”
Are we clear? Crystal.
rfa.org/english/news/china/p…
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The headline should have been: “Advancing American Values and Interests, Blinken Meets Representative of Dalai Lama in India”
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"A leading German university ... signed a contract binding it to abide by Chinese law while accepting hundreds of thousands of euros from China to set up a professorship to establish a Chinese teacher training programme."
Yikes.
timeshighereducation.com/new…
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Germany to Donate More Drones to Philippine Coast Guard
... "The drones will be a part of a 129-million-euro ($141 million) assistance package from Berlin and be deployed as coast guard reconnaissance capabilities in the contested region."
thedefensepost.com/2024/01/1…
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This is exactly the right policy.
Japan is developing a 10-year plan to support maritime authorities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Japanese officials are discussing provision of drones, radar, patrol boats, and trainings to the four governments. bit.ly/3SUyoy1 @NHKWORLD_English
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China has stockpiled 76 million barrels of oil since coronavirus lockdowns
... calling it a "once in a lifetime opportunity"
qz.com/1844371/
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I'm very pleased to share an article on the strengths and weaknesses of the maritime forces of the PLA-N compared to AUKUS nations, which I am honored to have co-authored with Vice Admiral (ret.) Peter Jones, RAN. It is at pp. 27-45 at the link.
(1/7)
navalinstitute.com.au/wp-con…
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“the Chinese either failed to understand or chose to ignore the region’s deep-seated fears of Russia and strong attachment to the US as the ultimate guarantor of each country’s independence.”
And a shout-out to @TheresaAFallon
publicnewstime.com/news/econ…
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Seoul sees Pyongyang’s direct participation in the conflict as a threat to ROK security, offering North Korean troops valuable battlefield experience. They also fear Moscow may share sophisticated military technologies in exchange for Pyongyang’s support.
ft.com/content/e7ca9021-1321…
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It is becoming increasingly clear XJP believes he can hold onto his markets in the West to maintain his domestic agenda while also supporting Russia to advance his geopolitical agenda.
…Our job is to make a better world by proving him wrong.
China can use Russia to build a new international order - a few thoughts from yours truly on Sino-Russian ties. Bottom line: we shouldn’t ask if trust or necessity are involved; we should ask instead how this link can deliver on Xi’s 2049 agenda. asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Chin…
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"The Communist Party understands that by the time the crisis is over, the world's order could be permanently altered. For that reason, Beijing is trying to break the link in people’s minds between China and the origins of the global pandemic."
smh.com.au/world/asia/beijin…
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No longer dependent on China for rare earths?
"The mountain contains 5 out of 6 light rare earths (such as neodymium), 10 out of 11 heavy rare earths (dysprosium, for example), and all 5 permanent magnet materials" plus lithium
forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/…
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“Chinese vessel cut across the bow of a PCG patrol ship and hosed it down with water cannons in an attempt to drive it off.”
… Yet another example of Beijing’s refusal to accept UNCLOS. The PRC should be removed from all leadership roles in UNCLOS bodies. maritime-executive.com/artic…
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Wow
"Executives say large container ships are leaving Chinese ports as little as 10% full, and sailings are being canceled as carriers brace for a financial retreat"
wsj.com/articles/chinas-ship…
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Four U.S. destroyers monitored Russian and Chinese ships on a naval patrol near Alaska
… I don’t think it’s in our interest to use terms like ‘provocative’ and ‘aggression’ in relation to this exercise. We support freedom of the seas…or we don’t. wsj.com/articles/russia-and-…
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A few of us on the Naval War College faculty developed ‘leveling’ lectures to introduce students to key elements of Chinese culture, politics, and international relations. Here is my offering: China’s Challenge: Maintaining Power, Sustaining the Rise. piped.video/aZf9E8GATFI?si=RPTN…
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Taiwan confirms anchoring of French warship off its west coast
… interesting. The location isn’t specified, but appears from the provided chart to be within 12NM of shore. If so, the anchoring is within the territorial sea. This would be significant…. focustaiwan.tw/politics/2021…
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"The US now conducts more military exercises with India than with any other non-NATO partner. More important, both countries orient their exercises ... toward the unspoken objective of countering the emerging Chinese military threat in the Indo-Pacific."
foreignaffairs.com/articles/…
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Unprecedentedly large PRC trawler fleet off the Galapagos disregards region's efforts to protect marine biodiversity.
... Oh, and the claim the PRC govt does not have control over some PRC fishing vessels because they are privately owned is pure nonsense.
scl.io/OrKtUXk
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I think some people fail to understand that the waters of the South China Sea are NOT China's waters. The South China Sea is nearly 1.5x the size of the Mediterranean. It is a huge expanse of international waters in which the warships of every country are free to operate.
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How Vietnam is using fishing boats to keep an eye on China’s military
...Are we supposed to be outraged that another country would turn China's tactics against it?
scmp.com/news/china/diplomac… via @scmpnews
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In 2020, “People in [the UK] woke up to the reality that decisions made by a government thousands of miles away could shut down their economies and their lives and...how reliant the UK is on Chinese-made products [and] what the CCP’s global ambitions are.”
qz.com/2005972/what-the-uk-c…
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Why Doesn’t China Deploy Fighter Jets to the Spratly Islands?
... Restraint? Aircraft limitations? Or crumbling infrastructure? Probably door number 3, @IanJStorey concludes.
thediplomat.com/2020/08/why-…
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Losing steam
Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi railway financed by PRC Exim Bank, built by China Road and Bridge Corp & operated by China Communications Construction Co. stopped short of completion due to China's "newfound parsimoniousness" in BRI funding.
qz.com/africa/1690454/kenyas…
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The US is taking steps towards breaking China’s rare earths monopoly
... Necessary. China is already limiting RE exports and retains the option of using further export controls as targeted sanctions.
qz.com/1969069/?utm_term=muc…
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Just finished reading @bill_hayton's book about China's attempt to emerge from a culture-empire to a modern state. Hayton artfully connects the 19th and early 20th century revolutionary movement against the Qing to the CCPs efforts today to establish the China Dream. Great read.
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China, Taiwan, and the PLA’s 2027 milestones | Lowy Institute
… Outstanding succinct analysis by expert John Culver paints the 2027!picture and it isn’t pretty. lowyinstitute.org/the-interp…
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PRC steps up its offensive in the Senkakus
... "it was unusual for the CCG ships ... to remain in the territorial waters for three days, and that it was the first time Beijing had claimed Japanese fishing activity as 'illegal'.”
japantimes.co.jp/opinion/202…
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US State Dept. today released Limits in the Seas #150 analyzing the PRC's maritime claims in the SCS with a State Practice Supplement to "evaluate the international law position of the PRC relating to territorial sea baselines and outlying archipelagos."
state.gov/wp-content/uploads…
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Yes…it’s a bad idea to superimpose Russian failures on China. They are very, very different countries (and militaries) today.
Prior to the current Russian debacle, China’s 1979 invasion on Vietnam was considered the benchmark of poor execution--35,000 KIA in 3 wks of combat. But China's goal wasn't to seize and hold territory. It was to punish the VN invasion of Cambodia.
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Vietnam Threatens China with Litigation over the South China Sea
... My aim is to shed light on this new and under-appreciate aspect of current SCS dynamics.
lawfareblog.com/vietnam-thre…
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Vietnam demands 'immediate withdrawal' of China ship in disputed sea ... Glad to see the USG called out China's 'bullying behavior.' I call it thuggery, because it includes theft. This is Vietnam's EEZ. Period.
a.msn.com/01/en-us/AAEQLLj?o…
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Congratulations to the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the 110th Anniversary of its founding. …Outstanding celebration by TECRO Boston and DG Jonathan Sun.
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Outstanding @WSJ reporting:
"What is clear is that by the 2nd week of December, several Hua’nan workers were falling sick with similar symptoms... Even at that initial stage, there were indications it was spreading ... [in] human-to-human transmission."
wsj.com/articles/how-it-all-…
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Wow...that is truly Trump-like! Sorry to hear you are burdened with such a politician too.
@peter_dutton The texts you have received were mistakenly sent after an Australian politician with same name called a journalist a mad witch
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Philippines Budgets for a Permanent Base at Second Thomas Shoal
... "“As we have learned from the constant bullying and aggression of China against Filipino fishermen ... we badly need to upgrade our capabilities in patrolling our seas."
scq.io/9ONS1rz
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My view of Pompeii’s Statement on the SCS is:
1) In a legal sense, I don't see this as quite as dramatic as some others do. In my view it makes explicit a policy which was already implicit. It has consistently been US policy that China should abide by the arbitration ruling.
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French submarine patrols South China Sea, likely angering Beijing
...”Why such a mission? To enrich our knowledge of this area and affirm that international law is the only rule that is valid, whatever the sea where we sail," French Def. Min. said .
f24.my/7LiE.T
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Why would China add a second seat to a J-20 unless it were an electronic warfare variant to accompany air attack missions? I'm surprised the article doesn't mention this possibility/probability.
airrecognition.com/index.php…
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China Suddenly Building Fleet Of Special Barges Suitable For Taiwan Landings
… “the view has been that any attempt to take the islands by force would mean landing in predictable places. These new barges change that.”
navalnews.com/naval-news/202… via @navalnewscom
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For those who believe Chinese port ownership translates into naval power projection capacity, this demonstrates the contrary ... 👇🏻
Report: Sri Lanka Imposes One-Year Port Ban on Chinese Research Vessels
sgq.io/zFLfl7l
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Beijing has a navy it doesn't even admit exists, experts say. And it's swarming parts of the South China Sea
@AndrewSErickson,
@KennedyMaritime, and
@rdmartinson88 are all over this. Preach it boys!
cnn.com/2021/04/12/china/chi…
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"Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong declared on Friday that it is not subject to Basic Law restrictions that bar central government departments from interfering in local affairs."
...Beijing ignoring treaty obligations. Again.
news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone…
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Germany's Halfway Strategy: Thoughts on the German Naval Deployment to Asia
"Unlike...the US the German strategy does not single out Beijing as the main problem [in Asia]. Instead, it sees a future regional security order that is inclusive of China." 1/10
rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication…
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China's Rare Earth Monopoly is Diminishing
... If you want proof that 1) PRC behavior in the wake of the 2010 ECS collision crisis prompted lasting effects contrary to PRC interests, and 2) the PRC wasted a strategic ace, well ... here it is.
statista.com/chart/18278/glo…
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I have to applaud Vietnam's determination to protect what international law says belongs to them. At the very least, China should make plain the basis of its claim and let the world judge.
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Chinese military officials in recent months have repeatedly asserted that the Taiwan Strait isn’t international waters during meetings with US counterparts, generating concern within the Biden administration
...Such assertions are absurd. 🧵
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Huawei: 'Clear evidence of collusion' with Chinese Communist Party
... Huawei "engaged in a variety of intelligence, security, and intellectual property activities" despite its repeated denials bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54…
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So…it appears I should conclude China is getting in the habit of saying no to ship visits and Vietnam is getting in the habit of saying yes.
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China officials run for cover as Xi Jinping prepares another brutal purge
...Palace intrigue.
asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Pic…
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Australia buys ‘potent and powerful’ sea mines to deter China
…Does this mark the significant shift I think it does?
Short 🧵
smh.com.au/politics/federal/…
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Taiwan’s Overall Defense Concept
"deter the PLA and, if necessary, defeat a full-scale PLA invasion. The 3 pillars of its concept of operations are force protection, decisive battle in the littoral zone, and destruction of the enemy at the landing beach."
thediplomat.com/2020/11/taiw…
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The West, “underestimated the resilience, resourcefulness, and ruthlessness of the CCP, misjudged the depths of its resolve to retain domestic political power, and failed to recognize the extent and seriousness of its revisionist international ambitions.”
washex.am/3mWzCYO
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Outstanding
Today #AusNavy frigate HMAS Toowoomba & Philippine Navy vessels BRP Gregorio del Pilar & Davao Del Sur conducted the 1st bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity in the EEZ of the Philippines to enhance @teamAFP & #YourADF interoperability in maritime security & domain awareness.
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Palau leader calls on U.S. for help over Chinese ships in its waters
..."called for help from the U.S., Japan and other allies over concerns about "uninvited" Chinese vessels entering its waters, as Washington and Beijing vie for regional influence."
asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Pic…
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What Africans really think about China’s role in Africa
1) a majority still prefers the US over China as a development model
2) but China’s influence is still largely seen as positive
3) though they worry their countries have borrowed too much from China
qz.com/africa/1936504/?utm_t…
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Editor-in-chief of The Economist after her recent trip to Beijing: “It is clear to me China is no longer a one party state. It is a one man state.” podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
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Japan has a plan to challenge China’s influence in Africa
Abe pledged "Japan’s private sector will invest $20 billion over 3 years in Africa [and Japan's govt will offer] 'limitless support' for investment, innovation, enterprise, and entrepreneurship."
qz.com/africa/1700181/
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China wants a new world order. At the U.N., NGOs secretly paid cash to promote Beijing’s vision.
...Meanwhile, Chinese money is being spread around the UN to bribe officials
ARE WE PAYING ATTENTION TO BEIJING'S INFLUENCE OPERATIONS???
yahoo.com/news/china-wants-n…
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Step by step a transAtlantic supply and demand chain in REEs is developing, but “China [still] accounts for 60% and 87% of global rare earths mining and processing” and a substantial majority of the demand. qz.com/the-west-is-rebuildin…
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"Japan will make a fresh attempt to expand TPP to include more Asian economies, such as Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines, after the new coronavirus exposed the risks of supply chains overly dependent on China."
asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Int…
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Indonesia issues protest to Beijing over Chinese vessel trespassing in Natuna
... Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia would benefit individually and collectively from simultaneous UNCLOS arbitration filings and applications to ITLOS for provisional measures.
bit.ly/2QcuRef
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Indonesia Urges Philippines to Buy Anti-Submarine Aircraft
... Very interesting to see emerging defense cooperation among SE Asian states. If it continues to develop, it could eventually make a real difference in the SCS. thedefensepost.com/2024/01/1… via @defensepost
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The incident marks the second time in less than a year a Vietnamese fishing vessel has been reportedly sunk near the Chinese-controlled Paracels.
... The PRC version sounds suspiciously like the claim a US P-3 flew into a Chinese jet.
scmp.com/news/china/military…
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Orwellian use of Chinese social credit scored leaves disappeared actress with a zero score...
“Report stressed that celebrities had to do more to promote "positive energy" and hinted that they needed to be more aware of behaviour” bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-ch…
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This is under-appreciated in some quarters:
Taiwan received an overall 2020 EIU Democracy Index score of 8.94 out of 10 making it the 11th strongest democracy globally, behind New Zealand (4) and Australia (9), ahead of Japan (21) and South Korea (23).
taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit…
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The Role of the Arctic in Chinese Naval Strategy
... Superb piece by @rdmartinson88. My view: the poles are more than a a component of the PLA's long term strategy. They are the keys to understanding it.
jamestown.org/program/the-ro…
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This really is superb work.
The Chinese say 'offshore archipelagoes' are not covered by the baselines provisions of UNCLOS. They its a matter of state practice and customary law.
... Utter nonsense. But they will ignore the law like they did the arbitration.
China has said it plans to draw straight baselines around the Spratly Islands, declaring much of the SCS its internal waters. AMTI maps out several models for these future baselines and examines how each would measure up to international law. cs.is/2Tnv7VS
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Lawmakers implore Trump administration to sanction China over abuse of Muslims ... I am astonished at how many people still don’t know about this. The issue deserves all the attention it can get. *Please retweet* cbsnews.com/news/us-lawmaker…
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US NAVATT Beijing: "A Peek into China's CMC Joint Battle Command Center."...Shows why Indo-Pacific has become a thing
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The significance of the news that Malaysia made a second submission (its first was in 2009 jointly with Vietnam) to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to define its continental shelf rights in the SCS should not be overlooked.
un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/su…
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Brilliant job by @rajfortyseven describing China’s fortress (so much more than a mere base) in Djibouti. theprint.in/security/china-m…
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Not the main thrust of this article, but it notes that PRC flights into Taiwan’s ADIZ (ie, across the median line) have become routine. That’s the point…they establish a new and more threatening normal. Flights up to the contiguous zone are next.
zerohedge.com/military/us-ar…
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Opinion | The secret planning that kept the White House a step ahead of Russia
...Fascinating piece demonstrating the value of goo diplomacy...and good diplomats. washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
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Tanzania to revive $10bn Indian Ocean port project with China
…”Beijing…believed that the country could serve as the main gateway to China -- where resources could be brought from across the continent and loaded onto ships headed for the mainland.”
asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Int…
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The possibility that China’s power has peaked is not the same as the possibility that Chinese military power has peaked. I don’t believe the latter. China may well continue to use a higher % of its resources for military purposes.
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Russian, Chinese warships hold first joint patrols in the Pacific
… 10 ships operating together passed through Japan’s Tsugaru and Osumi straits this week. Lawful, but unnecessary, and therefore designed to send an even more pointed signal.
reuters.com/world/russian-ch…
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