Month: February 2023

US to deploy more troops to Taiwan to train local army

Chin@Strategy

The Pentagon plans to quadruple the number of American troops in Taiwan and Taipei is to send a combined arms battalion to the United States, both for training purposes in the face of a growing threat from China, according to media reports. The United States will deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan to bolster a training program for the local military, a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying.  As of September 2022, the Pentagon had 39 personnel stationed in…

China aims to launch nearly 13,000 satellites to ‘suppress’ Elon Musk’s Starlink, researchers say

Chin@Strategy

Xu’s team said the GW satellite constellation was likely to be deployed quickly, “before the completion of Starlink”. This would “ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from excessively pre-empting low-orbit resources”, they wrote. The Chinese satellites could also be placed in “orbits where the Starlink constellation has not yet reached”, the researchers said, adding that they would “gain opportunities and advantages at other orbital altitudes, and even suppress Starlink”. Advertisement The Chinese satellites could be equipped with an anti-Starlink payload to…

How a Chinese cafe above a DIY store became the best place to eat in Canada

Chin@Strategy

The checkerboard floors of Vancouver’s Northern Cafe are warped, the only views are of nearby industrial warehouses, and diners waiting for a table must navigate the hazards of an active lumber yard. And yet the tottering Chinese Canadian restaurant, with its red vinyl booths and mismatched porcelain mugs, is so busy on a weekday morning that a scattered line forms between pickup trucks and forklifts. The rickety structure of the eatery, which sits above a hardware store, holds the unlikely honour of being the best place to dine Canada, according…

Year of war in Ukraine tests China’s ‘no limits’ relationship with Russia

Chin@Strategy

Few analysts expected China’s peace plan for Ukraine, which officials trailed all week, to have any concrete measures for solving the crisis. Their suspicions were correct. The position paper published by China’s foreign ministry on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion called for the “sovereignty of all countries” to be respected, without detailing what this meant for Ukraine. In each of the 12 points, the plan reiterated Chinese talking points about the conflict without offering a solution. China calls for political resolution to Russian war against Ukraine – video…

Ukraine war: The real reason for China’s charm offensive over Ukraine and Russia

Chin@Strategy

“There is an element of defiance,” said Alexander Korolev, an expert in Sino-Russian ties with the University of New South Wales. “It is signalling: ‘If things get ugly between us, I have someone to go to. Russia is not alone, which means that I will not be alone when there is a confrontation… don’t get comfortable in bullying me.’” BBC

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi scolds US, praises Russia ties at end of EU tour

Chin@Strategy

“European politicians have expressed the importance of China’s position and role in the world, and agree with China’s policy choices and development direction,” Wang said. “[They] hoped to fully restart the institutional dialogue and exchanges with China in various fields as soon as possible, and open up new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation.” Ahead of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Wang made stops in France, Italy, Hungary and Russia, while also speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last weekend. Advertisement It was Wang’s first visit…

China’s Coal Mine Accidents Rise Amid Push For Higher Production

Chin@Strategy

SINGAPORE —  A deadly coal mining collapse in China this week is one of a growing number of industry accidents over the last year, government statistics show, coinciding with Beijing’s recent push for higher production to improve energy security. At least six people were killed and 47 others are still missing two days after the dramatic collapse of an open pit coal mine in China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia, its No. 2 coal-producing province. The reasons for the collapse are still not known, and the mine owner could not…

North Korea Launches More Missiles, Blasts US for Raising Tensions

Chin@Strategy

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  North Korea said it fired four strategic cruise missiles Thursday, continuing its rapid pace of launches, as it blasted the United States and its allies for escalating military tensions. The four Hwasal-2 cruise missiles flew 2,000 kilometers in about two hours and 50 minutes before hitting a “preset target” in the sea off North Korea’s east coast, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “The drill clearly demonstrated once again the war posture of the DPRK nuclear combat force bolstering up in every way its deadly…

China Repeats Call for Cease-Fire in Ukraine and Peace Talks

Chin@Strategy

After a drum roll of diplomatic activity suggesting that China was poised to play a more energetic role in seeking peace in Ukraine, Beijing has issued a position paper that reprises its established views on the war, calling for an end to fighting while avoiding demands — or words like “invasion” — that could hurt its ties with Russia. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the paper on Friday, the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, and after China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, had visited Europe, telling a security forum…

China calls for Ukraine peace talks as it steps up engagement in the conflict

Chin@Strategy

China’s government has called for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, while urging all parties to avoid nuclear escalation and end attacks on civilians, in a statement which appeared to maintain Beijing’s stance that the west is fuelling the conflict and was dismissed as anodyne by analysts. The 12-point position paper on Ukraine was released on Friday morning, on the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, and ahead of an expected speech by Xi Jinping. The paper, for which Ukraine was not consulted, was cautiously welcomed by Kyiv, but criticised…