Day: March 1, 2023

Taiwan Reports Second Day of Large Chinese Incursion Into its Air Defense Zone

Chin@Strategy

TAIPEI —  Taiwan reported on Thursday a second day of large-scale Chinese air force incursions into its air defense identification zone, with its defense ministry saying that over 24 hours it had spotted 21 aircraft, amid Beijing’s military pressure campaign. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has complained for the past three years or so of stepped-up Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims. China has said its activities in the area are justified as it seeks to defend its territorial…

Vo Van Thuong sworn-in as Vietnam’s new president

Chin@Strategy

Vietnam’s National Assembly has elected Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president signaling an increased focus on stamping out corruption at all levels of the communist party. All but one of the 488 legislators voted to pick the veteran party member to serve out the rest of the 2021-2026 term, at an extraordinary session in Hanoi Thursday. “I will be absolutely loyal to the fatherland, the people and the constitution of the Socialist republic of Vietnam, striving to fulfill the tasks assigned by the party, the state and the…

Tesla Offers a New ‘Master Plan’ but Few Big Revelations

Chin@Strategy

Tesla said on Wednesday that it would build a factory in Mexico to manufacture an electric vehicle that would be significantly more affordable than any of the cars it sold now. But the company disappointed investors who were expecting it to make big announcements about new products and strategies. Shareholders and analysts had expected Tesla to reveal information that would clarify how the company would retain its crown as the world’s dominant maker of electric vehicles in the face of energetic competition from established carmakers and relatively younger Chinese manufacturers.…

Calls grow in Canada for inquiry into alleged election interference by China

Chin@Strategy

Canadian opposition parties stepped up their push for a broad public inquiry into alleged foreign election interference, particularly by China, a move that Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau has not yet endorsed. Recent media reports have alleged ongoing Chinese interference in Canada’s elections, with Trudeau this week denying one article saying his office was told by Canada’s spy agency to drop a Chinese Canadian candidate in 2019 because of his ties to Beijing. Canada’s main opposition party called for an independent and public inquiry, headed by a commissioner who is…

Burmese Workers Returning to Jobs at Chinese Border City

Chin@Strategy

washington —  Almost two months after the Myanmar-China border crossing between Muse and the Chinese city of Ruili opened, an average of more than 3,000 people make the crossing each day, most of them heading to jobs in China, according to official figures. As Chinese authorities lift pandemic-era restrictions, crossing into Ruili requires just “a 48-hour negative nucleic acid report and a valid entry-exit certificate to pass the customs,” Maung Win, a foreign trader from Myanmar told Chinese state-run media. “It is very convenient to go back and forth.” The…

Ukraine Reinforces Embattled Bakhmut, but Mission Is Unclear

Chin@Strategy

Ukraine is sending reinforcements to the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, leading more troops into a bloody crucible that has already cost both sides staggering losses, where Russian forces have gradually tightened their grip. A Ukrainian deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said Wednesday that her government had begun deploying new fighters to Bakhmut, site of the most protracted battle of the war, but she did not say how many were being sent. More critically, Ms. Maliar, speaking on Ukrainian television, did not say what their role would be, in a…

North Korea’s Kim Demands More Farmland to Boost Food Production

Chin@Strategy

Seoul, South Korea —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up the seventh enlarged plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Central Committee on Wednesday. The meeting began on Sunday to discuss the “urgent” task of improving the agricultural sector. South Korea has warned of…

Myanmar junta sentences nearly 2,400 people in February alone

Chin@Strategy

Myanmar’s military junta sentenced almost 2,400 people to prison terms in February, more than doubling the number of prisoners it sentenced since taking power in the 2021 coup to nearly 4,700. Statistics from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP, showed that between the coup and Jan. 31, 2023, the junta had sentenced 2,299 people, but in February 2023 alone, it sentenced 2,384. According to the reports of the AAPP, in a single day on February 13, a record number of 1,293 people were arrested and 1,274 people…

Reports: Canada Found, Retrieved Chinese Spy Buoys in Arctic

Chin@Strategy

washington —  Months before a Chinese spy balloon drifted across Alaska and Canada, the Canadian military discovered and retrieved Chinese spy buoys in the Arctic, a region of long interest to Beijing. The Chinese buoys were monitoring U.S. submarines and the melting of ice sheets. Retired Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Lieutenant-General Michael Day said the buoys would likely have been used to monitor U.S. nuclear submarine traffic in the Arctic, and for mapping seabeds and ice thickness. Beijing is eyeing the possibility of reducing shipping costs by traveling through Arctic…

Explainer: what is China’s ‘two sessions’ gathering, and why does it matter?

Chin@Strategy

China’s annual “two sessions” meetings begin on Saturday, with major reforms and government appointments expected, as well as the final formalisation of Xi Jinping’s precedent-busting third term as China’s leader. What is the ‘two sessions’? The event is called the “two sessions” because both the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) hold their annual meetings separately, but at the same time. The CPPCC is an advisory body, and the 3,000-member NPC is the CCP’s legislative body, but is largely a “rubber stamping” parliament. Its…