If an ambassador’s job is to win friends and influence people, Shingo Yamagami has done plenty of that. But Japan’s departing envoy to Australia has also lost friends and alienated others during his two years and four months in Australia. One former diplomat describes him as “an entertaining player but prone to kicking own-goals”. The Chinese ambassador, Xiao Qian, is firmly in the “not a fan” category – he has accused Yamagami of running a deliberate public campaign to sabotage China-Australia relations. Prime minister Anthony Albanese and Shingo Yamagami after…
Month: April 2023
North Korea orders citizens to read 10,000 pages of propaganda this year
North Korea is ordering citizens to read 10,000 pages of propaganda this year to foster loyalty among the populace – and combat “reactionary” South Korean popular culture – but sources told Radio Free Asia that the people know that the government wants to brainwash them. The 10,000-page reading campaign is a rehash of a 1960s policy enacted by leader Kim Jong Un’s father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, who at that time was a high-ranking government official when his father Kim Il Sung ruled the country. Sources said that the…
Taiwan detects mainland Chinese combat drones circling the island ‘for the first time’
“The PLA has flown drones into Taiwan airspace before, but this is the first time drones were deployed to circle the entire island,” Lu said. “Such an operation is not only a ‘lucrative strategy’ to harass Taiwanese forces, but also a low-cost tactic to create real threats to Taiwan’s 24-nautical mile sea and air limit.” Advertisement Lu said the PLA drones flew much slower than fighter jets, making it very difficult for the island’s air force to scramble warplanes to monitor or expel them. It also made it much more…
Pakistan’s Army Chief Visits China to Deepen Ties
Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan’s Chief of the Army, General Asim Munir, is in China on a four-day official visit where he is holding meetings with the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army to discuss military cooperation between the two countries. Munir met with Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, where the Chinese official described the relationship between the two countries as consistent. “No matter how the international situation changes, China always gives Pakistan priority in its neighborhood diplomacy,” Zhang said, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.…
India Says Normal China Ties Depend on Resolving Border Dispute
NEW DELHI — India and China disagreed during a meeting of their defense ministers Thursday on the importance of restoring peace along their disputed border to developing bilateral ties. India called such restoration key to developing the ties, while China sees the border situation as largely stable, the respective governments said in statements issued after the meeting. The meeting, between Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, was held in New Delhi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization defense ministers’ meeting Friday. This was…
US seizure of oil vessel triggered Iran tanker capture
US authorities ordered a tanker of Iranian crude oil to redirect towards the US in recent days, in a move officials believe was the trigger for Iran’s decision to capture a US-bound tanker on Thursday. Three people briefed on the situation said the US had redirected a ship loaded with Iranian crude, originally destined for China, as Washington looks to step up enforcement of sanctions on Tehran. They said the US Department of Justice seized the tanker, the Suez Rajan, under a court order with co-operation from at least one…
China Flies Fighter Jets Around Taiwan
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Friday 38 Chinese fighter jets and one TB-001 drone aircraft have circled the island. Nineteen of the aircraft flew across the midline that separates the island of Taiwan from mainland China, according to the ministry. The TB-001 is one of China’s largest drones. The display of China’s aircraft might is one of the largest it has mounted. China’s aircraft displays are widely thought to be China’s way of attempting to intimidate Taiwan. In April, China launched a large aircraft display following Taiwan President Tasi Ing-wen’s meeting…
India accuses China of aggressions amid border stalemate
India’s defence minister has accused China of border aggressions that that have “eroded the entire basis” of their relationship, as negotiations between the two nuclear powers remain at a stalemate. On Thursday, China’s defence minister Li Shangfu landed in Delhi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. It is the first visit to India by a Chinese minister since 2020, when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in clashes along the Himalayan border in Ladakh and the two sides came the closest to war for almost 70 years. Since…
‘Dangerous manoeuvres’ in China and Philippines’ cat-and-mouse sea chase
Throughout the 1,670km (1,038-mile) journey of two Philippine Coast Guard ships over six days, news cameras captured how – on cue and in specific locations – Chinese ships would shadow or tail the Filipinos, and send them radio warnings to leave or face “consequences”. The Philippine Coast Guard said it had invited journalists to join their routine patrol in the hotly-contested waters for the first time to witness China’s actions for themselves. BBC
Philippines and Taiwan disclose China maritime and drone incursions
The Philippines and Taiwan have disclosed new details about recent coercive Chinese actions in nearby waters and airspace, as both countries push back against Beijing’s use of its growing military capabilities to enforce its territorial claims. The Philippine coast guard said on Friday that aggressive moves by Chinese naval and coast guard vessels caused a “confrontation” with two of its ships during a week-long patrol in the disputed South China Sea. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported that a TB-001 drone circumnavigated the country’s main island in the 24-hour period to…