Day: July 25, 2023

Extradition Hearing Postponed for Pilot Accused of Illegally Training Chinese Aviators

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CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA —  A former United States military pilot’s Sydney extradition hearing on U.S. charges, including that he illegally trained Chinese aviators, was postponed Tuesday while authorities investigate the role of an Australian spy agency in his arrest. Boston-born Dan Duggan, 54, was arrested by Australian police in October near his home, in Orange, New South Wales, and has been fighting extradition to the United States. The former U.S. Marine Corps major and flying instructor maintains he has done nothing wrong and is an innocent victim of a worsening power…

Blinken Arrives in Tonga, Warns of ‘Predatory’ Chinese Aid

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Nuku’alofa, Tonga —  Antony Blinken on Wednesday became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Tonga, dedicating a new U.S. Embassy and warning South Pacific nations about the perils of “predatory” Chinese investment. As part of a drive to build Washington’s influence across the region and to counter Beijing’s growing clout, Blinken touched down in Nuku’alofa on a diplomatic charm offensive. “We’re a Pacific nation,” and “we very much see the future in the Indo-Pacific region,” Blinken told his hosts while pledging support on projects that are important to…

Fiji prime minister cancels China visit after tripping while looking at mobile phone

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Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has said he was forced to cancel an official visit to China after falling and hurting his head. The visit had been announced on Tuesday by the Chinese embassy in Fiji, which said Rabuka would attend the opening of the World University Games in Chengdu alongside the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. Rabuka, elected in December, said he had been forced to cancel the visit after tripping on the stairs while looking at this phone, resulting in an injury to his head. “I’ve just come back…

Senate Targets China, Voting to Restrict Farmland Purchases and U.S. Investment

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The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to block businesses based in China from purchasing farmland in the United States and place new mandates on Americans investing in the country’s national security industries, taking the first legislative steps of the new Congress to counter Beijing’s espionage activities and curtail its economic power. The provisions, which would need to clear the House to become law, are a far cry from more ambitious efforts to target China’s economy through export controls and undermine its intelligence gathering and influence operations in the United States…

Typhoon Doksuri Grazes the Philippines on Its Way to China

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Typhoon Doksuri, a tropical cyclone moving through the Pacific Ocean, grazed the northern Philippines on Wednesday morning and was expected to pass near Taiwan before making landfall in China later this week. As of early Wednesday morning local time, the storm was over Fuga Island in the Philippines’ Cagayan Province, the national meteorological service said in a bulletin. The agency had warned that flooding and rain-induced landslides were possible over the next three days, and urged people in some low-lying areas to evacuate. It was not immediately clear if the…

Putin Plans China Visit as a Russian Leader Joins a North Korea Celebration

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As part of Russia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with Asian allies, President Vladimir V. Putin will travel to a conference in China in October, while the defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, will join a Chinese delegation at a celebration in North Korea this week, according to Russian state news media. Mr. Putin will meet with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, to discuss bilateral trade and economic cooperation at an international forum, according to Tass, a Russian state news agency. The relationship between China and Russia has deepened during the war…

Singapore to Execute First Woman in Nearly 20 Years, Rights Groups Say

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Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted. Local rights organization Transformative Justice Collective, or TJC, said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison. A 45-year-old woman convict whom TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was…

Myanmar junta’s new banknote causes gold prices, currency value to fluctuate

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The introduction of a new banknote by Myanmar’s ruling junta has pushed up the price of gold and affected the value of the country’s currency, with shadow government officials saying the move is meant to alleviate some of the regime’s financial difficulties. The State Administration Council, the official name of the junta regime that has ruled Myanmar since seizing power in a February 2021 coup, said on Sunday that it will issue a limited number of 20,000-kyat banknotes, roughly equivalent to a US$10 bill, on the last day of this…

China’s navy includes civilian ferry in military transport drill

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Beijing has never renounced using force to unite the island with mainland China. Most countries do not regard Taiwan as an independent state, but many oppose taking the island by force. The People’s Liberation Army has been developing a “military-local logistics mechanism” to try to get supplies to front lines more efficiently. Advertisement The Chang Shan Dao can carry 1,400 people, has 2km (1.2 miles) of “driveway” for vehicles to park on and has a displacement of 23,000 tonnes, according to its state-owned operator Cosco Shipping Ferry. The PLA has…

US House passes bill to hold Chinese officials accountable for spread of fentanyl

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Tuesday’s bipartisan vote came as the US and China weigh a deal on fentanyl. According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House is considering lifting sanctions on a Chinese police forensics institute to secure Beijing’s cooperation on counter-narcotics. The two sides had revived drug control talks ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China in June, where Blinken raised synthetic opioids as a “priority”. During the visit, creating a working group for the issue was discussed. But since then, Beijing had hit back at US efforts to…