Month: January 2024

South Korea’s birth rate has become a national emergency

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a professor of law at Seoul National University South Korea has beaten its own record once again. The country has registered a new low in its already faltering birth rate. The rate for 2023 was just 0.72. This is an unprecedented number in the global community (the average for OECD countries was 1.58 in 2021). At the current pace, the South Korean population will be halved by…

US National Security Advisor, China’s Top Foreign Policy Official Met in Thailand

Media Library

On January 26 and 27, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Bangkok, Thailand. (Wang is also the foreign minister, but was identified in the official readout using his other, higher-ranking title, as that office is considered to counterpart of the U.S. national security advisor post.)  According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang and Sullivan “had candid, substantive and productive strategic communication on implementing the common understandings reached between the two heads of state at…

Analysts: UN Rights Review Shows Limits of China’s Global Influence Campaign

Media Library

Taipei, Taiwan —  China’s human rights record faced rare public scrutiny at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva last week, and while Beijing was able to lobby some countries from the Global South to praise human rights conditions in the country, analysts and advocates say its charm offensive has had a limited effect. “A lot of governments issued friendly recommendations to China during last week’s Universal Periodic Review [UPR] in Geneva, which demonstrated China’s influence, but despite the enormous pressure that many developing countries feel [from Beijing,] there were…

China’s J-10CE vs Eurofighter Typhoon: jets face off in Pakistan-Qatar air drills

Media Library

Military influencers and bloggers, in particular, celebrated an unverified claim that the J-10CE prevailed over the Typhoon in all nine drills against each other. The J-10CE is the export variant of the J-10C, a jet made by state-owned Avic Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group). The upgraded J-10C had its first public outing in the Middle East with an appearance at the Dubai Airshow in November, and has been on display at military trade shows since then. Pakistan received its first batch of J-10CEs in 2022, assigning them to the No 15…

US ‘not looking for a war with Iran’ after deadly attack, White House says

Media Library

Washington said it was “not looking for a war with Iran” on Monday, as Tehran distanced itself from an attack that killed three US soldiers. A day after blaming “radical Iran-backed militant groups” for the drone strike on a military base in north-east Jordan, the White House said it was not seeking to escalate the conflict in the region. “We are not looking for a war with Iran,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s Today Show. But he added: “We’ll keep looking at the options . . . We want these…

China in the Red Sea: Beijing’s Houthi Connection 

Media Library

Since the Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea last year, China’s response has followed its established pattern of apparent non-intervention. However, unlike other countries, Chinese ships seem to be enjoying greater freedom and security when passing through the area. This seems to be due to several factors, including China’s relationship with the Houthis since 2016. Still, there are obvious limits to this approach, the extent of which will become more apparent as the conflict progresses. China appears to be uniquely shielded from disruption in the Red Sea.…

Apprehensions in India as Chinese Survey Ship Heads to Maldives  

Media Library

New Delhi —  A Chinese research ship due to dock in the Maldives has raised apprehensions in India, where concerns have been growing about the potential military use of the data collected by such vessels. The Maldives foreign ministry said last week that it has given permission to the ship, Xiang Yang Hong 3, following a request by China to “make a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment.” It said the ship will not be conducting any research in Maldivian waters. The announcement comes at a time when…

Tesla, Porsche chip in as Shanghai seeks to fix ‘sore point’ for foreign firms with 3-tier cross-border data flow rules

Media Library

Analysts welcomed the move, but said the central government still needs to get involved in systemically addressing and rectifying a slew of gripes faced by foreign firms, ranging from data management to national security law compliance. China’s rose-tinted growth scrutinised through jaundiced eyes of wary foreigners Under the proposals, data within Shanghai’s Lingang free-trade zone in Pudong district would be categorised into three types. “General data” can be transferred overseas freely, while “important data” can also be shared, having passed a security review by the city’s cyberspace administration. “Core data”,…

China’s advanced mast technology could give Fujian aircraft carrier the edge over USS Gerald R. Ford

Media Library

But there is another point of difference: their masts. 02:17 China airs footage of Fujian aircraft carrier featuring advanced catapult launch system China airs footage of Fujian aircraft carrier featuring advanced catapult launch system The Ford’s “island” – or command centre – has a towering mast with an array of antennas and sensors. However, those antennas go almost unseen on the Fujian. Its island is enclosed in a grey composite material, a minimalist design seen in many of the Chinese navy’s latest warships, including the Type 055 destroyer. The principles…