Day: March 14, 2023

Honduras looks to formal ties with Beijing, a move set to further isolate Taiwan

Chin@Strategy

“We have time and again told Honduras Taiwan is a true and reliable partner of its allies, and our government will assist Honduras to exercise its national development projects in every possible way within our capability,” it said. “China’s sole purpose of developing ties with Honduras is to squeeze our international space. In its cooperation with Honduras, it has no true intention to promote the well-being of the general public in Honduras,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said, adding that Honduras should refrain from making any decision that would hurt long-time relations…

US Intelligence Officials See China Preparing for Fight ‘They Don’t Want’

Chin@Strategy

Washington —  China’s growing pessimism over relations with the United States has Beijing preparing for a war it would rather not fight, according to an assessment by a top U.S. defense intelligence official. The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) China Mission Group on Tuesday warned that the U.S. and China are likely entering an “increasingly confrontational period,” with Beijing ever more willing to assert itself in multiple ways. “It’ll manifest itself pretty much across the spectrum – every warfighting domain in every sphere of diplomatic, informational, economic, commercial,”…

Honduras to switch ties from Taiwan to China, says president

Chin@Strategy

Honduras President Xiomara Castro says she has instructed her foreign minister to bring about the opening of official relations with China, a move that would end its ties with Taiwan. Castro made the statement on Twitter on Tuesday. The leader of the Central American country had floated the idea of cutting ties with Taiwan and starting relations with China during her electoral campaign, but said in January 2022 that she hoped to maintain ties with Taiwan. Castro said in the tweet the decision was “a sign of my determination to…

Are China’s Resurgent Economic Cooperatives Preparation for Invading Taiwan?

Xueli Wang & Jianli Yang

A ghost that Chinese people are both familiar with and fearful of—a state-controlled supply and marketing system— has recently returned to the forefront of their minds. On Oct. 23, 2022, one day after the closing of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th National Congress, China’s central authorities announced the 2023 civil service exams, where the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives is planning to significantly expand by recruiting more young people.  In November 1949, after finally cementing control of China after decades of civil war, the CCP set up the Central Cooperative…

Those worried about Australia’s sovereign capability under Aukus miss the point. That ship has sailed | Bec Strating

Chin@Strategy

The Aukus pact has revealed its long-awaited plan that would make Australia the seventh member of an exclusive club of nuclear-propulsion states. Aukus is, we’re told, a high-risk endeavour but one that will yield potentially high rewards in terms of Australia’s ability to defend its sovereign interests and shape the regional security environment. Indeed, it reflects Australia’s anxieties about the changing security environment in Asia, especially concerning a rising China, and its willingness to step into the role of a “regional power”. China’s own naval capabilities are growing: the People’s…

Australia news live: Victorian energy prices to jump almost a third as Bowen calls on Coalition to ‘look in the mirror’

Chin@Strategy

From 1h ago Chris Bowen throws back to Coalition on energy price rises The energy minister is borrowing a turn of phrase out of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech when asked about the Coalition’s suggestion that capping coal and gas prices will, in the longer run, increase prices. Chris Bowen: I invite the Coalition to have a look in the mirror. I mean, he had the independent energy regulator this morning pointing out that without the intervention, the price rises would have been closer to 50%. An intervention that Mr Dutton…

China’s Digital Silk Road, Advancing Technology’s Reach

Chin@Strategy

From 5G infrastructure to mobile phones and more, Chinese technologies are used in many parts of the world. It’s part of China’s Digital Silk Road initiative, which is getting mixed reviews: welcomed by some countries, while others are assessing the potential risks of Chinese technology. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee explains. Camera: Henry Ridgwell, Adam Greenbaum VOA

UN Security Council Urged to Refer Myanmar to International Criminal Court

Chin@Strategy

bangkok —  Human rights activists are pushing for the United Nations Security Council to refer Myanmar junta officials to the International Criminal Court, citing what the activists say are ongoing abuses in the Southeast Asian nation. The comments coincided with a Security Council meeting Monday on the Myanmar crisis. Human Rights Watch said in a statement that more concrete action needs to be taken against the junta, which seized power more than two years ago, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military coup sparked mass…

Aukus submarine deal: Is conflict with China getting closer?

Chin@Strategy

Militarily, China today is a force to be reckoned with. In recent years its People’s Liberation Army has made enormous strides in technology and innovation as well as numbers. China’s Dong Feng hypersonic missiles, for example, can travel at speeds in excess of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound), armed with either a high explosive or nuclear warhead. This is giving the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan, pause for thought as to just how close it is prepared to risk sailing to China’s massed missile…

Volkswagen Will Invest $193 Billion in Electric Cars and Software

Chin@Strategy

Volkswagen said on Tuesday that it would spend $193 billion on software, battery factories and other investments as it aimed to make every fifth vehicle it sold electric by 2025. The automaker, the world’s second biggest after Toyota, will also focus on expanding its presence in North America, where it has struggled for years, and becoming more competitive in China, one of its most important markets, said Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive. Mr. Blume laid out a 10-point plan for helping Volkswagen pivot to electric vehicles, a path it began…