April 13, 2023 – Chin@Strategy

In Afghanistan, China to stay focused on trade ties, Taliban counterterrorism efforts: analyst

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

It also condemned the US sanctions on Afghanistan – imposed after the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021 as the last of the American troops withdrew. China opposes “external interference and infiltration” to influence Afghanistan, the paper said. According to Zhu, economic ties and counterterrorism remained the dominant concerns for Beijing, with the position paper offering a “systematic integration” of its previously stated stance on Afghanistan. Advertisement “China’s focus on Afghanistan is still mainly on economic cooperation, especially … the Belt and Road Initiative and on counterterrorism issues,” he said.…

North Korea Touts Test of New Solid-Fuel ICBM

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea said it had tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile that uses solid fuel – a claim that, if confirmed, would give Pyongyang the ability to conduct quicker and more unpredictable launches that target the United States. The official Korean Central News Agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the Thursday launch of the Hwasong-18 missile, which it said would dramatically improve the country’s strategic deterrence and nuclear counterattack posture. Kim “expressed great satisfaction over the miraculous success” of the test, KCNA reported,…

Growing Number of Migrants From China Arriving at US-Mexico Border

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

Li Xiaosan and his teenage son recently arrived in the United States from China. They are among a growing number of Chinese migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 4,366 migrants from China encountered Border Patrol officials after crossing the southern border without authorization from October 2022 to February 2023. That compares with the 421 migrants who were encountered during the same period in 2021 and 2022. Xiaosan told VOA’s Mandarin Service that he and his 16-year-old son traveled for more than…

Taliban, China, Russia Foreign Ministers Attend Huddle on Afghanistan

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

ISLAMABAD — Uzbekistan hosted a conference Thursday of foreign ministers of regional countries, including Russia and China, to review the situation and cooperation with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The meeting in the Uzbek city of Samarkand came as the United Nations reviews its presence in the strife-torn South Asian nation after the radical Taliban barred female staff from working for the world body, the latest in a series of curbs placed on Afghan women. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi attended Thursday’s huddle with counterparts from Russia and six immediate neighbors of…

Women’s Tennis to End Boycott, Resume Tournaments in China

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

The Women’s Tennis Association will resume operations in China this year, it said on Thursday, ending a stance taken in 2021 to suspend tournaments in the country because of concerns over the safety of former doubles player Peng Shuai. The WTA had received widespread praise for suspending its tournaments in the country after Peng said in a now deleted 2021 social media post that a senior former Chinese government official had sexually assaulted her. Peng then briefly disappeared from public view and later denied making the accusation, sparking an international…

The dove or the dog: China makes peace while baring teeth

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

Suspicion in the West has resulted in stronger defence alliances like Aukus and the Quad, and moves to restrict China’s access to advanced technology. In March, Mr Xi accused “Western countries led by the US” of “containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country’s development”. BBC

Indonesia Police Kill 2 Suspected Jemaah Islamiyah Militants

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian counterterrorism police fatally shot two men suspected of ties to Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked group blamed for a string of bombings, police said Thursday. The two men, identified only by their initials, BA and ZK, were killed Wednesday in a shootout with police during a raid in Lampung, a province at the southern tip of Sumatra island, said Aswin Siregar, the spokesperson of the squad, known as Densus 88. An officer was seriously injured in the shootout and was hospitalized, he said. Siregar said at a…

China Warns of Rocket Debris in Area Northeast of Taiwan

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

taipei, taiwan — China’s local maritime authorities have issued a warning for possible rocket debris in waters northeast of Taiwan, saying ships would be banned from entering the area on April 16. Southern Fujian province’s Maritime Safety Administration said that vessels would be prohibited from entering the waters from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on that day, according to a press release on Thursday. The announcement comes after China held large-scale military drills that formally ended Monday in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s transit visit last week to the…

Tibetan official says video of Dalai Lama with boy showed his usual jovialness

April 13, 2023 Chin@Strategy

The leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile defended the Dalai Lama on Thursday, telling reporters that video footage of the Tibetan Buddhist leader kissing a boy and asking him to “suck my tongue” was likely promoted online by pro-Chinese sources. “It needs no explanation as to who would gain from maligning the image, the reputation and the legacy of His Holiness,” said Penpa Tsering, the head of the India-based Central Tibetan Administration. “Considering the scale and extent of the orchestrated smear campaign, the political angle of this incident cannot be ignored.”…