Day: June 3, 2023

China rebukes west over military moves after close call in Taiwan Strait

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China has warned western militaries to stay out of waters and airspace near its borders if they want to avoid dangerous run-ins with the People’s Liberation Army, highlighting the growing risks of unintended conflict as geopolitical competition grows. The blunt message from General Li Shangfu, China’s new defence minister, followed a near collision between Chinese and US warships in international waters on Saturday. A Chinese ship cut directly ahead of a US vessel, which was sailing through the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian warship. “Why does this all happen near…

China rebukes west’s military moves after close call in Taiwan Strait

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China has warned western militaries to stay out of waters and airspace near its borders if they want to avoid dangerous run-ins with the People’s Liberation Army, highlighting the growing risks of unintended conflict as geopolitical competition grows. The blunt message from General Li Shangfu, China’s new defence minister, followed a near collision between a Chinese and a US warship in international waters on Saturday. The Chinese ship cut directly ahead of the US vessel, which was sailing through the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian warship. “Why does this all…

China rebukes west for military moves near its waters after close call in Taiwan Strait

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China has warned western militaries to stay out of waters and airspace near its borders if they want to avoid dangerous run-ins with the People’s Liberation Army, putting on display the growing risks of unintended conflict as geopolitical competition grows. The blunt message from General Li Shangfu, China’s new defence minister, followed a near collision between a Chinese and a US warship in international waters on Saturday. The Chinese vessel cut directly ahead of the American one as it was transiting the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian warship. “Why does…

China set to account for less than half of US’s low-cost imports from Asia

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China will soon account for less than half of the US’s low-cost imports from Asia for the first time in more than a decade, new data has shown, as western companies shift operations out of the country. According to an annual reshoring index from Kearney, the Chicago-based management consulting firm, US efforts to reduce reliance on China, as well as price-sensitive American buyers, are driving trade towards lower-cost alternatives in Asia. “By the end of 2023, China’s portion of US imports” from low-cost Asian countries, which excludes Japan and South…

Li Shangfu: China’s defence minister at Shangri-La Dialogue warns of ‘cold war mentality’ in digs at US

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China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, has said a cold war mentality is resurgent in the Asia-Pacific region, but Beijing seeks dialogue over confrontation. The remarks came after Li refused to formally meet the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Speaking at the dialogue, Asia’s top security summit, on Sunday, Li took thinly veiled digs at the US, repeating familiar grievances and accusing “some countries” of intensifying an arms race and interfering in the internal affairs of others. “A cold war mentality is now resurgent, greatly…

Shangri-La Dialogue: Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu accuses US of double standards in veiled attack

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They include opposition to unilateral sanctions and the use of economic development to stem instability and conflict. China has accused the US of using sanctions without getting United Nations approval, but Beijing has imposed unofficial retaliatory trade embargoes on Australia, Canada, Lithuania, South Korea and Taiwan. Advertisement “We in China believe that the key for countries to live in harmony is mutual respect and treating each other as equals,” he said. “We are strongly opposed to imposing one’s own will on others, placing one’s own interests above those of others…

Japan inflation will drive savers back to the stock market, says exchange chief

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Inflation is pushing Japan into a new era that could lift equities by spurring more households to move savings out of low-yielding bank deposits, the head of the country’s stock exchange operator has said.  Hiromi Yamaji, president of the JPX group that controls the Tokyo and Osaka exchanges, said he expected many Japanese to stop sitting on so much cash — the country’s households have amassed ¥1 quadrillion ($7tn) in bank savings — and look to stock markets for better returns in response to rising living costs. “They can feel…

US, Canadian Warships Sail Through Taiwan Strait

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TAIPEI —  U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, both navies said, in a joint mission through the sensitive waterway that separates self-ruled Taiwan from China. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory — vowing to take it one day, by force if necessary — and has in recent years ramped up military and political pressure on the island. The U.S. 7th Fleet said its destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Montreal were “conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit June 3 (local time)…

Richard Marles meets Gen Li Shangfu, as Chinese defence minister refuses formal meeting with US counterpart

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Australian defence minister Richard Marles has met his Chinese counterpart and called for “safe and professional interactions” between military planes and ships in the Indo-Pacific region. Marles is also believed to have raised concerns about the ongoing detention of Australian citizens and human rights issues during talks with China’s defence minister, Gen Li Shangfu, at a regional security summit in Singapore. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue late on Saturday, was notable in large part because Li Shangfu had refused to have a formal meeting with…

North Korea Slams UN Meeting on Satellite Launch

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  North Korea denounced the U.N. Security Council for holding a meeting on its recent satellite launch upon “robbery demands” from the U.S., vowing to continue rejecting sanctions and taking “self-defensive” action, state media KCNA said Sunday. The U.S. called for a Security Council meeting last week to discuss North Korea’s attempt to put its first spy satellite in orbit, which ended in failure with the booster and payload plunging into the sea. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a powerful…