Tag: People’s Liberation Army (China)

Leaked Files Show the Secret World of China’s Hackers for Hire

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A cache of documents from a Chinese security firm working for Chinese government agencies showed an extensive effort to hack many foreign governments and telecommunications firms, particularly in Asia, as well as targets of the country’s domestic surveillance apparatus. The documents, which were posted to a public website last week, revealed an eight-year effort to target databases and tap communications in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and elsewhere in Asia. The files also revealed a campaign to monitor closely the activities of ethnic minorities in China and online…

Dismissals Point to Xi JInping’s Quiet Shake-Up of China’s Military

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The expelled officials included some of the brightest rising stars in President Xi Jinping’s military: two generals who oversaw satellite launches and manned space missions; an admiral who helped entrench Beijing’s presence in the disputed South China Sea; and a missile commander who had honed China’s ability to respond to a possible nuclear war. They were among nine high-ranking Chinese military figures who were recently removed as delegates to the country’s Communist Party-run legislature, abruptly and without official explanation. Experts say the move indicates that Mr. Xi’s latest offensive to…

China Dismisses Defense Minister Amid Swirl of Speculation

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Just four months ago, China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, was at a forum for regional officials in Singapore, serving as the face of his country’s bold vision for reshaping Asia’s balance of power. He cast China as a force for stability and accused the United States of stirring trouble in the region, suggesting that its leaders should “mind your own business.” Now, General Li has been dismissed after nearly two months out of public view — the latest example of China’s capricious rules of power under the strongman leader…

China’s Military is Making Risky Moves and Adding Nuclear Warheads, U.S. Says

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Risky Maneuvers Since the fall of 2021, the Pentagon report says, the United States has recorded more than 180 intercepts of U.S. aircraft by Chinese military forces in the region. Beijing has long bristled at the U.S. military aircraft and ships that operate in international skies and seas near China. China has been increasingly assertive in the region, from building military infrastructure in the disputed South China Sea to buzzing planes flown by the United States, Canada and other Western allies. Such moves risk a midair crash and a wider…

Blasting Bullhorns and Water Cannons, Chinese Ships Wall Off the Sea

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The Chinese military base on Mischief Reef, off the Philippine island of Palawan, loomed in front of our boat, obvious even in the predawn dark. Radar domes, used for military surveillance, floated like nimbus clouds. Lights pointed to a runway made for fighter jets, backed by warehouses perfect for cruise missile launchers. More than 900 miles from the Chinese mainland, in an area of the South China Sea that an international tribunal has unequivocally determined does not belong to China, cellphones pinged with a message: “Welcome to China.” The world’s…

China Flies Record Number of Military Planes Near Taiwan

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The News China sent a record number of military aircraft toward the self-governed island democracy of Taiwan, prompting the island’s defense ministry on Monday to warn against what it called “destructive” harassment. The previous daily record of Chinese military flights near Taiwan was 91 planes, on April 10. Taiwan said it tracked 103 People’s Liberation Army aircraft entering its air defense identification zone in the 24 hours leading up to Monday morning. None entered Taiwan’s airspace. That tally included 40 aircraft that crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait,…

China Is Investigating Its Defense Minister, U.S. Officials Say

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China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, has been placed under investigation, according to two U.S. officials, fueling speculation about further upheaval in the military after the abrupt removal of two top commanders in charge of the country’s nuclear force. General Li has not been seen in public in more than two weeks. He had been expected to take part in a meeting last week in Vietnam, but there was no word of his attendance. Asked by reporters on Friday about General Li’s whereabouts, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese…

China Conducts Major Military Exercises in Western Pacific

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The joint exercises come after the United States conducted a series of military drills across the region in recent weeks with allies like Japan, Australia and the Philippines. On Saturday, the American and Canadian navies sailed ships through the Taiwan Strait. What We Know China’s Shandong aircraft carrier was one of at least 20 Chinese naval vessels spotted navigating waters around Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines starting on Tuesday, according to the Japanese and Taiwanese governments. Other vessels identified by Japanese officials included missile destroyers, frigates and supply ships. China…

The Sunday Read: ‘The Ongoing Mystery of Covid’s Origin’

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By David Quammen Produced by Adrienne Hurst and Aaron Esposito Edited by John Woo Original music by Aaron Esposito Engineered by Corey Schreppel and Brian St. Pierre Listen to and follow “The Daily”Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher Where did it come from? More than three years into the pandemic with untold millions of people dead, that question about the origin of Covid-19 remains widely disputed and fraught, with facts sparkling amid a tangle of analyses and hypotheticals like Christmas lights strung on a dark, thorny tree. One school of…

China to Stage Military Exercises Around Taiwan

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China’s military said it would stage “joint combat readiness” patrols around Taiwan on Saturday, sending a warning gesture to the island democracy soon after a leading candidate in Taiwan’s presidential election finished an overseas trip that Beijing had denounced. Vice President Lai Ching-te, the candidate, had flown to Paraguay — one of 13 states that keeps diplomatic relations with Taipei, and not Beijing — making stops in the United States on his way there and back. The Chinese government is trying to curtail the international activities of Taiwan, which it…