Important Takeaways:
- Xi Jinping wants to ‘hollow out Taiwan from within,’ ex-CIA official warns
- China’s ruling Communist Party is preparing for war over Taiwan, but President Xi Jinping would much rather take control of the U.S.-backed Island democracy without a military clash.
- His plan, for now, is to tilt the Taiwanese presidential election in January in Beijing’s favor.
- That’s the assessment of David Sauer, a former U.S. intelligence officer with deep experience in the region. He said China’s strategy is to “hollow out Taiwan from within” and “create chaos” around the election to seat a president who will push the island toward unification with the communist mainland.
- Beijing will expand its operation using “a combination of information warfare, military intimidation, political and economic manipulation,” he said during an appearance this week on “The Washington Brief,” a monthly virtual forum hosted by The Washington Times Foundation.
- Chinese propaganda will also “frame the election as a choice between peace and war.”
- In the wake of the election, China will assess whether to engage in military action or proceed with coercion tactics toward whatever Taiwanese government takes power, he said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Biblical flooding in Beijing after heaviest rain in 140 years
- Torrents of water gushed through streets in China as moisture from former Typhoon Doksuri triggered catastrophic flooding over the weekend and into the start of August.
- Doksuri made landfall last Friday in the Chinese province of Fujian, located roughly 1,000 miles (1,609 km) south of Beijing, and lost wind intensity over the weekend as it pushed inland. However, the tropical moisture fueled extreme rain across the country for days.
- More than 800,000 people were forced to relocate in and around Beijing after nearly 30 inches of rain triggered some of the worst flooding in the city’s history.
- At least 26 people have died due to the flooding. The death toll may continue to climb as officials assess the damage and as floodwaters gradually recede.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Blinken Meets Xi as China Warns U.S. Must Choose Between ‘Cooperation or Conflict’
- News of the diplomatic head-to-head came after China told the U.S. earlier in the day it must choose between “cooperation or conflict” with Beijing as both countries seek to navigate a diplomatic way forward amid fraught relations between the world’s two largest economies.
- The pair spoke for three hours on Monday at the ornate state guesthouse in the ancient Diaoyutai gardens, according to a State Department official cited by AFP.
- “The Secretary of State’s trip to Beijing this time comes at a critical juncture in China-U.S. relations,” Wang told Blinken, according to a readout from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
- He also issued a warning on Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed and continually threatened by Beijing, while reasserting the Communist dictatorship’s longstanding claim to vast swathes of the South China Sea.
- “On this issue, China has no room to compromise or concede,” Wang told Blinken, according to CCTV.
- “The United States must truly adhere to the One China principle confirmed in the three joint U.S.-China communiques, respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and clearly oppose ‘Taiwan independence’.”
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Iran to supply China with 15,000 drones, official says
- An Iranian official has revealed that China is one of the leading customers of Iranian-manufactured drones and that a large shipment is set to be sent to Beijing, amid the ongoing controversy over Tehran’s supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia.
- According to the UK-based news outlet, Iran International, an unnamed advisor to Iran’s Intelligence Minister revealed at a ceremony at Qazvin International University that China is in the “queue” to receive 15,000 Iranian drones, with the ally being a major customer amongst 90 countries seeking to benefit from Tehran’s extensive UAV industry.
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Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still
Important Takeaways:
- As Beijing boosts its diplomatic clout, analysts say it wants to “remold” and even supplant existing global institutions.
- Ever since China abandoned its zero-COVID policy at the end of last year, Beijing has been involved in a flurry of engagements from East to West.
- And while Western leaders have talked about decoupling or de-risking economic ties with China, the nation remains deeply integrated with the world economy and is the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries.
- “It would be a world order that does not constrain communist China but contributes to its rise,” he said.
- Beijing’s world order would be defined by multipolarity, according to Mok, who says China has no plan to be a dominant power. “I don’t see a change in the world order being a case of a new boss simply replacing the old boss.”
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China’s PLA is openly preparing for war, particularly in areas where Beijing’s territorial and maritime claims are illegal and hegemonic.
- Beijing is planning to win a war in space as part of its reported overall objective of replacing the US as the dominant power on earth. One assessment estimates that fully 84% of China’s space launches are military in nature — indicating that the CCP may well be determined to emerge as the only remaining superpower.
- The proximity of these Chinese anti-satellite vehicles clearly reveals the mission to degrade and/or blind collection and transmission of intelligence data by US systems. Another Chinese anti-satellite project features a satellite with a grappling hook, designed to capture US satellites as an immediate prelude to war.
- Beijing also has rapidly developed an array of space warfare capabilities, including several types of ground-launched anti-satellite missiles capable of hitting satellites in different orbits; ground-based lasers that can blind or damage orbiting satellites; and small robotic satellites capable of maneuvering and grabbing orbiting satellites.”
- China will most likely attempt to shut down US intelligence collection, “eyes and ears in the sky,” prior to combat operations on earth. The United States, if an impending military clash seems unavoidable, may be forced to “preemptively retaliate” by disabling China’s intelligence collection and data transmission space-based assets – if it can.
- “[I]f the U.S. military doesn’t change course… we’re going to lose fast” — Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, the deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, americanmilitarynews.com, March 11, 2021.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China readies its supersonic spy drones: Beijing moves high-altitude aircraft that travel at ‘three times speed of sound’ to east of the country – in threat to US warships around Taiwan, leaked Pentagon docs show
- China has moved its cutting-edge hypersonic drones to an air base in eastern China, leaked Pentagon documents show, in what is being seen as yet another sign of Beijing’s readiness to launch an attack on Taiwan.
- One of the documents, analyzed by The Washington Post, included satellite photos from August 9.
- The imagery showed two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles inland from Shanghai.
- The August maneuvers of the WZ-8 were noted in a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
- They show the Chinese military making technological advances that could help it target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China’s military declared Monday it is “ready to fight” after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the U.S. last week.
- The “combat readiness patrols” named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China’s military said earlier.
- “The theater’s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ and foreign interference attempts,” it said Monday.
- Between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, a total of 70 planes were detected and half crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. Among the planes that crossed the median were eight J-16 fighter jets, four J-1 fighters, eight Su-30 fighters and reconnaissance planes. Taiwan also tracked J-15 fighter jets, which are paired with the Shandong aircraft carrier.
- On Monday, the PLA said its Shandong aircraft carrier was taking part in the exercises encircling Taiwan for the first time. It showed a video of a fighter jet taking off the deck of the ship in a post on Weibo, the social media platform.
- The appearance of the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean suggests that it could be used to prevent foreign militaries from coming to help Taiwan, said Han Gan-ming, a research fellow at the government-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia shoots down China’s peace plan for the Ukraine war as Beijing becomes more entangled in the conflict a year into the fighting
- The Kremlin said the conditions are not right to pursue China’s plan for peace in Ukraine.
- China introduced a peace plan last week, which has been met with skepticism by the West.
- The US has warned that Beijing could provide weapons to Russia to use in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not reject China’s proposal outright but responded with caution
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- REVEALED: China’s secret spy balloon base is located on remote and heavily militarized island – as Beijing officials ‘refuse to speak to US defense secretary after balloon was downed’
- The Chinese spy balloon shot down over US airspace was one of ‘dozens’
- The balloons are a ‘massive part’ of China’s elaborate espionage programs
- Chinese officials have not spoken to US counterparts since the destruction
- The report says that the Chinese military has previously sent balloons into the airspace of geopolitical rivals such as Japan, India and the Philippines.
- The Pentagon earlier said that at least four other balloons were previously detected over US airspace, in Hawaii, Florida, Texas and Guam, three of those were during Donald Trump’s presidency.
- One senior official told the Post that China’s airship program represents a ‘massive effort’ within the country’s espionage programs. The program is based of the Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island on China’s southern coast.
- Speaking about the advantages of using a balloon for spying reasons rather than more sophisticated technology, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Charlie ‘Tuna’ Moore said: ‘If you have a balloon that’s moving extremely slowly you have persistence that you can’t get from a satellite.’
- Moore added that typically satellites only have seconds in order to take pictures of their targets.
- This week, Biden officials held briefings in Washington and Beijing with foreign diplomats from 40 nations about the balloon.
- The diplomats at the Beijing briefing said they were told that the solar panels on the balloon meant that it needed more power than a weather balloon, and that its flight path did not conform with natural wind patterns.
- US officials have said the balloon was equipped with rudders and propellers.
- White House and Pentagon officials have largely avoided providing any details on the balloon’s capabilities.
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