Important Takeaways:
- China’s efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the US have suffered a serious blow after its newest state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.
- The incident happened last May or June at the Wuchang shipyard near Wuhan and came to light, thanks to satellite imagery, despite efforts by the country’s communist authorities to stage a cover-up.
- It is not known if there were any casualties – or if the submarine had any nuclear fuel onboard at the time
- American officials say they have no indication that Chinese authorities have checked the water or nearby environment for radiation.
- There has been no acknowledgment of the incident from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
- “Can you imagine a US nuclear submarine sinking in San Diego and the government hushes it up and doesn’t tell anybody about it? I mean, holy cow!” Shugart said.
- A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said they had no information to provide. “We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- China said Wednesday that it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, in a rare public test that may raise international concerns as the country builds up its nuclear arsenal at a time of tensions with the United States.
- The Chinese defense ministry said the test was a routine part of the Rocket Force’s annual military training.
- But analysts said this was the first time China had launched an ICBM into international waters since 1980.
- China’s description of the test as routine and annual “seems odd,” Panda said, “given that they don’t do this sort thing either routinely or annually.”
- The Japanese government’s top spokesperson, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said China was rapidly expanding its nuclear and missile arsenal and increasing its defense expenditures without sufficient transparency.
- “These developments in China’s military activities, combined with their lack of transparency, have become a matter of serious concern for Japan and for the international community,” he said.
- ICBMs typically have a range of more than 3,400 miles and are designed to carry nuclear warheads. Analysts say China usually tests long-range missiles over its own land.
- China suspended nuclear arms talks with the U.S. in July to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.
- China’s test on Wednesday comes amid heightened military activity in the Asia-Pacific region, where nuclear-armed North Korea has accelerated its weapons testing since 2022. Last week, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea for the second time this month.
- North Korea says its weapons tests are in response to intensifying joint military exercises among the U.S., South Korea and others that it sees as a rehearsal for invasion.
- The U.S. also deployed an advanced missile system in the Philippines earlier this year that China sees as a threat.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- China recently launched a not-so-secret submarine to spy on the US, and now they’ve launched cloud-seeding missiles to help combat a heatwave.
- The human intervention into the persistent dry weather resulted in gusts of 76mph blasting residents’ laundry from their balconies in what has been humorously referred to as “the 9/2 Chongqing underwear crisis,” reports Daily Star.
- Zhang Yixuan, the deputy director of the Chongqing Weather Modification Office, insisted that the wind was a natural occurrence and not a result of the cloud seeding.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific command, in the first direct communications in years with a senior Chinese general in charge of regional forces, warned Beijing was engaged in “dangerous” incidents in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
- Sam Paparo held the video teleconference with Gen. Wu Yanan, commander of the People’s Liberation Army southern command, on Monday and urged his forces to abide by international law in the South China Sea. China has made expansive sovereignty claims to the strategic waterway that are rejected by the U.S. and smaller countries around the region.
- Monday’s meeting was the first time in more than two years that a regional PLA commander spoke to a commander of the Hawaii-based command, despite repeated efforts to resume direct communications the American side believes will reduce tensions.
- The Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has been pressing the command to resume regular talks with Chinese regional military leaders to “clarify intent” and reduce the risk of a U.S.-China military exchange. The talks between the two commanders were described as “constructive and respectful.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- China is communist North Korea’s closest ally, but has refrained from major displays of support towards the Kim regime in the past year, particularly after Pyongyang published an excoriating screed against Beijing in May for backing a statement vaguely supporting the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. North Korean diplomacy has since trended towards Russia, signing a mutual defense treaty with Moscow in July during strongman Vladimir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in decades.
- China and North Korea nonetheless rely on each other significantly for ideological and economic support. Xi’s message hoping to “strengthen communication” with Kim arrives as North Korea escalates belligerent behavior against South Korea, flooding the country with a wave of trash-filled balloons over the weekend. China, in turn, faces growing economic challenges and resistance to its geopolitical agenda from the West.
- The South Korean news agency Yonhap described Beijing and Pyongyang as “relatively estranged” in the context of the founding anniversary message and the upcoming anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. South Korean sources have reportedly not seen any indication that the two countries will plan any “grand celebrations” together to mark the occasion.
- While still close allies, North Korea and China have kept a diplomatic distance this year compared to those prior, which appeared to expand following China participating in a summit in Seoul alongside the governments of that country and Japan in May. The trilateral summit, the ninth of its kind in modern history, united the conservative governments of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio with the Communist Party and resulted in a joint statement that outraged North Korea.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The Chinese Defense Ministry on Monday said it would hold joint military drills with Russia sending naval and air forces for a maritime patrol of “relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean” in September.
- The move underscores the progressive alignment of the two countries, both militarily and economically, in opposition to the Western-led liberal democratic order.
- What do both countries have to gain?
- Russia is seeking China’s help in strengthening its position as a Pacific power, while Moscow has supported China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
- Increasingly, this has come to include the 180-kilometer (110-mile) wide Taiwan Strait dividing mainland China from the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan. Beijing considers the island part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force if necessary.
- Moscow and Beijing have increased military and economic cooperation in recent years, each opposing “Western hegemony” — particularly a perceived US domination of global affairs. In the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two countries declared a “no limits” partnership.
- NATO leaders claim China has become “a decisive enabler” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting Beijing to warn the US-led military bloc against “provoking confrontation.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- A popular tourist island south of mainland China has been hit by the most powerful typhoon in a decade, leaving the area facing potentially catastrophic winds and torrential rain.
- A super typhoon is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.
- Super typhoon Yagi slammed into Wenchang city in the north-east of Hainan Island with winds of 138 mph at 16:00 local time on Friday, according to state media.
- Some 400,000 people in Hainan Island were evacuated to safe ground ahead of Yagi’s arrival.
- Chinese authorities believe Yagi will be the strongest typhoon to hit its southern coast in a decade.
- Earlier this week, floods and landslides brought by Yagi killed at least 13 people in northern Philippines, with thousands of people forced to evacuate to safer ground.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- On Tuesday, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against 41-year-old Linda Sun, born in China and a naturalized American citizen, and her husband, 40-year-old Chris Hu. The indictment charges the couple with operating a money laundering and bank fraud scheme thanks in part to Sun’s allegedly acting as an agent of influence for China while working in Cuomo and Hochul’s administrations.
- The couple were arrested and arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
- The 64-page indictment is far-reaching, detailing Sun’s alleged work as an agent for China and her husband’s subsequent illegal business dealings in China. In particular, the indictment lays out how Sun allegedly acted on behalf of the CCP while working for Cuomo, who is called “Politician-1,” and Hochul, who is called “Politician-2.” The indictment states:
- The defendant LINDA SUN acted at the order, direction, or request of representatives of the [People’s Republic of China (PRC)] government and the CCP to engage in political activities intended to influence the public, including the [New York State (NYS)] government, with respect to the political or public interests of the PRC government and the CCP.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- A top Chinese general on Thursday told White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan that the U.S. must stop its “collusion” with Taiwan, during a high-stakes meeting in Beijing.
- Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, told Sullivan that Taiwan “is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed,” according to a readout from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.
- “The PLA will definitely take countermeasures against the provocations of the Taiwan independence forces,” the readout said…
- “China urges the US side to stop military collusion with Taiwan, stop arming Taiwan, and stop spreading false narratives on Taiwan.”
- The U.S. has unofficial relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its own, but commits to supporting and arming the self-governing island nation.
- Intimidating Chinese drills and military exercises around Taiwan have increased in recent years, and accelerated after the inauguration earlier this year of pro-U.S. Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te.
- Xi told Biden in the San Francisco summit that he would reunify with Taiwan, by force if necessary.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Jack Hergenrother, IBM’s VP of global enterprise systems development, confirmed the R&D shutdown in China to IBM employees in a meeting on Monday, citing Chinese competition, The Wall Street Journal reports. Plus, IBM’s infrastructure business has not been doing as well in recent years, the executive reportedly said. IBM saw its revenue from China fall nearly 20% last year amid ongoing tech industry tensions between the US and China.
- IBM is planning to hire R&D staff in other locations, like India, according to employees familiar with the plans. Over 1,000 IBM employees in China are expected to lose their jobs, impacting staff in cities like Shanghai and Beijing. At time of writing, IBM’s research division only shows a handful of jobs available based in either Japan, the US, or Singapore. IBM has not yet responded to PCMag’s request for comment.
- IBM’s research primarily focuses on artificial intelligence development, semiconductor research, quantum computing, and cloud computing technology, according to the company’s website. In recent months, IBM launched an AI development platform for engineers called InstructLab and open-sourced some of its Granite AI models.
Read the original article by clicking here.
