Category Archives: China

US and Beijing spar over shipwreck-turned-military outpost

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Vessel becomes potential flashpoint as Beijing orders Philippines to remove wreck housing marines in South China Sea

An international row is growing between the Philippines, the US and China over a rusting ship that has been turned into a crucial military outpost in the South China Sea.

The dilapidated second world war-era ship was deliberately run aground on a tiny reef in the South China Sea in 1999 by the Philippines, and a small contingent of troops continue to stay on board to stake the country’s claim in the highly disputed water.

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Chinese economy slips into deflation as recovery falters and demand slows

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Consumer price inflation data shows prices fell by 0.3% year on year in July

China’s economy has fallen into deflation after consumer prices fell year on year last month for the first time in more than two years, official data shows, as slowing domestic spending weighs on the country’s post-Covid economic recovery.

The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.3% in July, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) said, having flatlined in June. A survey of analysts had anticipated a 0.4% year-on-year decline.

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China-Philippines dispute could escalate into superpower conflict, say analysts

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Expert warns of ‘significant escalatory potential’ after Chinese coastguards used water cannon on Philippine boat

A territorial dispute between China and the US-aligned Philippines is at increasingly high risk of escalating into a conflict involving the two superpowers, analysts have said, after Chinese coastguards used a water cannon on a Philippine boat.

Global concern about China’s naval activities is growing as the country expands and modernises its military, and shows increasing aggression in its claims over the South China Sea and Taiwan. Joint drills with Russia – during which a flotilla sailed near Alaska this weekend – have also heightened concern over military coordination between Beijing and Moscow.

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Australia warns of economic weakness in Pacific as it outlines development goals – without mentioning China

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Government updates development policy for the first time in a decade amid rising debt levels and competition with China for influence

Australian officials have sounded the alarm about rising debt levels and economic “fragility” among Pacific countries amid increasing competition with China for influence.

On Tuesday the Australian government will publish the first update of its international development policy in a decade, with a focus on the Pacific, south-east Asia and south Asia.

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Chinese soldiers pledge to sacrifice their lives in documentary on Taiwan invasion

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‘Chasing Dreams’, an eight-part series aired on state TV, features testimony from dozens of soldiers

China has released a new documentary about the army’s preparations to attack Taiwan, showcasing soldiers pledging to give up their lives if needed, as Beijing continues to ramp up its rhetoric against the self-ruled island.

“Chasing Dreams”, an eight-part series aired by state broadcaster CCTV last week to mark the 96th anniversary of the People Liberation Army (PLA), features military drills and testimonials by dozens of soldiers, of which several express their willingness to die in a potential attack against Taiwan.

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China floods: at least 14 killed after torrential rain in north-east

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Clean-up operations continue after rainfall destroys infrastructure and floods entire districts in aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri

At least 14 people are dead after torrential rain hit China’s north-eastern Jilin province, state media has reported, in the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country.

Thousands of troops have been sent into affected areas of Jilin and neighbouring Heilongjiang to assist with the flood response, evacuations, distributing supplies and fixing damaged roads. State media outlet Xinhua said about 2,000 soldiers and 5,000 members of the People’s Armed Police paramilitary force had been deployed.

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US dispatches warships after China and Russia send naval patrol near Alaska

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Combined naval patrol appeared to be largest such flotilla to approach US territory and ‘highly provocative’, expert says

The US dispatched four navy warships as well as a reconnaissance airplane after multiple Chinese and Russian military vessels carried out a joint naval patrol near Alaska last week.

The combined naval patrol, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach US territory, according to experts that spoke to the outlet.

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China ‘backs further Ukraine peace talks’ after Saudi Arabia summit

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Senior officials from about 40 countries met in Jeddah in attempt to draft key principles on ending war

China is said to be in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine after a meeting of senior officials from about 40 countries in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

The two-day summit in Jeddah was the second of its kind, after a similar forum in Copenhagen earlier this summer, and aims to draft key principles on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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Philippines accuses China of water cannon attack in Spratly Islands

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Latest in long history of nautical intimidations by Beijing, which lays unrecognised claim to almost all of the South China Sea

The Philippines has accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, describing it as illegal and dangerous.

The Philippine coast guard said its vessels had been carrying food, water, fuel and other supplies for Filipino military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands on Saturday.

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China to relax internal migration rules to kickstart economy

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Changes to hukou urban quotas will offer easier access to education, healthcare and other benefits

China is to relax its rules on internal migration, making it easier for people to settle in small cities in an attempt to boost its ailing economy and spur growth, the government has announced.

The ministry of public security (MPS) announced plans to lower the bar for obtaining an urban hukou, or household registration. Beijing wants local governments to cancel hukou restrictions in cities with fewer than 3 million people, and relax the restrictions for cities with 3-5 million people, the MPS said.

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Anger in China over plan to use cities as ‘moat’ to save Beijing from floods

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Communist party secretary for Hebei made comments after visiting flood-hit areas earlier this week

Chinese social media users have reacted angrily to comments from a local Communist party official suggesting that the city of Zhuozhou and other flood-hit areas near Beijing should be used as a “moat for the capital”.

Ni Yuefeng, the Communist party secretary for Hebei, a province that borders the capital on three sides, made the comments after visiting flooded areas earlier this week. Typhoon Doksuri has ripped through north-east China, destroying homes and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

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Weather tracker: Typhoons Talim and Doksuri batter China

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Thousands of people evacuated from homes in Beijing, while South America swelters during heatwave

China has been battered by two typhoons in recent weeks that have caused severe flooding across the east coast. Typhoon Talim hit the south on 17 July, with gusts of 85mph (137km/h), according to the Guangdong weather bureau.

Days later, on 28 July, Typhoon Doksuri struck Fujian province on China’s south-eastern coast with gusts above 100mph.

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New Zealand must boost military spending as Pacific power struggle intensifies, review finds

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Defence minister launches first security strategy warning New Zealand faces greatest geostrategic challenges in decades

New Zealand needs to spend more on its military and strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific to help meet the challenges of great power rivalry and climate change, the government said amid an ongoing defence review.

Launching the country’s first ever national security strategy, defence minister Andrew Little said New Zealand faced more geostrategic challenges than it had in decades.

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US navy sailors arrested on charges of passing sensitive material to China

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Jinchao Wei, 22, and Wenheng Zhao, 26, accused in separate cases of ‘violating commitments they made to protect the United States’

Two US navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, US officials said on Thursday.

Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested on Wednesday on a charge related to espionage involving conspiracy to sending national defense information to Chinese officials. In a separate case, the justice department charged Wenheng Zhao, 26, for allegedly collecting bribes in exchange for giving sensitive US military photos and videos to a Chinese intelligence officer.

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Rights groups call on Laos to release lawyer held after fleeing China

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Sixty-eight organisations sign letter amid fears Lu Siwei could be deported at request of Chinese authorities

Sixty-eight human rights groups have signed an open letter calling on the Laos government to release Lu Siwei, a Chinese former human rights lawyer detained by Laotian police near Vientiane last week.

Lu was seized by police on Friday as he attempted to board a train from Laos to Thailand, where he planned to catch a flight to the US to join his wife and daughter. Nearly one week later, he appears to still be held in Laotian immigration detention, despite reportedly being told that he would be deported to China.

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Chinese firefighter ‘dies heroic death’ as Beijing reports heaviest rain in 140 years

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Extreme weather comes as China’s foreign ministry denies reports that it obstructed discussions on climate crisis at G20 meetings

China’s government awarded martyr status to a firefighter who died as he tried to rescue people trapped by heavy flooding that has pummelled Beijing and surrounding areas in the heaviest rain in at least 140 years.

Feng Zhen, a firefighter in Beijing’s Haidian district, was washed away by flood waters as he tried to rescue three people from a school building on Monday. The people escaped the area safely, but after receiving medical treatment Feng “died a heroic death”, according to state media.

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Aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri brought Beijing floods, meteorologists explain

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Rising ocean temperatures caused by climate crisis are also said to be causing China’s extreme weather

Summers in China are often wet, sometimes very wet, but nothing like the drenching that has engulfed Beijing and its neighbouring provinces this week.

As Beijing authorities lifted the flood alert on Wednesday morning, after the city’s heaviest rainfall for 140 years, 21 people across the region were confirmed dead. Dozens more were missing.

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Xi Jinping replaces generals in charge of China’s nuclear arsenal

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Leader tightens grip over country’s military leadership with biggest shake-up in a decade

Two of China’s top generals overseeing its nuclear missiles have been replaced with scant explanation in the biggest shake-up of the country’s military leadership in a decade, underlining Xi Jinping’s commitment to tightening control over the armed forces.

Two men from outside the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) were appointed to head the unit, state media have reported. Wang Houbin, from the navy, was appointed as commander and Xu Xisheng, from the air force, its political commissar – a Chinese Communist party role of equal grade to military commander.

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Solomon Islands newspaper pledged to promote ‘truth about China’s generosity’ in return for funding

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The Solomon Star denies accusations of ‘giving away’ its independence by accepting thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment

Local media in Solomon Islands have been accused of compromising their independence by entering into agreements with Chinese news organisations and accepting thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment from the Chinese embassy.

Since the Solomon Islands government signed a high-profile security agreement with China in March 2022, some newspapers in the Pacific country have received cars, cameras, phones and printing machinery that costs thousands of dollars from the Chinese government, via its local embassy, according to local journalists. Some have raised concern about the gifts and the continued close dialogue between media organisations in China and Solomon Islands.

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‘Human in a costume’ sun bear draws crowds to Chinese zoo

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Visitor numbers rise by 30% as footage sparks claims animal could be a staff member in a bear suit

Visitors have flocked to a zoo in eastern China’s Zhejiang province after a video of one of its bears went viral with some suggesting she looked so human she could be a staff member in a bear suit.

Attendance numbers at Hangzhou zoo have risen by 30% to about 20,000 a day, with some people travelling overnight, since a video of the Malayan sun bear, named Angela, became a trending topic on Chinese social media over the weekend, Zhejiang-based Chao News reported.

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