News
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Japan alarmed by change in status of China Coast Guard
Beijing’s recent decision to transfer administrative control of its coast guard from civilian to military authority from July is causing headaches for Japan. Given China’s tradition of using the coast guard to patrol areas to which it lays territorial claims, the move is being viewed as worrying and possibly significant. A sweeping government overhaul announced by Beijing last week means…
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China, ASEAN agree to move forward with negotiations on South China Sea code of conduct
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 29) — Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes the Philippines, struck an agreement with China to move forward with negotiations for a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. The code, which will define what the six claimants to the South China Sea can and cannot do in…
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Australia to ‘ANGER’ China with £4billion surveillance drones to ‘SPY’ on South China Sea
AUSTRALIA will invest nearly £4billion in surveillance drones to patrol and spy on the activity in surrounding waters and specifically the disputed South China Sea, in a bid to increase its maritime security. Australia will invest nearly £4 billion in surveillance drones Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he will spend £3.875 billion (AU$6.9 billion) on long-range surveillance drones.…
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Beijing Takes South China Sea Issue Off the Table in Relations With US
China won’t give up “even one inch” of lands it inherited from its ancestors. This is what Chinese President Xi Jinping explicitly stated in his negotiations with US Defense Secretary James Mattis. In an interview with Sputnik, Konstantian Sokolov, a specialist in geopolitics at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, has branded the Chinese leader’s statement an “act of firm…
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Xi makes surprise visit to fleet in South China Sea drill
The region has become a potential flashpoint, with the US saying China’s activities in the area pose a threat to freedom of navigation in the strategically vital waterway, where Beijing has built an archipelago of artificial islands capable of hosting military equipment. Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday stressed the “urgent” need to build a powerful navy during a surprise visit…
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Why it matters: U.S.-China standoff over South China Sea
China’s militarization of the South China Sea was at the top of Defense Secretary James Mattis’ agenda on his trip to Beijing this week, and Chinese state media reports President Xi Jinping told him China will not give up “any inch of territory passed down from ancestors.” Data: Center Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative; Map: Lazaro Gamio/Axios…
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China rejects US concerns over South China Sea militarisation
Xi Jinping tells Jim Mattis that China will not yield ‘one inch’ of disputed maritime area China’s President Xi Jinping told visiting US defence secretary Jim Mattis that China would not yield “one inch” of the South China Sea, rebuffing Washington’s efforts to engage Beijing on the issue. Mr Mattis was visiting the Chinese capital for three days as part…
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ASEAN, China agree to pursue South China Sea code consultations
MANILA, Philippines — Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have agreed to move forward with consultations on the proposed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). The officials recently met in China’s Hunan province for the 15th Senior Official’s Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the…
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The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping’s internet shutdown
n December 2015, thousands of tech entrepreneurs and analysts, along with a few international heads of state, gathered in Wuzhen, in southern China, for the country’s second World Internet Conference. At the opening ceremony the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, set out his vision for the future of China’s internet. “We should respect the right of individual countries to independently choose…
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China says it will increase its military presence in Africa
For decades, China’s presence in Africa has largely focused on economic, commercial and peacekeeping activities. Now, Beijing is building on that by establishing greater military links to protect its national assets on the continent and gain greater geopolitical influence. The People’s Liberation Army conducts regular joint training exercises across the region and, in certain countries that are home to major…
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The Coming Tech Battle With China
Arriving in Beijing last month, I knew I would not be able to connect to Google, Facebook or Uber. As strange as it was to go without these staples of online life in the West, it was even stranger to find that local Chinese didn’t seem to feel deprived at all. They search through Baidu, get their social media fix…
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China slashes tariffs for Asian countries as US trade fight escalates
Beijing will reduce tariffs on thousands of products from India and South Korea, as well as the smaller economies of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos, China’s commerce ministry said Thursday. The reductions are due to take effect on July 1. They’re part of an agreement between the six countries called the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) that covers more than…