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☆ China's defence minister, not seen in weeks, skipped Vietnam meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China's State Council Information Office, as well as its defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Vietnam event. Asked about Emanuel's post this week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told reporters she was "not aware of the situation." China's defence minister is mainly responsible for defence diplomacy and does not command combat forces. Chinese officials have repeatedly said they want those sanctions dropped to facilitate better discussions between the two sides' militaries. He then headed the military's procurement unit from 2017 until he became defence minister.

Persons: Li Shangfu, Li, Beijing couldn't, Qin Gang, Xi Jinping, Qin, Washington, Li's, Joe Biden, Japan Rahm Emanuel, Li Shangfu hasn't, Alfred Wu, Lee, Xi, Lloyd Austin, Yew Lun Tian, Antoni Slodkowski, John Geddie, Katerina Ang Organizations: Reuters, China's, Information, Qin, Liberation, Rocket Force, Communist Party, U.S, . U.S, Foreign, Defense, Foreign Ministry, Lee Kuan Yew, of Public Policy, U.S . Defence, Support Force, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, HANOI, Vietnam, China, Beijing, Hanoi, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Singapore, U.S

☆ China launches drills in angry response to Taiwan vice president's trip to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. says it's closely monitoring China's drills around Taiwan after Beijing began three days of military exercises around the island. Greg Baker | AFP | Getty ImagesChina launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a "serious warning" to separatist forces in an angry but widely expected response to Vice President William Lai's visit to the United States, drawing condemnation from Taipei. Taiwan's government strongly condemned the drills, with the defense ministry saying it had the ability, determination, and confidence to ensure national security. "The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign country and has a legitimate and legal right to conduct normal diplomatic interactions with friendly countries," it added in a statement, using the island's formal name. Taiwan's defense ministry released a short video of undated footage showing Taiwanese forces at sea, on city streets and across the countryside.

Persons: Greg Baker, William Lai's, Joseph Wu, Joe Biden Organizations: PLA Navy, Beijing, AFP, Getty Images China, Eastern Theatre Command, Mainland Affairs Council, U.S, Taiwan Locations: Taiwan, China's, Fujian, U.S, United States, Taipei . Lai, Paraguay, China, Beijing, Republic of China, South Korea, Japan

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the island's government. "This is a serious warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces colluding with external forces to provoke," it said. China has a particular dislike of Lai for his previous comments that he was a "practical worker for Taiwan independence". The United States, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. China has over the past three years ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, including sending military aircraft and warships near the island.

Persons: William Lai, Nancy Pelosi, Tsai Ing, Kevin McCarthy, Lai, Deb Haaland, King Felipe VI, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Casey Hall, Ben Blanchard, Greg Torode, William Mallard Organizations: Joint Staff Office, Defense Ministry of Japan, Reuters, Eastern Theatre Command, U.S . House, U.S, Beijing, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Okinawa, Miyako, SHANGHAI, TAIPEI, Taiwan, United States, Taipei . Lai, Paraguay, China, Taipei, California, South, Asuncion

☆ A recent drill hints at the lessons China's military is learning from the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Minnie Chan | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zhou Chenming, a researcher with the Beijing-based Yuan Wang military science technology think tank, said the PLA was learning from the Russian army, especially about the use of drones. Retired PLA instructor Song Zhongping said the scenarios in the CCTV programme appeared to mirror combat conditions in Ukraine. "The Ukraine war has inspired many militaries in their modernisation efforts," Song said. "The PLA has kept a close eye [on the Ukraine war] to update training." The 82nd Army Group, formerly the 38th Army Corps, is mainly responsible for the security of Beijing.

Persons: Liu Chen, Liu, Zhou Chenming, Yuan Wang, VCG, Zhou, Song Zhongping, Wu Xiaofei, Wu Organizations: Service, PLA, Army's 82nd Army Group, Changchun Air Show, 82nd Army Group, 38th Army Corps, CCTV Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Hebei province, Beijing, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Chinese military delegation visited UK, France - ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, July 1 (Reuters) - A Chinese military delegation visited the Britain and France from June 24 to Saturday to discuss the development of bilateral defence relations, China's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. The delegation of the People's Liberation Army's defence strategy consultation exchanged in-depth views on international and regional security issues of common concern, and enhanced mutual understanding and trust, the ministry said in a statement. Reporting by Beijing News Room; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: William Mallard Organizations: China's Ministry of Defence, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Britain, France

☆ With eye on Ukraine, top Chinese general calls for unconventional warfare capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - Drawing lessons from the Ukraine crisis, a top Chinese general urged greater integration of novel capabilities, including artificial intelligence, with conventional warfare tactics ahead of any confrontation with the West. A new genre of hybrid warfare has emerged from the Ukraine conflict, with the intertwining of "political warfare, financial warfare, technological warfare, cyber warfare, and cognitive warfare," General Wang Haijiang, commander of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Western Theatre Command, wrote in a front-page article in an official newspaper on Monday. The scale and sweep of Chinese military preparations are closely watched not just by the West, but also by China's neighbours and democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own. "At present and in the future, local conflicts and turmoil are frequent, global problems are intensifying, and the world has entered a new period of turmoil and change," Wang wrote in Study Times. The ability to win is needed to maintain national security, Wang wrote.

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 11 (Reuters) - China's latest military drills near Taiwan show it is serious about being able to cut off the democratically ruled island in a conflict, analysts said, as Beijing said its aircraft carriers could "shatter" defences from the east. 1) Carrier OperationsMany analysts noted the jets flying off the Shandong aircraft carrier, which took up position east of Taiwan, about 230 kilometres (143 miles) south of Japan's Miyajima island. The aim of the drills was to show that they could encircle Taiwan in a blockade and deter foreign powers from intervening, Zhao said. 3) Precision TargetingThe PLA also said it carried out virtual simulations showing how its forces could execute targeted missile attacks on Taiwan. Japan's military said in a briefing on Tuesday that it was assessing China's manoeuvres around Taiwan, but described them as "without question, serious training".

Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via REUTERSTOKYO/TAIPEI, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan has been following China's military drills around Taiwan consistently and "with great interest", a top government spokesperson said on Monday, on the last scheduled day for the exercises where Beijing has simulated striking the island. China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under Beijing's control. Japan has long worried about China's military activities in the area given how close its southern islands are to Taiwan. The United States has said it is also watching China's drills closely. China's military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in the second day of drills around the island on Sunday.

☆ China starts drills around Taiwan after U.S. Speaker meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen at an event with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, 2023. China began three days of military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday to express anger at Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the island's defense ministry said it would respond calmly. The drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after China condemned the meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. China was using Tsai's U.S. visit "as an excuse to carry out military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability and security," the ministry said in a statement.

☆ China announces drills around Taiwan after US Speaker meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/David Swanson/File PhotoBEIJING, April 8 (Reuters) - China will hold three days of military exercises around Taiwan from Saturday, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command announced, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States. Tsai met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy while in Los Angeles on Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its own territory. Beijing staged war games around Taiwan, including live fire missile launches, in August after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei. Then, China published a map at the same time as its announcement of the drills showing which maritime areas near Taiwan it would be firing into. Xi responded by saying that expecting China to compromise on Taiwan was "wishful thinking", according to China's official reading of the meeting.

☆ U.S.-sanctioned general to become public face of China's growing military
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Greg Torode | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In 2016, Li was named deputy commander of the PLA's then-new Strategic Support Force - an elite body tasked with accelerating the development of China's space and cyber warfare capabilities. He was then appointed head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China's governing defence body, headed by President Xi Jinping. Some security scholars note the sanctions - while not a deal-breaker for future meetings - add a potential complication, and could provide China's military leadership with leverage. Li's term at the Central Military Commission has highlighted his ties to Xi, who has strengthened his grip across the military. Some scholars believe Li has close ties to Zhang Youxia, a close military ally of Xi, whom Li replaced as head of the department.

☆ China aims to launch nearly 13,000 satellites to 'suppress' Elon Musk's Starlink, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Stephen Chen | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Chinese satellites could be equipped with an anti-Starlink payload to carry out various missions, such as conducting "close-range, long-term surveillance of Starlink satellites," they said. "The Starlink satellites may use their orbital manoeuvrability to actively hit and destroy nearby targets in space," the researchers said. China plans to build more powerful radar systems powered by new technology to identify and track Starlink satellites, they said. The Ukrainian military has used Starlink services effectively against Russian forces. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on February 18 that the US government had talked to Musk about the use of Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine, but did not elaborate.

☆ China doesn't want Russia to lose in Ukraine. But Beijing's endgame is murky.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China is becoming more involved in the Ukraine war, raising alarm in the West. As the West warns China could send weapons, experts are torn over Beijing's goals and endgame. But they agree that China does not want to see Russia lose, despite its claim of neutrality. China wants to see the war "prolonged without Russia being humiliated," June Teufel Dreyer, a China expert at the University of Miami, told Insider. A man watches a news broadcast showing military operations near Taiwan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA), in Beijing, China, on August 3, 2022.

☆ China says it carried out combat drills around Taiwan again
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) - China's military said it had carried out combat drills around Taiwan on Sunday focused on land strikes and sea assaults, the second such exercises in less than a month. The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement late on Sunday that its forces had organised "joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills" in the sea and airspace around Taiwan. The aim of the exercises was to test joint combat capabilities and "resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces", it added in a brief statement. China carried out similar exercises late last month, with Taiwan reporting that 43 Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides. In August, China staged war games near Taiwan following a visit to Taipei by the then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

☆ Taiwan's remote islands are on the frontline with China — sometimes only a few hundred yards from Chinese troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Taiwan is roughly 100 miles from mainland China, but some Taiwanese islands are much closer. Taiwan's outlying islands would stand little chance against China, but they wouldn't be easy to take. While celebrated, this year's anniversary was also a reminder of Taiwan's islands' growing vulnerability to Chinese attack. Taiwan's islands are much easier to reach. Tourists watch a Chinese military helicopter fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on August 4.

☆ Analysis: Need for speed: China Xi's new generals offer cohesion over possible Taiwan plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Greg Torode | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Although the Politburo's seven-man Standing Committee would make the ultimate decision on any Taiwan action, the Central Military Commission would forge and execute the battle plan, eight Asian and Western military attaches say. "If Xi Jinping is going to the pull the trigger on Taiwan, then he can't afford any dissent from the Central Military Commission," said Singapore-based strategic adviser Alexander Neill. That has always been Chinese thinking on Taiwan, and the Ukraine stalemate has confirmed the need to avoid getting bogged down in a slow logistical build up." Crucially, Li has experience with the People's Liberation Army's digitised strategic support forces, a body that covers electronic, cyber and space warfare. He was promoted to the position after his command of the reformed Eastern Theatre Command, which is responsible for Taiwan operations.

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