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☆ White House: No U.S. surveillance craft in China's airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - There are no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, repeating denials of China's claim that U.S. high-altitude balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022. Asked at a White House press briefing to clarify whether the United States was operating aircraft in Chinese-claimed airspace as opposed to over China's internationally recognized territory, Kirby declined to specify further. "There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace," he said. Those operations anger Beijing, which accuses the United States of damaging regional stability and stirring up controversy over maritime disputes.

☆ Philippines urges China to halt any "provocative act" after laser aimed at vessel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aguilar also quoted the Philippine defence chief as saying the action of the Chinese coast guard was "offensive" and unsafe." Images supplied by the PCG showed a green light emanating from a Chinese vessel with bow number 5205. China has said it was ready to manage maritime issues "cordially" with the Philippines during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's visit to Beijing in January. In February last year, Australia accused Beijing of an 'act of intimidation' after a Chinese navy vessel directed a laser at an Australian military surveillance aircraft. The VFA provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for exercises.

"There is no, again, no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "We have not yet been able to definitively assess what these most recent objects are," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said at a news briefing. At Friday's White House briefing, Kirby said: "There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace. I'm not aware of any other craft that we're flying over into Chinese airspace." "This is the latest example of China scrambling to do damage control," Adrienne Watson, another White House national security spokesperson, said in a statement.

☆ Philippines' Marcos open to a troop pact with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Marcos, however, also told reporters he would exercise care in pursuing a potential pact with Tokyo "because we do not want to appear provocative." The VFA provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for exercises. I don't see why we should not adopt it (VFA)," Marcos told reporters before returning home on Sunday, according to an official transcript. The Philippines has a VFA with the United States, while Tokyo has VFAs with Australia and Britain, and also hosts the biggest concentration of U.S. forces abroad. Kishida said the Philippines and Japan had agreed to try and establish a framework that would "strengthen and smooth the process of holding joint exercises".

☆ Japan, Philippines pledge closer security ties amid China tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (3-L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (2-R) talk at prime minister?s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, 09 February 2023. KIMIMASA MAYAMA/Pool via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japan said it was looking to strengthen joint military exercises with the Philippines as the two U.S. allies on Thursday pledged to forge closer security ties at a time of heightened tensions with China. Japan held joint military exercises with the United States and the Philippines as recently as October. The disaster relief deal with Tokyo is seen as a possible precursor to establishing a visiting forces agreement that would allow Japanese forces to deploy to the Philippines more easily. A Japanese military presence in the Philippines could help Manila counter Chinese influence in the South China Sea, much of which Beijing claims, including the territory that Manila considers its own.

☆ China has a global spy balloon operation collecting intel on other countries' militaries, including 'strategic bases' in the US, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The downed Chinese surveillance balloon is part of a global network, US officials say. This is what we assess is part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Ryder said the purpose of the Chinese surveillance balloons was to study "strategic sites," including "strategic bases" in the continental US. The Chinese balloon program has gathered information on military assets belonging to the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, India, and Taiwan, the Washington Post reported. It was not immediately clear when, exactly, previous balloons in other regions were determined to be Chinese surveillance devices.

☆ Spy balloon confirms 'pattern of Chinese behavior' that poses threat to NATO members, Stoltenberg says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg delivers remarks to the news media as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts Stoltenberg at the State Department in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2022. WASHINGTON – The Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the United States last week presents security challenges for NATO's 30-member alliance as well as other countries around the globe, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. "We need to be aware of the constant risk of Chinese intelligence and step up what we do to protect ourselves and react in a prudent and responsible way," he said, adding that European countries have seen an increase in Chinese intelligence activities. Stoltenberg's remarks come as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard complete a recovery operation of the downed spy balloon roughly six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden gave the order to take the 200-foot-tall spy balloon out of the sky.

"As the United States deepens its relationship with the Philippines, it's important for regional security that Japan join in," a Japanese defence ministry source with knowledge of internal discussions on national security told Reuters. At a press briefing last week, Neil Imperial, the Philippines Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Marcos wanted to "facilitate closer defence, security, political, economic and people-to-people ties" while in Japan. That sentiment is shared in Tokyo, which has been deepening security ties with nations that view China with concern. Those deals provide a framework for how Marcos and Kishida could also forge deeper military ties to counter their common adversary, say experts. "The Philippines is a critical security partner for Japan," said Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo.

☆ India’s aircraft carriers are key to Indo-Pacific strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A naval personnel stands guard on India's largest naval ship the INS Vikramaditya as she anchors in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Jan. 21, 2016. "This is significant in terms of India's power projection capabilities, primarily within the Indian Ocean," said Viraj Solanki, a London-based expert on Indo-Pacific defense with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "This really gives India an option to display its ability to counter China within the Indian Ocean, which is the Indian navy's priority." China has not yet sailed an aircraft carrier into the Indian Ocean but is expected to do so within the next few years. "New Delhi sees Beijing as encroaching into its traditional sphere of influence, especially in the Indian Ocean region," said Ridzwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst with the defense intelligence company Janes.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China declined a request for a phone call between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe after Washington brought down a Chinese spy balloon, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Pentagon submitted the request for a secure call on Saturday after the balloon came down, Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the PRC (China) has declined our request. China has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course into U.S. airspace and accused the United States of overreacting. Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

☆ Philippines coast guard chief says boosts South China Sea presence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We're making sure that the presence of coast guard vessels is felt by the fishermen in the area," Admiral Artemio Abu, Commandant of the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), said in an interview. "At a moment's notice, the coast guard vessels we will be there because they are exclusively and primarily dedicated for that purpose," said Abu. The 26,000-strong coast guard has 25 primary ships that can be used for deployment and patrols. Since 2002, the Philippines has filed 200 diplomatic notes and protests against China's actions in the South China Sea. The Pentagon also said separately the United States and the Philippines had "agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea to help address these challenges."

☆ Chinese spy balloon fallout roils Washington and Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — In the wake of a U.S. missile attack Saturday that destroyed a Chinese surveillance ballon, political and diplomatic fallout ramped up Monday in both Beijing and Washington. The decision to shoot down the balloon over the Carolina coast was "unacceptable and irresponsible," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a press conference in Beijing Monday. The Chinese government insists the balloon that moved across the United States for the past week was "a civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes," and not a spy balloon. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Combatting the Economic Threat from China." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Thursday morning entitled "Evaluating U.S.-China Policy In The Era of Strategic Competition."

[1/2] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy greets U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris during a joint meeting of U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to discuss Washington's future support for Ukraine when she travels to a major European security conference in Germany next week, as Russia's invasion nears the one-year mark. Harris will travel to Munich, Germany, from Feb. 16 to 18 to attend the Munich Security Conference as Ukraine, still waiting on promised longer-range Western missiles and battle tanks, readies itself for a new Russian offensive that could begin next week. Support for Ukraine has included $29.3 billion worth of pledged security assistance and an unprecedented use of economic sanctions, including an oil price cap, which have severely impacted Moscow. Harris met with and briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at last year's conference, which was held just days before Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.

☆ A close read of Beijing's official statement shows it doesn't think the US violated international law by shooting down its balloon, says a legal expert who studies China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China didn't accuse the US of violating international law when the Pentagon shot down its balloon. China has aggressively accused the US of breaking international law many times in the past. In the past, Beijing has accused the US of breaking international law even for actions like imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials. "It contravenes international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs. In July, Wang similarly said that Hague Tribunal rulings in support of Philippine claims over the South China Sea "seriously" violated international law.

[1/4] Spectators watch after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast in Holden Beach, North Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Regional analysts and diplomats are closely watching China's response after a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon - which Beijing says was an errant weather-monitoring craft - in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday. China on Sunday condemned the attack as an "over-reaction", saying it reserved the right to use the necessary means to deal with "similar situations", without elaborating. But while bilateral tension has risen in the past few days over the balloon incident, Beijing and Washington have been seeking to improve ties. Naval Postgraduate School in California, said any Chinese response would be limited.

☆ ASEAN chair Indonesia to intensify talks on code for South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Willy KurniawanJAKARTA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to intensify talks with China and other Southeast Asian countries to finalise a code of conduct (COC) for the disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister said on Saturday, amid escalating tensions in the strategic waterway. Indonesia is preparing to host a round of negotiations on the COC this year, the first taking place in March, the foreign minister said. China claims jurisdiction over almost the entire South China Sea based on its U-shaped "nine-dash line", a boundary found to have no legal basis by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016. ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have overlapping claims with China in the strategic waterway. Separately, ASEAN members wrapped up talks having only reiterated support for the bloc's five-point peace plan on Myanmar which includes the cessation of conflict in the conflict-torn nation and the start of dialogue.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China's flight of a suspected surveillance balloon over the United States appears to mark a more aggressive - albeit puzzling - espionage tactic than relying on satellites and the theft of industrial and defense secrets, security experts said. Both the United States and China have for decades used surveillance satellites to keep an eye on each other from the air. The uproar over the balloon comes as China has been building up its military capabilities and challenging America's military presence in the Pacific. The United States also believes Beijing routinely seeks to capture proprietary information and knowledge from U.S. companies. It has previously rebuffed accusations of espionage and said the United States holds a Cold War mentality and hypes up the 'China threat.'

☆ India, U.S. discuss Narendra Modi White House visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is in talks with Indian officials over a possible White House visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year, according to a U.S. official aware of the discussions and another person briefed on the matter. The White House and the Indian Embassy in Washington declined to comment. Discussions about a possible White House visit intensified this week as Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met with his U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. During the visit, the United States and India launched a partnership to deepen ties on military equipment, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. He was first invited to the White House after he became prime minister in 2014 by Barack Obama.

Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November with that goal in mind and both leaders pledged more frequent communications. He has also sidelined some of his "wolf warrior" diplomats whose strident rhetoric alienated many of China's trade partners. Despite such pragmatic rhetoric, China's actions - especially its military activity around Taiwan and in the South China Sea - have not moderated, analysts said. Washington hopes for incremental progress on more specific but vital matters such as securing China's cooperation on fentanyl, global health, climate change and the cases of U.S. citizens detained there. That ... is more than deeply frustrating," said another source familiar with the administration's thinking, adding that China has rebuffed Washington's "very specific" proposals.

☆ Philippines grants U.S. greater access to bases amid China concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Philippines has granted the United States expanded access to its military bases, the countries said on Thursday, amid mounting concern over China's increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions over self-ruled Taiwan. Statements from the defence ministries of both countries said Washington would be given access to four more locations under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) dating back to 2014. The United States had allocated more than $82 million toward infrastructure investments at the existing five sites under the EDCA, the statements said. EDCA allows U.S. access to Philippine military bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and the building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not a permanent presence. His visit follows a three-day trip by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to the Philippines in November which included a stop on Palawan.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a few days, and senior U.S. officials have advised President Joe Biden against shooting it down for fear the debris could pose a safety threat. The old-fashioned spy-movie-like intelligence collection method recalls lengths to which Beijing and Washington have been willing to go to spy on each other amid increased tensions. China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, have experienced tensions of late, clashing over Taiwan and China's human rights record and its military activity in the South China Sea. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, the official said. "Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective, but we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information," the official said.

☆ U.S., Philippines agree to larger American military presence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (R) walks past military guards at Camp Aguinaldo on Feb. 2, 2023 in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. Austin is visiting Manila for meetings with Philippine officials in an effort to boost bilateral ties between the two countries. The agreement was reached as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the country for talks about deploying U.S. forces and weapons in more Philippine military camps. American forces were granted access to five Philippine military camps, where they could rotate indefinitely under the 2014 EDCA defense pact. In October, the U.S. sought access for a larger number of its forces and weapons in an additional five military camps, mostly in the north.

☆ NATO chief urges closer ties with Japan to defend democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

General Jens Stoltenberg (left) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) on Jan. 31, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. Stoltenberg visits Japan to strengthen bilateral ties between the country and the E.U. Calling it a "critical moment for NATO and for Japan," Stoltenberg, who is visiting Tokyo, said China and Russia are "leading an authoritarian pushback against international rules-based order." "China is not our adversary, but we must understand the scale of the challenge and work together to address it." Kishida said he and Stoltenberg agreed to advance ties in areas such as cyberspace, space, disinformation, and critical and emerging technology.

☆ Austin's Manila visit to bring deal on expanded base access - Philippines official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON/MANILA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's visit to the Philippines this week is expected to bring an announcement of expanded U.S. access to military bases in the country, a senior Philippines official said on Wednesday. "There's a push for another four or five of these EDCA sites," the a senior Philippines official said. The Philippines official said increased U.S. access needed to benefit both countries. "The deal with Russia was very attractive because for a certain budget we were able to get something like 16 of these heavy-lift helicopters," the official said. He said the U.S. and Philippine marines were pursuing similar capabilities with ground-based rockets, with Manila's particular interest being to protect its South China Sea claims.

JAKARTA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to send a top general to Myanmar to talk to its junta leaders in the hope of showing Myanmar's military rulers how Indonesia made a successful transition to democracy, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday. We have the experience, here in Indonesia, the situation was the same," the president, who is widely known as Jokowi, told Reuters in an interview in his offices in Jakarta. The military took over in Myanmar in 1962, isolating the country and suppressing dissent for decades until a tentative opening up began in 2011. Other members have appeared increasingly frustrated with the Myanmar military and are keen to maintain a ban on its top officials taking part in ASEAN forums. Managing rifts over Myanmar, and escalating tension in the disputed South China Sea, will be among the main challenges for Indonesia in its role as ASEAN chair.

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