Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/joseph-wu-taiwan-interview-russia-china-492fbd5e896ae3231de5f3fbf3c93012?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister, has been urging democratic states to counter Russia and China’s territorial expansion. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China’s increasing boldness at Taiwan’s border has been concerning him and Wu has asked democratic states to support Ukraine as an act of solidarity among democracies. He hopes that this will mitigate China’s increasing… Read more »
Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/china-navy-us-pacific-taiwan-2ea75e139483164b93d287a4efae74c9?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share At the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in Qingdao, China, Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia of the Central Military Commission delivered a strong message asserting China’s willingness to use force to defend its territorial interests. He emphasized China’s stance on territorial sovereignty and its readiness to defend against provocation, particularly regarding Taiwan. Zhang’s remarks reflect China’s unilateralist approach… Read more »
Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-foreign-defense-minister-china-2d304a26202a86d19d8e705e877e5055?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, has appointed Lin Chia-lung as foreign minister and Wellington Koo as defense minister in reaction to the military threats that Taiwan has been facing from China. Joseph Wu, who was the former defense minister, will become head of the National Security Council instead. Taiwan has been focused on bolstering their defenses against… Read more »
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-imports-of-russian-oil-near-record-high-in-march/7578128.html Russia remained China’s top oil supplier in March, data showed Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol crude shipments. China’s imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month. Seven Russian tankers under sanctions offloaded Sokol cargoes in Chinese… Read more »
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68915018 Rallies have taken place across Australia in response to a wave of recent violence against women. The protesters are advocating for gender-based violence to be declared a national emergency and stricter laws put in place to stop it. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the issue was a national crisis. In Australia, a woman has been killed on average every… Read more »
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-says-it-will-discuss-with-us-how-use-new-funding-2024-04-21 In a recent development Taiwan’s military stated on Sunday it will discuss with the United States how to use funding for Taiwan included in a $95 billion legislative package mostly assisting Ukraine and Israel, as Chinese warplanes again got close to the island. Furthermore, Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, which views the island as its territory…. Read more »
A senior U.S. intelligence official does not believe that China will not be able to reunify themselves with Taiwan by force on their self imposed deadline (2027). Many U.S. military officials have said that “Beijing’s own planning documents show President Xi Jinping has ordered the Chinese military to be ready to take Taiwan by force should efforts to reunify the… Read more »
The Philippines has decided to increase their ties with Japan and the United States of America at a recent summit of the country. US President Joe Biden hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington last week where they discussed “serious concerns” over China’s actions in the South China Sea. The Philippine foreign ministry… Read more »
Five Chinese workers were killed by a suicide bomber in Pakistan Tuesday. The most recent in the string of terrorist attacks that the south asian country;s military and government say aims to disrupt Islamabad’s close ties with Beijing. The explosion happened when the bomber rammed a vehicle into the workers’ convoy. This was hit when they were traveling to the… Read more »
Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/china-congress-economy-jinping-beijing-5f80fc62081cb8bd06efc74fd4810972?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share 3000 strong National People’s Congress in China near unanimously approves a revised state council law directing China’s “cabinet” to follow Xi Jinping’s vision. Zhao Leji the legislation’s top official urges uniting closer under the communist party’s leadership “with comrade Xi Jinping at its core.” Party leaders used to set economic policies more freely than now, according… Read more »