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Category: China

  • Exclusive: Vegan Celebrity Chef Matthew Kenney Expands His Plant City Empire to China

    matthew kenney china

    6 Mins Read

    Matthew Kenney, the vegan author and celebrity chef behind Plant Food + Wine, is expanding his empire to China with food halls inspired by his Plant City F&B concept, with the help of global scale-up firm The Wellness Agency.

    The man behind Double Zero, Plant Food + Wine, Besina, New Burger, Make Out and Plant City – whose business spans five continents and 22 major cities – is now embarking on one of his largest projects yet. Teaming up with The Wellness Agency, a firm that helps wellness brands to scale globally, vegan celebrity chef Matthew Kenney is bringing his empire to China.

    Kenney is working on five food halls with a similar concept to his Providence, Rhode Island-based Plant City – touted to be the world’s largest vegan food hall, co-founded with entrepreneur Kim Anderson) – in five markets: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Macau. Each of the food courts will have 12 to 14 plant-based restaurants, with some individual concepts including VEG’D (vegan fast food), Double Zero (wood-fired pizza) and Ayre (Ayurvedic cuisine).

    In addition to the restaurants, there will be food and lifestyle retail experiences, as well as experiential concepts. “As the public perception of plant-based eating continues to evolve and gain popularity around the world, I look forward to expanding Plant City across China,” said Kenney. “Our goal is to provide a one-stop destination for plant-based eating that will be appreciated by vegans, omnivores and carnivores alike.”

    Celebrating local chefs and flavours

    plant city
    Courtesy: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

    “With talented chefs like Matthew Kenney leading the charge, millions of people around the world are adopting plant-based diets for ethical, environmental, and health reasons,” added The Wellness Agency founder and CEO Jay Faires. “The Chinese market, in particular, is seeing massive growth… We’re excited to expand Matthew Kenney’s Plant City across China, offering an array of new healthful, innovative, and delicious plant-based culinary options to the country’s denizens.”

    Faires said that Kenney will be significantly involved, “if not in operations, then in the partnership”, adding that the chef will be “a big part” of the creative process of the food halls (alongside Anderson), which “will likely integrate some local plant-based chefs”. And there will be a big focus on Asian cuisines through their interpretation. The food courts are set to begin opening by 2025.

    In terms of funding, investors are yet to be determined and may be involved on a project-by-project basis. “We met with several large real estate and retail developers while we were there, specifically in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Chengdu,” said Faires, adding that the project will potentially be open to collaborations with local food brands, chefs and food personalities.

    Matthew Kenney’s celebrity status

    china plant based
    Courtesy: Matthew Kenney Cuisine

    Kenney rose to fame in the 90s with his namesake restaurant Matthew’s, a year after whose opening he was named Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 1994. He opened further restaurants Mezze, Monzu Canteen, Commune and Commissary, which closed down due to the post-9/11 economic crisis.

    A pioneer of the raw food movement, he was a founding partner of Pure Food and Wine, the raw vegan eatery that attracted controversy in the 2010s for failing to pay its staff (Kenney left the restaurant in 2005). Since then, he has established his culinary academies and lifestyle brand Matthew Kenney Cuisine. Most recently, Kenney – who has authored 14 books – partnered with entrepreneur Max Koenig to launch Earth Company, a whole-food plant-based ready meal brand.

    In 2016, Kenney told Green Queen about his ‘Crafting the Future of Food’ mantra. “The work we’re doing is part of something larger… a mission to change the way the world thinks about its food choices,” he explained. “We are educating ourselves and our students to make sound ingredient choices, to support more sustainable processes and to promote a plant-based lifestyle that’s delicious, healthful, innovative and accessible. This is the future of food.”

    Kenney’s Plant Food + Wine at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles is frequented by famous personalities like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and James Cameron, while his Double Zero pizzeria counts the likes of Jay-Z and Chris Martin as regulars. Could the China expansion see a touch of celebrity too?

    Faires met with Margaret Zhang, editor-in-chief of Vogue China, who approached Matthew to head up the culinary side of some major events that would involve over 100 celebrities and influencers. Vogue has a new spot in the Forbidden City palace complex in Beijing, where a tentpole event on November 24 is set to be attended by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Kenney has cooked for her events going back to the mid-90s in New York City, said Faires.

    Might there be a rekindling?

    The China plant-based opportunity

    Courtesy: Dicos x Eat Just

    Recent reporting by China Dialogue, a non-profit “dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s environmental challenges”, suggests that Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in “safer and more sustainable foods”. A 2022 survey of 579 Chinese consumers in four major cities showed that 85% of respondents had tried plant-based meat alternatives and “were willing to pay more for these products”.

    According to analysis published by Singapore-based social enterprise Asia Research and Engagement, “to align with a climate-safe scenario, by 2060 China would rely on alternative protein sources for 50% of its protein consumption”, which it breaks down as follows: plant-based proteins (24%), fermentation-derived protein (16%), and cultivated meat/seafood (10%).

    Previous data from Euromonitor projected the vegan and vegetarian food sector would be worth $12 billion this year (2023) and a 2020 Dupont study predicted a 200% increase in demand for meat alternatives within five years. These early estimates have not quite materialised and China’s plant-based meat market remains small, with only a handful of plant-based meat alternative brands on shelves.

    However, data about other types of plant-based products is encouraging. In a 2022 report by Asymmetrics Research about China’s Alternative Protein Landscape, the authors identified plant-based milk and RTD beverages, plant-based yoghurts, plant-based ready meals, plant-based functional foods and plant-based “meat” snacks” as the most promising product categories for brands looking to target an urban Chinese consumer demographic that was willing to spend on healthy and safe food products.

    In the same report, Green Monday and OmniFoods co-founder and CEO David Yeung said that Chinese customers love to explore new food products to buy and are looking for new and trustworthy brands, while Haofood CEO Astrid Prajogo said that while consumer awareness about plant-based meat was improving, taste and price remained the major purchasing drivers. Xiaomin Zhang, cofounder and CE) at MetaMeat said that “the combination of plant-based meat products and prepared dishes is an important direction for the B2C market.” This bodes well for Kenney and Co.

    With additional China reporting and research by Sonalie Figueiras.

    The post Exclusive: Vegan Celebrity Chef Matthew Kenney Expands His Plant City Empire to China appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Air Force Modernisation Gathers Pace

    China’s continuing threat to Taiwan and its pressure on islands in the South China Sea, plus North Korea’s long-range missile threats to South Korea and beyond, has led many Asia-Pacific armed forces to reassess their own capabilities and requirements. Thailand is not a claimant in the South China Sea but it is concerned about the […]

    The post Air Force Modernisation Gathers Pace appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • There is No Chinese “Debt Trap” in Sub-Saharan Africa, According to the IMF

    This week’s News on China.

    Sources:
    • “IMF denies ‘debt trap,’” South China Morning Post, 24.10.2023
    “‘Unimpeded trade’: China begins to deliver on US$10 billion promise to African businesses,” SCMP, 28.10.2023

    • “China develops the ‘most advanced memory chip in the world’,” SCMP, 26.10.2023
    “Xiaomi launches home-grown cross-device system with HyperOS, as US-sanctioned Huawei moves further from Google’s Android,” SCMP, 30.10.2023

    • “Eight years of reforming the People’s Liberation Army,” SCMP, 30.10.2023

    • “Pollution alert in northern China,” Reuters, 31.10.2023

  • Pakistan looks forward to further accelerating CPEC construction: Ambassador Haque

    BEIJING: Pakistan looks forward to further strengthening exchanges with China, accelerating the high-quality joint construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), deepening economic, trade, cultural, and sub-national exchanges, and pushing bilateral relations to a higher level, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

    The friendship between Pakistan and China is iron-clad and unbreakable. It is the inevitable trend of history and the aspiration of the people, he said while addressing at a farewell reception.

    He said, in every significant moment, the Chinese people have consistently demonstrated goodwill and empathy towards the Pakistani people. Regardless of external changes and numerous challenges, he added that the friendship between the two countries is enduring and extensive, CEN reported.

    Ambassador Haque said that his mission to China is a highlight of his career, and he deeply felt the sincere friendship between the Pakistani and Chinese people during his stay in China.

    “During my three-year tenure, I have visited Wuhan, Shaoshan, Ningde, Xinjiang, Shandong, and other regions, creating numerous beautiful memories and witnessing the development of China. Especially in the past 40 years, China has made remarkable achievements in economic development, which Pakistan can learn from,” he added.

    At the event, Ambassador Haque expressed his sincere gratitude to friends from all walks of life for their contributions to the friendship between Pakistan and China. He said that Pakistan and China have a long history and a splendid culture.

    The reception was attended by Chang Qide, the United Nations Coordinator in China, ambassadors of Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and Turkey in China, as well as officials from the Embassy of Pakistan in China and representatives from various sectors who have long supported China-Pakistan friendship.

    The post Pakistan looks forward to further accelerating CPEC construction: Ambassador Haque first appeared on VOSA.

    This post was originally published on VOSA.

  • Dual-use ports give PRC proximity to vital shipping lanes

    The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building and acquiring interests in ports throughout the world with an eye toward using them for commercial and military purposes. The dual-use harbors increase the nation’s influence along vital sea routes and at maritime passages. The highest concentrations of these foreign ports are in the western Indian Ocean […]

    The post Dual-use ports give PRC proximity to vital shipping lanes appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Can Industry Collaboration Help Accelerate the Regulatory Approval of Cultivated Meat in APAC?

    cultivated meat regulatory approval
    5 Mins Read

    Launching this week, a new platform of industry stakeholders across nine Asia-Pacific countries is looking to facilitate collaboration to advance the regulatory approval of cultivated meat in the region.

    Established by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture and the Good Food Institute APAC, the APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum is described as a platform for cross-border dialogue between cell-cultured food producers, industry associations and think tanks, and government agencies and regulators in multiple jurisdictions.

    Launching at Singapore International Agri-Food Week (October 31 to November 2), the forum aims to help develop nations’ regulatory frameworks via increased data and knowledge sharing between countries, streamlined review processes for companies hoping to enter multiple markets at once, and reduced trade barriers.

    A group of 11 stakeholders from nine countries – including APAC-SCA and GFI APAC – have signed a memorandum of understanding to mark the platform’s formation. These include GFI’s India and Israel chapters, Cellular Agriculture Australia, Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture, Cell AgriTech (Malaysia), University of Brawijaya (Indonesia), Future Ready Food Safety Hub (Singapore), Society for Food Sustainatech (South Korea), and law firm Dentons’ China branch.

    cultivated meat companies asia
    Courtesy: The Good Food Institute

    More companies and organisations may be added as signatories in the future (on an invitation-only basis), pending approval from GFI APAC and APAC-SCA. At least 37 companies are known to be working with cultivated meat and seafood in Asia, according to GFI. Mirte Gosker, managing director at GFI APAC, says global distribution must expand beyond early adopters for cultured meat to reach its full potential. Currently, only two countries allow the sale of cultivated meat in the world. Singapore was the first to do so in 2020, followed by the US earlier this year.

    “By bringing together industry leaders and regulatory officials from countries across Asia Pacific, we are working to reduce duplication of efforts, streamline international approval processes for novel food producers, and create a clear pathway to market for innovative new products,” said Gosker.

    Collaboration on regulatory criteria and ‘fast lanes’

    “Member entities will be invited to participate in regularly scheduled discussion sessions about the latest developments in regulatory processes, as well as unresolved questions in need of further consideration. They will also have access to private discussion platforms where best practices, advice, and confidential insights can be shared among regional stakeholders,” Gosker adds.

    “Through this increased knowledge-sharing and cross-border coordination, we aim to develop clear and effective pathways to commercialisation of cultivated foods, reduce time to market for producers, and create a level playing field when it comes to imports and exports.”

    good meat
    Courtesy: Eat Just

    APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum lays out six key goals in its MoU. The first involves facilitating the coordination of regulatory efforts across APAC to build an effective regulatory environment for cultivated proteins, as well as minimise hurdles and bottlenecks.

    The platform is also seeking to set up a mechanism for continuous, systematic cross-country dialogue between stakeholders. “Our aim is to transparently share information, collaborate on inputs such as data or safety assessments, and provide open discussions and viewpoints between partners across the region,” the MoU states.

    Another goal is mutual recognition of coordinated regulatory frameworks in the region, such as aligning on criteria for safety testing, labelling and inspections. This would help reduce the time and resources needed for approval, and minimise trade barriers and costs for consumers. “These efforts could potentially culminate in the development of trust between authorities to create ‘fast lanes’ for approval of companies already authorised for sale in another regional country.”

    Ensuring religious standards and defining novel approaches

    The APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum wants to ensure cultured meat and seafood adhere to religious rulings and standards (like halal and kosher), where it noted that coordinated efforts are required to build consensus around the topic. Last month, three Shariah scholars told alt-protein leader Eat Just – the parent company of GOOD Meat, the producer that earned regulatory approval in Singapore – that cultured meat can be considered halal if it meets certain criteria.

    The group also aims to standardise regulatory approaches on new approaches yet to be looked into, such as novel cell cultivation technologies and the definition of hybrid and blended meat. Finally, it plans to coordinate information to all participants transparently, bringing each member up to date with current developments and trends in the sector.

    “The regulatory forum is established to bring forth a platform to facilitate open and transparent discussions regarding regulatory matters in cellular agriculture,” said Peter Yu, programme director at APAC-SCA. “We hope to build a repository of information that can aid in regulatory coordination across the APAC region while providing a pathway for new jurisdictions to quickly get up to speed.”

    apac regulatory coordination forum
    Courtesy: Aleph Farms

    In addition to GOOD Meat, Australia’s Vow Food is another cultivated meat company that has filed for regulatory approval in APAC, applying to the bilateral Food Standards Australia New Zealand for its cell-cultured quail. But it’s unknown if other companies have filed for approval anywhere, as Gosker explains: “Several companies have publicly discussed their submissions for regulatory approval in Singapore (for example, Meatable), but unlike in Australia/New Zealand, this information is not required to be publicly disclosed by the government.”

    She adds: “Japan and South Korea will likely be next in line among APAC countries to develop such frameworks, as both nations are proactively seeking input from industry groups to craft clear and efficient safety review processes. No timeline has been set for when this work will be completed.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Aleph Farms is waiting to hear back from regulators in Switzerland and the UK for its application.

    “The biggest barrier to cultivated meat approvals in emerging markets is the need for regulators to adapt existing regulatory frameworks or develop new standards,” Gosker says. “This will vary country-by-country, based on their existing regulatory regimes, but by sharing best practices and proactively facilitating conversations between industry leaders and regulators, the APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum aims to streamline and accelerate this process in a way that is beneficial for governments and innovators alike.”

    “Ultimately, we envision a clear and effective contingency for the industry as a whole towards commercialisation of cultivated food products across the region,” said Yu. “We encourage the participation of any potential new members vested in these matters, located among any of our APAC member countries.”

    The post Can Industry Collaboration Help Accelerate the Regulatory Approval of Cultivated Meat in APAC? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • China, Russia target US at security forum

    Chinese and Russian military officials at the 10th Beijing Xiangshan security forum have joined each other to criticize the United States for “stirring up trouble around the world” and engaging in “clique politics.”

    The Chinese defense minister is absent from this year’s forum as Li Shangfu was removed from his post last week.

    Vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission and the second highest military official in China, Col. Gen. Zhang Youxia, on Monday gave opening remarks in which he lashed out at “certain countries” that “deliberately create turbulence, meddle in regional affairs, interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and instigate color revolutions.”

    “Wherever these countries go, there is no peace,” Zhang said.

    In contrast, “China President Xi Jinping’s global security initiative shows the world the right direction for common security and lasting peace.”

    “Countries should not build their own security at the expense of other countries’ security,” said the general, adding: “Countries should not deliberately provoke other countries on major and sensitive issues.”

    Zhang Youxia reiterated Beijing’s stance that Taiwan “is the core of China’s core interests” and China’s armed forces will not be “soft-hearted” when it comes to the Taiwan issue.

    The Beijing Xiangshan forum opens amid some renewed efforts to salvage the deteriorating U.S.-China bilateral relations. 

    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to the U.S. last week for talks with U.S. officials, including on a possible summit between the two countries’ top leaders, but warned that the road to such a summit “will not be a smooth one.”

    The annual Beijing Xiangshan forum hosted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences and the Chinese Institute of International Strategic Studies (CIISS) kicked off on Sunday under the theme ‘Common Security, Lasting Peace.’

    The Pentagon has sent a low-key delegation led by Xanthi Carras, the Country Director for China in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from the Department of Defense, to attend the forum.

    ‘Exemplary model’ 

    The Russian delegation is headed by the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, who is also in China on an official visit.

    “The model of interstate relations between Moscow and Beijing, in fact, can be called ‘exemplary’,” said Shoigu in his speech on Monday.

    The minister added that this model becomes “more attractive” for other countries to follow and that “the circle of our friends and like-minded countries,” who don’t wish to be drawn into the West’s confrontational agenda, is expanding.

    “It clearly showed that more and more countries are in favor of a fair and sustainable multipolar world order,” Shoigu said.

    Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart announced a “no limits” relationship between their countries. Putin has just been to Beijing to attend the 2023 Belt and Road Forum.

    Shoigu accused the West of “seeking to spread the conflict potential to the Asia-Pacific region.”

    NATO is covering up the buildup of military force in the Asia-Pacific region with an ostentatious desire for dialogue, imposing alliances and operational interaction on partners,” he said in a strongly worded speech.

    Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted the minister as saying that “U.S. military biological activities are gaining momentum … a whole network of laboratories has been set up in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and the Republic of Korea,” referring to South Korea by its official name.

    Shoigu warned of “a direct military clash between nuclear powers, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences.”

    The minister argued that “there are no real military threats to the security” of the U.S. and other NATO countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Washington has accused Beijing of aggressive campaigns in the East China and South China seas, as well as in the Taiwan Strait, and vowed to defend its allies in the region.

    “The United States and NATO continue to seriously hope that they will be able to undermine Russia’s security and deprive us of the will to resist.” Shoigu emphasized, saying that the situation in Ukraine shows “the futility of these plans.”

    Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • More US Controls on China’s Chip Industry

    This week’s News on China.

    • More US sanctions against Chinese chip industry
    • China tightens graphite export controls
    • Industrial renaissance in northeast China
    • China approves GM soybeans and corn

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • How Taiwanese Musicians are Fighting Back Against China | Gen Taiwan


    This content originally appeared on VICE News and was authored by VICE News.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Backlash Looms as US Ignores Dutch Interests to Hinder China

    Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

    Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

    The US doesn’t seem to be hesitant for a second to sacrifice its allies so as to contain China. The tightening chip export restrictions show that it is willing to do whatever it takes to hinder China’s technological development. But that doesn’t mean its allies will unconditionally follow such an extreme approach toward China, especially when their own interests will be at greater risk.

    The fact that the subject of the new US export restrictions involving ASML is under heated debate in the Netherlands is the latest example of the conflict of interests. Several Dutch lawmakers on Tuesday challenged the Netherlands’ trade minister over whether the US has acted correctly in unilaterally imposing new rules regulating the export to China of a chipmaking machine made by ASML, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

    Dutch media reports disclosed that Dutch political parties CDA, D66 and Volt called for the cabinet to advocate more strongly for chip machine manufacturer ASML when dealing with the US.

    The US last week announced new rules giving Washington the right to restrict the export of ASML’s Twinscan NXT1930Di machine if it contains any US parts at all.

    As a result, ASML needs to apply for a license from Washington to sell these machines, even though they could be exported without issues under Dutch rules.

    After Huawei Mate 60, a smartphone made by Chinese tech giant Huawei using advanced chips, alarmed the US, Western media reports emerged that the mysterious chips were produced on ASML chipmaking machines that were not on the US export restriction list. So the new US rules are clearly aimed at further tightening restrictions on technology exports to China to stem the potential for Chinese technology companies to break through the semiconductor bottleneck.

    But this has also once again put the Netherlands in an awkward position, as the Dutch government now needs to come up with a reasonable justification for its response to the legitimate demand to protect the interests of domestic businesses.

    AMSL has been prohibited from selling its most sophisticated chipmaking machines to China since 2019. Under US pressure this year, the Netherlands has introduced stricter export controls on high-end chipmaking equipment.

    China has become a major buyer of ASML equipment. In the third quarter, China’s purchase accounted for 46 percent of ASML’s sales, partly because Chinese companies rushed to place orders ahead of looming export controls. But from 2024, when the Dutch restrictions are set to take full effect, ASML will see decreased sales to China. Under such circumstances, further strengthening export restrictions on more equipment is expected to seriously harm the company’s interests.

    Indeed, ASML’s release of lower-than-expected orders and warning of flat sales next year indicates the importance of the Chinese market.

    Based in the Netherlands, ASML has become an important part of the Dutch economy and a symbol of the country’s technology prowess. So the Dutch government knows clearly what a sudden and sweeping cutoff of ASML’s supplies to China would mean for the country.

    So it announced the export restriction but said it would be implemented next year, with the view of taking care of its own company in a flexible way.

    But the Dutch approach is anticipated to face a severe test because the US apparently won’t allow any time or opportunity for Chinese companies to achieve a breakthrough, even at the expense of hurting its allies’ interests.

    Now anger and concerns about the potential damage of the new US rules to the Dutch economy has triggered disputes and debate within the Netherlands. How to protect ASML’s legitimate interests under US pressure will be a test of the Netherlands’ economic independence.

    As for China, it not only needs to speed up its own research and development, but also needs to strengthen communication and cooperation with third parties, such as the Netherlands, which are constrained by US policies.

    By offering them with more favorable and open market access, as well as promoting economic and trade cooperation based on international norms, China, together with other partners, can jointly tackle the US coercion.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Japan test fired EM railgun at sea

    Japan has successfully performed an at-sea live firing trial of an electromagnetic (EM) railgun, the Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced on 17 October. “ATLA has accomplished ship-board firing test of [a] railgun for first time in the world with the cooperation of the Japanese Marine Self-Defense Force [JMSDF],” the agency […]

    The post Japan test fired EM railgun at sea appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • APAC AgriFood Report: Funding Hits A Low, But Farm Tech & Novel Foods Are On the Rise

    apac food tech funding
    5 Mins Read

    Agrifood tech startups in Asia-Pacific saw an investment of $6.5B in 2022, a 58% fall from the year before – but agtech funding for farmers and primary novel food production increased by 24% year-on-year, according to a new report by AgFunder.

    A new report by AgFunder – in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, venture capital fund Omnivore, and AgriFutures Australia – has revealed that downstream food tech funding in APAC has been hit by the global VC fallout from 2022. However, the financing of startups supporting farmers and primary production (upstream) has increased.

    ‘Upstream’ generally refers to agricultural biotech, farm management and robotics systems, as well as novel farming tech, while ‘downstream’ covers technologies removed from farms and primary production – i.e., food delivery, restaurant, meal kit startups, etc. The latter usually attracts much higher amounts of cash injections in the region, though that is no longer the case.

    Meanwhile, companies working with midstream technologies – which connect farmers and food producers to retailers, agro-processors and other clients – raised $620M million in 2022, with India’s Waycool and China’s Mojia Biotech receiving big checks.

    As for this year’s trends, the report found that total agrifood tech financing in the first half of 2023 ($2.6B) was down by nearly 50% from the same period last year, but the number of deals remains similar.

    Overall funding decline

    AgFunder’s analysis showed that agrifood tech startups received $6.5B in funding in 2022 – a 58% decline from the $15.2B they raised in 2021, which was a record-breaking year. A report published by AgFunder and Temasek earlier this year highlighted that the global agrifood tech sector saw record-breaking raises of $51.7B that year thanks to “cheap money” and “increasingly outlandish tech valuations”.

    In terms of upstream startups, year-on-year funding grew by 24% from 2021-22, marking the first time in years that upstream funding ($3.2B) overtook downstream investment ($2.7B). This is a win for the over 450 million smallholder farmers who are responsible for 80% of APAC’s food production.

    asia food tech funding
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    Within the downstream sector, e-groceries continue to be the largest category, attracting $1.6B in funding. Indian startup Blinkit – an app-based instant grocery delivery service – received an injection of $150M, before being acquired by restaurant aggregator and food delivery giant Zomato.

    The decline in downstream deals mirrors global trends analysis by Pitchbook last month, which found that in Q2 this year, food tech VC funding dropped by 75.1% year-on-year, while the number of deals (1,207) was down by 39.3% annually. But while quarterly funding also dropped by 13.9%, the deal count grew to 268 in Q2.

    Pitchbook suggested that this could indicate a “return of investment activity after a pause due to caution surrounding the closure of Silicon Valley Bank at the end of Q1”. However, the declining deal sizes “may reflect a new, more careful paradigm”.

    According to the AgFunder-Temasek report, the global decline between 2021 and 2022 could be short-lived as many of the world’s macro challenges – including inflation, food insecurity and labour shortages – are driving interest in agri-food tech investments. “With more discipline from founders (and investors too!), the industry can capitalise on the growing interest in using technology to transform our food and agriculture system to be better for people and our planet,” read the report. “[2023] could be a vintage year to invest in agrifoodtech.”

    Upstream on the up

    asia food tech
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    Within APAC, upstream agtech companies attracted 1.6% more investment in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period the year before as well, reaching $1.7B.

    In 2022, agricultural biotech startups received the largest share of upstream financing, commanding $813M of the total – that’s nearly half of the overall investment in this category globally. “While a couple of very large deals contributed to these totals, there was also greater deal activity in this segment, which includes on-farm inputs for crop and animal agriculture, confirming investors’ growing interest in this space,” AgFunder says. China’s Zhongxin Breeding – which provides breeding services for pigs – secured the year’s largest deal with its $327M seed round.

    Meanwhile, Innovative Food – the segment that includes alternative protein – “bucked the global decline in funding to the segment”, with year-on-year investment increasing to $527M, albeit with a smaller deal count. This aligns with industry think tank the Good Food Institute APAC’s recent report that revealed that sector funding in the region grew by 43% from $293M to $562M – though the two largest funding rounds took place in Q1 2021.

    Startups working with farm management software, sensing and IoT ($334m), farm robotics ($252m) and novel farming systems ($254m) – which include indoor farming, aquaculture and insect farming – brought in more investment across fewer deals as well.

    Country-wide figures

    agfunder
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    Across APAC, India ($2.3B) surpassed China ($1.3B) as the country with the highest cash injection in this sector last year, largely due to the loss of downstream mega-deals that propelled China’s agrifood tech industry in 2021. These nations were followed by Indonesia ($716M) and South Korea ($461M).

    But this looks to be short-lived, with China overtaking India to grab the top spot with $861M in investment in the first half of 2023. Indian startups have received $712M, followed by Hong Kong ($400M) and Australia ($146M).

    Overall, Southeast Asian startups commanded $1.7B in funding in 2022, while Australian companies saw total investment reach $316M – a rate that was maintained in the first half of 2023 with $146M in financing. Meanwhile, agrifood tech startups in Japan brought in $212M in 2022.

    Finally, while debt, early and growth-stage deals numbers have increased steadily since 2018, late-stage funding declined from 2021.

    “Few readers will be surprised that funding for Asia-Pacific’s food and agriculture startups has fallen significantly over the past year and a half, much like the rest of the world,” said AgFunder Managing Editor & Head of Media & Research Louisa Burwood-Taylor. But she added: “Seeing the rise of categories like Ag Biotech, which haven’t typically been a strength across the region, as well as growing early-stage deal activity, is promising.”

    Read AgTech’s full Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023 here.

    The post APAC AgriFood Report: Funding Hits A Low, But Farm Tech & Novel Foods Are On the Rise appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Can China Learn To Live With The Taliban? #china #afghanistan #taliban #podcast


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • US, allies hold naval exercise in South China Sea

    Warships from the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand took part earlier this week in a multilateral exercise following a recent spat between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

    Exercise Noble Caribou was held on Oct. 23 in the area between Indonesia and Malaysia “to improve our tactical capabilities and strengthen cooperation,” Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JDMSF) said in a statement.

    Participating vessels included Japan’s JS Akebono, the U.S. Navy’s USS Rafael Perata, the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Brisbane, the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Ottawa, and the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Te Mana.

    Ship-tracking data analyzed by Radio Free Asia also shows two other U.S. naval ships – the USNS Rappahannock and USNS Henson – were also operating nearby, adding to the impressive show of force.

    rappahannock henson.jpg
    U.S. vessels USNS Rappahannock and USNS Henson were operating near the area of Exercise Noble Caribou. Credit: MarineTraffic

    A day earlier Manila summoned the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines over two incidents near the Second Thomas Shoal, in which Chinese coast guard ships were accused of “dangerously maneuvering,” causing collisions with Philippine ships.

    China said Philippine vessels “trespassed” into its claimed waters.

    “The participating countries in the exercise [Noble Caribou] are maritime nations with long coastlines in the Pacific Ocean, and are like-minded nations that seek to maintain an international order based on the rule of law in order to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” Commanding Officer of JS Akebono Togawa Hisato said.

    “We believe that through this multilateral exercise, we were able to improve our tactical capabilities and strengthen cooperation with the navies of the participating countries, as well as embody their strong will and ability to create a security environment that does not tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force,” Togawa added.

    The naval exercise “was likely planned long before the recent incidents but it is part of the US’s anti-China strategy,” said Mark Valencia, a senior research fellow at China’s Huayang Institute for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance.

    “Countries should show more restraint in their actions, particularly in their military displays of power,” Valencia told RFA, adding “I am not optimistic as this has become an ever deepening and spreading modus vivendi and will likely end badly.”

    China’s position

    The U.S. quickly spoke out in support of Manila over the incidents at the weekend, vowing to stand “with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous and unlawful actions … in the South China Sea.”

    Washington said Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty “extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard.”

    After the U.S. comments, France, South Korea, and Japan also voiced their support for the Philippines. 

    Caribou2.jpg
    Caption: Soldiers from participating ships at Exercise Noble Caribou, Oct. 23, 2023. Credit: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JDMSF)

    “In the South China Sea, China has actually exercised a lot of restraint,” said retired Chinese Senior Col. Zhou Bo, who now serves as a senior fellow of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. 

    “We have been too soft on the Filipinos,” Zhou told an international conference on the South China Sea in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday. 

    Chinese maritime experts have been critical of what they call “external forces” in South China Sea disputes.

    Another Chinese analyst – Wu Shicun, president of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies – said at the same conference in Vietnam that the U.S. and U.S.-led security groupings all “clearly target China.”

    “Removing the interference of external factors is the only way and only choice if we are to realize long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Wu said.

    Retired Senior Col. Zhou shares a more hawkish view that China is the only country that would “respond militarily to American provocations.” 

    “Probably China and the United States can only cool down after another collision at … sea or in the air, which I don’t look forward to but there’s no other answer to this problem,” he said.

    Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • N Korean leader pushes for anti-US front expansion, courts China

    North Korea made further overtures to China, highlighting their mutual history of opposition to the United States. The move  underscores its leader Kim Jong Un’s strategic push to solidify his anti-American united front as Washington grapples with resource allocation in Asia amidst challenges from Ukraine and the Middle East.

    “The bond forged in blood between the people of the two nations will forever endure,” North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun said Wednesday, as it marked the 73rd anniversary of China’s intervention in the Korean War.

    The state publication labeled the Korean War an “invasion by the allied imperialist forces,” lauding China by saying it had fought “side by side with our armies, sacrificing their blood and lives in the joint endeavor to defeat the common enemy.” The paper also underscored the bilateral “anti-imperialist” alliance.

    China intervened in the Korean War to aid North Korea on Oct. 25, 1950, four months after the North attacked the South in June. Beijing refers to the intervention as “anti-American aid,” and likewise, Pyongyang views this day as a symbolic representation of its enduring friendship with China.

    The message may hold significant weight, as Pyongyang often accentuates its longstanding bond with Beijing for strategic purposes, particularly when facing heightened geopolitical challenges. Historically, North Korea has displayed a tendency to reach out to China during times of international strain or in pursuit of diplomatic advantage, with the intent of amplifying its leverage on the global stage.

    Over the past few weeks, North Korea’s foreign policy has shown signs of a larger strategy at play. From supporting Hamas, which attacked U.S.-ally Israel, to bolstering ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Pyongyang appears keen on crafting a united front against Washington.

    Radio Free Asia, earlier this month, reported the possibility of Hamas militants using North Korean weapons, and South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff later confirmed the RFA reports with its intelligence assessing that the North appeared to have a military connection to Hamas.

    Last week, a portrait of North Korean leader Kim appeared at an anti-U.S. protest in the West Bank, showing the close emotional connection of Palestine people against the U.S. and its allies standing with Israel. The Middle East conflict was a “tragedy created entirely by the United States,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday.

    “Kim Jong Un seemingly perceives the emergence of a new Cold War could benefit his regime’s stability.” said Wang Son-taek, director of the Global Policy Center at the Han Pyeong Peace Institute. “At this juncture, circumstances appear conducive for the onset of such a geopolitical climate. Both North Korea and Russia are facing economic sanctions, and China is locked in a strategic rivalry with the U.S. These three nations alone could form a strong foundation for an anti-American alliance.”

    Pyongyang’s primary objective is to establish and expand this alliance, Wang noted. Countries like Iran, Belarus, Syria, and Cuba could potentially join this coalition, and so could other BRICS nations under certain circumstances, he explained, referring to the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and soon to include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

    “For Kim Jong Un, drawing these countries into the alliance could be a strategic advantage. He seems to be of the opinion that trading with these nations could be sufficient to ensure his regime’s survival and maintain its stability.”

    Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Korea’s presidential office, also said that Kim Jong Un was demonstrating swift adaptability in the face of the emergence of what appears to be a new Cold War dynamic.

    “Amidst the standoff between the U.S. and China, Kim Jong Un’s strategy leans towards a stronger alignment with China. Additionally, he is attempting to leverage the complexities in the Middle East and Europe to his benefit,” said Cheon, noting that the anti-American united front means a “total collapse” of the sanction regimes against North Korea.

    These endeavors are not merely isolated incidents. They echo a larger global trend wherein nations are establishing new alliances in response to Washington’s Asia strategy. For instance, North Korea’s leader Kim and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met at the symbol of Russian space prowess in Russia’s Far East last month, and vowed to form an “anti-imperialist united front.” Pyongyang has been calling the U.S. and its allies  “imperialists.”  

    ENG_KOR_AntiUSFront10252023_2.JPG
    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in the Amur Oblast of the Far East Region, Russia, September 13, 2023 in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency. (Source: Reuters)

    The united front against the U.S. is already taking shape. RFA cited analysis by a private U.S. research organization the Institute for the Study of War as saying that the North could have already provided up to 500,000 pieces of ammunition to Russia, which could be used in its invasion against Ukraine.

    That united front is showing signs of being multilateral with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying in Pyongyang last week that Moscow was seeking stronger cooperation with North Korea and China to counter the U.S. and its regional allies, as reported by Russian news organization Tass.

    Tighter cooperation among the non-Western nations may amplify their leverage against the U.S. and its regional partners. The move may enhance their collective bargaining power and operational capabilities against the West, ultimately posing a challenge to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.  

    “The U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy is facing significant hurdles,” Cheon said, noting that if it is properly implemented, not only the U.S., but also countries like Australia and Western Europe would concentrate on containing China, and consequently, North Korea would inevitably come under focus as well.

    “Ultimately, North Korea would also face political, military, diplomatic and economic pressures. However, these pressures are currently dispersed due to conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, indicating a diminished cohesion,” Cheon noted. “Moving towards a new Cold War framework ensures regime survival in the medium to long term. Just as the previous Cold War era ensured Kim Il Sung’s regime stability, the new-Cold War context could secure the tenure of Kim Jong Un.”

    Han Pyeong Peace Institute’s Wang also called for the U.S. and its allies to replace the Indo-Pacific strategy with a global initiative. 

    “Given the U.S.’s role as a global hegemon, its interests should naturally encompass the entire world. Constricting its focus in the Indo-Pacific theater seems like self-imposed limitations on its global leadership,” Wang said. “A broader vision that resonates with the global community is essential.

    He noted that operating under the paradigm of ‘new existence for peaceful coexistence’ and pressuring powers like China and Russia would make other nations more inclined to align.

    “A global strategy, rather than a purely national or regional one, should be the way forward.”

    Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Philippines summons Chinese Ambassador over S China Sea collisions

    Manila summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines on Monday over two incidents in the South China Sea the previous day that analysts say highlight China’s “hypocrisy” but also the Philippines’ increased “assertive transparency campaign” in disputed waters.

    The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that the country has filed a fresh diplomatic protest against China, its 55th this year.

    Philippine authorities said one of their contracted boats on a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila maintains a navy ship as its military outpost, was blocked by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.

    During the same mission, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel’s port side was also “bumped by Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) while it was lying to approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) said, referring to the shoal by its local name. 

    Nobody on board the vessels on either side was known to have been injured.

    The Chinese Coast Guard promptly released on Sunday a statement blaming the Philippine vessels for “unauthorized entry.” 

    Chinese state media quoted the statement as saying that two Philippine transport vessels and two Philippine Coast Guard vessels “trespassed” into the waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ren’ai Reef in Chinese.

    It also said that despite repeated warnings from the Chinese authorities, the Philippine resupply vessel “deliberately crossed the bow of Chinese Coast Guard ship 5203 at 6:14 a.m. in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a minor collision.”

    About two hours later, the Philippine Coast Guard vessel 4409 “deliberately stirred up trouble” by reversing and colliding with a Chinese fishing vessel, which was floating in the vicinity, it said.

    The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines “made solemn representations to the Philippine side on Monday … expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the trespassing,” reported the Global Times on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

    Both sides released video clips to back up their claims.

    The Philippine navy in 1999 intentionally grounded the WWII ship BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal to serve as a military and sovereignty outpost, and needs to resupply the troops stationed there regularly. China said the vessel was “illegally grounded.”

    In recent months, the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels have repeatedly shadowed and blocked Philippine ships during resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, including by firing a water cannon at one of the resupply boats in August.

    Manila’s ‘transparency campaign’

    The United States quickly spoke out in support of the Philippines, its treaty ally.

    A statement by the State Department said “the United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.”

    The U.S. “reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”

    It accused the Chinese vessels of violating international laws and said China’s territorial claims have no basis as the Second Thomas Shoal is “a feature well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the Philippine continental shelf.”

    U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Department of Defense have made a point “to call out the PLAN’s hypocrisy,” said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, referring to the People’s Liberation Army Navy by its acronym.

    “China claims to have the right to regulate naval activities within its EEZ – which it doesn’t – and then feels free to operate as it pleases in other nations’ EEZs,” Shugart said.

    Another analyst, Ray Powell from Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, noted that Manila “has embarked on a tactic of assertive transparency” in reporting incidents in disputed waters.

    “It has become normal … the idea that a large country can blockade the outpost of a smaller country without serious consequences,” said Powell. “What is new is that the Philippines is now showing the world what has been happening under our noses for many years, and the world will need to decide what to do about that.”

    Chinese ship.jpg
    This videograb taken and released on October 22, 2023, shows a collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship (L) and Philippines’ resupply boat (R) during a resupply mission near the Second Thomas Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea. Credit: The Armed Forces of the Philippines

    Almost immediately after the incidents, the Philippine Armed Forces released on social media platforms photos and video clips recorded by their cameramen, as well as drone footage to accompany official statements.

    One of the photos clearly shows three Philippine ships being surrounded by eight China Coast Guard vessels.

    This tactic will help “strengthen national resilience, build international support and impose reputational costs on China,” Powell said. 

    “If other countries follow suit it will force China to recalculate whether the cost it’s now paying for its gray zone tactics are worth whatever benefits it hopes to receive for them,” the analyst added.

    The South China Sea is claimed by six parties but China’s claims are by far the most expansive. Beijing has refused to accept a 2016 international ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.

    Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s Hainan island.

    Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Philippines summons Chinese Ambassador over S China Sea collisions

    Manila summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines on Monday over two incidents in the South China Sea the previous day that analysts say highlight China’s “hypocrisy” but also the Philippines’ increased “assertive transparency campaign” in disputed waters.

    The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that the country has filed a fresh diplomatic protest against China, its 55th this year.

    Philippine authorities said one of their contracted boats on a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila maintains a navy ship as its military outpost, was blocked by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.

    During the same mission, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel’s port side was also “bumped by Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) while it was lying to approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) said, referring to the shoal by its local name. 

    Nobody on board the vessels on either side was known to have been injured.

    The Chinese Coast Guard promptly released on Sunday a statement blaming the Philippine vessels for “unauthorized entry.” 

    Chinese state media quoted the statement as saying that two Philippine transport vessels and two Philippine Coast Guard vessels “trespassed” into the waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ren’ai Reef in Chinese.

    It also said that despite repeated warnings from the Chinese authorities, the Philippine resupply vessel “deliberately crossed the bow of Chinese Coast Guard ship 5203 at 6:14 a.m. in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a minor collision.”

    About two hours later, the Philippine Coast Guard vessel 4409 “deliberately stirred up trouble” by reversing and colliding with a Chinese fishing vessel, which was floating in the vicinity, it said.

    The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines “made solemn representations to the Philippine side on Monday … expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the trespassing,” reported the Global Times on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

    Both sides released video clips to back up their claims.

    The Philippine navy in 1999 intentionally grounded the WWII ship BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal to serve as a military and sovereignty outpost, and needs to resupply the troops stationed there regularly. China said the vessel was “illegally grounded.”

    In recent months, the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels have repeatedly shadowed and blocked Philippine ships during resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, including by firing a water cannon at one of the resupply boats in August.

    Manila’s ‘transparency campaign’

    The United States quickly spoke out in support of the Philippines, its treaty ally.

    A statement by the State Department said “the United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.”

    The U.S. “reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”

    It accused the Chinese vessels of violating international laws and said China’s territorial claims have no basis as the Second Thomas Shoal is “a feature well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the Philippine continental shelf.”

    U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Department of Defense have made a point “to call out the PLAN’s hypocrisy,” said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, referring to the People’s Liberation Army Navy by its acronym.

    “China claims to have the right to regulate naval activities within its EEZ – which it doesn’t – and then feels free to operate as it pleases in other nations’ EEZs,” Shugart said.

    Another analyst, Ray Powell from Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, noted that Manila “has embarked on a tactic of assertive transparency” in reporting incidents in disputed waters.

    “It has become normal … the idea that a large country can blockade the outpost of a smaller country without serious consequences,” said Powell. “What is new is that the Philippines is now showing the world what has been happening under our noses for many years, and the world will need to decide what to do about that.”

    Chinese ship.jpg
    This videograb taken and released on October 22, 2023, shows a collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship (L) and Philippines’ resupply boat (R) during a resupply mission near the Second Thomas Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea. Credit: The Armed Forces of the Philippines

    Almost immediately after the incidents, the Philippine Armed Forces released on social media platforms photos and video clips recorded by their cameramen, as well as drone footage to accompany official statements.

    One of the photos clearly shows three Philippine ships being surrounded by eight China Coast Guard vessels.

    This tactic will help “strengthen national resilience, build international support and impose reputational costs on China,” Powell said. 

    “If other countries follow suit it will force China to recalculate whether the cost it’s now paying for its gray zone tactics are worth whatever benefits it hopes to receive for them,” the analyst added.

    The South China Sea is claimed by six parties but China’s claims are by far the most expansive. Beijing has refused to accept a 2016 international ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.

    Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s Hainan island.

    Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Philippines summons Chinese Ambassador over S China Sea collisions

    Manila summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines on Monday over two incidents in the South China Sea the previous day that analysts say highlight China’s “hypocrisy” but also the Philippines’ increased “assertive transparency campaign” in disputed waters.

    The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that the country has filed a fresh diplomatic protest against China, its 55th this year.

    Philippine authorities said one of their contracted boats on a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila maintains a navy ship as its military outpost, was blocked by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, resulting in a collision.

    During the same mission, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel’s port side was also “bumped by Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) while it was lying to approximately 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) said, referring to the shoal by its local name. 

    Nobody on board the vessels on either side was known to have been injured.

    The Chinese Coast Guard promptly released on Sunday a statement blaming the Philippine vessels for “unauthorized entry.” 

    Chinese state media quoted the statement as saying that two Philippine transport vessels and two Philippine Coast Guard vessels “trespassed” into the waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ren’ai Reef in Chinese.

    It also said that despite repeated warnings from the Chinese authorities, the Philippine resupply vessel “deliberately crossed the bow of Chinese Coast Guard ship 5203 at 6:14 a.m. in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a minor collision.”

    About two hours later, the Philippine Coast Guard vessel 4409 “deliberately stirred up trouble” by reversing and colliding with a Chinese fishing vessel, which was floating in the vicinity, it said.

    The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines “made solemn representations to the Philippine side on Monday … expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the trespassing,” reported the Global Times on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

    Both sides released video clips to back up their claims.

    The Philippine navy in 1999 intentionally grounded the WWII ship BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal to serve as a military and sovereignty outpost, and needs to resupply the troops stationed there regularly. China said the vessel was “illegally grounded.”

    In recent months, the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels have repeatedly shadowed and blocked Philippine ships during resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, including by firing a water cannon at one of the resupply boats in August.

    Manila’s ‘transparency campaign’

    The United States quickly spoke out in support of the Philippines, its treaty ally.

    A statement by the State Department said “the United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard and maritime militia’s dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.”

    The U.S. “reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.”

    It accused the Chinese vessels of violating international laws and said China’s territorial claims have no basis as the Second Thomas Shoal is “a feature well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the Philippine continental shelf.”

    U.S. government agencies, including the State Department and the Department of Defense have made a point “to call out the PLAN’s hypocrisy,” said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, referring to the People’s Liberation Army Navy by its acronym.

    “China claims to have the right to regulate naval activities within its EEZ – which it doesn’t – and then feels free to operate as it pleases in other nations’ EEZs,” Shugart said.

    Another analyst, Ray Powell from Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, noted that Manila “has embarked on a tactic of assertive transparency” in reporting incidents in disputed waters.

    “It has become normal … the idea that a large country can blockade the outpost of a smaller country without serious consequences,” said Powell. “What is new is that the Philippines is now showing the world what has been happening under our noses for many years, and the world will need to decide what to do about that.”

    Chinese ship.jpg
    This videograb taken and released on October 22, 2023, shows a collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship (L) and Philippines’ resupply boat (R) during a resupply mission near the Second Thomas Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea. Credit: The Armed Forces of the Philippines

    Almost immediately after the incidents, the Philippine Armed Forces released on social media platforms photos and video clips recorded by their cameramen, as well as drone footage to accompany official statements.

    One of the photos clearly shows three Philippine ships being surrounded by eight China Coast Guard vessels.

    This tactic will help “strengthen national resilience, build international support and impose reputational costs on China,” Powell said. 

    “If other countries follow suit it will force China to recalculate whether the cost it’s now paying for its gray zone tactics are worth whatever benefits it hopes to receive for them,” the analyst added.

    The South China Sea is claimed by six parties but China’s claims are by far the most expansive. Beijing has refused to accept a 2016 international ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.

    Second Thomas Shoal is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s Hainan island.

    Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China Condemns Attack on Gaza Hospital

    This week’s News on China.

    • China condemns “heinous attack” on Gaza hospital
    • 3rd Belt and Road Forum
    • Record number of state visits to China
    • Young people go to community kitchens

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Rambo’s Pacific Peace Zone

    There has always been something impressive, if slightly idiosyncratic, about political ideas emanating from Pacific states.  In recent years, on the world’s largest body of water, the various island states seeing themselves as part of the Blue Pacific have tried to identify a set of principles by which to abide, forming an understanding of the environment that threatens to submerge them.  Some sixteen states and territories in the Pacific became the second grouping to establish a nuclear free zone in 1985 via the Treaty of Rarotonga, first proposed by New Zealand at the South Pacific Forum meeting in Tonga in July 1975.  Since then, climate change has taken centre stage.

    Given that this vast aqueous area has again become an area of great power competition, it is time for the leaders, some cheeky, a number reckless, and all open to persuasion, to come to some arrangement to neutralise such competition even as they exploit it.  Sitiveni Rabuka, Fiji’s coup burnished Prime Minister, has put up his hand in this regard.  As he put it in his October 17 address to the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, “For us in the Blue Pacific, history may be calling, it might be our manifest destiny to carry banners for peace and speak out for harmony in our time and forever.”

    This is daringly opportunistic, as it should be.  Doing so means that bulky, cloddish powers such as the United States and China may be discouraged from going to war, one that would be incalculably ruinous across the Indo- and Asia-Pacific.  Afterall, once the missiles start flying between Beijing and Washington, notions of a tranquil Blue Pacific can be filed in the cabinet of oblivion.

    In the words of Rabuka, “Rivalry between the two most powerful nations, the US and China, looks to be intensifying.”  The PM could only wonder, for instance, what would happen in instances where Chinese and Filipino ships confronted each other in the South China Sea.  “Will this bring the US into an encounter with China?”

    Concerns were also expressed about the deteriorating state of affairs regarding Taiwan.  “Tensions over Taiwan are escalating with the potential for an armed face-off, or worse.”  With this in mind, “Fiji’s position was clear.  We are friendly with China and the US and do not want to be caught in the struggle between the superpowers.”  The leaders in the Pacific, he warned, should not be made to choose sides.

    With apostolic virtue, Rabuka suggested something of a different, middling formula: an “Ocean of Peace”.  Such an idea was first aired in his September address to the United Nations General Assembly, where he urged “nations to come together” in tackling a whole set of crises, from great power competition to climate change.

    This contemplated “Zone”, involving the major powers and Pacific Island states, would refrain “from actions that may jeopardise regional order and stability” and maintain “respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.  Such an arrangement might also have immediate, tangible benefits, such as the deployment of Fijian peacekeepers to Papua New Guinea to quell tribal conflict, or brokering peace talks between West Papua and Indonesia.  “There would be a continued emphasis on the Pacific way of dialogue, diplomacy and consensus,” he explained.  “Protection and conservation of the environment would be central – a positive element for more harmony and peace.”

    Rabuka’s ideas on peace and order are bound to cause a snigger over the canteen meals in foreign affairs departments.  This was a man not averse to leading his own disruptive actions in undermining the very things he now redemptively extols.  The ABC’s eternally looking adolescent, Stephen Dziedzic, was mature enough to note the obvious fact that Rabuka, “once nicknamed ‘Rambo’ – illegally seized power in a 1987 military coup”.  A gentle exoneration follows, as Rambo “has since publicly apologised for his actions, and won a tight election 10 months ago to take Fiji’s top job once again.”

    On that score, Fiji’s leader has much to apologise for.  His coup (technically two coups staged over a few months) ensured the overthrow of the elected government of Timoci Bavadra in May 1987.  He then daringly deposed Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji the following September, despite having been made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 for showing “imagination and innovation” in confronting and restraining the activities of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in Lebanon.  (He had done so commanding the first battalion of the Fiji Infantry Regiment, which was serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.)

    With such a resume, Rabuka tried to be penitent to his audience.  He had “repented” and was “reborn.  My past cannot be removed, but I can compensate to some extent for what I did.”  Along the long road of political stuttering, he “became a convinced democrat … and now this democratic politician will do what he can to be an apostle of peace.”

    Rabuka, like some of his Pacific nation colleagues, continues to be an irrepressible tease in dealings with Australia, China and the United States.  “We are more comfortable dealing with traditional friends that have similar systems of government, that our democracies are the same brand of democracy, coming out of the Westminster system of parliament, and also based on British law that we inherited.”

    Having previously shown a glorious contempt for that system, he is perfectly placed to cash in on his continuing relationship with Canberra and, by extension, Washington, while dancing with the emissaries of Beijing.  And what better way to do that than through a solution that seeks preservation rather than suicidal annihilation?

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • 51 nations blast China over violating Uyghurs’ rights

    In a joint statement, 51 countries, including the United States, expressed deep concern to the United Nations on Wednesday over Chinese human rights violations of Uyghurs in its far-western Xinjiang region.

    The move comes after China was elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term – despite its poor track record in protecting rights.

    “Members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang continue to suffer serious violations of their human rights by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China,” said the statement, which was delivered by James Kariuki, Britain’s U.N. ambassador.

    It urged China to respond to an August 2022 report issued by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, which concluded China’s mass detentions of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities on a large scale in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

    The report found that “serious human rights violations” have been committed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region amid the Chinese government’s claims of countering terrorism and extremism.

    The assessment cited evidence of invasive surveillance on the basis of religion and ethnicity, restrictions on cultural and religious practices, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, forced abortion and sterilization of Muslim women, enforced disappearances, family separations, and forced labor, the statement noted.

    “Over a year has passed since that assessment was released and yet China has not engaged in any constructive discussion of these findings,” said the statement issued at the U.N.’s Third Committee, which meets annually in early October to deal with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social matters.  

    In its recommendations, the OHCHR had called on the Chinese government to release detainees from camps and other detention facilities, issue details about the location of Uyghurs in Xinjiang who have been out of touch with relatives abroad, allow travel so families can be reunited, and investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

    ‘Strong remedial action’

    At the most recent session of the U.N’s Human Rights Council in September, Volker Türk, the current high commissioner for human rights, called on China to follow the recommendations of the assessment and take “strong remedial action.”

    Maya Wang, associate director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said maintaining pressure on China is part of a continued effort to hold the country accountable for its actions in Xinjiang.

    “Suffice it to say that moving a government as abusive and powerful as China’s takes a lot of effort and time, and that pressing the U.N. to keep prioritizing human rights in its interactions with China is part of this long and hard effort,” she told Radio Free Asia.

    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in 'the new era,' in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China's Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP
    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in ‘the new era,’ in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP

    The New York-based right group called on U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to end crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other serious rights abuses in China, during a visit to Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum on Oct. 17-18.

    “Since becoming secretary-general in 2017, Guterres has shown reluctance to publicly criticize the Chinese government for its severe and worsening repression,” HRW said in a statement.

    Growing number

    Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, welcomed the joint U.N. statement, noting that a few African and South American countries have signed this year’s statement condemning China’s atrocities against Uyghurs. 

    “In 2019, there were only 20 countries that signed on to the joint statement,” he said. 

    “Despite China’s efforts to spread disinformation to cover up it genocide against Uyghurs by increasing tourism, inviting friendly diplomats and journalists to the region, the fact that there are more countries signed on to this joint statement this time proves the complete failure of China’s disinformation campaign,” he said.

    Luke de Pulford, executive director of Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, said the latest statement should not be confused with action. 

    “We shouldn’t be fooled,” he told RFA. “It’s good that the U.K. should be applauded for taking some symbolic action, but these statements do not achieve accountability. It shouldn’t be confused and conflated with accountability.” 

    Xinjiang regional expert Adrian Zenz agreed that “writing a letter was good, but it cost you nothing,” he tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

    “You are not paying any actual price for your values,” he wrote. “Actions speak louder than words. Actions could include: Effective forced labor ban. Legal atrocity determination. Sanctioning higher level officials.”   

    Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gulchehra Hoja and Adile Ablet for RFA Uyghur.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 51 nations blast China over violating Uyghurs’ rights

    In a joint statement, 51 countries, including the United States, expressed deep concern to the United Nations on Wednesday over Chinese human rights violations of Uyghurs in its far-western Xinjiang region.

    The move comes after China was elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term – despite its poor track record in protecting rights.

    “Members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang continue to suffer serious violations of their human rights by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China,” said the statement, which was delivered by James Kariuki, Britain’s U.N. ambassador.

    It urged China to respond to an August 2022 report issued by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, which concluded China’s mass detentions of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities on a large scale in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

    The report found that “serious human rights violations” have been committed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region amid the Chinese government’s claims of countering terrorism and extremism.

    The assessment cited evidence of invasive surveillance on the basis of religion and ethnicity, restrictions on cultural and religious practices, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, forced abortion and sterilization of Muslim women, enforced disappearances, family separations, and forced labor, the statement noted.

    “Over a year has passed since that assessment was released and yet China has not engaged in any constructive discussion of these findings,” said the statement issued at the U.N.’s Third Committee, which meets annually in early October to deal with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social matters.  

    In its recommendations, the OHCHR had called on the Chinese government to release detainees from camps and other detention facilities, issue details about the location of Uyghurs in Xinjiang who have been out of touch with relatives abroad, allow travel so families can be reunited, and investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

    ‘Strong remedial action’

    At the most recent session of the U.N’s Human Rights Council in September, Volker Türk, the current high commissioner for human rights, called on China to follow the recommendations of the assessment and take “strong remedial action.”

    Maya Wang, associate director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said maintaining pressure on China is part of a continued effort to hold the country accountable for its actions in Xinjiang.

    “Suffice it to say that moving a government as abusive and powerful as China’s takes a lot of effort and time, and that pressing the U.N. to keep prioritizing human rights in its interactions with China is part of this long and hard effort,” she told Radio Free Asia.

    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in 'the new era,' in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China's Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP
    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in ‘the new era,’ in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP

    The New York-based right group called on U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to end crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other serious rights abuses in China, during a visit to Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum on Oct. 17-18.

    “Since becoming secretary-general in 2017, Guterres has shown reluctance to publicly criticize the Chinese government for its severe and worsening repression,” HRW said in a statement.

    Growing number

    Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, welcomed the joint U.N. statement, noting that a few African and South American countries have signed this year’s statement condemning China’s atrocities against Uyghurs. 

    “In 2019, there were only 20 countries that signed on to the joint statement,” he said. 

    “Despite China’s efforts to spread disinformation to cover up it genocide against Uyghurs by increasing tourism, inviting friendly diplomats and journalists to the region, the fact that there are more countries signed on to this joint statement this time proves the complete failure of China’s disinformation campaign,” he said.

    Luke de Pulford, executive director of Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, said the latest statement should not be confused with action. 

    “We shouldn’t be fooled,” he told RFA. “It’s good that the U.K. should be applauded for taking some symbolic action, but these statements do not achieve accountability. It shouldn’t be confused and conflated with accountability.” 

    Xinjiang regional expert Adrian Zenz agreed that “writing a letter was good, but it cost you nothing,” he tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

    “You are not paying any actual price for your values,” he wrote. “Actions speak louder than words. Actions could include: Effective forced labor ban. Legal atrocity determination. Sanctioning higher level officials.”   

    Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gulchehra Hoja and Adile Ablet for RFA Uyghur.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 51 nations blast China over violating Uyghurs’ rights

    In a joint statement, 51 countries, including the United States, expressed deep concern to the United Nations on Wednesday over Chinese human rights violations of Uyghurs in its far-western Xinjiang region.

    The move comes after China was elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term – despite its poor track record in protecting rights.

    “Members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang continue to suffer serious violations of their human rights by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China,” said the statement, which was delivered by James Kariuki, Britain’s U.N. ambassador.

    It urged China to respond to an August 2022 report issued by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, which concluded China’s mass detentions of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities on a large scale in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”

    The report found that “serious human rights violations” have been committed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region amid the Chinese government’s claims of countering terrorism and extremism.

    The assessment cited evidence of invasive surveillance on the basis of religion and ethnicity, restrictions on cultural and religious practices, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, forced abortion and sterilization of Muslim women, enforced disappearances, family separations, and forced labor, the statement noted.

    “Over a year has passed since that assessment was released and yet China has not engaged in any constructive discussion of these findings,” said the statement issued at the U.N.’s Third Committee, which meets annually in early October to deal with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social matters.  

    In its recommendations, the OHCHR had called on the Chinese government to release detainees from camps and other detention facilities, issue details about the location of Uyghurs in Xinjiang who have been out of touch with relatives abroad, allow travel so families can be reunited, and investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

    ‘Strong remedial action’

    At the most recent session of the U.N’s Human Rights Council in September, Volker Türk, the current high commissioner for human rights, called on China to follow the recommendations of the assessment and take “strong remedial action.”

    Maya Wang, associate director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said maintaining pressure on China is part of a continued effort to hold the country accountable for its actions in Xinjiang.

    “Suffice it to say that moving a government as abusive and powerful as China’s takes a lot of effort and time, and that pressing the U.N. to keep prioritizing human rights in its interactions with China is part of this long and hard effort,” she told Radio Free Asia.

    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in 'the new era,' in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China's Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP
    Women walk past a propaganda slogan promoting ethnic unity in ‘the new era,’ in both Chinese and Uyghur languages, in Yarkand, northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, July 18, 2023. Credit: Pedro Paro/AFP

    The New York-based right group called on U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to end crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other serious rights abuses in China, during a visit to Beijing to attend the third Belt and Road Forum on Oct. 17-18.

    “Since becoming secretary-general in 2017, Guterres has shown reluctance to publicly criticize the Chinese government for its severe and worsening repression,” HRW said in a statement.

    Growing number

    Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, welcomed the joint U.N. statement, noting that a few African and South American countries have signed this year’s statement condemning China’s atrocities against Uyghurs. 

    “In 2019, there were only 20 countries that signed on to the joint statement,” he said. 

    “Despite China’s efforts to spread disinformation to cover up it genocide against Uyghurs by increasing tourism, inviting friendly diplomats and journalists to the region, the fact that there are more countries signed on to this joint statement this time proves the complete failure of China’s disinformation campaign,” he said.

    Luke de Pulford, executive director of Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, said the latest statement should not be confused with action. 

    “We shouldn’t be fooled,” he told RFA. “It’s good that the U.K. should be applauded for taking some symbolic action, but these statements do not achieve accountability. It shouldn’t be confused and conflated with accountability.” 

    Xinjiang regional expert Adrian Zenz agreed that “writing a letter was good, but it cost you nothing,” he tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

    “You are not paying any actual price for your values,” he wrote. “Actions speak louder than words. Actions could include: Effective forced labor ban. Legal atrocity determination. Sanctioning higher level officials.”   

    Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gulchehra Hoja and Adile Ablet for RFA Uyghur.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • We Need to Disarm the Discourse on China

    From racist tweets to rising hate crimes, the media’s anti-China propaganda has created a climate of aggression. Two weeks ago, a man drove a car into the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, yelling “Where’s the CCP?” Arab Americans have been targeted during the Persian Gulf War, the War on Terror, and U.S.-backed atrocities in Palestine. It’s no surprise that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are in the crosshairs of white supremacy as the U.S. targets China. Back in April, a Columbia University found that three in four Chinese Americans said they’d suffered racial discrimination in the past 12 months.

    When the Trump administration launched the China Initiative to prosecute spies, the Department of Justice racially profiled Chinese Americans and Chinese nationals. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of Chinese researchers who dropped their affiliation with U.S. institutions jumped 23 percent. The Biden administration has ended the initiative, but the Department of Justice and the congressional anti-China committee are still targeting political leaders in the Chinese community.

    As Biden continues the crackdowns of his predecessor, his administration is also escalating in the Asia-Pacific region. From expanding military bases in the Philippines – including one potential base in the works intended to join contingencies in Taiwan – to building a fleet of AI drones to target China, militarists are creating conditions for a hot war in the Pacific. As the U.S. prepares for war, Forbes published an article on September 25 about an aircraft carrier “kill chain” and its potential use in a war with China. In February, CNN journalists accompanied a U.S. Navy jet approaching Chinese airspace. As a Chinese pilot warned the U.S. to keep a safe distance, an American soldier remarked: “It’s another Friday afternoon in the South China Sea.”

    Not only are we normalizing U.S. aggression. We’re also relying on the military-industrial complex as an unbiased source. Pro-war propaganda is derailing China-U.S. ties, increasing anti-Asian hate, and hiding the realities of public opinion across the Pacific.

    After launching the AUKUS military pact between Britain and Australia in 2021, as well as stiff export controls designed to limit China’s economy last year, the U.S. began 2023 with what appeared to be an olive branch. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China in February. Then came the “spy balloon.”

    A Chinese balloon was blown off course and eventually shot down by the U.S. military. The Wall Street Journal and NBC uncritically printed and broadcasted statements from US Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder about the balloon’s surveillance capabilities. On February 8, citing three unnamed officials, the New York Times said, “American intelligence agencies have assessed that China’s spy balloon program is part of global surveillance.” The same story mentions the U.S. State Department’s briefings to foreign officials that were “designed to show that the balloons are equipped for intelligence gathering and that the Chinese military has been carrying out this collection for years, targeting, among other sites, the territories of Japan, Taiwan, India, and the Philippines.”

    On April 3, the BBC and CNN published conflicting stories on the balloon that cited anonymous officials but contained inconsistencies about its ability to take pictures. It wasn’t until June 29 that Ryder admitted no data had been transmitted. In September, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told CBS the balloon wasn’t even spying. This matched China’s statements about the balloon, as well as that of American meteorologists. But the damage was done. Blinken had postponed his trip to China. He eventually went in June, after a trip to Papua New Guinea, where its student protesters rejected his plans to militarize their country under a security pact.

    On May 26, Blinken made a speech, referring to China as a “long-term challenge.” Politico went further, publishing a piece on May 26, called “Blinken calls China ‘most serious long-term’ threat to world order” with a same-day USA Today article also taking the liberty of using challenge and threat interchangeably.

    A Princeton University study found Americans who perceive China as a threat were more likely to stereotype Chinese people as untrustworthy and immoral. Intelligence leaks about a China threat combined with the age-old Yellow Peril syndrome have allowed for incessant Sinophobia to dominate our politics.

    Misinformation, the other pandemic

    In May 2020, Trump told a scared country with 1 million recorded COVID-19 cases and almost 100,000 dead that the pandemic was China’s fault. Again, our leaders cited undisclosed intelligence. For its part, CNN showed images of wet markets after the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Walter Russell Mead called “China Is The Real Sick Man of Asia.” A year later, Politico eventually acknowledged Trump cherry-picked intelligence to support his claims but the Biden administration ended up also seeking to investigate the lab leak theory. And the media went along with it.

    For the Wall Street Journal, pro-Iraq War propagandist Michael Gordon co-authored an article claiming that “three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care.” An anonymous source said, “The information that we had coming from the various sources was of exquisite quality.” But the source admits it’s not known why researchers were sick.

    The article relies on the conservative Hudson Institute’s Senior Fellow David Asher’s testimony and the fact China has not shared the medical records of citizens without potential COVID-19 symptoms. It is even admitted that several other unnamed U.S. officials find the Trump-era intelligence to be exactly what it is – circumstantial.

    A year earlier, during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries moderated by CNN, Dana Bash asked Bernie Sanders: “What consequences should China face for its role in its global crisis?” She asked the question referencing how Wuhan’s authorities silenced Dr. Wenliang but failed to mention China’s People’s Supreme Court condemned the city’s police for doing so. She also didn’t acknowledge how Wuhan Institute of Virology’s Shi Zhengli revealed in July 2020 that all of the staff and students in her lab tested negative for COVID-19. Shi even shared her research with American scientists. Georgetown University COVID-19 origin specialist Daniel Lucey welcomed Shi’s transparency: “There are a lot of new facts I wasn’t aware of. It’s very exciting to hear this directly from her.”

    But from the Page Act of 1875, which stereotyped Chinese as disease carriers, to job discrimination during the pandemic, it is Asian Americans who ultimately pay the price for the media’s irresponsibility and participation in medical racism. They are already among the casualties of the new cold war. But that war not only threatens residents of the U.S. but the entire planet too.

    Profit, not principle

    This summer, the U.S. armed Taiwan under the Foreign Military Transfer program, reserved for sovereign states only. This violates the one-China policy which holds that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is one China. Biden is also trying to include Taiwan weapons funding in a supplemental request to Congress. Weapons sales to Taiwan go back to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, as well as Reagan administration’s assurances that the U.S. will keep sending weapons but not play any mediation role between Taipei and Beijing. In 1996, a military standoff between the U.S. and China erupted in the Taiwan Strait, followed by an increasing flow of lethal weaponry up to the present.

    The New York Times published a story on September 18, mentioning Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which it says was “a show of support for the island.” Never mind that the majority of Taiwan residents surveyed by the Brookings Institute felt her visit was detrimental to their security. The media also often ignores voices from Taiwan who don’t want war, favor reunification, or reject attempts to delete Chinese history in their textbooks.

    Still, Fox News continues to give a platform to lawmakers like Representative Young Kim who wrote a piece on September 20 advocating for more military patrols in the South China Sea. On October 17, The Washington Post published a story about the Pentagon releasing footage of Chinese aircraft intercepting U.S. warplanes over the last two years. The story does not share the context of U.S. expansionism or how multiple secretaries of defense have threatened Beijing over its disputed maritime borders. Microsoft is even getting in on the action, with articles from CNN and Reuters last month uncritically sharing the software company’s claims that China is using AI to interfere in our elections, despite no evidence shared with the voting public.

    It demonstrates how war profiteers are edging us closer to a conflict. From sending the Patriot weapons system to Taiwan to practicing attacks with F-22 Raptors in the occupied Northern Marianas Islands, Lockheed Martin is raking in lucrative contracts while residents of the region fear an outbreak of war. RTX supplies Israel’s Iron Dome and is now designing engineering systems for gunboats in the Pacific. When arms dealers make money, victims of imperialism die. With strong links to the military, it’s hard to imagine that Microsoft, News Corp, and Warner Bros. Discovery would care as long as their stocks go up too. Intelligence spooks and media moguls don’t know what’s best for people or the planet. And it’s time for a balanced and nuanced understanding of China. That begins with disarming the discourse and keeping the Pacific peaceful.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • China bans book on last Ming emperor after comments link it to Xi

    Updated October 19, 2023, 5:38 p.m. ET

    Authorities in China have banned a book about the last Ming dynasty emperor Chongzhen after online comments said its analysis could apply to current Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

    “Chongzhen: The hard-working emperor who brought down a dynasty” by late Ming dynasty expert Chen Wutong recently disappeared from online bookstores, including the website of state-run Xinhua Books, with multiple searches for the book yielding no results on major book-selling platforms this week.

    Meanwhile, keyword searches for the book and its author on the social media platform Weibo yielded no results on Thursday.

    Current affairs commentators said the book has likely been removed from public view after online comments drew parallels between its analysis of the fall of the 1368-1644 Ming dynasty and China’s current situation under ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

    Many online comments picked up on a particular line in Chen’s book: “With one bad move following another, the harder he worked, the faster he brought the country to ruin.” 

    “From the Ming Dynasty all the way to the present day,” chuckled a post on the “Stupid Stuff from China” Facebook page dated Oct. 17.

    “It’s obvious what it’s hinting at,” commented one reader. 

    Another reader likened Xi to several emperors who were the last of their dynasties. 

    “Chongzhen, Daoguang, Pu Yi, Winnie [the Pooh], so many like this,” the reader said, using Xi’s nickname Winnie the Pooh, whom he is said to resemble.

    Current affairs commentator Wang Jian said the book’s ban was likely down to that sentence, which resonates in people’s minds.

    “The book wouldn’t have much of an effect on [Xi], except that it reflects what everyone is thinking,” Wang said. “Xi Jinping has been going against common sense and the will of the people in recent years — everyone has reached a consensus about that.”

    “[The book shows that] if someone tries to abuse their power, misfortune will befall them, so it has become a sensitive topic,” he said. “It would never have been banned if it didn’t speak to that social consensus and public feeling.”

    1 (1).jpg
    A copy of the book appeared on second-hand websites for 1,280 yuan (US$175), 27 times the price of a new copy. Credit: Online screenshot provided by Chen Zifei

    Former Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kei, who now runs a bookshop on the democratic island of Taiwan, said any book in China that carries a potentially political message can be banned at any time.

    “The top priority for the [Chinese Communist Party] regime is to maintain its grip on power,” Lam, who was detained for months by state security police for selling political books to customers in mainland China, said.

    “As soon as they find a book with ideological implications for the regime or its hold on power, they will list them as banned books,” Lam said, citing the banning of the “Sheep Village” series of children’s picture books in Hong Kong.

    “The people in power make the decisions, and also determine the criteria for banning a book, which can’t be rationally understood,” he said.

    Current affairs commentator Fang Yuan said it’s common in China, where people can’t express their opinions freely, for public dissatisfaction with the government to emerge indirectly, through historical references.

    He said people have seemingly responded to the ban by selling used copies of the book at hugely inflated prices on second-hand book-trading platforms, which are less stringently regulated.

    One copy of the book was even listed on the Confucius online second-hand bookstore for 1,280 yuan (US$175), 27 times the listed price for a new copy.

    “When there’s no hope of playing hard-ball, the public and civil society expresses its anger by playing a softer game, as a way to curse out the government,” Fang said.

    “[This book ban] shows that the situation is very sensitive and has reached a stage where everything is tense and everyone is on guard.”

    Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Eugene Whong.
    Update changes the image to the most recent edition of the book.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Chen Zifei for RFA Mandarin.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • PNG’s trade minister pledges China, Indon free trade deals are ‘in sights’

    By Matthew Vari, editor of the PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea’s Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru has assured investors in Asia that his government has its sights set on free trade agreements with China and Indonesia.

    He said his ministry, in tandem with a new parliamentary committee, would look into the “impediments to business”, with the aim to ease such disincentives to investors coming into the country in all sectors.

    “We need to reduce the cost of doing business. Our Parliament last week established a new committee which is tasked to look at how we can reduce the difficulties in doing business and the committee has been established for the first time and they will look into
    that aspect,” he said.

    “How do we make it easier — that aspect of business and the cost of doing business?

    “We are now going to undertake a 6-month study on the viability of having a free trade agreement with China.

    “I’m working to be in Indonesia in the coming weeks to start the discussions with the trade minister of Indonesia. We want to also undertake the study of Papua New Guinea looking at the viability of a free trade agreement with Indonesia,” Maru said.

    He said PNG was serious about growth and economic partnership with the two large economies.

    Maru reiterated that while the extractive sectors did raise revenue, they did not generate jobs except in their construction stage.

    “Fisheries, forestry, hospitality, tourism — that is where the big jobs are.

    “We will start putting trade commissions in cities with trade commissioners right around the world,” he added.

    Republished with permission from the PNG Post-Courier.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • China bans Tibetan language in schools in Sichuan province

    China has banned the teaching and use of the Tibetan language at elementary and middle schools in two Tibetan-populated regions in southwestern China, sources inside the country said, requiring all instruction to be in Mandarin.

    The move could lead to the extinction of the language in the regions – and could endanger its viability across the country, Tibetan activists fear. 

    The Chinese government ordered the ban in government-run schools in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, starting with the fall semester that began in September, a Tibetan source said.

    Middle school students currently enrolled can finish the next two years of studies in Tibetan, but starting in 2025, all classes will be held in Mandarin, the person said.

    Previously, state-run schools in the region taught Tibetan language classes to students, and subjects including mathematics, science, physics, geography, history and social studies were conducted in Tibetan. Mandarin was also taught as a language course.

    But now, the Chinese government has expedited the teaching of all school subjects in Mandarin in schools in the 12 counties comprising Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in what it said was an effort to raise education standards, teachers and parents of students said.

    ‘Soft atrocity’

    The ban is part of Beijing’s wider “Sinicization” program that has also restricted the language and culture of Uyghurs and other minorities in China – despite protections in China’s Constitution that permit minority groups to use their own language in their own regions.

    Another Tibetan source called the step a “soft atrocity.”

    “On the pretext of the government’s program, China is trying to completely wipe out the Tibetan language,” said the person who, like others in this report, declined to be identified out of concern for their safety. 

    “China’s use of soft atrocities, instead of forcible measures, is leading to the complete annihilation of Tibetan society and education, with no scope for revival,” the source said.

    Radio Free Asia could not reach the education departments of Ngaba and Kardze for comment.

    Reversal

    Tibetan is widely spoken not just in the Tibetan Autonomous Region in the far western part of China, but also in neighboring parts of the country with large Tibetan populations. For example, about 90 percent of Karze prefecture’s 1 million inhabitants are Tibetan.

    The ban reverses previous moves to promote the Tibetan language in the region.

    Under the Karze Area Tibetan Language Regulation adopted in 2015, special emphasis was put on the formation of a Tibetan language task force in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with the promotion of Tibetan-language teaching in schools considered important. 

    The news came as a surprise to many.

    Teachers and parents were not officially informed about this major change in policy, but simply told verbally to implement it at the start of a new academic year, the sources said.  

    After banning Tibetan instruction at the Chak-sam-kha Middle School, Tibetan language teachers were told to move to other areas where the government allows Tibetan to be used as the medium of instruction, the sources said.

    School administrators did not inform students’ parents about the change in the language of instruction from Tibetan to Mandarin in various subjects, and they held a meeting with teachers who were suddenly instructed to teach their subjects in Mandarin, the sources said.

    Middle schools in Zoege county, also part of the Tibetan traditional region of Amdo, are widely known for their high standard of Tibetan-language teaching but had to switch to Mandarin as the main language of instruction this year, said a Tibetan source from inside Tibet. 

    All teachers at Zoege country middle schools have to implement the measure, the source said.

    Resentment by the public and educators over a plan in 2020 to change the language of instruction to Mandarin from Tibetan in elementary and middle schools in Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture boiled over into a large protest, and the plan was put on hold.

    Translated by Rigdhen Dolma for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Pelbar for RFA Tibetan.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China recruits thousands to monitor its citizens’ words and deeds

    The ruling Chinese Communist Party is stepping up its monitoring of citizens across the board, from door-to-door monitoring of residential neighborhoods to new rules requiring online celebrities to use their real names.

    Local governments across the country have been recruiting thousands of people in recent months as “grid workers” supplying information about residents to the local authorities, according to official websites.

    The “grid management” system is so named because it carves up neighborhoods into a grid pattern with 15-20 households per square, and gives each grid a dedicated monitor who reports back on residents’ affairs to neighborhood committees, the lowest rung in the government hierarchy.

    Neighborhood committees in China have long been tasked with monitoring the activities of ordinary people in a certain area, but the “grid” system will allow officials to do so even more closely, as well as giving indicators of possible dissent at an early stage.

    Grid workers are “information collectors, policy propagandists, liaison [officers] for social situations and public opinion, conflict and dispute mediators,” among other things, according to a recruitment ad posted to the website of the Heshan city government in the southern province of Guangdong.

    Multiple job recruitment postings for grid workers are seen on a Shandong civil service website in Aug. 2023. Credit: RFA screenshot
    Multiple job recruitment postings for grid workers are seen on a Shandong civil service website in Aug. 2023. Credit: RFA screenshot

    In the eastern province of Shandong, authorities in the provincial capital Jinan posted ads for 1,880 grid worker positions in August, with ads also visible on government websites in northeastern Jilin, southeastern Fujian, the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, and Shandong’s Laizhou city.

    Such workers “visit regularly to comprehensively collect basic information on people, events, places, objects, emotions, etc, within their grid,” according to the Heshan recruitment material.

    Most ads want to recruit people who live in the district they’ll be monitoring, and only those who “support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.”

    Anyone who has “failed to cooperate” with the government or “implement the party line” in the past isn’t eligible, even if they were merely engaging in passive resistance, according to a recruitment ad posted by authorities in Jilin’s Tonghua city.

    Door to door

    A photo of a notice posted to social media showed a warning to local residents by the Huanglianqiao Neighborhood Committee in Sichuan’s Deyang city that grid management in the residential district would be starting soon, with grid workers going door to door to “collect personal information from residents.”

    “We hope that community residents will actively cooperate,” the Oct. 9 notice said.

    Local resident Li Hong said he had received a similar warning from his neighborhood committee, adding that the grid workers are telling people to “be cautious in word and deed.”

    “They check the internet and tell adults and children not to go on WhatsApp, not to go on Twitter or Facebook, not to go on Telegram, and not to discuss the war between Hamas and Israel,” Li told Radio Free Asia on Monday. “[Basically] not to speak, and not to comment.”

    Calls to the Huanglianqiao Neighborhood Committee rang answered during office hours on Monday. 

    A member of a neighborhood committee knocks on the door to register locals and ask about their travel history in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Feb. 2, 2020. Credit: Thomas Peter/Reuters
    A member of a neighborhood committee knocks on the door to register locals and ask about their travel history in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Feb. 2, 2020. Credit: Thomas Peter/Reuters

    A staff member who answered the phone at the nearby Tianyuan Subdistrict Office of the local government said grid workers were also tasked with getting people to download an “anti-fraud” app issued by the government. 

    “They’re asking everyone to download the anti-fraud app,” the staff member said. “I’m not sure about other tasks.”

    Social media footage has emerged in recent weeks of police stopping people at railway stations and streets in Daqing city and in Inner Mongolia and forcing them to download the app, with students at Jiangxi Normal University reporting similar orders. 

    Online comments have warned that the app continues to work in the background even if it’s deleted by the user, while residents have also told Radio Free Asia that the app contains spyware that tracks all of a phone user’s actions.

    ‘Hidden risks’

    While Radio Free Asia has been unable to verify those technical claims, Professor Yang Haiying of Japan’s Shizuoka University said in an interview on Sept. 27 that the app also prevents overseas contacts from calling people back home in China, citing his own attempts to call relatives in Inner Mongolia since they installed it.

    Sichuan’s provincial party politics and law committee described grid work in a March Weibo post as “discovering and reporting hidden risks, reactionary propaganda, cult-related activities, illegal preaching and other political and security risks.”

    Grid workers are also tasked with reporting “social issues, damage to public facilities, clues to illegal and criminal activities such as violent debt collection, illegal pyramid schemes, pornography, gambling, drug trafficking, theft, robbery, and the illegal mining of sand and gravel.”

    They also play a role in “possible or ongoing cases of individual extremism and mass incidents [protests and demonstrations] … reporting social conditions and public opinion [and] propaganda and mobilization, as well as participating in emergency response activities, policing and stability maintenance,” the article said.

    “Grid management is gradually spreading, until it controls the whole of society,” Hunan-based current affairs commentator Yuan Xiaohua told Radio Free Asia. “They are pushing the Fengqiao Experience – grid management is the Fengqiao Experience in a different form.”

    Community workers wearing armbands sit by a street as the Third Belt and Road Forum is held in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Credit: Tingshu Wang/Reuters
    Community workers wearing armbands sit by a street as the Third Belt and Road Forum is held in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Credit: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

    Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping mentioned the “Fengqiao Experience” during a visit to Zhejiang ahead of the Asian Games in Hangzhou last month, in a reference to the grassroots mobilization of the early 1960s, when then supreme leader Mao Zedong called on the masses to mobilize to wage “class struggle” across the country. Commentators have interpreted this to mean that similar moves are afoot in today’s China.

    As well as the granular monitoring of people’s daily lives and thoughts, government censors are also cracking down on online influencers, bloggers and celebrities, insisting that they use their real names on social media, instead of a pen-name.

    The social media platform Sina Weibo recently warned users with followings of more than a million followers that they must display their real names on their accounts by the end of October, while users with more than 500,000 followers must comply by the end of the year.

    Real-name registration has long been a requirement for social media users in China, but accounts weren’t required to display a person’s real name openly, although they did have to supply it to the service provider.

    “Surveillance in China, including censorship of speech, is comprehensive,” current affairs commentator Bi Xin said. “There are no blind spots.”


    Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gu Ting for RFA Mandarin.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Marshall Islands signs new compact with US amid China competition

    The Marshall Islands, an archipelago in the militarily strategic western Pacific, on Monday signed a new economic assistance agreement with the United States that underwrites close ties at a time of increased U.S.-China competition in the region.

    The Marshall Islands along with Micronesia and Palau, under agreements known as compacts of free association, give the United States military access to their vast ocean territories in exchange for funding and the right for their citizens to live and work in the U.S. 

    Palau and Micronesia renewed the funding component of their compacts earlier this year but negotiations between the Marshall Islands and the U.S. were more challenging because of the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s at Bikini and Enewetak atolls. 

    The agreements “are critical to all of our countries and to a continued free and open Pacific based on shared values,” said Congressman Ed Case, who attended the signing ceremony in Honolulu. “I was honored to join,” Marshall Islands and U.S. officials, “for the signing of our renewed Compact of Free Association between the U.S. and the RMI,” he said.

    Photos that Case posted on his Facebook account showed that Marshall Islands President David Kabua was present at the ceremony along with Foreign Minister Jack Ading and the U.S. chief compact negotiator Joseph Yun. 

    “All signed,” Yun said, according to a Reuters report. “I hope they [the agreements] will be enacted soon” by Congress, he told the news agency.

    The U.S. State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

    Kabua told the United Nations General Assembly in September that an agreement for a renewed compact with the U.S. was achievable, but only if Marshallese believed the long-term legacy of nuclear testing was addressed.

    “As a functioning democracy, we cannot ignore the wishes of our people and as the world’s foremost and pre-eminent democracy, the United States needs to understand this reality,” he said in his speech. 

    Analysts had said the outcome of the negotiations with the compact states would be an important signal of Washington’s commitment to the Pacific region as China presses for greater influence with Pacific Island states.

    Over 20 years, the three countries will receive a combined US$7.1 billion, a substantial increase from their previous agreements, subject to Congressional approval, according to the U.S. government.

    Home to about 200,000 people, the three countries comprising dozens of islands are spread across a vast area of ocean between the Philippines and Hawaii and are part of the U.S. military’s capacity to project power in the Pacific and East Asia.

    BenarNews is an RFA affiliated online news organization.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Stephen Wright for BenarNews.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The Geopolitics of Al-Aqsa Flood

    Photo Credit: The Cradle

    Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was meticulously planned. The launch date was conditioned by two triggering factors.

    First was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flaunting his ‘New Middle East’ map at the UN General Assembly in September, in which he completely erased Palestine and made a mockery of every single UN resolution on the subject.

    Second are the serial provocations at the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, including the straw that broke the camel’s back: two days before Al-Aqsa Flood, on 5 October, at least 800 Israeli settlers launched an assault around the mosque, beating pilgrims, destroying Palestinian shops, all under the observation of Israeli security forces.

    Everyone with a functioning brain knows Al-Aqsa is a definitive red line, not just for Palestinians, but for the entire Arab and Muslim worlds.

    It gets worse. The Israelis have now invoked the rhetoric of a “Pearl Harbor.” This is as threatening as it gets. The original Pearl Harbor was the American excuse to enter a world war and nuke Japan, and this “Pearl Harbor” may be Tel Aviv’s justification to launch a Gaza genocide.

    Sections of the west applauding the upcoming ethnic cleansing – including Zionists posing as “analysts” saying out loud that the “population transfers” that began in 1948 “must be completed” – believe that with massive weaponry and massive media coverage, they can turn things around in short shrift, annihilate the Palestinian resistance, and leave Hamas allies like Hezbollah and Iran weakened.

    Their Ukraine Project has sputtered, leaving not just egg on powerful faces, but entire European economies in ruin. Yet as one door closes, another one opens: Jump from ally Ukraine to ally Israel, and hone your sights on adversary Iran instead of adversary Russia.

    There are other good reasons to go all guns blazing. A peaceful West Asia means Syria reconstruction – in which China is now officially involved; active redevelopment for Iraq and Lebanon; Iran and Saudi Arabia as part of BRICS 11; the Russia-China strategic partnership fully respected and interacting with all regional players, including key US allies in the Persian Gulf.

    Incompetence. Willful strategy. Or both.

    That brings us to the cost of launching this new “war on terror.” The propaganda is in full swing. For Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Hamas is ISIS. For Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, Hamas is Russia. Over one October weekend, the war in Ukraine was completely forgotten by western mainstream media. Brandenburg Gate, the Eiffel tower, the Brazilian Senate are all Israeli now.

    Egyptian intel claims it warned Tel Aviv about an imminent attack from Hamas. The Israelis chose to ignore it, as they did the Hamas training drills they observed in the weeks prior, smug in their superior knowledge that Palestinians would never have the audacity to launch a liberation operation.

    Whatever happens next, Al-Aqsa Flood has already, irretrievably, shattered the hefty pop mythology around the invincibility of Tsahal, Mossad, Shin Bet, Merkava tank, Iron Dome, and the Israel Defense Forces.

    Even as it ditched electronic communications, Hamas profited from the glaring collapse of Israel’s multi-billion-dollar electronic systems monitoring the most surveilled border on the planet.

    Cheap Palestinian drones hit multiple sensor towers, facilitated the advance of a paragliding infantry, and cleared the way for T-shirted, AK-47-wielding assault teams to inflict breaks in the wall and cross a border that even stray cats dared not.

    Israel, inevitably, turned to battering the Gaza Strip, an encircled cage of 365 square kilometers packed with 2.3 million people. The indiscriminate bombing of refugee camps, schools, civilian apartment blocks, mosques, and slums has begun. Palestinians have no navy, no air force, no artillery units, no armored fighting vehicles, and no professional army. They have little to no high-tech surveillance access, while Israel can call up NATO data if they want it.

    Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proclaimed “a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.”

    The Israelis can merrily engage in collective punishment because, with three guaranteed UNSC vetoes in their back pocket, they know they can get away with it.

    It doesn’t matter that Haaretz, Israel’s most respected newspaper, straight out concedes that “actually the Israeli government is solely responsible for what happened (Al-Aqsa Flood) for denying the rights of Palestinians.”

    The Israelis are nothing if not consistent. Back in 2007, then-Israeli Defense Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin said, “Israel would be happy if Hamas took over Gaza because IDF could then deal with Gaza as a hostile state.”

    Ukraine funnels weapons to Palestinians

    Only one year ago, the sweaty sweatshirt comedian in Kiev was talking about turning Ukraine into a “big Israel,” and was duly applauded by a bunch of Atlantic Council bots.

    Well, it turned out quite differently. As an old-school Deep State source just informed me:

    “Ukraine-earmarked weapons are ending up in the hands of the Palestinians. The question is which country is paying for it. Iran just made a deal with the US for six billion dollars and it is unlikely Iran would jeopardize that. I have a source who gave me the name of the country but I cannot reveal it. The fact is that Ukrainian weapons are going to the Gaza Strip and they are being paid for but not by Iran.”

    After its stunning raid last weekend, a savvy Hamas has already secured more negotiating leverage than Palestinians have wielded in decades. Significantly, while peace talks are supported by China, Russia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt – Tel Aviv refuses. Netanyahu is obsessed with razing Gaza to the ground, but if that happens, a wider regional war is nearly inevitable.

    Lebanon’s Hezbollah – a staunch Resistance Axis ally of the Palestinian resistance – would rather not be dragged into a war that can be devastating on its side of the border, but that could change if Israel perpetrates a de facto Gaza genocide.

    Hezbollah holds at least 100,000 ballistic missiles and rockets, from Katyusha (range: 40 km) to Fajr-5 (75 km), Khaibar-1 (100 km), Zelzal 2 (210 km), Fateh-110 (300 km), and Scud B-C (500 km). Tel Aviv knows what that means, and shudders at the frequent warnings by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that its next war with Israel will be conducted inside that country.

    Which brings us to Iran.

    Geopolitical plausible deniability

    The key immediate consequence of Al-Aqsa Flood is that the Washington neocon wet dream of “normalization” between Israel and the Arab world will simply vanish if this turns into a Long War.

    Large swathes of the Arab world in fact are already normalizing their ties with Tehran – and not only inside the newly expanded BRICS 11.

    In the drive towards a multipolar world, represented by BRICS 11, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), among other groundbreaking Eurasian and Global South institutions, there’s simply no place for an ethnocentric Apartheid state fond of collective punishment.

    Just this year, Israel found itself disinvited from the African Union summit. An Israeli delegation showed up anyway, and was unceremoniously ejected from the big hall, a visual that went viral. At the UN plenary sessions last month, a lone Israeli diplomat sought to disrupt Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s speech. No western ally stood by his side, and he too, was ejected from the premises.

    As Chinese President Xi Jinping diplomatically put it in December 2022, Beijing “firmly supports the establishment of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. China supports Palestine in becoming a full member of the United Nations.”

    Tehran’s strategy is way more ambitious – offering strategic advice to West Asian resistance movements from the Levant to the Persian Gulf: Hezbollah, Ansarallah, Hashd al-Shaabi, Kataib Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and countless others. It’s as if they are all part of a new Grand Chessboard de facto supervised by Grandmaster Iran.

    The pieces in the chessboard were carefully positioned by none other than the late Quds Force Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani, a once-in-a-lifetime military genius. He was instrumental in creating the foundations for the cumulative successes of Iranian allies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Palestine, as well as creating the conditions for a complex operation such as Al-Aqsa Flood.

    Elsewhere in the region, the Atlanticist drive of opening strategic corridors across the Five Seas – the Caspian, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Eastern Mediterranean – is floundering badly.

    Russia and Iran are already smashing US designs in the Caspian – via the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) – and the Black Sea, which is on the way to becoming a Russian lake. Tehran is paying very close attention to Moscow’s strategy in Ukraine, even as it refines its own strategy on how to debilitate the Hegemon without direct involvement: call it geopolitical plausible deniability.

    Bye bye EU-Israel-Saudi-India corridor

    The Russia-China-Iran alliance has been demonized as the new “axis of evil” by western neocons. That infantile rage betrays cosmic impotence. These are Real Sovereigns that can’t be messed with, and if they are, the price to pay is unthinkable.

    A key example: if Iran under attack by a US-Israeli axis decided to block the Strait of Hormuz, the global energy crisis would skyrocket, and the collapse of the western economy under the weight of quadrillions of derivatives would be inevitable.

    What this means, in the immediate future, is that he American Dream of interfering across the Five Seas does not even qualify as a mirage. Al-Aqsa Flood has also just buried the recently-announced and much-ballyhooed EU-Israel-Saudi Arabia-India transportation corridor.

    China is keenly aware of all this incandescence taking place only a week before its 3rd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. At stake are the BRI connectivity corridors that matter – across the Heartland, across Russia, plus the Maritime Silk Road and the Arctic Silk Road.

    Then there’s the INSTC linking Russia, Iran and India – and by ancillary extension, the Gulf monarchies.

    The geopolitical repercussions of Al-Aqsa Flood will speed up Russia, China and Iran’s interconnected geoeconomic and logistical connections, bypassing the Hegemon and its Empire of Bases. Increased trade and non-stop cargo movement are all about (good) business. On equal terms, with mutual respect – not exactly the War Party’s scenario for a destabilized West Asia.

    Oh, the things that a slow-moving paragliding infantry overflying a wall can accelerate.

  • First published at The Cradle.

    • This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.