Countering China In Taiwan

US State Department OKs two possible military sales to Taiwan -Pentagon

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of ammunition and logistics support to Taiwan in two separate deals valued at up to $440 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Taiwan has asked to purchase 30mm ammunition, including high-explosive incendiary-tracer rounds, multi-purpose rounds and training rounds, for an estimated cost of $332.2 million, the Pentagon said.

VERY BRIEFLY

1.Taiwan says 11 Chinese Fighter aircrafts crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.

2. China’s enhanced intelligence-gathering and new military presence in Cuba shows Beijing simply no longer cares what the US thinks. It has long been clear that China and Cuba, among the handful of remaining communist countries, view the U.S. as a common enemy. A fuller picture of their common cause was revealed recently, first by the Journal and then by government disclosure that China is using Cuba for eavesdropping and military training. China has been running extensive spying operations out of Cuba and secretly arming Havana for more than two decades. As far back as 2001, U.S. intelligence was reported to have known the existence of the Chinese eavesdropping operation in Cuba.

3. Hong Kong's pro-democracy online Citizens' Radio station aired its final show on Friday and will cease operations owing to what its founder described as a "dangerous" political situation and the freezing of its bank account by China. A Hong Kong lawyer resisted airbrushing history. Now she is in jail.

Exercising freedom of expression and association — such as by carrying a candle in memory of Tiananmen Square — should not be a crime.

4. As China Reopens Borders, Trafficking of Women and Girls Resumes.

Covid restrictions had mostly halted the smuggling of Vietnamese women for marriage to Chinese men

Before the Covid pandemic, the China-Vietnam border region was a hot spot for human trafficking as many Chinese men sought brides from outside China.

5. China’s Pensions System Is Buckling Under an Aging Population,Beijing has hard choices ahead .

Germany China Relations

The German  strategy makes clear that Germany cannot do without China. Berlin insists that cooperation should and will continue to be sought on global challenges.

The reality on the ground, meanwhile, further complicates Germany’s China equation. Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Germany last week, highlighting the importance of the relationship. A preparatory visit to Beijing in May by Jens Plötner, Scholz’s national security adviser, was described by all sides as positive and friendly.

Li’s visit came not long after the decision by Scholz to override concerns by the Federal Foreign Office and allow Chinese involvement in the Hamburg port terminal Tollerort. A less discussed, but perhaps more important, development was COSCO’s withdrawal from the Port of Duisburg in October 2022. 

Ukraine war

Ukraine failing to capitalize on Wagner rebellion

Wagner Group’s aborted mutiny or coup made for dramatic headlines but hasn’t yielded any battlefield gains for Ukraine.

U.S. Advised Ukraine Against Covert Attacks in Russia During Mutiny, Officials Say

Washington asked Kyiv not to do anything that would either try to influence the outcome of events or take immediate advantage of the chaos, according to American officials.