Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 102

China’s warships are turning up in unexpected places and alarming US allies. Is this the new normal?

Chinese warships have been circumnavigating Australia’s coastline for more than three weeks, passing within 200 miles of Sydney, and staging unprecedented live-fire drills on its doorstep with New Zealand. The exercises, which came without formal notice, have deep caused consternation in both nations. Suddenly, the specter of China’s military power was suddenly no longer confined to the distant

Whistleblowing citizen journalist Zhang Zhan ‘to stand trial again soon’

COVID-19 whistleblowing citizen journalist Zhang Zhan will soon undergo a second trial in Shanghai on public order charges amid reports she is once more refusing food in detention, people familiar with the case told RFA Mandarin. Zhang, 40, was one of a group of citizen journalists detained, jailed or “disappeared” after they went to the central city of Wuhan to report on the emerging COVID-19

US charges 12 Chinese hackers and officials, offers $10M in rewards

The United States on Wednesday charged 12 alleged state-backed Chinese hackers and state officials with offenses related to accessing the email accounts of Chinese dissidents and foreign governments agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It also announced rewards totaling US$10 million for information leading to their capture, with all of the accused remaining at-large.A

China targets 5% growth as it reels from Trump tariffs

China has set an economic growth target for this year of "around 5%" and pledged to pump billions of dollars into its ailing economy, which is now facing a trade war with the US. Its leaders unveiled the plan as thousands of delegates attend the National People's Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament, which passes decisions already made behind closed doors. But the week-long gathering is closely

China says it is ready for 'any type of war' with US

China has warned the US it is ready to fight "any type" of war after hitting back against President Donald Trump's mounting trade tariffs. The world's top two economies have edged closer to a trade war after Trump slapped more tariffs on all Chinese goods. China quickly retaliated imposing 10-15% tariffs on US farm products. "If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any

Chinese fishermen advance in Argentine waters: group

China’s fishing fleet - the world’s biggest - is taking ever larger volumes of Argentina’s resources in a state-sponsored campaign of both legal and illegal fishing as stocks become depleted in waters closer to home, an Argentinian environmental group said.Many Chinese boats are legitimately registered to sail under the Argentine flag and fish in its waters, while and at the same time, a growing

China vows to ‘fight till the end’ as Trump escalates trade war

China has vowed to “fight till the end” after US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war by doubling tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%. Beijing hit back at Trump’s levies by imposing retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% on selected American goods, expanding export controls to a dozen US firms and filing a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization. It also sent a stern warning to the Trump

China and Canada immediately retaliate against Trump’s tariffs

President Donald Trump’s blanket 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, an extraordinary action aimed at bringing America’s top trading partners to heel. But it threatens to weaken the North American economy, including that of the United States, at a time of significant stress for inflation-weary consumers.Trump also doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20% from 10%.

North Korea vows to ‘step-up’ action against US as aircraft carrier arrives in South

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned on Tuesday of a “stepped-up action” against the U.S. as one of its aircraft carriers arrived in South Korea, saying the “hostile” U.S. policy justified the bolstering of the North’s nuclear forces. The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class U.S. aircraft carrier, arrived at the southeastern city of Busan on Sunday, South Korea’s navy said,

INTERVIEW: ‘North Korea could have 300 nuclear warheads within 10 years’

Ankit Panda, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was interviewed by Radio Free Asia regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions and how its capabilities might be improved through North Korea’s support of Russia in its war with Ukraine.Panda, a Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie, also said that North Korean