Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 126

Is China’s military really built for war? New report questions Beijing’s arms buildup

China is not ready for war, according to a contentious report from a US think tank, which claims the main motivation for the ruling Communist Party’s expansive push for military modernization is to retain its grip on power – not fight an overseas foe.Beijing has pursued a head-turning military buildup under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – previously

In from the cold? Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma spotted among top tech bosses who met China’s Xi

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and the country’s top tech executives in Beijing on Monday, in a meeting that signals officials could be steering the country in a more business-friendly direction after a yearslong regulatory crackdown.Besides Ma, the other tycoons in attendance included Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu, CATL CEO Zeng Yuqun and Xiaomi

I was 10 when my father paid a smuggler to take me out of Tibet

 When my editor asked me to report on the secret journey Tibetans take to escape into exile, I did not think that there was much worth writing about. It is the story of almost everyone in my community. It is not news, and we are in the news business. But as I reported the story, I could feel its power – and it reminded me of details of my own journey that I hadn’t thought about in years.I

Ukraine broadcasts appeal to North Korean soldiers to surrender

Ukrainian troops have begun broadcasting surrender appeals in Korean, assuring North Korean soldiers fighting in Kursk they will be treated humanely as prisoners of war, according to a Ukrainian activist group. The report comes after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had requested a few thousands more troops from North Korea.As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to

China Finally Agrees With Trump

China has backed President Donald Trump's call to scale back military expenditures, saying the United States, as the world's top defense spender, should set the example. Trump on Thursday called for talks with the U.S.'s most powerful adversaries, China and Russia, to engage in talks on drawing down defense spending and their nuclear stockpiles—once "things settle down," saying there was "no

China Mobilizes Military Against Canadian Warship Near Coast

The Chinese military claimed that it deployed forces against a Canadian warship, which transited a contested waterway between China and the self-governed island of Taiwan.China has long claimed that it has "sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction" over the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. However, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a state's sovereignty ends after the

When Beijing Was China’s Most International City

Toward the end of the 13th century, while a guest in the court of Kublai Khan, Marco Polo was stunned by the beautiful grassland enclosed in the imperial palace, which teemed with fruit trees and breeding animals such as deer and goats.Roughly 300 years later, Beijing had become a crowded, windswept city; the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci often wore a veil when he went out, partly to move around

Mapping China’s influence around the Panama Canal

President Donald Trump has made repeated claims that China “operates” the Panama Canal in recent weeks and has threatened to take back the waterway to block what he sees as Beijing’s increasing influence. A BBC Verify analysis shows that the US remains the main user of the canal, but Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects around the waterway - which is operated directly by Panama - has

Calls grow for US to counter Chinese control, influence in Western ports

Calls are growing Washington for action to loosen Beijing’s influence stemming from Chinese and Hong Kong companies' control over key infrastructure on the Panama Canal and other port facilities in the Western hemisphere. At a recent meeting of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, Chairman Carlos Jimenez warned that Beijing has

OPINION: Banning Khmer Rouge denialism is a bad move for Cambodia and the world

Quite soon, possibly to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover in April, Cambodia will pass a new law making it a jailable offense of up to five years to “deny, trivialize, reject or dispute the authenticity of crimes” committed during that regime’s 1975-79 rule.The bill, requested – and presumably drafted – by Hun Sen, the former prime minister who handed power to his son