Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 230

Chinese-made drone, retrofitted and weaponized, downed in eastern Ukraine

Driving deep into the forest, the hush between the towering pine trees and the clear blue skies was splintered every few seconds by the sound of distant explosions from the frontline battles for eastern Ukraine.Guiding us through the woodland on foot, Ukrainian soldiers eventually brought us to a clearing where they showed us the wreckage of a weaponized drone which they said they shot down with

Chinese official asks if Australia’s Aukus nuclear submarines intended for ‘sightseeing’

A Chinese embassy official asked Australian officials during an Aukus briefing whether the nuclear-powered submarines were intended for “sightseeing”, according to multiple sources. Guardian Australia understands several others in the room found the intervention curious, because the Australian government has made no secret of the fact the nuclear-powered submarines are to be used by the Royal

Don’t ‘quench your thirst with poison’, Taiwan tells Honduras after switch to China

Taiwan has urged Honduras not to “quench your thirst with poison and fall into China’s debt trap”, adding it would not compete monetarily with China to keep its formal allies after its decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing this week.Honduran president Xiomara Castro announced on Tuesday that her country would begin to establish an official relationship with Beijing, in effect

South Korea and Japan: A milestone meeting of frenemies

South Korea and Japan's leaders meet in Tokyo on Thursday in what has been hailed as a new "milestone" in their fraught relationship. It comes just as North Korea fired a fourth round of missiles in a week. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has pulled off quite the coup to get this summit. This is the first time a South Korean leader has been invited to Tokyo for such a meeting in 12 years.The

Med milliarder på innerlomma erobrer kineserne villige, men stadig mer urolige svensker

Sverige oppfører seg lik en naiv person som med åpne øyne lar seg sjarmere av en rik bølle med velkjent vold og frihetsberøvelse på rullebladet.  Det er bare å følge nedtellingen til 2049 og 100 års markeringen av den kommunistiske revolusjon: Da skal Kina ha gjennomført sitt uttalte mål om å trone alene på toppen som verdens udiskutable stormakt — størst økonomisk og på høyde med USA

Aukus submarine deal: Is conflict with China getting closer?

China has reacted with predictable anger to this week's official announcement of the so-called Aukus pact. The details, unveiled on Monday in San Diego, bind together Australia, the UK and the US in a far-reaching defence and security alliance aimed at confronting Chinese military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region."Going down a dangerous road", "disregarding the concerns of the international

Jiang Yanyong: Whistleblower doctor who exposed China's Sars cover-up dies

Jiang Yanyong, a former military surgeon who blew the whistle on Chinese authorities' cover-up of the 2003 Sars epidemic, has died aged 91. He died of pneumonia on Saturday in Beijing, family friends and Chinese-language media in Hong Kong reported. Dr Jiang was praised for saving lives after writing a letter in the early stage of the Sars crisis which revealed officials were playing down the

Xi tightens grip, hardens stance on US: Key takeaways from China’s annual political meetings

China’s most important annual political meetings wrapped up Monday, leaving leader Xi Jinping firmly at the helm of a superpower that appears more eager to push back against the United States than at any time in decades. Much of what took place over 10 days in Beijing at the highly choreographed meetings, known as the two sessions, was pre-arranged – but they also threw up a few surprises.To

Honduran President seeks diplomatic relations with China in a blow for Taiwan

Honduras is taking steps to begin official diplomatic relations with China, President Xiomara Castro announced on Tuesday, a move that would sever ties with Taiwan. China refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan and has spent much of the past 40 years attempting to isolate the self-ruled island by chipping away at its diplomatic allies with offers of economic

A Chinese Commonwealth? An Unpopular Idea Resurfaces in Taiwan.

Three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Annette Lu, a former vice president of Taiwan, stood before reporters to promote a wildly unpopular idea. China and Taiwan, she said, should form a commonwealth that would be integrated economically, like the European Union, but remain separate politically. She called it One Zhonghua — a word that means “Chinese” in a cultural, ethnic or literary sense