ANOTHER VIEW OF THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA SPRATLY ISLANDS - AS THE PRC "X" CONDUCTS THE STRANGLE HOLD OF FILIPINO FISHERMANS IN THE EEZ ---- POTENTIALLY STARVING THE PALAWAN LOCALS (AND PAG-ASA /THITU ISLAND)OF THIER LIVELY HOOD TO GATHER FOOD FROM THE SEA AS "G*D" PROVIDED

https://www.loc.gov/item/2016587286/

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA DEEM HAGUE RULING 2016 THAT AWARDED 200MILES OF EEZ TO THE PHILIPPINES AFTER THE PRC LAND GRAB. NOW THE PRC CONTINUED BULLYING TACTIC AGAINST THE PHILIPPINES CONTINUES ALONG THE AYUNING SHOAL AND PAG-ASA ISLAND

Unlike previous territorial disputes put before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or International Court of Justice in The Hague, this tribunal did not adjudicate on sovereignty. That would have required both parties’ agreement. Furthermore, China’s reservations after ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) against compulsory dispute settlement under the Convention being binding effectively precluded such a direct approach. The Philippines was able to seek arbitration by focusing its case on the legal status of disputed maritime features, rather than a determination on who owns what. On these more limited terms, the Philippines obtained a sweeping victory, with the panel finding unanimously in its favor on almost all fifteen submissions. https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global-memos/hague-tribunals-south-china-sea-ruling-empty-provocation-or-slow-burning-influence

JAPAN HAS HAD IT WITH THE CHINESE SABER RATTLING IN THE FIRST TWO DECADES OF THE 21ST CENTURY... AS CHINA PREPARES FOR THE FIRST STRIKE COMMUNIST STYLE ON ITS WEAK NEIGHBORS. WILL NOT SO ANYMORE AS JAPAN TO ARM ITSELF WITH OFFENSIVE WEAPONS TO COUNTER THE CHINESE FUTURE OFFENSIVE... JAPAN'S PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

Japan is looking to buy up to 500 U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles by the end of fiscal 2027, the Yomiuri daily reported Wednesday, as the country gears up to acquire a so-called counterstrike capability. Prompted by rising concerns over nuclear-armed North Korea’s missile advancements and the breakneck speed of China’s military modernization, Japan is looking to prepare for a dramatic shift in its security strategy by revising a number of key defense documents and acquiring new means of counterattack such as the Tomahawk. .....
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/11/30/national/japan-buy-tomahawk-missiles/

COMMUNIST CHINA WILL SAY WHATEVER IT WANTS AS THE COMMUNIST CHINA CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF LYING, LIKE CATCHING THE TIGER BY THE TOE, AS ITS CLAIM OF PEACEFUL TRANSACTION IN THE SOUTH SEA AS THE PHILLIPINE NAVY RECOVERS A CHINESE SPENT DEBRIS ROCKET IN ITS WATER WHILST THE CHINESE NAVY CONFISCATE BY FORCE AFTERWARDS

The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Monday denied the claim of Philippine authorities that a China Coast Guard vessel harassed a Philippine Navy tug boat to forcibly take possession of a downed piece of rocket debris found floating near Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan town on Sunday, November 20. “There was no so-called blocking of the course of a Philippine Navy boat and forcefully retrieving the object at the scene,” the embassy said Monday, citing China’s Foreign Ministry. Flatly contradicting the statements issued separately by the Palawan police detachment in Kalayaan Island and the Western Command (WESCOM), China claimed that its CCG crew had a “friendly consultation” with the crew of the Philippine naval boat, a rubber hulled tow boat, who “voluntarily” turned over the debris to them. “After friendly consultation, the Philippine side returned the floating object to the Chinese side on the spot. The Chinese side expressed gratitude to the Philippine side,” it stated. “At around 8 a.m. on November 20, a China Coast Guard ship found an unidentified floating object in the waters off the Nansha Islands, which was later identified as the wreckage of the fairing of a rocket recently launched by China. Before the China Coast Guard found the said floating object some Philippine Navy personnel already retrieved and towed it,” the statement added. . .
https://palawan-news.com/china-denies-forcibly-taking-away-rocket-debris-from-philippine-navy-tugboat/

REMEMBER THE TREATY OF PARIS 1898, SPAIN CEDES CUBA, PUERTO RICO, GUAM, AND PHILIPPINE TO THE UNITED STATES. IN THE 20TH CENTURY CUBA TURNS COMMUNIST, IN THE 21ST CENTURY PUERTO RICO AND GUAM STAYS LOYAL TO THE US, NOW THE PHILLIPINES COMES AT A CROSS ROAD WITH CHINA, AS CHINA OFFERS MONEY AND PULLS IT BACK (SIKE) AS CHINA CONTINUES ITS LAND GRAB OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS EVEN NOW THE INHABITED ISLAND OF PAG-ASA(THITU) BY FILLIPINOS. AS THE US ALREADY BACKED AWAY FROM THE SCARBOROUGH SHOAL, THE COMMUNIST RED LINE IS DRAWN AGAINST CHINA AND NOT TO BE CROSSED FURTHER PASSED PAG-ASA, AYUNGAN SHOAL, AND SCARBOUROUGH SHOAL.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday vowed to defend the Philippines against "armed attack" in the disputed South China Sea in Washington's starkest warning yet against Chinese claims to most of the strategic waterway.
Speaking in Manila after meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Pompeo said Beijing's artificial islands in waters also claimed by the Southeast Asian nation and other neighbours was a threat.
"China's island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and therefore economic livelihood, as well as that of the United States," he said at a joint news conference with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin.
"As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack of Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defence obligations under Article 4 of our Mutual Defence Treaty."

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/01/us-vows-philippines-aid-if-attacked-in-china-claimed-sea.html

 
 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/China-has-island-building-down-to-a-science

It’s a tactic not seen since the dying days of World War II: desperate soldiers, sailors and pilots flinging themselves at their enemies in suicide attacks.

But Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned of the return of the ‘kamikaze’ — or ‘divine wind’ — tactics of the Japanese.
Describing his dilemma in dealing with an immensely more powerful China in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the president said he has few options other than to order troops to “prepare for suicide missions”.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/philippines-president-duterte-warns-china-of-suicide-attacks-if-it-invades-island/news-story/cdc41c922a1ff9e079e7f5fea7e142a3

THE CHINESE DRAGON OF XI JINPING RIDES ON TOP THE WHORE OF WAR AS IT PROCLAIMS TAIWAN AS ITS PROPERTY WITHOUT REPUDIATION OF CONSEQUENCES CONSIDERING THAT IT TOOK OVER THE SOUTH SEAS OF ASIA WITHOUT A WAR AND GATHERING GLOOMS OF PORTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD TO SETUP THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO OF WORLD DOMINIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare for battle on Friday, as Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen called for international support to defend the island’s democracy amid renewed threats of unification from the mainland.

Xi’s comments were made during a meeting with top officials from the Central Military Commission (CMC).

“All military units must correctly understand major national security and development trends, and strengthen their sense of unexpected hardship, crisis and battle,” he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xi-jinping-tells-chinese-army-to-be-ready-for-battle/ar-BBRQL4n?ocid=spartandhp

THE PHILIPPINE STANDING STRONG AGAINST CHINA WHEN IT COMES TO THE SPRATLY ISLAND SINCE 1999 GROUNDING ON THE REEF OF THE WW2 LST SIERRA MADRE IN THE AYUNGIN SHOAL OF THE SPRATLY ISLANDS WITH 10 PHILIPPINE MARINES STANDING GUARD AS CHINESE MILITARY READY FOR THE LAND GRAB IF NOT FOR THE PHILIPPINE MARINES

May 14, 2018: The government protested a Chinese attempt, on May 11^th, to interfere with a Filipino effort to deliver supplies to a base it maintains on Second Thomas Reef which both countries claim. Despite the presence of Chinese military aircraft and ships the supplies got through to the detachment of Filipino marines has been stationed there on a World War II era landing ship (the BRP Sierra Madre) since 1999. The Filipino navy deliberately grounded the LST on Second Thomas Reef in 1999 to provide a place for this “observation team”. In 2013 Chinese patrol ships came within nine kilometers of the LST, which China insists is there illegally. The Philippines warned China that it would resist any attempts to use force against the grounded ship and while the Chinese still tries to interfere with supply ships, they have stayed away. In 2015 China protested the Filipino effort to make repairs on the LST. The Philippines protested the Chinese moves today but only after a two week delay because of disagreements within the Filipino government about how to deal with the situation. China is buying a lot of influence in the Philippines but at the same time, most Filipinos fear being “conquered” by an increasingly aggressive China. The Philippines also decided to proceed with upgrades to its other disputed islands in the Spratly Islands.

https://strategypage.com/qnd/phillip/articles/20180611.aspx


The Philippine navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in 1999 to stop it breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates a string of man-made islands nearby. 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-philippines-shoal-exclu-idUSKCN0PN2HN20150714 

China Rising: The challenges for Australia as China and the US struggle for supremacy in Asia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1W5NchTZjg

 

WORLD CUP 2018 BRACKET–USA NOT IN S KOREA UK VIA MEXICO TO BATTLE AS AUSTRALIA MUST DEFEAT RUSSIA TO MOVE UP THE BRACKET

http://worldsoccertalk.com/2018/01/04/world-cup-2018-bracket/

THE OLD WETBACK LAW OF 1954 TO INDISCRIMINITELY ROUND UP ILLEGALS FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA HAS COME FULL FORCE IN TENNESSEE IN THE 21ST CENTURY - THE HOME STATE OF DAVY CROCKETT- ICE GETS TO DEPORT 54 FAMILY MEMBERS WHILST THEIR CHILDREN SUFFER - THE TRUE OUTCOME OF THE FAILED IMMIGRATION POLICY - FAMILIES SEPARATION - THE 21ST CENTURY TRAIL OF TEARS

1954 OPERATION WETBACK

One morning in April, federal immigration agents swept into a meatpacking plant in this northeastern Tennessee manufacturing town, launching one of the biggest workplace raids since President Trump took office with a pledge to crack down on illegal immigration.

Dozens of panicked workers fled in every direction, some wedging themselves between beef carcasses or crouching under bloody butcher tables. About 100 workers, including at least one American citizen, were rounded up — every Latino employee at the plant, it turned out, save a man who had hidden in a freezer.

The raid occurred in a state that is on the raw front lines of the immigration debate. Mr. Trump won 61 percent of the vote in Tennessee, and continues to enjoy wide popularity. The state’s rapidly growing immigrant population, now estimated to total more than 320,000, has become a favorite target of the Republican-controlled State Legislature. In 2017, Tennessee lawmakers passed the nation’s first law requiring stiffer sentences for defendants who are in the country illegally. In April, they passed a law requiring the police to help enforce immigration laws and making it illegal for local governments to adopt so-called sanctuary policies.

But Morristown, a town of 30,000 northeast of Knoxville that was the boyhood home of Davy Crockett, has drawn migrant workers from Latin America since the early 1990s, when they first came to work on the region’s abundant tomato farms. As stepped-up security has made going back and forth across the border more difficult, many of these families have settled into the community, enrolled their kids in school, and joined churches where they have baptized their American-born children.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/11/us/tennessee-immigration-trump.html

INDIA GROWING ITS MILITARY EXPENDITURES TO FEND OFF PAKISTAN AND COMMUNIST CHINA TO $63.9 BILLION PUTTING INDIA IN THE TOP 5 MILITARY 2017 SPENDERS BEHIND THE USA $610 BILLION, CHINA $228 BILLION, RUSSIA $87.8 BILLION (2013), SAUDI ARABIA $67 BILLION (2013)

NEW DELHI • India has joined the United States and China as one of the world's five biggest military spenders, reflecting geopolitical tensions as well as the country's reliance on imported weapons and sprawling personnel costs.
New Delhi's defence spending rose by 5.5 per cent to US$63.9 billion (S$85.3 billion) in 2017 and has now passed France, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released yesterday. Worldwide military spending rose marginally last year to US$1.73 trillion, or roughly 2.2 per cent of global gross domestic product, the think-tank said.
"The Indian government plans to expand, modernise and enhance the operational capability of its armed forces, motivated at least partially by tensions with China and Pakistan," the report read.

The list of the world's biggest military spenders has remained consistent in recent years, dominated by the US and China, which spent US$610 billion and US$228 billion, respectively last year, according to SIPRI, which researches global arms spending.
However, the group said the balance of military spending is "clearly shifting" towards Asia, Oceania and the Middle East, driven largely by spending increases in China, India and Saudi Arabia.
China spends far more on its military than any other power in Asia. Beijing's share of worldwide military expenditure rose to 13 per cent in 2017 from just 5.8 per cent in 2008, according to SIPRI.

 https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/india-among-top-five-defence-spenders-in-world

AUSTRALIA REACTS TO ANTi SHIP MISSILES INSTALLATION ON THREE ISLAND CARRIERS MILITARIZED BY COMMUNIST CHINA AS MISSILLE INSTALLATION BEGUN IN FIERY CROSS REEF, SUBI REEF, MISCHIEF REEF OF THE SPRATLY ISLAND CHAIN TO PROJECT DOMINANCE 295 MILES AROUND EACH ISLAND

CHINA has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its outposts in the South China Sea, US news network CNBC reports, citing sources with direct knowledge of US intelligence reports.

The move, if confirmed, would mark the first Chinese missile deployments in the Spratly Islands, where several Asian countries including Vietnam and Taiwan have rival claims.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said the Australian Government would be “concerned” if the reports were accurate.
The Minister refused to confirm or deny any Australian intelligence about the missiles.
But she said: “If the media reports are accurate, then the Australian Government would be concerned because this would be contrary to China’s stated aspiration that it would not militarise these features.”

http://www.news.com.au/military/china-installs-missiles-on-three-south-china-sea-outposts/news-story/3ef29ce7950904151a0b7328686cf511

CHINA USES THE OLD COMMUNIST TRICK IN THE BOOK CLAIMS NO MILITARIZATION OF ITS NEW STOLEN ISLANDS OF THE ASIAN SOUTH SEA MAKING THEM INTO ISLAND CARRIERS HAS NOW INSTALLED MISSILES - THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY IN ASIA IS THREATENED AS THE COMMUNIST CHINA GOES ON THE MOVE WITH ITS BELT AND ROAD PROJECT TO HUNG THE WORLD

The United States has raised concerns with China about its latest militarization of the South China Sea and there will be near-term and long-term consequences, the White House said on Thursday.

U.S. news network CNBC reported on Wednesday that China had installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the South China Sea. It cited sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence.

Asked about the report, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a regular news briefing: "We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea. We’ve raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this and there will be near-term and long-term consequences."

Sanders did not say what the consequences might be.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. intelligence had seen some signs that China had moved some weapons systems to the Spratly Islands in the past month or so, but offered no details.

CNBC quoted unnamed sources as saying that according to U.S. intelligence assessments, the missiles were moved to Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands within the past 30 days.

They would be the first Chinese missile deployments in the Spratlys, where several Asian countries including Vietnam and Taiwan have rival claims.

China's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Its foreign ministry said China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratlys and that necessary defensive deployments were for national security needs and not aimed at any country.

"Those who do not intend to be aggressive have no need to be worried or scared," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

Julie Bishop, the foreign minister of U.S. ally Australia, said the reports, if accurate, would be a concern as the actions would be contrary to China's stated aspiration not to militarize the features.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-says-consequences-chinas-south-china-sea-militarization-012917674.html

CHINA IN THE 21ST CENTURY WITH ITS BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE GLOBAL REACH IS READY TO PUT A NOOSE AROUND THE WORLD WITH ITS FINANCING OF POOR THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES IN EXCHANGE FOR FORCED MILITARY BASES WHEN DEBT PAYMENT IS NOT MADE SUCH AS DJIBOUTI AFRICA AND ITS RING AROUND THE COLLAR OF THE ASIA'S SOUTH SEA NOW FUNCTIONING MILITARY ISLAND CARRIER BASES

The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that Chinese nationals fired lasers near a military base in east Africa against U.S. military aircraft in the region, injuring several pilots.
Pentagon Press Secretary Dana White said the U.S. government made diplomatic protests to the Chinese government over several recent incidents of laser firings near China's first overseas military base at Djibouti.
"These are very serious incidents. There have been two minor injuries. This activity poses a threat to our airmen," White told reporters.
"We have formally demarched the Chinese government, and we've requested that the Chinese investigate these incidents," she added.
The number of incidents is "more than two but less than ten" and the laser firings took place in recent weeks, White said.
White said the Pentagon is confident that Chinese nationals were behind the laser firings but did not elaborate on the intelligence linking Beijing to the incidents.
She declined to speculate on the Chinese motive behind the laser attacks.
"I believe there have been cases where this has happened previously," White said. "But what this started was these last few weeks we decided to become very serious about it, and we have demarched the Chinese, and we've asked for the investigation."
China's government has not commented on the incidents. A Chinese military expert told the state-run Global Times newspaper that the U.S. accusations that China used a laser weapon in Djibouti was "groundless."
China opened the military base in Djibouti last year and plans to deploy some 400 troops there.
China's government has asserted that the base is merely a logistics hub for anti-piracy operations as well as to support China's international infrastructure project called Belt and Road Initiative.
The U.S. government regards the Chinese base as part of Beijing's efforts to project military power around the world.
The Djibouti incidents appear similar to the 1997 incident involving a Russian merchant ship that was shadowing a Navy missile submarine and fired a laser on a Canadian surveillance helicopter.
The laser damaged the eyes of the Navy Lt. Jack Daly and Canadian pilot Captain Patrick Barnes near Washington state and was covered up by the administration of President Bill Clinton.
China and the United States have battled over international trade and finance after the Trump administration announced it will impose tariffs on China for its unfair trade practices.
The U.S. and Chinese militaries also have squared off in the South China Sea where China is seeking to take control of the strategic waterway. The U.S. military has been seeking to counter the illegal claim by sending ships and aircraft near disputed islands in the sea that have been militarized in recent years by China.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-confirms-chinese-fired-lasers-u-s-pilots/

CHINA HAS NOW AIRCRAFT CARRIER ISLANDS IN PLACE TO COVET THE SOUTH SEA AS ITS OWN - AS ITS ISLAND TAKING AND BUILD UP FOR MILITARY USE IS COMPLETE AND READY FOR WAR

THE island fortresses are built. The airfields are ready. The harbours are open.

All China needs do now is move in the warships and combat jets.
The chief of US Fleet Forces Command has told US Congress that Beijing has built up enough military infrastructure in the South China Sea to completely control the disputed waterway.
“Once occupied, China will be able to extend its influence thousands of miles to the south and project power deep into Oceania,” Admiral Philip S. Davidson wrote.
“The PLA will be able to use these bases to challenge US presence in the region, and any forces deployed to the islands would easily overwhelm the military forces of any other South China Sea-claimants.
“In short, China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States.”

 http://www.news.com.au/world/us-admiral-warns-only-war-can-now-stop-beijing-controlling-the-south-china-sea/news-story

CHINA CONTINUES ITS MILITARY EXPENDITURE WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT CARRIER CV-17 70,000 TON SO CALLED TYPE 001 - TO BE FOLLOWED BY A THIRD ALREADY KEEL LAID DOWN - AS THE WAR HUNGRY NATION READIES ITS PAST OF WAR MONGERING HISTORY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY OF MORE BLOODSHED TO COME

BEIJING has come a long way since it first landed a jet fighter aboard what was originally HMAS Melbourne in 1987.
The former Australian aircraft carrier had been sold for scrap. But it proved a source of valuable technical intelligence for an ambitious Chinese military.
China surprised the world again with the unveiling of its first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, in 2012.
It had been bought from Ukraine in 1998.
It was supposed to have been turned into a casino.
Instead, it emerged as a fully armed and operational warship.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been experimenting with it ever since, developing a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of carrier warfare.

Meanwhile, it’s been busy building another.
Today, tugboats have been seen moving the ship from its wharf in preparation for its first independently powered foray at sea.
This ship, so far known only as Type 001A (CV-17), is a reverse-engineered and somewhat modified version of the Soviet-built Liaoning.
Its hull was launched at the Dalian Shipyard in April last year. It’s since been undergoing fit-out. It has also been subject to a series of harbourside tests and trials.
The ship is believed to be headed towards a designated testing zone in the Bohai Sea, which has been declared a ‘no go zone’ until April 28.
“The first sea trials of China’s second aircraft carrier, built at the Dalian shipyard, are likely to take place in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea to test its power and design,” Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the state-operated Global Times

It’s an event that has military analysts in Japan, all of South East Asia, India, the United States — and Australia — sitting up and taking notice.
It means China now has two armed and operational aircraft carriers capable of projecting firepower far beyond its borders. It’s an event that further changes the balance of power in its favour.
Meanwhile, Beijing’s building two more.
Work on aircraft carrier Type 002 resumed in May last year. It’s also believed first metal was cut for the construction of Type 003 in December.

http://www.news.com.au/military/heres-what-we-know-about-chinas-newest-aircraft-carriers/news-story/

WHEN CHINESE SMARTPHONE MAKER ZTE FOUND ILLEGALLY SELLING PHONES WITH LEADING EDGE CHIPS FROM QUALCOMM AND INTEL TO IRAN THE BAN AGAINST CHINA BEGAN - FORCING CHINA TO SCRAMBLE TO RELEASE ITS OWN HOME GROWN CLONED CHIPS SOONER THAN LATER

CHINA is looking to accelerate plans to develop its domestic semiconductor market amid a fierce trade standoff with the United States and a US ban on sales to Chinese phone maker ZTE that has underscored the country’s reliance on imported chips.

Senior Chinese officials have held meetings this week with industry bodies, regulators and the country’s powerful chip fund about speeding up already aggressive plans for the sector, two people with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

The talks underscore China’s concern about its reliance on imported chips from global names such as Qualcomm and Intel, aggravated by a worsening dispute with the United States centred on cutting-edged tech.

“In the last few days senior Chinese officials have met to discuss plans to speed up the development of the chip industry,” one person with knowledge of the talks said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

China has already made the semiconductor market a key priority under its “Made in China 2025” strategy to cut reliance on foreign technologies and create its own domestic champions.
That goal has been given fresh urgency after a US ban on sales of products — including chips — to Chinese phone maker ZTE Corp roiled the firm, which uses mainly US chips in its smartphones.

READ MORE: Espionage fears dog China’s biggest smartphone makers
A second person with knowledge of the talks said senior officials had met with key ministries, as well as the National Integrated Circuitry Investment Fund, “this week” to discuss speeding up plans due to recent trade tensions.

China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not immediately respond to faxed requests for comment late on Thursday.
The IC Fund did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The seven-year ban on US firms selling parts to ZTE comes at a time when the two countries have threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars in tariffs in recent weeks, fanning worries of a full-blown trade war.
Washington said ZTE had violated an agreement reached after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/design/china-speeding-up-chip-plans-amid-trade-tensions-with-us/news-story/

SO WHEN CHINA XI SAYS NO MILITARIZATION OF THE SOUTH SEA HIS WORDS HAD NO MEANING SINCE MILITARIZATION OF THE ISLANDS ARE COMPLETE STARTING FROM 2013 OF JOHNSON REEF TO SIX OTHERS INCLUDING SPRATLY ISLAND, CUARTERON REEF, FIERY CROSS REEF, GAVEN REEF, HUGHES REEF, MISCHIEF REEF AND SUBI REEF - ENCIRCLING TAWAIN - AND CONTROLLING THE SEA LANES OF ASIA AS ITS GOAL TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO AUSTRALIA AS IT GROWS ITS BASE NOW IN VANUATU - WITHOUT EVEN FIRING A SHOT - EXCEPT WHEN IT TOOK THE FIERY CROSS FROM VIETNAM - AS CHINA'S XI BECOMES THE NEW THREAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

China has deployed electronic attack systems and other military facilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea and is now capable of controlling the strategic waterway, according to the admiral slated to be the next Pacific Command chief.

Additionally, the command nominee Adm. Philip Davidson told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a written statement this week that the military urgently needs hypersonic and other advanced weaponry to defeat China's People's Liberation Army in a future conflict.

"In the future, hypersonic and directed energy weapons, resilient space, cyber and network-capabilities, and well-trained soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen will be crucial to our ability to fight and win," the four-star admiral said in written answers to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

On China's militarization and take over of the South China Sea, Davidson said the buildup of forward military bases began in December 2013 at Johnson Reef in the Spratly islands. Since then, the Chinese have fortified that reef and six others with military facilities, Davidson said.

"In the South China Sea, the PLA has constructed a variety of radar, electronic attack, and defense capabilities on the disputed Spratly Islands, to include: Cuarteron Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, Gaven Reef, Hughes Reef, Johnson Reef, Mischief Reef and Subi Reef," Davidson said.

"These facilities significantly expand the real-time domain awareness, [intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance], and jamming capabilities of the PLA over a large portion of the South China Sea, presenting a substantial challenge to U.S. military operations in this region," he added.

The bases on the seven islands include hangars, barracks, underground fuel and water storage facilities, and bunkers for "offense and defensive kinetic and non-kinetic systems," he states.

The militarization contradicts a promise from Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping not to militarize the South China Sea that is used as a waterway transit for an estimated $5.3 trillion in goods annually.

"These actions stand in direct contrast to the assertion that President Xi made in 2015 in the Rose Garden when he commented that Beijing had no intent to militarize the South China Sea," Davidson said.

"Today these forward operating bases appear complete. The only thing lacking are the deployed forces."

The occupied islands will permit China to extend its influence thousands of miles southward and project power deep into the Oceania.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/pacom-nominee-china-military-islands-now-control-south-china-sea/

SOUTH KOREAN POSK MOON CONTINUES THE BLOCKAGE TO THE APPROVAL OF CHINA AS FARMERS ARE WHIPPED TO STOP THE THAAD CONSTRUCTION - FARMERS FOLLOWING THE LEFTIST MOTTO OF ANTI S KOREA SECURITY

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/04/11/2018041101498.html

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED AS THE POTUS TRUMP ATTACKS THE POS ASSAD GETS THE CRUISE MISSILE UP HIS CHEMICAL FACTORIES (HUSSEIN IRAQS?) AFTER ATTACKS OF CHEMICAL PROPORTIONS AGAINST HIS OWN PEOPLES NOT ONCE NOT TWICE NOR THRICE IN THE 21ST CENTURY - AS THE POR PUTIN CLEARS HIS THROAT TO BOAST CONSEQUENCES TO COME FOR STRIKING ASSAD'S CHEMICAL CAPABILITY

Russia responded angrily to a U.S.-led strike against Syria, warning of unspecified "consequences" that stoked fears the conflict could escalate.
President Donald Trump ordered targeted military action in the country late Friday, following an alleged chemical weapons attack that reportedly left dozens of citizens dead. In recent months, international efforts to broker a ceasefire and organize a humanitarian response to the country's crisis have faltered in the face of stiff opposition from both Russia and Syria.
Russia, which has backed the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has joined Damascus in denying an attack even took place — even though U.S. authorities have declared it did with near certainty. The dispute over Syria was the latest wedge between the West and Russia, which has been embroiled in multiple controversies with western governments.
In a statement released on Twitter, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. said the country was being "threatened," and issued an ominous warning that reprisals could follow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, branded the coalition strike as an "act of aggression," as he demanded an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/russia-warns-of-consequences-for-us-led-strike-on-syria.html

CHINA CONTINUES ITS ASIAN EXPANSION - BRINGING THEM CLOSER TO AUSTRALIA'S DOORS - SIMILAR TO WHEN JAPAN EMPERIALISTIC EXPANSION IN WW2 - CHINA DOES IT DURING PEACEFUL TIMES WITH LOANS AND DEBT OR ISLAND GRABBING AS VANUATU THE NEXT VICTIM

ALARM bells rang through Australia yesterday over reports China was negotiating a military base less than 2000 kilometres from our border.

China and Vanuatu have both denied the Fairfax report, which claimed Beijing was eyeing a military base in the island nation, with global ramifications.
“No one in the Vanuatu government has ever talked about a Chinese military base in Vanuatu of any sort,” Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu told the ABC.
“We are a non-aligned country. We are not interested in militarisation.”
READ MORE: ‘Massive nightmare’ in Australia’s backyard
The move prompted fears in Australia over Beijing’s aims for greater military influence in the South Pacific region.
But Beijing’s economic influence in Vanuatu remains undeniable, with China responsible for almost half of the island nation’s foreign debt.

http://www.news.com.au/military/how-china-is-exerting-its-power-in-vanuatu/news-story/0c5e2eb17ca45f18db1078aeac2bcac3