Trump presses China on North Korea ahead of Xi talks

Trump presses China on North Korea ahead of Xi talks

U.S. President Donald Trump held out the possibility on Sunday of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation against North Korea and suggested Washington might deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs on its own if need be. The comments, in an interview published on Sunday by the Financial Times, appeared designed to […]

First China-built carrier on target for April 23 launch

First China-built carrier on target for April 23 launch

China’s defence ministry has confirmed that the country’s first locally built aircraft carrier has entered its final stage of construction before the hull is launched, which media reports suggest could be as early as April 23, the founding anniversary of the navy. “China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is now being fitted out, everything is going […]

State Department employee charged with concealing Chinese-agent contacts

State Department employee charged with concealing Chinese-agent contacts

WASHINGTON—A longtime State Department employee was accused of lying about her 10-year relationship with two Chinese spies who allegedly gave her and her family tens of thousands of dollars in gifts in exchange for information, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday. The employee, Candace Claiborne, was arrested Tuesday after acknowledging in an interview with […]

On state TV, Chinese Forces storm a compound a lot like Bin Laden’s

On state TV, Chinese Forces storm a compound a lot like Bin Laden’s

BEIJING — The action-packed, prime-time segment on Chinese state-run television featured an elite police force storming a gated desert compound and sprinting toward a white, three-story house. To some viewers, that house looked familiar. The structure bore an uncanny resemblance to the compound in Pakistan where United States Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in […]

Man-made islands in the South China Sea nearing completion and ready for Chinese troops

Man-made islands in the South China Sea nearing completion and ready for Chinese troops

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, announced this week that China has largely completed construction of military installations on the artificial islands the nation has constructed in the South China Sea.  According to their report, China may begin deploying military equipment and personnel to the islands […]

China issues warning to American B1-1 Bomber in contested airspace

China issues warning to American B1-1 Bomber in contested airspace

Chinese officials issued a radio warning to an American B1-B Lancer Bomber flying near South Korea on Sunday, claiming that the aircraft had illegally entered Chinese airspace and ordering them to leave. The airspace in question is included in China’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, a territory China officially claimed […]

China is going after South Korea’s wallet in their dispute over the THAAD missile system

China is going after South Korea’s wallet in their dispute over the THAAD missile system

The first pieces of the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system arrived in South Korea earlier this month, the latest step a deployment process the Chinese government had greeted with chagrin. Beijing has inveighed against the deployment and criticized the South Korean government for undermining bilateral relations by hosting the missile system. Chinese […]

Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April – sources

Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April – sources

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers next month in order to stay home for a visit by China’s president and will go to Russia later in April, U.S. officials said on Monday, disclosing an itinerary that allies may see as giving Moscow priority over them. Tillerson […]

How to get North Koreans off the boat

How to get North Koreans off the boat

Newly minted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to reporters on Friday while visiting South Korea, said that the military option was “on the table” if the U.S. felt North Korea’s missile program, specifically their nuclear intentions, required it. Also on Friday, President Trump jumped on his Twitter account to chastise North Korea saying, “North […]