Tag: China

The center’s airborne preparation program will be expanded to include landing with a wingsuit, a special suit with fabric between the legs and under the arms that resembles a flying squirrel, reports RIA Novosti. It will help the fighter reduce his falling speed to 45 mph and glide at a speed of 155 mph.

Russia’s new, asymmetric approach is perhaps best exemplified by its state-run nuclear contractor Rosatom’s strategy of creating security vulnerabilities in Europe. A recent report from a think tank in Finland – where Rosatom partly owns a nuclear power plant being built in Pyhajoki – suggested that the Kremlin is striking deals such as these to create dependencies in other countries. Separately, Lithuania has said it may file a lawsuit over the poor-quality construction of the Astravets nuclear power plant, which is being built by Rosatom in neighboring Belarus with no supervision and at a very low cost. Lithuanian officials are worried that Rosatom is using substandard Russian security systems that are likely much weaker than their Western equivalents – a state of affairs that analysts believe could pave the way for a nuclear disaster. Recent reports that at least ten workers died in mysterious circumstances while working at Astravets, and that a 330-ton reactor shell was dropped thus triggering an emergency situation, have hardly reassured Vilnius. Outside of Europe, Rosatom is also playing a very delicate role in Iran’s nuclear program, working on the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant while the Obama administration tries to preserve its controversial Iran nuclear deal.

Xi’s reforms include establishing a joint operational command structure by 2020 and rejigging existing military regions, as well as cutting troop numbers by 300,000, a surprise announcement he made last year.

China has been moving rapidly to upgrade its military hardware, but integration of complex systems across a regionalized command structure has been a major challenge.

Like a troupe of wandering entertainers, Chinese officials trumpet at every possible opportunity that their country’s strategy in Africa is one of political non-interference, equality, and mutually beneficial economic agreements, a stark antithesis from the Western colonial scramble of the past. China’s aversion from formal alliances and her decision not to comment on any of the numerous human-rights abuses that […]

There’s a chance things might get better in Syria. The Kurds are doing the heavy lifting. They protect Americans. They’re pragmatic. We owe the Kurds increased solidarity. The Kurds are like a girlfriend that never gives up on you. They very well might the best shot we have at eliminating ISIS if we openly support […]

A more powerful nuclear test, however, could have unintended consequences, according to earth sciences experts in South Korea.

Data from South Korean scientists submitted to a parliamentary committee on safety administration indicated another man-made earthquake near the Punggye-ri test site could trigger a dormant volcanic mountain, Mount Paektu, local newspaper Maeil Business reported.

Paektu, the official birthplace of former leader Kim Jong Il, is about 75 miles from the nuclear test site. Another earthquake with a 3.0-7.0 magnitude could trigger a volcanic eruption, according to the analysis.

China responded Monday to calls that it needs to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program by saying that American officials were truly to blame for inciting conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The detection Friday of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test brought new pressure on China, Pyongyang’s economic lifeline and the closest thing […]

You read that correctly; this may sound too James Bond to be real, but it is.

He equated our backing of both the rebels and the Kurds as a major contributor to the “mess.” But we all know it goes deeper, further back and is more complex than that.

The Philippines and Japan have both expressed serious concern over China’s actions in the South China Sea at a regional meeting of Asian leaders in Laos. Hours before leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met China’s Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in Vientiane on Wednesday, the Philippines released photos purportedly showing Chinese […]

On the map legend, the rebels and al-Nusra are the same identifying color. It’s that hard to distinguish their operations and operating space.

North Korea fired three medium-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast Monday, landing close to Japan, in a show of force that coincided with the meeting of leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies in neighboring China. North Korea launched the missiles, believed to be Rodongs, from a site south of Pyongyang […]