On February 13 the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the deployment of an Australian P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, which“deliberately intruded into the airspace of China’s Parcel Islands without China’s permission and violated China’s sovereignty.” It added that Australia had "jeopardised" China's national security, with Chinese forces having responded with “proper, legal and professional measures to exercise restraint.”Beijing had made “solemn representations” to Australia on the matter “demanding Australia to stop infringing its rights, provoking, and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea.” The P-8 is a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner designed for long range maritime, reconnaissance, anti-shipping, air defence suppression and anti submarine duties. Alongside its large sensor suite built around the AN/APY-10 radar, its internal weapons bays and additional external hardpoints can accommodate a range of weaponry including AGM-88G anti radiation missiles, AGM-158 ant ship cruise missiles, Mark 54 torpedoes, and naval mines among others. Australian P-8s have demonstrated their long range missile strike capabilities in the Pacific in the past. China responded to what it alleged was the aircraft’s infringing on its airspace by deploying two J-16 fighters to closely shadow it, with at least one of the J-16s the releasing flares 30 meters in front of the P-8. The Australian Defence Ministry referred to the Chinese aircraft’s actions as “unsafe and unprofessional,” and did not acknowledge Chinese reports that the incident took place within China’s airspace. China has employed J-16s to closely intercept Western aircraft alleged to be intruding into its airspace in the past, with the fighters reported to have been used to circle the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Tromp and approach its NH90 helicopter on June 7, 2024. The Chinese Defence Ministry stated that the warship and helicopter were staging provocations to the east of Shanghai, adding that the Dutch side was “falsely claiming to be carrying out a U.N. mission and flexed its force in the sea and airspace under the jurisdiction of another country, creating tension and undermining the friendly relations between the two countries.” As the United States has faced growing difficulties in matching Chinese military strength in East Asia, other Western Bloc states such as Australia, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany have made efforts to significantly increase their military presences to support collective Western interests in the region.
Holy crap!!! I wonder how long it takes those things to setup and deploy.Gotta dive down the rabbit hole on this one... I doubt the US or NATO has anything like itThanks, as always, for the updates BT
The abrupt dismantling of Radio Free Asia – along with the Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded media outlets – is being hailed by autocratic regimes from Phnom Penh to Pyongyang and lamented by the millions of citizens who live in closed societies and depend on those channels for news.Silencing key providers of information on U.S. adversaries and sources of American soft power has accomplished what China, North Korea and others had tried and failed to do for more than 25 years.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) raised tariffs on the United States from 34 percent to 125 percent and imposed export controls on seven critical minerals that are essential to the US defense industry. The PRC was retaliating for the United States increasing tariffs on the PRC. These export controls encompass seven materials with extensive military applications. The United States cannot produce the designated minerals at a sufficient scale and exempted them from tariffs in recognition of their importance. The PRC accounted for approximately 70 percent of US rare earth imports from 2020 to 2023 and approximately 70 percent of world mine production of rare earths in 2024. The PRC is leveraging this global dominance to coerce the United States.[1] The PRC Ministry of Commerce stated that the PRC “will fight to the end” and described the US threat of additional tariffs as “blackmail.” This came after the PRC imposed additional export controls against the United States acquiring other critical materials in December 2024 and February 2025 in response to US trade measures.[2]
CNN reported that behind the scenes, officials in the Trump Admin have been trying desperately to get Xi to make the first move and call Trump. As Trump waited and waited, China ignored them and simply responded by announcing reciprocal tariffs with no call.… “Two senior WH officials said that the US will not reach out to China first. Trump has told his team that China must be the first to make the move. That stance has been conveyed to Beijing for roughly two months, with Trump’s team clearly telling Chinese officials that Xi should request a call with Trump. But Beijing has repeatedly refused to arrange a leader-level phone call, according to three sources familiar with the official communications.” ...… The Commerce Ministry also issued a statement saying that US tariffs have reached a level where they no longer have any “economic significance,” and are just being used by Trump as a “tool of bullying and coercion” that has made the US a “joke.”
