Asia – Page 19 – The Singapore Post

China increasing its military numbers near Indian border, US expresses concerns

22Dec

By News DeskNo Comments

China increasing its military numbers near Indian border, US expresses concerns

Beijing, China: China is increasing its military near the borders with India. The action of chine military is concerning US as China has no good record in its border disputes with India. The US Defense Department is newly concerned about China's further military build-up near the demarcation line across its Himalayan border with India after Beijing deployed long-range strategic bombers to the area last month in another apparent warning to New Delhi, according to Foreign Policy magazine. Further, the build-up along the Indian border fits the pattern of Chinese regional aggression witnessed in other parts of the Indo-Pacific as the US tries to expand its strategic alliance in the region, it said. Jeff Smith, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center said i...

21Dec

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, China, Politics, World

Is Bhutan China’s next target

New Delhi: China is not maintaining its good relations with any of its bordered country. Earlier this year Chinese people entered in Bhutan’s land and stabilised 4 civilian village settlement. These territorial excesses, characteristic of a Chinese disregard for sovereignty of countries in its borderlands, have been going on for years, but only recently have they come under international notice. For Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom wedged between two Asian superpowers, navigating global geopolitics is not an easy task. Tensions run high at the India-China border, and Bhutan finds itself in the complicated position of safeguarding its interests while balancing between its two big neighbours. As far as India is concerned, Bhutan is one of its few unproblematic friends in the

Grim days ahead for Chinese economy as growth rate to slump below 5 percent

20Dec

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, Business, China

Grim days ahead for Chinese economy as growth rate to slump below 5 percent

China’s economy has received a big blow following the property crisis, industrial slump, weak consumption besides the fallout from Covid-19-led lockdowns. Now, now the outbreak of the Omicron variant of coronavirus besides and possible blacklisting of Chinese companies by the US spell further trouble for China. The GDP growth in 2022 is predicted to slump below 5 percent, taking China's economic growth rate to the 1990s level. Think tank China Finance 40 Forum, which has the deputy governor of People's Bank of China (PBOC) as a member, has expressed concerns over growth rate remaining below 5 percent in case domestic demand fails to improve. Global financial services group Nomura has cut economic growth for China in 2022 sharply-- 2.9 percent in the first quarter and 3.8 percent

Chinese fake experts uncovered by Facebook

12Dec

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Asia, Business, China, World

Chinese fake experts uncovered by Facebook

Meta Platforms, the company that owns Facebook, has deactivated over 500 accounts tied to a Chinese-based internet misinformation network. The accounts pushed the allegations of a fictitious Swiss scientist named "Wilson Edwards," who claimed the US was interfering with the search for Covid-19's origins. Chinese official media channels prominently covered Edwards' remarks. The Swiss embassy, on the other hand, stated that this individual was very unlikely to exist. The social media effort, which was aimed at English-speaking audiences in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Chinese-speaking audiences in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet, was "mostly ineffective," according to Meta's analysis. In July, a Facebook and Twitter account posing as a Swiss biologist called Wi...

Digital sanctions are latest Pakistani tools for persecuting Ahmediya Muslims

10Dec

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, Conflict, Opinion

Digital sanctions are latest Pakistani tools for persecuting Ahmediya Muslims

Pakistan’s religious intolerance against Ahmediyya Muslims has graduated to another level with state institutions clamping down on the community using digital tools and sanctions. Ahmadis number about 4 million in Pakistan, but the community has been forbidden to call itself Muslim since 1974. Ironically, it is the only country to label them as non-Muslims. Here, Ahmadis are not even allowed to call their houses of prayer “mosques,” while basic religious practices associated with Islam are forbidden for them. The followers are subjected to different forms of discrimination including hate speech. Institutional apathy is matched by societal hatred on ground which is reflected in frequent incidents of killing of the Ahmadis on the ground. Motivated by lopsided interpretation of Islam in f

Taiwan preparing military as China increases pressure

25Nov

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, China, Conflict, Opinion, Politics

Taiwan preparing military as China increases pressure

Taipei, Taiwan: In a recently released white paper, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said the PLA had developed the ability to blockade Taiwan’s major airports and harbours, while the Pentagon said they would have the capacity to “compel Taiwan’s leadership to the negotiation table” as early as 2027. Since taking office in 2016, President Tsai Ing-wen has focused on improving the armed forces’ capabilities and gone on an extensive weapons buying campaign from the United States as her government’s relationship with Beijing has darkened. In August, the administration of US President Joe Biden approved its first sale of $750m in weapons to Taiwan, after predecessor Donald Trump approved $5.1bn in sales in 2020. The Taiwanese defence ministry is now asking for an extra $9bn over th

Powered by ambition to dominate world, China quietly builds military bases in Pacific Islands

23Nov

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, China, Politics

Powered by ambition to dominate world, China quietly builds military bases in Pacific Islands

A few days ago when activists in Glasgow in the UK, where COP26 Summitwas held, were busy in petitioning the world’s governments to protect 30 percent of the global ocean, Kiribati, a small Pacific island country of low-lying atolls was discussing opening up its largest marine reserves to commercial fishing---all this under the influence of China. The marine reserve, lying in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) ofKiribati, falls under UNESCO world heritage site. But Pacific country’s President TanetiMaamau, during a recent Cabinet meeting decided to open up the marine reserve of the PIPA, which is almost the size of California, and is home to more than 250 coral species and 520 species of fish, to commercial fishing. The Kiribati government said the move will fetch over $200 mill

US and allies will take action if China tries to change the status quo of Taiwan

17Nov

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, China

US and allies will take action if China tries to change the status quo of Taiwan

If China tried to change the status quo of Taiwan and uses force then US and allies will not sit back and see. Blinken did not say what sort of action he was referring to, as he responded to a question on the issue during a forum hosted by The New York Times on Wednesday. When asked if the US would step in to defend the self-ruled island in the event of an attack by the mainland, Blinken repeated the regular statements that Washington’s role was to make sure the island had the means to defend itself, as required under US law. “At the same time, I think it’s fair to say that we’re not alone in this determination to make sure that we preserve peace and stability in that part of the world,” he said. “There are many countries, both in the region and beyond, that would se

Increase in COVID-19 cases disrupts the North Korea-China rail freight project

13Nov

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, Business, China

Increase in COVID-19 cases disrupts the North Korea-China rail freight project

COVID-19 cases have surged in the border areas on North Korea and China because of which the rail freight connection has been disrupted. The move was taken just eight days after the two countries lifted an almost two-year-long trade cut-off. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in Jan. 2020, Beijing and Pyongyang sealed off the 880-mile Sino-Korean border and suspended trade to prevent the virus from crossing the border into North Korea, reports Radio Free Asia. The move killed off much of North Korea’s nascent market economy that relied on the purchase and sale of Chinese imports, and the lack of imported food, fertilizer and equipment led to skyrocketing food prices, the news portal reported. The rail freight resumed between the two countries on Nov 1. The start o

China firmly opposes the EU parliament team visit to Taiwan

11Nov

By News DeskNo Comments

Asia, China

China firmly opposes the EU parliament team visit to Taiwan

"China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the visit to Taiwan by certain members of the European Parliament and has lodged solemn representation to the European side. As a universally recognized norm governing international relations and the consensus of the international community, the one-China principle is the political foundation for the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations and development of ties. No official interaction with the Taiwan authorities in any form is an inherent requirement of the one-China principle," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a press conference. "The European Parliament is an important official organ of the EU. It follows naturally that its members should fully recognize the complex and sensitive nature of the Taiwa...

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