After what U.S. officials said was several months of deliberation among President Donald Trump’s national security team, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently took a rather strident tone towards China in a major speech that came just weeks before Trump’s first state visit to China. “The United States seeks constructive relations with China, but we will…

China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have held their largest-ever joint maritime rescue exercise, signalling a lull in South China Sea tensions. The drill on Tuesday simulated a collision between a Chinese passenger ship and a Cambodian cargo vessel off south China’s Guangdong province. It involved about 1,000 rescuers aboard 20…

Although the previous Administration often sent warships into the South China Sea to uphold freedom of navigation and challenge China’s claim to virtually the entire region, some analysts say this move went a step further.

Beforehand, these exercises involved a warship undergoing “innocent passage” and passing the sea without stopping – effectively recognizing territorial waters, much to the disappointment of regional allies that also lay claims to parts of the South China Sea.

In particular, the USS Dewy conducted a “man overboard” exercise, specifically to show that its passage within 12 nautical miles was not innocent passage, U.S. officials said. China says that in response, it sent two guided-missile warships warning the U.S. ship to leave the area.

Greg Poling of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank told Reuters: “The previous two freedom-of-navigation operations only challenged China’s demand for prior notification for innocent passage through the territorial sea; this one asserted that there is no territorial sea at all.”

However, U.S. Commander Gary Ross maintained the drill was not specific to one country.

The South China Sea is a strategic waterway by which $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass through each year. It is contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines — the latter of which took the case to an international court and won. China refused to recognize the ruling. Beijing continues to build and militarize artificial islands in the region claiming it’s only building defenses legally in its own territory.

The United States’ latest drill comes ahead of a visit between U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and regional counterparts in Singapore. At the same time, the U.S. is urging — and to some degree succeeding — in pushing China to take a stronger stance against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The latest incursion, of course, may further complicate the matter.

The publication reports China installed Norinco CS/AR-1 55mm anti-frogman rocket launcher defense systems to protect itself against military combat divers from Vietnam, a neighbor that also lays claims to the South China Sea. The reported military buildup would add to China’s militarization of the disputed waters. However, Beijing maintains it is merely building up defenses in its own territory – something the United States disagrees with. In the past, former President Barack Obama often sent Naval ships into the territory to uphold what it says is freedom of navigation.

Fiery Cross Reef is administered by China but also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

China claims virtually all the South China Sea, a lucrative waterway that seed more than $5 trillion worth of trade pass through it each year.

A CB Insights blog post reported that China pumped $9.9 billion into Silicon Valley firms in 2015 and an additional $3.5 billion in such firms during the first nine months of last year.

The Times article referenced a Defense Department white paper stating, “Beijing is encouraging Chinese companies with close government ties to invest in American start-ups specializing in critical technologies like artificial intelligence and robots to advance China’s military capacity as well as its economy.” That publication is making its way around the hands of top Trump Administration officials.

Moreover, a report published last October by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Committee, which analyzes national security implications of trade with China, read that “Chinese military leaders and strategists believe that the nature of warfare is fundamentally changing due to unmanned platforms” It notes China is housing a burgeoning military drone industry as well efforts to obtain artificial intelligence technology either by investment or possibly “cyber espionage.”

Research firm DSI, which gathered the Intel for the report, says that “state-owned conglomerates, companies, and venture capital firms are actively acquiring and investing in AI and foreign robotics technologies companies, particularly in Europe.”

It seems China may also be turning to arterial intelligence to rival the tech-heavy approach of America’s defense apparatus, which Beijing would be expected to establish defenses against.

However, many of the tech startups that have been doing business with China say they turned to the Communist regime because American firms are reluctant to depend on unproven technology even when the capital investment would be minimal.

Washington maintained it would continue its operations in the region. China claimed that area in 2013, a statement the U.S. and Japan has rejected since. On Thursday, Chinese government officials called on the U.S. to respect its self-proclaimed ADIZ.

U.S. Pacific Air Forces told CNN a B-1 bomber was flying near South Korea on Sunday before its pilots reported to Chinese air traffic controllers that they were undergoing routine operations in international airspace. The aircraft never deviated from its flight path.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she had no knowledge of the matter and referred questions to the Defense Ministry.

“But, generally speaking, I hope that in this region all countries’ actions consider the security concerns of relevant countries and be beneficial for mutual trust, peace and stability between countries,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

Commander Gary Ross, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, said the U.S viewed China’s ADIZ over the East China Sea “a unilateral change to the status quo … that raises regional tensions and increases the risk of miscalculation, confrontation and accidents.”

He added, “The United States will not acquiesce to unilateral acts of other States designed to restrict the rights, freedoms, and uses of the sea and airspace, as reflected in international law. We do not accept, nor do we recognize, the East China Sea ADIZ declared by China.”

This is the latest in a series of war-game-like scenarios between China and the U.S., which in recent years has sent warships to defend freedom of navigation in waters claimed by China. The South China sea is virtually entirely claimed by Beijing. Her neighbors including Vietnam and the Philippines also claim parts. Several countries have shown signs of strengthening ties with the U.S. in what it perceives as Chinese militarization of territorial waters.  

According to three sources familiar with the matter, who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity, the voyage is scheduled to launch in May for a three-month duration.

One source said Izumo will make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July.

“The aim is to test the capability of the Izumo by sending it out on an extended mission,” said one of the sources. “It will train with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea.”

A spokesman for Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force gave reporters no comment.  

Although Japan has no contested claim anywhere in the South China Sea, it does have a dispute with China in the East China Sea. As for the former, Beijing remains at odds with Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei. Still, China claims virtually the entire region. In January, the Chinese government maintained it holds “irrefutable” sovereignty over these waters. Washington vowed to keep defending freedom to navigate “international territories” – a move championed by former President Barack Obama who often sent warships into the region to uphold these doctrines.

The South China Sea is home to significant fishing grounds as well as oil and gas deposits. Every year, about $5 trillion worth of sea-borne trade passes through these waters.

The 249 meter-long (816.93 ft) Izumo is as large as Japan’s World War Two-era carriers and can hold up to nine helicopters. Its specialty is anti-submarine warfare.

“We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops and second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,” said Rex Tillerson before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The man-made islands are being built on reefs across the South China Sea. Beijing lays claim to the territory around these islands; however, they interfere with her neighbors’ 200 mile exclusive economic zones, as defined by UNESCO. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims on the South China Sea.

Back in the U.S., Tillerson is alluding to taking President Barrack Obama’s stance in the issue a step further. For years, the sitting administration has vehemently spoken out against China’s island building and routinely sent NAVY ships into contested waters to defend freedom of navigation. Obama has also strengthened ties with nations in Southeast Asia challenging China’s territorial claims. In recent years, American ships have had some close encounters with the Chinese military in the South China Sea.

Trump’s nominee is also calling to extend the scope to the East China Sea, where China has enacted a special air zone above Japanese islands.

“They are taking territory or control or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s,” Tillerson said.

China has pushed forward with island building and establishing what it calls necessary military facilities for defensive purposes. Late last year, a think-tank published satellite images of what it believed to be military installations on some of these islands.

China maintains its acts are legal even though an international tribunal ruled against its territorial claims in a case brought by The Philippines. Beijing said it will not respect the ruling

Responding to Tillerson’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had the right to conduct “normal activities” in its own territory.

It is uncharacteristic and rare for the Chinese military to make such military revelations. The Southern Theater Command of the PLA bore this significant intel by displaying the weapons on state television.

State media CCTV broadcast footage of PLA troops in the southern theater handling a DF-16 missile – a powerful artillery capable of reaching up to 1,000km and which could strike US military bases in Okinawa. The DF-16 was first presented on September 3 during a military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of War World II.

Earlier sources had reported that the PLA was equipped with the even larger and more destructive DF-21D missiles, ominously known as “carrier-killer” anti-ship ballistic missiles, with a range of 1,450km.

The CCTV video also showed new H-6K bombers, and disclosed that a division of jets has been deployed to the southern theater to patrol Scarborough Shoal.

But why would a military so keen on keeping its missions a secret suddenly reveal their massive weaponry on state television? As a political statement, experts say.

According to the South China Morning Post, military experts said the PLA’s disclosure “was intended to to show that the newly formed Southern Theater Command…was well-prepared for any potential military confrontation with the US.”

State news agency Xinhua announced Tuesday that in an inspection tour following the tribunal’s ruling, General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the PLA, urged his troops to train hard to meet any challenges.

“Air and sea patrols should be tightly organized to handle all kinds of emergencies to ensure security of sea and air borders,” General Fan said.

Commander of the PLA airforce General Ma Xiaotian and General Wei Fenghe, chief of the army’s Rocket Force, were also present.

Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told SCMP General Fan’s visit demonstrated that China’s military could carry out joint combat operations – land, rocket, naval, and air.

“All the weapons showed on state media are defensive arms of short to medium range within 1,500km, meaning China so far is using restrained deterrence to warn the US not to challenge Beijing’s bottom line in the South China Sea,” Mr. Li said.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1992973/pla-unveils-new-weapons-air-and-sea-combat-following

Yes, you read that correctly. KFC. As in the Colonel Sanders’ finger-licking fried chicken joint. The American fast-food chain has over 4,000 branches in China and is “often seen as a symbol of US influence in the country,” BBC news reported.

In the past few days, small crowds of people have gathered outside KFCs in Hebei, Changsha, and Hangzhou, shouting anti-US slogans and holding up banners reading “Get out of China, KFC and McDonalds.”

Although the protests have yet to reach gargantuan proportion, the peculiar (and frankly absurd) nature of them have drawn criticism from Chinese state media.

“This is not the way to express patriotism,” said state-run Xinhua news.

The China Daily newspaper wrote: “Instead of being patriotic, it is their jingoism that does a disservice to the spirit of devotion to the nation.

“Those who organize such activities without going through the necessary procedures and unlawfully harass others in the name of patriotism should be held accountable according to the law.”

In China, protesting without obtaining permission from the government is against the law.

According to BBC news, both China Daily and People’s Daily newspapers said both authorities and state media were “calling for rational patriotism.”