Page 237 - China

TMS Ep410: Monsoon forecast, Ahmedabad, paint stocks, China-Taiwan conflict

What does monsoon forecast mean for India's economy? Is Ahmedabad the next corporate hub? Will rising crude oil prices erase margin for paints? What is the China and Taiwan conflict? Answers here

China releases new set of revised rules for military recruitment in wartime

China has released a new set of revised rules for military recruitment in wartime, including giving priority to the veterans, drafting high-calibre soldiers and optimising conscription procedures, which an analyst described as combat readiness for a war over Taiwan. A set of revised rules regarding military recruitment has been released by the State Council and the Central Military Commission (CMC) - the high command of the Chinese military headed by President Xi Jinping - aiming to provide institutional guarantees for consolidating national defence and building strong armed forces, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The new regulation, with 74 articles in 11 chapters, focuses on recruiting more high-calibre soldiers, standardising and optimising conscription procedures, and improving the system's efficiency, it said in a brief report. The new rules will come into effect next month. The regulations said recruitment should "focus on preparing for war" and increase .

Japan to offer military aid to like-minded countries to counter China

Japan has unveiled a new plan to provide "like-minded" countries especially in Asia with military aid as it looks to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's aggressive push over Taiwan and the South China Sea issues. The guidelines announced by Tokyo early this month included a new programme to strengthen the militaries of like-minded countries by providing official security assistance - a move that breaks with its previous policy of avoiding the use of development aid for military purposes other than disaster relief, the Japan Times reported. Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said the Philippines will be one of the first beneficiaries of Overseas Security Assistance (OSA), with Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji also among those being considered, the report said. Japan, a member of the Quad alliance consisting of the US, India and Australia, is actively pursuing the Indo-Pacific strategy which China claims aimed at countering its rise. Tokyo's decision to u

India can meet security challenges posed by Pakistan, China: Jaishankar

Forces who indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for decades now know this is a "different India" which will give them a reply, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, emphasising that today the country can meet its national security challenges posed by Pakistan and China. Addressing the Indian community in Uganda on Wednesday, Jaishankar spoke about the transformation of the country into a new India. Speaking about the challenges India faces on its borders, Jaishankar said: "Today, people see a different India that is willing to stand up and India which will meet its national security challenges whether it is Uri or whether it is Balakot." He was referring to the 2016 Uri attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed insurgents from Pakistan against an Indian Army brigade headquarters and the 2019 Balakot airstrike conducted by Indian warplanes in Balakot, Pakistan against a terrorist training camp. "Today, the forces which indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for ...

Sri Lanka considers exporting 100,000 endangered monkeys to China

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of exporting 1,00,000 endangered monkeys to China, one of its largest bilateral lenders, the agriculture minister has said. The toque macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Sri Lanka's agriculture minister Mahinda Amaraweera has asked officials to study China's request to procure toque macaques, news portal Economy Next reported on Wednesday. They want these monkeys for their zoos, the minister was quoted as saying. The minister said the request for 1,00,000 monkeys to be exhibited at over 1,000 Chinese zoos could be considered, given the large macaque population in the country, the report said. No financial details were made available so far, it added. A special discussion was held on Tuesday on dispatching monkeys to China under the first phase of the programme, the Ada Derana news portal reported. The discussion headed by Minister .

Beijing to impose no-fly zone north of Taiwan for 'aerospace activities

As tensions between Taiwan and China continue to escalate, Taiwan recently tracked the People's Liberation Army's 91 aircraft and 12 naval ships from 6 am on Monday (April 10) to Tuesday (April 11)

Chinese buildup close to Doklam plateau a grave security threat: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday expressed concern over the reported Chinese buildup close to the Doklam plateau, and said it poses a grave security threat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his "silence" on the issue. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Modi government has failed to restore the status quo ante on the Line of Actual Control for three years and urged the Union home minister to restore it instead of making "misleading claims". "The Indian Army has expressed fresh and serious concern at the Chinese military build-up close to the Doklam plateau. Here is my statement on this grave security threat that even Parliament has been prevented from discussing for almost three years now," he said on Twitter while sharing his statement. He said that according to a recent news report, the Indian armed forces have expressed concern about a major Chinese military buildup close to the Doklam plateau. "These developments represent a clear thre

Myanmar junta launches airstrike on own village: Over 100 feared dead

The anti-coup militias in Myanmar, known as the People's Defence Forces, or PDFs, are waging an armed rebellion against the military junta in various parts of the country

Tension on Taiwan Strait: What is the dispute between China and Taiwan?

The tensions between the two states on either side of the Taiwan Strait have remained high since World War II. Here is a look at the brief history of the conflict

Taiwan ruling party taps vice-president for closely-watched election

Taiwan's vice president, Lai was confirmed as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's candidate in next year's presidential election

China will support Sri Lanka's debt rework, says Central bank governor

The IMF on March 20 approved a $3 billion loan for the island nation to help bail it out of the worst economic crisis in decades

China proposes measures to manage generative AI services: Report

The CAC said that China supports AI innovation and application and encourages use of safe and reliable software, tools and data resources

India strongly rejects China's objection to Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal

India on Tuesday firmly rejected China's objection to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state "was, is and will" always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the reality. The home minister visited Arunachal Pradesh on Monday during which he launched the ambitious 'Vibrant Villages Programme' that is aimed at improving the standard of living of the people in villages in frontier areas. "We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India," Bagchi said. "Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality," he said. Bagchi was responding to media quer

Oil prices rise in choppy trading with US and China inflation in focus

Brent crude futures rose 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $84.83 a barrel by 1405 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 92 cents, or 1.2%, to $80.66 a barrel

Taiwan Prez Tsai says China not being 'responsible' with drills

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has condemned China's military drills in the Taiwan Strait, saying Tuesday that China did not demonstrate the responsible behaviour of a major Asian nation. China's three-day, large-scale drills that ended Monday were retaliation for Tsai's meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week on her tour of Taiwan's official and unofficial allies. As the president, I represent our country in the world, whether it's a visit to allied countries or stopping through in the U.S. and interacting with our international friends, and not only has this been going on for years, it's the Taiwanese people's shared expectation, Tsai said in a short statement. But China used this as a pretext to start military drills, creating instability in the Taiwan Strait and region. This is not the attitude of a responsible major nation in this region." China sees such meetings as encouraging people who formal independence for the island, a step China's rulin

China's weak inflation fuels calls for ease in policy to aid recovery

While the economy has been recovering post-Covid, the figures indicate domestic demand remains weak, giving authorities space to roll out more supportive policies

China military says it's 'ready to fight' after drills near Taiwan

China's military declared Monday it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the US last week. The "combat readiness patrols" named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China's military said earlier. "The theater's troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence' and foreign interference attempts," it said Monday. The exercises were similar to ones conducted by China last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, but have been smaller and less disruptive. Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an .

China concludes military drills around Taiwan; says ended combat readiness

China on Monday said it has successfully completed its three-day large-scale fire and fury military drills "encircling" Taiwan, including the use of an aircraft carrier, aimed at showing its anger over the US House Speaker's meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. The Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) successfully completed all tasks of its combat readiness patrols and exercises around Taiwan Island, official media here reported. Taiwan's defence ministry said on Sunday that in the past 24 hours, 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 Chinese ships were spotted around Taiwan. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunify the self-ruled island with the mainland. Analysts say that PLA's exercises this time compared to last August when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, becoming the first high-profile American politician to visit the island defying Beijing's

Emmanuel Macron's comments on Taiwan raise questions on EU global ties

Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron over Europe's priorities on Taiwan have raised questions over the EU's relationship with both the US and China, on the eve of his planned speech on the bloc's sovereignty in The Netherlands. Macron's remarks were published on Sunday in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos and Politico Europe. The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: is it in our interest to accelerate (a crisis) on Taiwan? No," Macron was quoted as saying in the interview. "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction. The comments were made on Friday, before China launched large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the US last week. Macron spoke to reporters on his way back from a three-day state visit to China, where he spoke at length with Preside

China criticises Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh

China on Monday criticised Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, stating that it violated Chinese sovereignty over the area, a claim outrightly dismissed by India. Home Minister Shah on Monday launched Vibrant Villages Programme' from Kibithoo, the border village of Arunachal Pradesh and India's easternmost place. "Zangnan, (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) is China's territory," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here while answering a question on Shah's visit to the area. "Indian officials' activities in this area violate China's sovereignty and (are) not conducive to peace and tranquility in the border regions. We firmly oppose it," he said. India last week outrightly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality. India's reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 11 more plac