World

China Accuses US Of Indiscriminate Use Of Force Over Balloon

Published

2 years ago

2023-02-06

BEIJING, China — China said on Monday that the U.S. used indiscriminate force when it shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. It said that the incident “seriously affected and hurt both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-US relations.”

The balloon was shot down off the coast of Carolina after passing over sensitive military sites across North America. China maintained that the flyover was an accident involving a civilian plane.

On Sunday, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said that he filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy regarding the “U.S. military attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship.”

“However, the U.S. turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship about to leave U.S. airspace, clearly overreacted, and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the United States dealt a severe blow to already strained US-Chinese relations, which have been declining for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel an important trip to Beijing aimed at defusing tensions.

Xie reiterated China’s claim that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that erroneously entered U.S. airspace, calling it an “accidental incident caused by force majeure.”

U.S. Officials Shoot DownThe Balloon Over The Ocean

China will “resolutely safeguard Chinese companies’ legitimate rights and interests, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.

According to U.S. officials, U.S. President Joe Biden issued the shootdown order after being advised that the best time for the operation would be over water. Military officials determined that bringing the balloon down over land from a height of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would endanger people on the ground.

“What the United States has done has seriously impacted and harmed both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-US relations since the Bali meeting,” Xie said, referring to a recent meeting in Indonesia between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that many hoped would create positive momentum for improving ties that have fallen to their lowest level in years.

On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning provided no new information, reiterating China’s insistence that the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, needed more ability to steer and entered U.S. airspace, accidentally diverging from its course. She also didn’t say what other steps China planned to take in response to Washington’s handling of the issue and the cancellation of Blinken’s trip, which would have made him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We have stated that this is a completely isolated and accidental incident caused by force majeure, but the U.S. deliberately hyped up the incident and even used force to attack,” Mao said during a daily briefing. “This is a reckless and unacceptable action.”

Balloons Spotted Over Latin America And Japan

From Latin America to Japan, balloons thought to be Chinese have been spotted. Yoshihiko Isozaki, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, told reporters on Monday that a flying object similar to the one shot down by the U.S. had been spotted twice over northern Japan since 2020.

“We’re still looking into them about the latest case in the United States,” he said.

Mao confirmed the identity of a Chinese balloon recently spotted over Latin America, describing it as a civilian airship used for flight tests.

“Due to weather and its limited self-control ability, the airship deviated significantly from its planned route and accidentally entered the space of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mao explained.

Washington and Beijing disagree on things like trade and human rights, but China is especially upset about what it says are violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity by the US and others.

Beijing is very against the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan and against foreign politicians visiting the island, which it claims as Chinese territory and plans to take back by force if it has to.

Bejing Halted Talks With The U.S. Over The Balloon

It reacted to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in 2022 by firing missiles over it and staging threatening military drills seen as a practice for an invasion or blockade. Beijing also halted talks with the U.S. on issues unrelated to military tensions, such as climate change.

Last week, Mao warned Pelosi’s successor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, not to visit Taiwan, implying that China would respond in kind.

“China will tenaciously defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests,” Mao declared. McCarthy claimed that China had no right to tell him where and when he could travel.

China also doesn’t like it when foreign military surveillance planes fly in international airspace near its coast or when U.S. and other foreign warships pass through the Taiwan Strait, which it says is a deliberate act of provocation.

A US Navy plane conducting routine surveillance near the Chinese coast collided with a Chinese fighter plane in 2001, killing the Chinese fighter pilot and damaging the American plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing at a Chinese naval airbase on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. China detained the 24-member U.S. Navy aircrew for ten days until the U.S. expressed regret for the death of the Chinese pilot and for landing without permission at the base.

South China Sea Continues To Hold Tension

Another major source of contention is the South China Sea. China claims virtually the entire strategically important sea and protests when U.S. Navy ships sail past Chinese military installations there.

“The presence of this surveillance balloon over the United States in our skies is a clear violation of our sovereignty, a clear violation of international law, and unacceptable,” Blinken said at a news conference with his South Korean counterpart on Friday. And we’ve made that clear to China.”

“I believe that any country that has its airspace violated in this manner would respond similarly, and I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end,” Blinken said.

According to Oriana Skylar Mastro, a Stanford University expert on Chinese military affairs and foreign policy, China’s weather balloon explanation should be rejected outright.

China May Have Lost Control Over The Balloon

“This is something that countries frequently say about surveillance assets,” Mastro said.

China may have made a mistake and lost control of the balloon, but Mastro believes it was unlikely to be a deliberate attempt to disrupt Blinken’s visit.

The decision by the U.S. administration to go public and then shoot down the balloon represents a departure from its usual approach of dealing with Beijing on such matters privately, possibly in the hope of changing China’s future behavior.

However, Mastro believes that Beijing will respond negatively.

“They’re probably going to dismiss that and continue as things have been. So I don’t see a clear path to improved relations shortly.”

SOURCE – (AP)

World

Putin Expands Military After West Approves Long Range Missile Strikes

Published

21 hours ago

2024-09-17

Geoff Thomas

Putin increases army size for third time since 2022

Putin has expanded the army's ranks since sending his military into Ukraine in February 2022 - Reuters Image

President Vladimir Putin expanded the regular size of the Russian army by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active troops on Monday, citing NATO claims that Ukraine can use its long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia.

President Putin ordered that the overall number of the armed forces be boosted to 2.38 million individuals, with 1.5 million active military members.

According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a renowned US military think tank, such an increase in military personnel would propel Russia over the United States and India in terms of active combat soldiers.

The move, the third time Putin has increased the army’s size since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, comes as Russian soldiers press forward in eastern Ukraine on parts of a massive 1,000-kilometer (627-mile) frontline and attempt to expel Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk area.

The action comes after outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed negotiations on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike within Russian territory, but that any decision on the matter would be made by individual countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak in Washington, D.C. – Reuters Image

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been lobbying with friends for months to allow Ukraine to launch Western missiles, including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, deep into Russia, limiting Moscow’s ability to conduct attacks.

Last week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden discussed whether to authorise Kyiv to employ the long-range missiles against Russian targets in Washington. There was no announcement about the decision.

According to reports, Starmer supports allowing Ukraine to employ long-range missiles, whilst Biden is concerned that allowing such strikes could lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.

However, some US officials are doubtful that enabling the use of such missiles would significantly improve Kyiv’s defence against Russian invaders.

Trudeau has stressed that Ukraine should be allowed to launch strikes on targets deep into Russia – Getty Images

Analysts believe that if the West allows Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to hit Russia, Putin may retaliate by striking British military assets near Russia or, in the worst-case scenario, conducting a nuclear test to demonstrate intent.

Ulrich Kuehn, an armaments specialist at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Hamburg, said he did not rule out Putin sending a nuclear message, such as testing a nuclear bomb in an attempt to intimidate the West.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Ukraine should be permitted to strike within Russian territory, as his American and British counterparts met in Washington to consider lifting restrictions on long-range weapons provided to Kyiv.

Putin warned that permitting Ukraine to employ long-range weaponry provided by NATO would mean that NATO countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and European countries, were at war with Russia.

Many Canadians were upset by Trudeau’s statements, feeling that he and NATO were driving Canada closer to nuclear war with Russia.

Putin Says US Long-Range Missiles Hitting Russia an Act of War

Putin Says US Long-Range Missiles Hitting Russia an Act of War

World

Germany Begins Conducting Checks At All Its Land Borders

Published

2 days ago

2024-09-16

Kiara Grace

Köhl, Germany — Germany began random checks at its crossings with five Western European countries on Monday to combat irregular migration, adding to a system of mobile border controls that is already in place at four other frontiers.

The border checks with France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Denmark began before sunrise Monday and are expected to last six months. Germany has already conducted border inspections with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland since last year.

Germany Begins Conducting Checks At All Its Land Borders

Germany, a member of the 27-member European Union, stated last week that it would expand border inspections to all nine of its land borders this week in an effort to combat irregular migration and crime in the wake of recent extremist attacks. Three people were killed in a knife assault in Solingen last month, which was blamed on a Syrian asylum seeker. The suspect claimed to be inspired by the Islamic State. In June, a knife attack linked to an Afghan immigrant killed a police officer and injured four other persons.

Border controls are putting European unity to the test, as some perceive them as a departure from the spirit of the EU’s Schengen free travel and commerce agreement. One of the most valued benefits of the EU is the ability for Europeans to freely travel across borders for jobs and pleasure.

Germany, the EU’s largest country, is positioned in the heart of Europe and shares borders with more countries than any other EU member. Some trade unions have expressed worry that the curbs may harm trade.

However, a return to a previous system with closed borders and mandated border inspections for all crossings seems unlikely.

Nonetheless, German police believe the expanded checks represent a significant challenge to them.

Andreas Rosskopf, the leader of Germany’s Federal Police Union, stated that everybody crossing the border into Germany should now expect to be inspected. However, he noted that due to the length of the country’s boundaries, authorities will not be able to stop and check every car.

He pointed out that Germany has 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) on its western border, in addition to the 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles) along its eastern and southern borders, where inspections are already in place.

He stated in an interview with RBB24 Info radio that “given the length of the border, permanent and intensive checks are not possible.” According to him, “it remains to be seen how successful it will be in curbing migration and people smuggling.”

Germany Begins Conducting Checks At All Its Land Borders

According to the EU, member states may temporarily restore controls at the EU’s so-called internal borders in the event of a major threat to internal security. However, it also states that border controls should be used as a last resort in extraordinary circumstances and must be time-restricted.

Such limitations are frequently imposed at large sporting events, such as the recent Olympic Games in Paris and the European Football Championship.

The unpopular coalition administration of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tightened border controls to crack down on irregular immigration after the far right performed well in two recent state elections in eastern Germany. Another is coming next Sunday in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin.

SOURCE | AP

World

A River Otter Attacks A Child At A Seattle-Area Marina

Published

4 days ago

2024-09-15

Kiara Grace

Bremerton, Washington – A river otter attacked a boy at a Seattle marina, dragging him from a dock and into the water before his mother rescued him, wildlife officials said.

The toddler was pulled underneath and resurfaced briefly during the encounter Thursday at 9:30 a.m. near the Bremerton Marina in Kitsap County, according to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife press release.

A River Otter Attacks A Child At A Seattle-Area Marina

The otter continued to attack and scratch as the mother dragged the child from the water. Wildlife officials say the animal chased them as they exited the dock. The child was treated in a hospital.

“We are grateful the victim only sustained minor injuries, due to the mother’s quick actions and the child’s resiliency,” Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Ken Balazs said. “We would also like to thank the Port of Bremerton for their quick coordination and communication to their marina tenants.”

Officers captured the otter and transported it to a disease diagnostic facility for testing, including rabies, according to the announcement. On Saturday, the government announced that illness testing results could be available as early as next Tuesday.

A River Otter Attacks A Child At A Seattle-Area Marina

River otters are prevalent in Washington and can be found in both fresh and saltwater settings, officials added. They noted that encounters with people are rare, with only six occurring in the last decade. River otters can be territorial and, “like any wildlife, are inherently unpredictable,” experts stated.

SOURCE | AP