MANILA: The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard on Friday (Nov 10) of “dangerous harassment” of Filipino boats in the disputed South China Sea, including firing a water cannon and blocking vessels on a resupply mission. The incident happened during a Philippine mission to deliver provisions to a tiny garrisonContinue Reading
“China is highly concerned about the conflict in northern Myanmar and urges all parties concerned in Myanmar to immediately cease fire and stop fighting, pay practical attention to China’s security concerns, and work with China to maintain the safety of China-Myanmar co-operation projects and business personnel,” foreign ministry spokesperson WangContinue Reading
BEIJING: China said its vice foreign minister held frank and friendly talks with his Vietnamese counterpart in Hanoi on Thursday (Nov 9) that encompassed bilateral ties, land borders and maritime issues. The meeting between Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Duong had not previouslyContinue Reading
Outside Shan state’s Lashio township – home to the military’s northeastern command – internet and phone services were disrupted, hindering humanitarian responses to the fighting, UNOCHA said. Restrictions on transport and availability of cash were hindering efforts by local humanitarian groups to give out aid, it said. A further 40,000Continue Reading
A state-engineered rescue of Country Garden would be one of the most significant interventions to date by authorities to support the cash-squeezed and highly indebted property sector, which accounts for a quarter of China’s economy. The two sources, who have no information on the bailout talks, said some Country GardenContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s coast guard on Friday (Nov 10) urged the Philippines to stop infringing on the country’s sovereignty after several Philippine resupply vessels entered into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippine National Security Council said it would issue a statement soon on theContinue Reading
CAT ISLAND There the animals were taken in by Mengtaiqi Cat and Dog Manor, a small family-run shelter in a marshy area popular with anglers. Gu Ming, a 45-year-old former pharmaceutical industry professional who lives at the shelter with his wife, told AFP that many of the cats rescued inContinue Reading
TOKYO: An undersea volcano erupted off Japan three weeks ago, providing a rare view of the birth of a tiny new island, but experts say it may not last very long.
The unnamed undersea volcano, located about 1km off the southern coast of Iwo Jima, which Japan calls Ioto, started its latest series of eruptions on Oct 21.
Within 10 days, volcanic ash and rocks piled up on the shallow seabed, its tip rising above the sea surface. By early November, it became a new island about 100m in diameter and as high as 20m above the sea, according to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division.
Volcanic activity has increased near Iwo Jima and similar undersea eruptions have occurred in recent years, but the formation of a new island is a significant development, Usui said.
Volcanic activity at the site has since subsided, and the newly formed island has somewhat shrunk because its “crumbly” formation is easily washed away by waves, Usui said.
He said that experts are still analysing the development, including details of the deposits. The new island could survive longer if it is made of lava or something more durable than volcanic rocks such as pumice.
“We just have to see the development,” he said. “But the island may not last very long.”
“FACING LOSSES” While disputes and delays are par for the course for any large developer, and data in China is often incomplete, the court documents shed light on a contrast between the image Country Garden presented publicly and some of its challenges behind closed doors. In a case over allegedContinue Reading
The economic agenda was equally important to Beijing, given the difficulties China is currently facing.
Given the nature of Australia-China trade, there is a limit to the punitive measures China can impose on Australia. In fact, despite the tensions that existed with Australia under the Morrison government, overall bilateral trade has continued to grow, reaching nearly A$300 billion (US$192 billion) in 2022. This shows how complementary the two economies actually are, as well as the resilience of these economic ties.
This is what Chinese leaders and the media emphasised during Albanese’s visit and why they were highly critical of the idea of “decoupling” or “de-risking” from China’s economy.
They characterised “decoupling” as going against free trade and protectionism, but in reality, Beijing is deeply concerned over any specific measures that restrict trade in the high-tech sector, such as with semiconductors. The US and its allies have been increasingly adopting such restrictions in recent years.
What wasn’t discussed much in the Chinese media was the gap between what Beijing presented as a successful visit and what was actually achieved.
One could argue both sides talked about the obvious – for example, that bilateral relations have more or less stabilised, compared to how they were 18 months ago. As China expert Richard McGregor astutely observed, Albanese was “pushing on an open door”.
This is not to belittle the progress made so far. The intention of both governments to resume and strengthen the many dialogues between officials from their countries is important – even critical – in “resetting” the relationship. These channels of communication are incredibly important during times of crisis as a way of managing disputes and avoiding conflicts from spiralling out of control.
Though resetting the relationship was a definite aim in the long term, there were also significant takeaways in the short term. This can be seen in how the state media coverage downplayed AUKUS and conflicts in the South Pacific, where China’s influence has raised alarm bells in Canberra and Washington.
China has signalled its displeasure over AUKUS and continues to consider it a major impediment to further improvement of bilateral relations. But Xi told Albanese they could work together on regional security challenges.
Where there are efforts to cause disturbances in the Asia-Pacific region, we must firstly stay vigilant, and secondly oppose them.
And in the Pacific, the Chinese side is seeing an opportunity for the two countries in terms of regional economic development – how Australia and China can both contribute.
Jingdong Yuan is Associate Professor of Asia-Pacific Security at the University of Sydney. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.