DefenceTalkAn American warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the US Navy said, in a move likely to anger Beijing. The guided missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit Jan. 5 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the Navy said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-warship-transits-through-taiwan-strait-79707/

DefenceTalkEuropean powers must do more to dissuade China from invading Taiwan, including being prepared to unleash painful economic sanctions and train Taiwanese troops, the former head of NATO said Thursday. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is visiting Taipei, said European and NATO powers were “too naive” in the run-up to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and risked […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ex-nato-chief-says-europe-too-naive-on-chinas-taiwan-threats-79690/

DefenceTalkThe 2022 China Military Power Report lays out the challenges facing the United States military as it works to manage relations with the emerging superpower. The report, released today, calls the Peoples’ Republic of China “the most consequential and systemic challenge to our national security and to a free and open international system.” A senior […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-military-power-report-examines-changes-in-beijings-strategy-79635/

DefenceTalkChina and Vietnam agreed on Tuesday to “properly manage” territorial disputes in the South China Sea, rounding off a leaders’ meeting in Beijing as part of a diplomatic blitz by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The socialist neighbours both maintain sweeping claims to sovereignty in much of the contested waterway, parts of which are also claimed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-vietnam-pledge-to-manage-south-china-sea-dispute-79589/

DefenceTalkUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the rivalry between the two superpowers and Russia’s war in Ukraine in a call Sunday, the State Department and Beijing’s foreign ministry said. The top diplomats talked about the need to “responsibly manage the competition between our two countries,” Blinken said in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-china-discuss-relations-war-in-ukraine-79569/

DefenceTalkA former US fighter pilot detained in Australia under a shroud of secrecy will face court on Friday, with a fellow ex-Marine telling AFP the retired instructor trained flight crew in China before his arrest. Daniel Edmund Duggan was arrested in rural New South Wales on October 21, Australia’s attorney general’s department has confirmed, the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/former-us-marine-who-trained-chinese-crew-to-face-australian-court-79566/

DefenceTalkRussia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the “acute threat” posed by Moscow, but China is the most consequential challenge for the United States, the Pentagon said Thursday. The dangers are both conventional — Moscow’s aggression toward its neighbors and Beijing’s efforts to gain control of Taiwan — and nuclear, with Russia possessing an extensive arsenal and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-sees-acute-threat-from-russia-but-says-china-is-main-challenge-79549/

DefenceTalkThe US military must be ready to respond to a potential invasion of Taiwan as soon as this year, a senior admiral said Wednesday, signaling heightened alarm over Beijing’s intentions towards the island. Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of US naval operations, is the latest senior official in Washington to raise concerns that China’s President Xi […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-must-prepare-now-for-china-invasion-of-taiwan-admiral-79533/

DefenceTalkPresident Xi Jinping on Sunday vowed China would “never commit to abandoning the use of force” when it comes to the issue of Taiwan, in a speech marking the beginning of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing. “Resolving the Taiwan issue is a matter for Chinese people themselves, and must be resolved by Chinese people […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-will-never-commit-to-abandoning-the-use-of-force-on-taiwan-xi-79518/

DefenceTalkIntercontinental missiles, disinfection robots and a piece of the Moon — China’s Communist Party on Wednesday flaunted the fruits of its decade under President Xi Jinping ahead of a key meeting expected to extend his rule. Thousands of people thronged an exhibition in Beijing celebrating Xi’s “New Era” just days before a Party Congress at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-celebrates-president-xi-in-massive-exhibition-79513/