Page 16 - China

US shoots down another unidentified flying object over North America

The United States has shot down another unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar "cylindrical" object over Canada. An F-16 fighter jet, at the direction of President Joe Biden, fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down the airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in US airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder said on Sunday. The object was shaped like an octagon with strings hanging off it and no discernible payload, CNN reported, quoting an official and another source briefed on the matter. Although the United States has no indication that the object has surveillance capabilities, that has not been ruled out as yet. After the shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday, this is the third such shooting down of an unidentified airborne object in a week. The previous two were shot down by US fighte

We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason: Pentagon officials

The military will try to recover the object downed over Lake Huron, which they said likely fell in Canadian waters, to learn more about it

China plans to triple nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035 amid tensions with US

China is mulling tripling its stockpile of nuclear warheads to 900 by 2035, as tensions with the United States are expected to increase further over Taiwan, Kyodo News reported

Unidentified object over Canada shot down as aerial drama escalates

The drama began earlier this month when a balloon traversed North America, gripping global attention and sparking a diplomatic standoff between the US and China

China insists balloon for civilian use, accuses US of exaggerating dispute

The Biden administration offered details including that high-resolution imagery provided by U-2 spy planes flying past the balloon revealed an array of surveillance equipment

India 4th most powerful nation in Asia but an 'underachiever': Lowy report

The USA holds the most power in Asia, followed by China and Japan

India's population gap over China to widen further, shows data

India is set to surpass China by 3 million people in 2023

US introduces legislation for resolving issues between China and Dalai Lama

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives and the Senate to strengthen America's policy to jump-start a dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama that advance freedoms for the Tibetan people and peaceful resolution of their differences over Tibet. 'Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act' was introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul in the House and Senators Jeff Merkley and Todd Young in the Senate. It seeks to empower the US government to achieve its long-standing goal of getting Tibetans and Chinese authorities to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue. The Tibetans are a people who deserve to have their rights respected under international law, McGovern said. This includes the right of self-determination, which they have been denied by the Chinese government and the international community, he added. The Biden administration has been vocal about Ukrainians' rights to decide how

US overreacted by using force, says Chinese ministry on 'spy balloon' issue

In a response to the White House's statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the US overreacted by using force and that the narrative is probably part of the information and public opinion.

No new Covid variants emerged during China's recent outbreak: Lancet study

Two known Omicron sub-variants rather than any new variants have chiefly been responsible for the recent COVID-19 surge in China, according to a study of cases in Beijing published in The Lancet Journal. The analysis suggests Omicron sub-variants, BA.5.2 and BF.7 among the most dominant variants in Beijing during 2022 accounted for more than 90 per cent of local infections between November 14 and December 20, 2022. The results represent a snapshot of the pandemic in China, due to the characteristics of Beijing's population and the circulation of highly transmissible COVID-19 strains there, the researchers said. China is widely reported to have ended its zero-Covid strategy on December 7, 2022. Since the lifting of these strict COVID-19 control policies which included targeted lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine surging case numbers have raised concerns that new variants could emerge. In the three years since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the emergence of variant

As China battles crises, HSBC bets big on India's $400 bn pile of wealth

It also plans to launch an onshore private banking service in the South Asian country this year

China violated sovereignty of nations across 5 continents: Antony Blinken

China has "violated the sovereignty" of not just the United States but of countries across five continents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleged Wednesday, days after US fighter jets shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon. Earlier this week, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed diplomats from about 40 friendly nations, including India, Japan and Australia, over the surveillance balloon. The balloon was shot down on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean. It had hovered over continental America for several days after entering the US airspace on January 30 in Montana. China has acknowledged that the ballon was theirs but denied that it was for surveillance purposes rather for weather monitoring and that it had drifted off course. The US, however, has asserted that it has enough evidence to prove that this was a surveillance balloon. It accused China of intruding on its sovereignty and violating international laws. China on the other hand has

China conducted spy balloon programme for several years: Pentagon

The Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast was part of a large surveillance programme that China has been conducting for "several years", the Pentagon said Wednesday. When similar balloons passed over US territory on four occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations, the US did not immediately identify them as Chinese surveillance balloons, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. But he said "subsequent intelligence analysis" allowed the US to confirm they were part of a Chinese spying effort and learn "a lot more" about the programme. He refused to provide any new details about those previous balloons. When pressed, Ryder would only say that the balloons flew over "sites that would be of interest to the Chinese". One of the possible incidents was last February. Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, the adjutant general in Hawaii, tweeted about a balloon over Kauai a year ago. He said US Indo-Pacific Command "detected a high-altitude object floating in t

Chinese spy balloons have targeted several countries, including India: Rpt

China has operated a fleet of spy balloons targeting several countries including India and Japan, a media report has said, days after the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance craft floating over sensitive installations in the country. US officials have briefed its friends and allies including India on the finds of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. On Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed officials from about 40 embassies here about it. The surveillance balloon effort, which has operated for several years partly out of Hainan province off China's south coast, has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The Post's report was based on interviews with several anonymous defence and intelligence ...

Chinese socialism with Xi characteristics

CPC Futures is a one-stop guide to understanding the changes in China's domestic and foreign policy directions and their immediate and long-term effects for the world

With a focus on China, Nyoma advance landing ground to be upgraded

Nyoma is an area of great tactical significance and holds importance for both the IAF and the army. It bridges the crucial gap between Leh airfield around 190-kms away and the LAC

Urgent need to resolve Tibet-China conflict, says UN Advocacy group

UN experts' warning about China's efforts to forcibly assimilate the "vast majority" of Tibetan children by separating them from their families and boarding them at state-run schools.

China refuses US request for call between Austin, Gen Wei Fenghe: Pentagon

China has declined Washington's request for a telephonic call between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Beijing counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe, the Pentagon has said after fighter jets shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon. The request was made soon after the balloon was shot down on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean. It had hovered over continental America for several days after entering the US airspace on January 30 in Montana. China has acknowledged that the ballon was theirs but denied that it was for surveillance purposes rather for weather monitoring and that it had drifted off course. The US, however, has asserted that it has enough evidence to prove that this was a surveillance balloon. "On Saturday, immediately after taking action to down the PRC balloon, the DOD (Department of Defense) submitted a request for a secure call between Secretary Austin and PRC (People's Republic of China) Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe," Pentagon ..

Big Russia presence in India Energy Summit indicates stronger ties

The European Union ban on seaborne Russian fuel shipments, coupled with earlier restrictions on the bloc's crude purchases, give more impetus for Moscow to ramp up the flows to India

Meritocracy and Indian society

The testing and examination system of ordering society in a chronological order of talent and skill is deeply flawed, argues a new book