Welcome to FBNC's June 10 morning International news Here are today's outstanding news US' Taiwan card extends to economy Legacy weapons are eroding the military’s edge Memo reveals US Navy must pick between future destroyer, fighter or sub for FY23 plan China’s Submarine Fleet Is Huge. The U.S. Navy Plans To Whittle Away At It With Mines. 30 Times Faster Than Speed Of Sound: Is China Really Winning The Hypersonic Race With Its JF-22 Wind Tunnel? Has China Blocked US’ Move To Set Up A Military Base In Pakistan? Japan minister says aims to raise security ties with Australia to new levels U.S. pledges investment in Mexico to stem migration China to offer COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 3 All will be updated in FBNC's morning International news With the use of the Taiwan card, the US' provocation of the Chinese mainland has extended to the field of trade and economy, just one day after three US senators' visit to the island. Following Washington's recent announcement of a possible resumption of trade talks with the island stalled since the Obama administration, Chinese experts said on Tuesday that the US political bait to Taiwan will further undermine China-US relations and cross-Straits stability, while Taiwan needs to realize that relying on external forces cannot stop the trend of reunification.
When asked about the Biden administration's stance on a trade agreement with Taiwan at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the authority is engaged in conversations with the island of Taiwan on a framework agreement, Although there are no explicit signals on the pact, US media said Washington might resume Trade Investment Framework Talks (TIFA) with the island, which have not been held in 5 years. Echoing Blinken's comments, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority on Tuesday expressed its welcome to the US' lip service. The external affairs authority on the island said on Tuesday that they will make joint efforts with economic and trade authorities to push for the resumption of TIFA talks with the US, through "existing communication channels."
Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday. We urge the US to follow through on its commitment to the one-China principle and Three China-US Joint Communiqués, stop carrying out any official exchanges with Taiwan and not send any wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for US Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said: TIFA is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which exists only among countries, noting that discussing TIFA can be viewed as challenging the one-China principle, which will be opposed by the mainland. After two decades of counterinsurgency campaigns in the Middle East, the U.S. military is shifting its focus to great-power competition with the likes of China and Russia. Countering such rivals will require the Pentagon to free up resources to ensure “every defense dollar [is] spent on programs and equipment that will be relevant in the next fight The disproportionate spending on legacy systems is driven by how long it takes to develop, test and deploy them.
The “life cycles” of contracts for major programs, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, can stretch for decades, forcing the military to sink money into keeping existing programs in operation, rather than investing in new ones. As a result, the U.S. is spending more than ever on a dwindling number of dated weapons systems. Nearly 75% of the air force’s fleet is at least 20 years old, for instance.
In his congressional testimony, Milley, the country’s highest-ranking officer, acknowledged that “continuing to purchase and maintain legacy equipment takes needed defense dollars away from the acquisition of systems that are needed for modernization.” Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, has set a promising example by calling for retiring the tanks and cannon artillery batteries used by the marines in recent wars in favor of new ships and surveillance drones better suited for countering China. The military should conduct comprehensive reviews of its costliest weapons programs, That budget-cutting exercise freed up $33 billion for investment in emerging technologies by canceling spending on army equipment that had outlived its usefulness. Greater investment in military technology and equipment is critical, but so is balancing defense spending with other national priorities. Reducing big-ticket weapons programs or eliminating them altogether is a necessary step toward winning the wars of the future.
The U.S. Navy may have to pick just one of three major modernization programs on the horizon to fund pursuing a new destroyer, a new attack submarine or a new fighter jet, A June 4 memo from acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker stated that, “The Navy cannot afford to simultaneously develop the next generation of air, surface, and subsurface platforms and must prioritize these programs, the Navy should prioritize one of the following capabilities and re-phase the other two after an assessment of operational, financial and technical risk,” A June 4 memo from acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker stated that, in line with recently reissued fiscal guidance from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the service should be prepared to fully fund certain top priorities in its fiscal 2023 planning cycle but cut back in other areas. The Navy had planned to upgrade from its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the future DDG(X); from its Virginia-class submarines into the future SSN(X); and from its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets into a Next Generation Air Dominance platform with all three projects coming to fruition sometime in the next decade. Each has compelling reasons to continue at pace, making the upcoming risk assessments tricky for the Navy. According to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, the Chinese navy in 2015 operated 57 diesel-electric submarines and five nuclear attack submarines.
Beijing’s undersea fleet by 2030 could expand to include 60 diesel-electric boats and at least 16 nuclear attack submarines. By comparison, the Japanese navy operates 20 diesel-electric submarines and does not plan grow this force over the near term. Japanese subs are among the most modern and sophisticated in the world, but they indisputably are outnumbered by their Chinese counterparts. The U.S. fleet meanwhile possesses 56 Los Angeles-, Seawolf- and Virginia-class attack submarines and Ohio-class cruise-missile submarines.
Under the latest planning, that number would drop to a low of 52 attack boats in 2026 before expanding back to current levels sometime in the 2030s. Worse for American war plans, only slightly more than half of these subs belong to the Pacific Fleet. The U.S. Navy aims to mitigate its disadvantage by acquiring a large number of drone submarines.
In 2019 the sailing branch paid Boeing the first installment on a $275 million dollars order for five Echo Voyager crewless subs. The Navy calls its version of the Echo Voyager an “extra-large unmanned undersea vehicles,” or XLUUV. The first of the autonomous XLUUVs could enter service as early as 2022 The Navy plans to acquire at least 24 XLUUVs over coming decades. The Navy expects to complete work on Hammerhead by 2023, at which point it could begin folding robot subs and torpedo-mines into its war plans.
If China ever moves on Taiwan and war breaks out in the western Pacific, Japan might surge its subs north of Taiwan to block Chinese submarines while, south of Taiwan, American drone subs plant their own blockade. Chinese media reports about a new wind tunnel coming up in Beijing that will put China “decades ahead of the rest of the world in hypersonic technology” have been refuted by technology experts as being “outlandish” and “premature.” According to a researcher and professor, Chris Combs, an expert on hypersonics and aeronautical engineering, from San Antonio, the claims about the JF-22 hypersonic tunnel ignores the presence of a wide variety of decades-old facilities around the world. Most hypersonic test tunnels have existed since the Cold War to test space vehicles and missiles in the United States. NASA has built many such test facilities over the decades to study countless rockets and spacecraft that the space agency sent to space.
Combs says the article doesn’t mention how they will handle the fact that a detonation-driven shock tunnel will alter the air chemistry to the point that the aero will no longer be representative of flight. According to Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Han, JF-22 will afford a longer experiment time than the existing test facilities currently operating in the world. Therefore, it can accommodate larger vehicles and the experiments can be more advanced than what existing tunnels can afford. “This determines our leading position in the world,” he claims.
According to Han, the tunnel would produce power of up to 15 gigawatts nearly 70 percent of the installed capacity of the world’s largest hydropower station Three Gorges Dam in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. The summit between Russia and US President will take place in Geneva, This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office The US believes that China and Russia will be united more closely if it does not try to pull Russia to its side. It would also be good for Washington's overall strategy if relations with Moscow were to ease up. Of course, the US cannot bluntly ask Russia to unite against China during the summit.
After all these years of development, Russia also knows that China-Russia relations are very crucial for it. White House press secretary Jen Psaki commented on May 25 on the upcoming summit that the two leaders "seek to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship." The US policy line toward China and Russia has been clear and consistent. In the eyes of the US, Russia is its strong military and strategic security threat, while China is the "most serious competitor" that challenges Washington's leadership in many spheres. China, Russia and the US will influence the other, the three countries are not in a two-to-one triangle relationship as they were during the Cold War The EurAsian Times earlier reported on how the US is exploring options in stationing some of its troops in Central Asia or Pakistan Pakistan had then clarified that it would not permit any foreign military bases on its soil.
However, the recent unannounced visit to Islamabad by William J. Burns, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, and the frequent calls between US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin and the Pakistani military chief suggested that the deal was on the table. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday. Pakistan has informed the United States that it cannot offer military bases to the country as Islamabad needs to look after its own interests, the US had maintained bases in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan. it was kicked out of Pakistan on dwindling ties after 2011 from the Central Asian region on fierce opposition from Russia and China, Pakistan enjoys a close and special relationship with China.
Beijing has already invested close to $62 billion since 2013 on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s dream project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Several reports highlight that Pakistan is planning to sell some stakes of the state-owned Pakistan Railways (PR), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). China has emerged as one of the biggest investors in Pakistan whose economy is gasping for breath. An expert speaking to EurAsian Times earlier noted that “the only reason Washington could get interested in Pakistan is to check on the Chinese but it is highly unlikely that Beijing would approve that move”.
Japan's foreign minister said on Wednesday (June 9) in an online meeting with his Australian counterpart he hopes to further talks of increasing security and trade relations "to new levels" between the two countries. Toshimitsu Motegi made the comment at the start of the meeting, via video conferencing, "Attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea have become more serious," "Unity among like-minded countries that share fundamental values and strategic interests is required more than ever." Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne also referred to the friendly ties of the two countries, and said that she talked to three Pacific athletes who were "excited" to join the Tokyo Games that are set to kick off on July 23 "They are so passionate and so excited to be able to participate in the Games that Japan is going to bring to the world in some of the most difficult circumstances that we have ever seen for a modern Olympics," Mexico and the United States signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding promote the development in Central America, during Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the Latin American country. Bryan Wood reports. The United States on Tuesday pledged $130 million to Mexico over the next three years to support workers’ rights and help stem migration. The promise made by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris comes after bilateral talks with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
It’s part of a longer trip to address surging migration to the U.S.-Mexico border from Northern Triangle countries, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. U.S. President Joe Biden asked Harris to lead migration efforts, after the number of migrant families detained at the U.S.-Mexico border skyrocketed earlier this year. Much of her trip, which included a stop in Guatemala, focused on root causes of migration, like corruption and the lack of economic opportunity. “If it is a priority to us to be concerned about what is happening at our border, then it must be a priority for us to understand why people leave.”
In a statement, the U.S. said it will support infrastructure initiatives, like farming, housing and tourism in the southern Mexico region bordering Guatemala. Mexico and the U.S. will meet again in September to flesh out an investment deal. China has approved the emergency use of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for those as young as three, the drugmaker confirmed on Tuesday (Jun 8), making it the first country to offer jabs to young children. A spokesperson for Sinovac told AFP its vaccine had been approved for use on children.
"In recent days, the Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in three- to 17-year-olds," But he did not confirm when the young children would be able to start receiving the shots, saying the schedule for the roll-out will be decided by the National Health Commission The company has completed early phase trials of the vaccine in children and adolescents, with results to be published shortly in the Lancet scientific journal, State broadcaster CCTV reported over the weekend that an unnamed official in the State Council's epidemic response task force had said vaccines had been approved for children, and "the safety and effectiveness" had been proven. A spokesperson for China's other major vaccine, Sinopharm, said that experts had demonstrated the effectiveness of its vaccine in children, Since the coronavirus first emerged in central China, China, Beijing has mostly managed to bring the country's outbreak under control, and has administered more than 777 million vaccine doses after a sluggish start. Chinese officials have said they are aiming to inoculate 70 per cent of the population of 1.41 billion by the end of this year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved both the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines for emergency use in adults aged 18 and older, and both jabs are being administered in several countries around the world. While the WHO does not currently recommend vaccinating children against coronavirus, the United States, Britain, Singapore and the European Union have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those as young as 12 Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged China to release information about six labourers who fell ill after working in a mine in Yunnan province in 2012, and are now seen as a key part of efforts to find the origins of COVID-19.
The workers, ages 30 to 63, were scrubbing a copper seam clean of bat faeces in April 2012 Weeks later, they were admitted to a hospital in the provincial capital of Kunming with persistent coughs, head and chest pains and breathing difficulties. Three eventually died. The mine is in Mojiang in southwest China, about 1,500 kilometres from Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first identified. Though the full biographical details of the six workers have not been released, their surnames, ages and medical records were published in a 2013 thesis written by a Kunming Medical University postgraduate student named Li Xu. examines each patient's symptoms and concludes they were victims of a "SARS-like" coronavirus contracted from horseshoe bats. Scientists returning to the mine at the end of 2012 found samples of a pathogen that came to be known as the "Mojiang virus", found in rats and unrelated to SARS-CoV-2.
Subsequent research was unable to confirm whether it caused the miners' illness. According to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's Shi Zhengli, China's top bat coronavirus researcher, the workers' pneumonia-like symptoms were caused by a fungal infection. Shi and her team also said in research published last November that they had retested 13 serum samples from four of the patients and found no sign they had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Some also believe the paper provides circumstantial evidence for broader allegations that WIV had captured, studied and conducted "gain of function" experiments on viruses found in the mine, including RaTG13. First identified in 2016, RaTG13 shares 96.2% of its genome with SARS-CoV-2, according to a paper released by Shi and other researchers early in February 2020, From 2012 to 2015, WIV researchers identified as many as 293 coronaviruses in and around the mine.
British company Hybrid Air Vehicles recently released concept images of its forthcoming airship, which is 299 feet (91 meters) long and 112 feet (34 m) wide, with the capacity to hold about 100 people. But rather than being crammed in like sardines, passengers will be treated to floor-to-ceiling windows and the kind of space and legroom commercial airlines currently reserve for business-class customers. The firm thinks the vehicle, which is expected to enter service by 2025, will soon challenge conventional jets on a number of popular short-haul routes, thanks to its improved comfort and 90% lower emissions.
These are FBNC's morning International news Thank you for watching See you in the next FBNC's morning International news
2021-06-10