Geo Political Risk

[Davexl]

3m ago23.05
Summary

It’s just past 6am in Taipei. Here’s where things stand:

• The US said Thursday that China’s launch of ballistic missiles around Taiwan was an overreaction to the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island. “China has chosen to overreact and use the speaker’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
• China has called the US “the biggest saboteur of peace”, as its foreign ministry spokesperson slammed the US and US House speaker Nancy Pelosi for her recent visit to Taiwan. “Pelosi’s stunt is another bankruptcy of US politics, diplomacy and credibility. It proves the US to be the biggest saboteur of peace and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability,” Hua Chunying said.
• South Korea has temporarily cancelled its flights to Taiwan as a result of the ongoing military drills conducted by China. According to local Korean media, Korean Air cancelled flights between Incheon and Taiwan on Friday and Saturday. The airline also delayed the schedule of Sunday’s flights by an hour. Similarly, Asiana shifted Thursday’s flight up by three hours and cancelled Friday’s flight to Taiwan.
• US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Thursday he “hopes very much that Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretense to increase its aggressive military action.” Addressing the ASEAN-US summit, Blinken said “many countries around the world believe that escalation serves no one and could have unintended consequences that serve no one’s interests, including ASEAN members and including China.”
• The Biden administration postponed a routine test launch of an air force Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing amid China’s show of force near Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. US officials did not say how long the delay might last, but one said it might last 10 days, the report added.
• The US has been watching the Chinese military exercises near Japan “very very closely,” said John Kirby, the US’s National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. In an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Kirby said: “We’ve been watching this very, very closely. It’s concerning. It’s not just concerning to us, but it’s concerning, of course, to the people of Taiwan. It’s concerning to to our allies in the region, especially Japan.”
• Taiwan’s defence ministry said its troops fired flares late on Thursday to deter four drones that flew above the area of its Kinmen islands, which are just off the southeastern coast of China, Reuters reports.
• China has sent 22 fighter jets across the “median line” running down the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, according to Taipei’s defence ministry. The Ministry of National Defense said “air defense missile systems” were deployed to track the jets and radio warnings were broadcast, according to an update on its website.
• U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo vowed on Thursday to support deterrence against North Korea and achieve its denuclearisation. “Both sides expressed concerns about the dire situation of North Korea’s growing threat,” they said in a joint statement after meeting in Seoul.

[Waltzing]

Certainly BP China can make life hell for TW...

but more likely they will cut TW off from Ocean shipping but that will trigger a US sanctions hit if Biden is still in charge...

its all up for grabs and NZ will be keeping it mouth shut...

[Davexl]

Prudent actions...

11m ago22.18

The US navy’s USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier has reportedly retreated after Beijing’s military set a shooting range to the east of Taiwan.
The South China Morning Post reports a mainland military official as confirming the news.

Earlier on Thursday, White House spokesperson John Kirby said the carrier group had been ordered by the Pentagon to “remain on station in the general area to monitor the situation.”

According to a Chinese military-backed research group, South China Sea Probing Initiative, the Reagan was about 600 miles (1,000km) due east of Taiwan on Wednesday.

However, Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the National Defence University, was quoted by China’s state broadcaster CGTV as saying Beijing had set its shooting range to the east of the island for the first time and that the USS Ronald Reagan had since retreated a few hundred kilometres.

[Davexl]

Pelosi’s Taiwan adventure will ramp up the rift between the US and China


https://www.smh.com.au/business/mark...jobid=29405616

[Davexl]

Australia must do more to secure the cables that connect the Indo-Pacific | The Strategist

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/au...20Indo-Pacific

[Davexl]

Caroline Kennedy to complete historical circle with Solomons visit | The Strategist

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/ca...lomons%20visit

[Davexl]

3m ago05.51

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said China “will not isolate” Taiwan by preventing US officials from travelling there.
Pelosi, who is currently leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region, with her last stop in Tokyo, said her visit was “not about changing the status quo” but recognised China “made their strikes probably using our visit as an excuse”.
Pelosi said the Chinese have tried to isolate Taiwan, adding, “they are not doing our travel schedule.”
You can watch the video of her remarks from the US embassy in Tokyo below.

(Click on timestamp link above left)

China not in control of US 'travel schedule', says Nancy Pelosi – video

[Davexl]

10m ago06.24

Missiles cross Taiwan in latest drill, Chinese media report

We have a little more detail on the Chinese missiles that reportedly flew over Taiwan during Beijing’s latest military drills on Friday.

Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China’s military-affiliated National Defence University, spoke with state broadcaster CCTV, lauding the accuracy of Beijing’s capabilities.

Our exercises this time included live-firing tests, and it was the first time they crossed Taiwan island.”

He added that they passed through an airspace where Patriot missiles - a highly mobile surface-to-air missile system that would be a crucial defence against Chinese warplanes - are densely deployed.

The latest drills also represented the PLA’s closest-ever exercises to the island, its first encirclement and the first time it set up a shooting range east of Taiwan, Meng said.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that the military “flew more than 100 warplanes including fighters and bombers” during the exercises, as well as “over 10 destroyers and frigates.”

[Davexl]

11 Chinese Ballistic Missiles Fired Near Taiwan, U.S. Embarks USS America From Japan


https://news.usni.org/2022/08/04/11-...eid=cc0f71bf89

[Waltzing]

maybe the GOP could send someone next time... like next month ...

send someone every month and let the Chinks run up a big fuel bill...

Ride em cowboy ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTaSJk0n_Y