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A slightly different story emerged in the Washington Post, which reported that the Pentagon knew of "past Chinese surveillance balloons near Florida and Texas." Wait a minute: Near Florida and Texas? What does near mean? Were the balloons over those states? Were they offshore but over U.S. territorial waters? The Washington Post suggested the Pentagon was not being entirely clear. "The Defense Department was not specific about where in each state the previous incursions occurred," the paper reported, citing Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. "[Waltz] added that officials did not say whether the balloons...

The US military and intelligence community had been tracking the Chinese spy balloon since it launched from a base on Hainan Island near the southern coast of China — and officials are looking into the possibility that it may have drifted off course, according to a report. US officials told the Washington Post on Tuesday that the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month had been monitored for nearly a week before it penetrated US airspace, and that it initially appeared that the surveillance device was heading toward Guam before it took an unexpected turn...

Chinese Type 093 class SSN (nuclear attack sub) was recently seen moored at their new naval base on Hainan island. This base, just north of Vietnam, must make the Indians nervous, because more and more Chinese warships are showing up in the Indian Ocean. It was only a year ago that China confirmed, as many suspected, that the first Type 093 boar entered service in December, 2006. Officially, that was a secret, and Chinese nuclear subs don't go to sea at much, so it's difficult to tell if new ones are actually in service, and not just tied up at...

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Chinese navy has a new submarine base on Hainan Island, according to the latest Defense Department report on Chinese military power. The report comes about two weeks after a Military Sealift Command contract surveillance ship was accosted by five Chinese vessels about 75 miles south of Hainan Island. "The base appears large enough to accommodate a mix of attack and ballistic missile submarines and advanced surface combatant ships," the report said. "The port, which has underground facilities, would provide the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy with direct access to vital international sea lanes, and offers the...

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji recently cracked a joke about the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Zhu told the joke to a captive audience of Asian executives during the April Bao business conference held on Hainan Island. Zhu's remarks came during a question-and-answer session with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. According to Zhu, "Japan bought many huge buildings in New York, but luckily they didn't buy the World Trade Center. If they had bought them, now the Japanese would be sadder than the Americans." Zhu's joke was quickly followed by a long round of laughter and applause...

<p>Before September 11, the Bush Administration seemed to be treating China as one of the biggest threats that the U.S. faced worldwide. There was the incident of the U.S. spy plane that went down on China's Hainan Island as well as President Bush's talk about doing whatever it takes to defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression. Republicans talked about treating China as a competitor rather than as the partner envisioned by former President Bill Clinton.</p>