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The U.S. has deployed troops and anti-ship missiles into the northern Philippines as part of almost continuous, joint war drills throughout the country. One goal is to block the Bashi Channel and deny Chinese warships access to the Pacific Ocean if Beijing launches an attack on Taiwan. As a former Philippine military chief told Reuters: You can’t invade Taiwan if you don’t control the northern Philippines.BATANES, Philippines - Marilyn Hubalde still remembers the first time she heard the thunderous chop of military helicopters swooping over this northernmost outpost of the Philippines, less than 90 miles from Taiwan. It was April...

On July 4, Beijing announced it had launched a new sea patrol to replace a group of ships that, in June, were an integral part of China’s effort to control waters far from its shoreline. In an extraordinary move last month, Beijing claimed part of the Pacific Ocean as sovereign Chinese water. On June 6, China’s Ministry of Transport launched “a special maritime law enforcement operation in the waters east of Taiwan Island.” Vessels from the Fujian and Guangdong Maritime Safety Administrations, the East China Sea Navigation Support Center and the East China Sea Rescue Bureau took part, sailing eastward...

Super Micro Computer shares dropped over 8% Monday after Taiwanese prosecutors raided its local offices as part of an expanding investigation into the alleged smuggling of NVIDIA AI chip-equipped servers to China. The operation searched 12 locations including the offices of Chief Telecom and distributor Albatron Technology, and summoned six individuals for questioning. The raids widen a case that began in May with arrests over falsified export documents. The actions follow US indictments alleging a $2.5 billion smuggling scheme involving Super Micro’s co-founder. Taiwan currently lacks specific criminal statutes for AI chip re-exports but is considering legislation to close that...

Taiwan’s executive branch pitched a $6.6 billion budget last week for the procurement of more than 200,000 domestically-made unmanned systems designed to defend the island’s shores. The proposal will cover up to 208,200 one-way attack drones, 1,446 reconnaissance drones and 1,320 unmanned surface vessels, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on Friday. A social media post on Sunday from Joseph Wu, the Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, claimed that the budget will create an “unmanned shield.” Amid concerns of a potential invasion from China and an increasingly capable People’s Liberation Army, Taipei has turned to unmanned systems to...

This whole thing with China goes well beyond trade issues. We have known (or, at least, suspected) for years that China has been making cyber-incursions into American networks and systems. Now, in an exclusive Wall Street Journal report from Cybersecurity and Intelligence reporter Dustin Volz, we learn that in December, China made a tacit admission of being behind a series of attacks on American infrastructure.Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that Beijing was behind a widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how hostilities between the two superpowers are...

Taipei showcased its new American missile launchers through numerous live-fire salvos in a drill this week that Taiwanese troops claimed demonstrated the system’s mobility and long-range strike capabilities.The Republic of China Army fired its recently procured M142 High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS) on Wednesday as the main highlight of a series of drills designed to validate the island’s precision strike capabilities, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a news release. The Lockheed Martin-made missile systems rehearsed firing missions and rapid redeployment, with the HIMARS relocating to new firing positions within three minutes of launching, according to the ministry.State...

The Chinese Coast Guard said on Monday it is conducting “law enforcement” patrols east of Taiwan in response to Japan and the Philippines reaching an agreement on maritime boundaries. China denounced the Japanese-Filipino agreement as “completely illegal, null, and void” because it could disrupt China’s expansive territorial claims. “This is a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the initiation of maritime boundary delimitation negotiations in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island,” the Chinese Coast Guard said. “We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that infringe upon ​China’s sovereign...

USA has paused a $14bn arms sale to Taiwan, amid significant pressure from China. The shipment was expected to include equipment vital to the island’s defence, but just a week after Trump visited Beijing for meetings with Xi, the deal has been put on hold. US said it was pausing the deal because it needed to preserve its stockpile for the war in Iran – but in the same message, it insisted it still had enough weapons. Hung Cao, the acting US navy secretary, said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions...

DONALD Trump has warned Taiwan not to declare independence after his crunch talks with Xi Jinping at his Beijing summit. The US president revealed Xi asked him directly if America would intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion to which he refused to answer.

Donald Trump has revealed that Xi Jinping offered to help the US break Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. 'President Xi would like to see a deal made,' Trump told Fox News. 'He said, 'If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.' Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship, but he'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open.' Trump did not say what Xi would want in return for China's assistance, but there have been reports that Beijing is seeking tariff relief and access to...

Two convicted Chinese spies helped Arcadia’s former mayor become a successful SoCal politician — who secretly took orders from Beijing. Yaoning “Mike” Sun and John Chen helped Eileen Wang win office and secretly reported back to their masters in the People’s Republic of China, according to court documents. Sun took orders from Chen as he served as the campaign manager and business partner of Wang in her successful 2022 run for Arcadia City Council. When Wang won her seat, Chen told Sun to send a report to their PRC masters calling Wang a “new political star.” Wang would “go against...

Trump heads to Beijing hoping personal ties with Xi can ease tensions but Iran, tariffs, Taiwan and China’s expanding global influence have complicated prospects for meaningful breakthroughs at the summit… Beijing’s deep economic relationship with Tehran, especially its dependence on Iranian oil — has placed China in a delicate position as Washington seeks broader regional support… Trump’s first presidency was dominated by tariff battles with China, many of which reshaped global trade flows even after some measures were later struck down in US courts… While a temporary trade truce last year reduced some pressure, the underlying disputes remain unresolved... The...

The Legislature was jubilant as it passed SB2471 on Friday, seeking to overturn the effects of the Citizens United decision in Hawai‘i and get big money and outside influences out of our elections. The irony is, Mainland power players were pulling our strings the whole time. The rhetoric on Friday when the Legislature passed SB2471, was triumphant. All but one of the legislators voted for this attempt to nullify the Citizen’s United decision for Hawai‘i, and did so with bold claims. We’re standing up for Hawai‘i! We’re standing against dark money! We’re making history! We’re protecting democracy! These people are...

Days before Donald Trump is scheduled to visit mainland China, a group of mostly Democrat senators reportedly is urging the president to move ahead with a long-delayed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan.The bipartisan group pressed Trump in a Friday letter to formally notify Congress of the major arms sale ahead of his summit this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, warning that U.S. support for Taiwan "is not up for negotiation," The New York Times reported. The senators argued Taiwan has already demonstrated its commitment to self-defense after lawmakers in Taipei approved a massive $25 billion special defense budget...

2007—Year of the Lapita? Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008 by Mark Rose Polynesian Breakthroughs A Polynesian chicken (Anita Gould) and a Chilean chicken bone (Courtesy Alice Storey) There was no doubt about including in our 2007 Top Ten the discovery that chicken bones from ancient Polynesian sites in Tonga and Samoa and El Arenal, a Chilean site occupied between A.D. 700 and 1390, had identical DNA. The chicken was domesticated in Southeast Asia, but how it arrived in the New World before Europeans arrived was a mystery. Now it seems that Polynesian seafarers brought them, adding to the evidence...

"The move to besiege the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian coasts is expected to paralyze China energetically and economically within a short time, and it is possible that this is the central logic behind the move." (From the study by Adam Kraft and international researchers). The American blockade of Iranian coasts and the Strait of Hormuz has placed the Chinese economy in a precarious position. A new study by a former U.S. national security official warns that without regular supplies, China's oil reserves could run dry as early as June. The Depth of Chinese Dependency China is currently the...

As the United States turns its focus away from Asia and dials in on the Middle East, China is reportedly ramping up its deployment of naval power on the high seas. The Chinese navy and coast guard have deployed 100 vessels in the East and South China Seas, according to information that two Taiwanese security officials told Reuters. China’s presence is highly heightened when compared with the usual strength in the theater of about 50-60 ships, according to a statement that one official provided to Reuters. However, these ships are nowhere to be seen on the map. They are all...

Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his opposition to Taiwanese independence during a meeting with Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan's pro-Beijing opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. Her official trip to Beijing, the first such visit in a decade, sparked controversy in the self-ruled island that China claims as its territory. Cheng's trip comes a month before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing for a summit with Xi. The United States has been piling pressure on Taiwanese opposition lawmakers to back a proposal for defence purchases, including US weapons, to deter a potential Chinese attack. Cheng has railed against the...

Operation Epic Fury marks a turning point in the art of war. The key to 20th-century battles was air power. In the past, space and cyber activities have traditionally played supporting roles as so-called force multipliers. But this is no longer the case. In this conflict they have become mainstream, carving out new fronts for the wars of the future. The use of space is no longer something that is just nice to have, because everything from comms to intel to navigation uses space and cyber assets. Along with the National Reconnaissance Office, which manages US spy satellites, the US...

Multiple sources have claimed that the Chinese government is suspiciously repositioning its military assets, signaling possible future activity around Taiwan. The reports come from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, which tracks Chinese military might and defense systems. The China Airpower Tracker reportedly showed lines of typically retired Chinese fighter jets, which have drawn suspicion from experts. The J-6 fighter (also known as the Shenyang J-6) was first developed in the late 1950s. China retired the line of jets in the late 1990s, but now, experts say, China is retrofitting the old fighters to serve as unmanned craft and staging...