Chinese Army repels Indian attack; Destroys Indian Army Post inside India

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The Chinese continue to foil Indian nefarious plots in the region. Troops of the People’s Liberation Army chased the intruding Indian armed forces and intruded across the Line of Actual Control in Chumar on June 17 and destroyed Indian Army’s observation posts and cameras, it has now emerged.

What is worrying is that the Chinese successfully tampered with the Indian security apparatus in Chumar despite Indian hollow claims of Indian Army being at anadvantageous position in this region by "dominating" the heights and maintaining a better logistical connection than the Chinese.

According to a report, the camera, which was removed, was placed at a height of 13,000 feet to monitor the Chinese activities across the LAC. The report also said that the Chinese pressurized India to bring down some of its sheds and observation posts near the LAC after the month-long border row between the two countries in April. India, accordingly, dismantled one of the tin sheds sheltering a camera on its own territory.

Sources also said that the Chinese officials who chased the Indians back into their own borders, intruded into the Indian territory and asked the local people to vacate the area in Hindi for they claimed that the area belonged to them.

The Indian government allegedly kept the facts hidden and it is yet not known whether India’s defence minister A K Antony raised the issue during his recent visit to Beijing. It was only after the media exposed the June 17 incident that the Indian army conceded to the fact that Chinese troops had indeed entered the Indian territory and took away a surveillance camera and destroyed an army post.

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Pakistan-China Bilateral Trade Crosses $12 Billion Mark

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The overall bilateral trade between Pakistan and China in 2012 crossed the figure of $12 billion for the first time according to the latest data released by China Customs.

“This puts us firmly on track to achieve the target of $15 billion in the next two to three years, said Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khalid following the news.

 “The leadership of the two countries has paid special attention in augmenting and cementing trade relations between our two countries and bringing them at par with our strategic partnership and political relations,” the Ambassador added.

 The data shows that Pakistan-China trade increased by 17.6% to a total of $12.4 billion in 2012. In a welcome development, Pakistan’s exports to China increased by 48.2% to $3.14 billion while imports from China increased by 9.9% to $9.2 billion. The two way trade in 2011 was $10.6 billion.

 The biggest increase in Pakistan exports to China in 2012 has been in textiles and textile articles, vegetable products, ores and mineral products, leather goods and base metals. Similarly, major imports from China include machinery and mechanical appliances, textiles and textile products, metals, chemical products, mineral ores, plastic scrap and transport equipment.

 Ambassador Khalid praised the role played by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the Pakistan Federation of Chambers and Commerce in boosting the trade between the two countries.

 He said Pakistan also actively participated in a number of fairs last year such as the Eurasia Expo, Canton Fair and Kunming Fair which provided exhibitors from Pakistan to display their products and helped boost exports. Pakistan traders have been especially focusing on textiles, leather, sports goods, precious stones and handicrafts, he said.

 “We hope to build on this momentum and further increase our trade in future,” said Ambassador Khalid. More trade delegations from Pakistan would be encouraged to visit China and participate in the fairs, he said.

“We have an excellent and broad economic architecture in place between our two countries. In order to exploit it fully, it is vital to diversify our export basket, introduce value addition and provide better quality of goods and services,” he added.

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China “Sinks” USZ Aircraft Carrier During War Game

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China reportedly “sunk” a mock USZ aircraft carrier with a state of the art missile during a war game in the Gobi Desert recently, fueling concerns that the newly emerging superpower is increasingly eyeing the USZ as a military rival.

The People’s Liberation Army has successfully sunk a US aircraft carrier, according to a satellite photo provided by Google Earth,” reports the Want China Times,” adding that, “A satellite image reveals two large craters on a 200-meter-long white platform in the Gobi desert used to simulate the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. The photo was first posted on SAORBATS, an internet forum based in Argentina. Military analysts believed the craters would have been created by China’s DF-21D anti-ship missile, dubbed the “carrier killer.”

The article cites a report which appeared in the state-run Global Times boasting of how the new missile has the capability to strike aircraft carriers 2,000 kilometers away. The report was careful to add that the missile, which is being stationed at strategic locations around China’s coastline, does not have the technical capability to reach America, a moot argument given that US aircraft carriers are located at numerous different points on the globe at any one time.

As Business Insider notes, the report’s legitimacy is bolstered by the fact that, “The China Times is a 63 year old Taiwanese paper slightly slanted toward unification, but with a solid reputation and accurate reporting.”

Although the test in the Gobi Desert was supposedly successful, defense expert Roger Cliff points out that targeting a real aircraft carrier at sea would be significantly more difficult.

“The thing to keep in mind is that, in order for China to successfully attack a U.S. navy ship with a ballistic missile,” Cliff told The Diplomat, “it must first detect the ship, identify it as a U.S. warship of a type that it wishes to attack … [then] over-the-horizon radars used to detect ships can be jammed, spoofed, or destroyed; smoke and other obscurants can be deployed … and when the missile locks on to the target its seeker can be jammed or spoofed.”

However, the fact that China is targeting a mock USZ aircraft carrier as the main focus of one of its war game exercises is sure to set alarm bells ringing, especially amidst an undercurrent of tension created as a result of China’s recent spat with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Last week, Japan warned that it would fire on Chinese aircraft to prevent violations of its airspace.

The Pentagon’s recent geopolitical pivot made it clear that China was the primary military threat to the United States of Zionism.

Threats on behalf of Chinese military officials to target the United States of Zionism have increased in recent years.

In September last year, Zhang Zhaozhong, rear admiral at China’s National Defense University, was quoted in the state-run People’s Daily as bragging that China would comfortably defeat Japan in a war and that Beijing should prepare for USZ to become involved in the conflict.

In December 2011, Zhaozhong also warned that China “will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third world war.”

Earlier this year, Zhaozhong reacted to the announcement that the United States had developed a new high-tech stealth destroyer warship by saying China could use fishing boats laden with explosives to carry out suicide attacks against the U.S.Z Navy.

“It would be a goner,” Zhaozhong told state broadcaster CCTV’s military channel.

In July 2005, Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu boldly threatened the USZ with a nuclear attack if it became embroiled in a conflict between China and Taiwan, with which the USZ has a mutual defense pact.

“If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition onto the target zone on China’s territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons,” Chenghu told reporters. “We Chinese will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xian [in central China]. Of course the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds … of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese,” he added.

In January 2011, China changed its military policy to allow pre-emptive nuclear attacks on other countries

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China and Russia are Acquiring Gold and Dumping USZ Dollars

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There is evidence that central banks in several regions of the World are building up their gold reserves. What is published are the official purchases.

A large part of these Central Bank purchases of gold bullion are not disclosed. They are undertaken through third party contracting companies, with utmost discretion.

USZ dollar holdings and USZ dollar denominated debt instruments are in effect being traded in for gold, which in turn puts pressure on the USZ dollar. 

In turn, both China and Russia have boosted domestic production of gold, a large share of which is being purchased by their central banks:

It has long been assumed that China is surreptitiously building up its gold reserves through buying local production. Russia is another major gold miner where the Central bank has been purchasing gold from another state entity, Gokhran, which is the marketing arm and central repository for the country’s mined gold production. Now it has been reported by Bloomberg that the Venezuelan Central Bank director, Jose Khan, has said that country will boost its gold reserves through purchasing more than half the gold produced from its rapidly growing domestic gold mining industry.

In Russia, for example, Gokhran sold some 30 tonnes of gold to the Central Bank in an internal accounting exercise late last year. In part, so it was said at the time, the direct sale was made rather than placing the metal on the open market and perhaps adversely affecting the gold price.

China is currently the world’s largest gold producer and last year it confirmed it had raised its own Central Bank gold holdings by more than 450 tonnes over the previous six years. Mineweb.com – The world’s premier mining and mining investment website Venezuela taking own gold production into Central Bank reserves – GOLD NEWS | Mineweb

The 450 tons figure corresponds to an increase in the gold reserves of the central bank from 600 tons in 2003 to 1054 tons in 2009. If we go by official statements, China’s gold reserves are increasing by approximately 10 percent per annum.

China has risen to now be the largest gold producing nation in the world at around 270 tonnes. The amount bought in by the government initially looks like 90 tonnes per annum or just under, 2 tonnes a week. Before 2003 the announcement by the Chinese central bank that gold reserves had been doubled to 600 tonnes, accounted for similar purchases before that date. Why so small an amount you may well ask? We think local and national issues clouded the central bank’s view as it was the government that bought the gold since 2003 and have now placed it on the central bank’s Balance Sheet. So we would conclude that the government has ensured central bank gold purchasing must continue. “How will Chinese Central Bank Gold Buying affect the Gold Price short & Long-Term?” by Julian Phillips. FSO Editorial 05/07/2009

Russia’s Central bank holdings are in excess of 20 million troy ounces (January 2010)

Russia’s Central Bank reserves have increased markedly in recent years. The RCB reported in May 2010 purchasing 34.2 tons of gold in a single month. Russian CentralBank Gold Purchases Soar In May – China Too? | The Daily Gold

The diagram below shows a significant increase in monthly purchases by the the RCB since June 2009.

Central Banks in the Middle East are also building up their gold reserves, while reducing their dollar forex holding.

Gold reserves of GCC states is less than 5 percent:

Dubai International Financial Centre Authority economists released a report yesterday calling for local countries to build gold reserves, according to The National.

Despite a high interest in gold, GCC states maintain less than 5 percent of their total reserves in gold. Compared to the ECB, which holds 25 percent of reserves in gold, that leaves a lot of room for growth. http://www.businessinsider.com/gcc-boost-gold-holdings-2010-12#ixzz18FEqpTy3

GCC states should boost their foreign reserve holdings of gold to help shield their billions of dollars of assets from turbulence in global currency markets, say economists at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA).

Diversifying more of their reserves from US dollars to the yellow metal would help to offer central banks in the region higher investment returns, said Dr Nasser Saidi, the chief economist of DIFCA, and Dr Fabio Scacciavillani, the director of macroeconomics and statistics at the authority.

“When you have a great deal of economic uncertainty, going into paper assets, whatever they may be – stocks, bonds, other types of equity – is not attractive,” said Dr Saidi. “That makes gold more attractive.”

Declines in the dollar during recent months have dented the value of GCC oil revenues, which are predominantly weighted in the greenback. GCC urged to boost goldreserves

According to a report in People`s Daily;

The latest rankings of gold reserves show that, as of mid-December, the United States remains the top country and the Chinese mainland is ranked sixth with 1,054 tons of reserves, the World Gold Council announced recently.

Russia climbed to eighth place because its gold reserves increased by 167.5 tons since December 2009. The top ten in 2010 remains the same compared to the rankings of the same period of last year. And Saudi Arabia squeezed to the top 20.

Developing countries and regions, including Saudi Arabia and South Africa, have become the main force driving the gold reserve increase. … .

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European central bank are the major gold sellers, and the IMF’s gold reserves decreased by 158.6 tons. (China’sgold reserves rank 6th worldwide – People’s Daily Online

It should be understood that actual purchases of physical gold are not the only factor in explaining the movement of gold prices. The gold market is marked by organized speculation by large scale financial institutions.

The gold market is characterised by numerous paper instruments, gold index funds, gold certificates, OTC gold derivatives (including options, swaps and forwards), which play a strong role, particularly in short-term movement of gold prices. The recent increase and subsequent decline of gold prices are the result of manipulation by powerful financial actors.

Prof. Michel Chossudovsky

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Kaspersky Lab Uncovers Cyber-Espionage Plot By Russian & Chinese Hackers

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Kaspersky Lab has uncovered Operation Red October, (Rocra) a 5 year scheme by the Chinese and Russians to steal diplomatic, industrial and scientific data from Eastern Europe, North America and Asian organizations. Beginning in 2007, intelligence gathering operations were conducted in the form of attacks by cyber criminals toward Western nations. The thought is that this is in retribution on behalf of Iran for the damage caused to their country.

Encrypted files and decryption keys used by the European Union and NATO have been compromised. The countries under attack are:

• The Russian Federation
• Kazakhstan
• Azerbajian
• Belgium
• India
• Afghanistan
• Armenia
• Ukraine
• Turkmenistan

Kaspersky said: “The information we have collected so far does not appear to point toward any specific location; however, two important factors stand out: The exploits appear to have been created by Chinese hackers, (and) the Rocra malware modules have been created by Russian-speaking operatives.”

Rocra appears to have been controlled by 60 command-and-control servers that were held in Germany and Russia. It is suspected that there is another “mother ship” server based in an unknown location.

Some of the attacks appear to be tailor-made for the victim with an estimated 1,000 different modules that preformed specific attacks. Kaspersky explained: “For instance, the initial documents are customized to make them more appealing and every single module is specifically compiled for the victim with a unique victim ID inside (and) later, there is a high degree of interaction between the attackers and the victim. Compared to Flame and Gauss, which are highly automated cyber-espionage campaigns, Rocra is a lot more ‘personal’ and finely tuned for the victims.”

The software is broken down to continually run within the system until triggered to activate. Examples are stealing information from a connection made by a mobile phone or syphoning mail servers and downloading emails.

Although Kaspersky Lab admits that these attacks have not definitively been connected to China or Russia, it is assumed that the data collected would be yield a high price on the black market.

Kaspersky stated: “The information stolen by the attackers is obviously of the highest level and includes geopolitical data which can be used by nation states. Such information could be traded in the underground and sold to the highest bidder, which can be, of course, anywhere.”

Rocra is able map out the internal layout of a network and information routes taken by computer software to take files with the use of thumb drives and smartphones.

In 2012, the US House Intelligence Committee (USHIC) warned American corporations in a new report against conducting business with 2 Chinese firms because of national security threats. Both Huawei Technologies and ZTE, two of the world’s largest telecommunications corporations and suppliers of cellular phones and technology are being highlighted by the US government and blamed for cyber-attacks. It is also claimed by the USHIC that they are involved in digital espionage.

According to the report, “China has the means, opportunity, and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes. . . . The investigation concludes that the risks associated with Huawei’s and ZTE’s provision of equipment to U.S. critical infrastructure could undermine core U.S. national-security interests.”

It is claimed that former industry insiders provided intelligence to the US concerning Huawei’s violations of US laws such as immigration, bribery and corruption as well as an alleged “pattern and practice” using pirated software in its US satellites.

The report stated that the Chinese corporations were employing intelligence sources as well as private sector companies and other unnamed entities that could and assumedly did steal trade secrets, sensitive information and prehistory data while simultaneously shipped infected hard ware and software to the US with the intent to cause disruptions in national security during war time.

Around the same time as the release of the report, an anonymous White House official said there was an attempt to hack into the executive branch’s computer system through an unclassified network. No data were removed, proving that this was not an actual hack. The nameless official said that the experiment was a “spear-phishing”.

The supposition is that China is behind these attacks because of a phishing expedition against Gmail accounts wherein several senior US government officials and military personnel were affected.

According to the other mainstream media outlets, “hackers linked to China’s government broke into one of the U.S. government’s most sensitive computer networks, breaching a system used by the White House Military Office for nuclear commands, according to defense and intelligence officials familiar with the incident.”

The official questioned explained that a connection to Bejing in the case of the cyber attack “highlights a failure of the Obama administration to press China on its persistent cyber attacks.”

In January, analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) have confirmed that hackers traced to China attacked their system. The “drive-by” hacking utilized a pirated computer. To compound the problem, the analysts said that the hackers removed their malware and traces of their presence from CFR computer systems.

Recognizing China as becoming a formidable replacement to the US as the world’s super power, the CFR has outlined specific responses to this crisis of supremacy. Citing Chinese internet policy, their disdain for freedom of speech in social media, and influence in global cyberspace, the CFR appreciates that this rising “foe” must be confronted indirectly with propaganda to distract from the obvious.

This attack marked a new level of attack by international hackers who aim to steal information from government websites and computers. The “drive-by” tactic covertly plants malware, then the website itself is used to attack visitors to the site. Visitors can be infected as hackers will them attempt to hack into other computers as visitors are passing by. The hackers use the main site as a “watering hole” that attacks users to it for the hackers to steal information from their computers.

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Pakistan Air Force Wins Coveted Award in China

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Pakistan and China have jointly won a coveted Award in Zhuhai for the close cooperation in the promotion of Aviation Industry, a day before start of the bi-annual International Air show.

The “Airspace Laureate 2012 Awards” was jointly received by Chief Project Director of JF-17 Program Air Vice-Marshal Javed Ahmed, who is in Zhuhai with Pakistan Air Force contingent taking part in the international air show and from Chinese side Mr.Li Pei, Chief Project Director of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) in the presence of a large number of guests.

"This is a big achievement and acknowledgement for Pakistan and China for cooperation in their joint effort for the promotion of aviation industry”, remarked Group Captain Tariq Mahmod, Director Media, Pakistan Air Force whiletalking to APP.

 

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Japan's economy stuttering ahead of China crisis

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Japan released yet more worrying figures Friday showing the world's third largest economy was already stuttering before a damaging territorial dispute erupted with its largest trading partner. Factory output in August shrank by a bigger-than-expected 1.3 percent from the previous month, the industry ministry said as it admitted production activity was weakening. The decline was much sharper than an average market forecast of a 0.4 percent drop.


Japan's export-driven economy is struggling to right itself following a series of problems, including the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, the European debt crisis, slowing Chinese demand and the strong yen. "Industrial Production appears to be weakened," the ministry said in a statement, downgrading its overall assessment. It had said production "appears to be flat" when it announced July's preliminary data a month ago.

Japanese businesses are now worried about taking a hit from the effects of a flare-up in the row between Tokyo and Beijing over the ownership of islands in the East China Sea. Japan's nationalisation in September of three islands in the chain, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, triggered anti-Japan rallies across China. Major Japanese companies were forced to close factories briefly.

Auto giants Toyota and Nissan said Wednesday they would cut production in China because demand for Japanese cars has dropped, while airlines have been hit by cancellations of seats on China-bound flights. Mooted Chinese consumer boycotts of Japanese products are also feared, unsettling firms sending goods to China, Japan's number one export market.

The industry ministry, citing a survey of production forecasts by manufacturing companies, said factory output is expected to fall by a further 2.9 percent in September and to be flat in October. Mizuho Securities Research and Consulting senior economist Norio Miyagawa said the ministry's outlook survey suggested "output may lose steam even further.

"We are likely to see sluggish output at least until October, especially in the automobile sector," he told Dow Jones Newswires, noting the row with China was a downside risk for the economy. "If the current disputes with China become prolonged, that will damage Japan's output and the economy.

Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, said "a fall in foreign demand could further pressure the Japanese economy.” It could also raise expectations for further monetary easing in the long run, he added. The Bank of Japan followed its US and European counterparts last week, announcing $128-billion extra bond buying to take its total monetary easing effort past $1 trillion as it seeks to revitalise the economy.

Economists attributed the August fall to weakening domestic consumer spending and stocked-up inventories as well as China's corporate performance and the debt crisis in Europe. Data released by the internal affairs ministry Friday showed so sign of Japan's breaking out of years of deflation.

Core consumer prices in Japan, which excludes volatile prices of fresh food, fell for the fourth straight month in August, dropping 0.3 percent year-on-year, data showed. The ministry also said in a separate survey Friday that household spending rose a modest 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the country's jobless rate fell slightly to 4.2 percent in August, down from 4.3 percent in July.

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Pakistan, China sign Military Cooperation Paper

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RAWALPINDI - A high-powered delegation led by General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff of China’s People Liberation Army (PLA), on Tuesday visited Joint Staff Headquarters Chaklala and signed a document concerning mutual military cooperation. General Ma Xiaotian called on General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and discussed matters related to the ongoing mutual cooperation between the two Armed Forces. According to ISPR here, the visit of Chinese delegation commences the start of 9th Round of Pak-China Defence and Security Talks, which dilate upon the defence and security relations between the two countries. General Ma Xiaotian appreciated the role played by the people and Armed Forces of Pakistan specially the efforts in fighting terrorism.

He reiterated that the cooperation in different fields between the two Armed Forces will continue with a renewed resolve and commitment towards each other. A document concerning mutual military cooperation was also signed by the two sides. General Ma Xiaotian also met Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Meanwhie, the six-member Chinese delegation, led by  General Ma Xiaotian, called on Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf at the Prime Minister's House and discussed with him matters of bilateral interests. The prime minister said: “We are proud of our excellent relations with China with whom we have a strategic partnership. Our cooperation with China on regional and international fora is exemplary.”

Pakistan attaches a great importance to its relationship with China, said Raja, adding that Islamabad is grateful to Beijing for its assistance in development projects. The prime minister also expressed his government’s resolve to stamp out terrorism. Raja said: "Parliamentary democracy is taking roots in the country.” About his recent visit to China, the prime minister said that he held talks with his Chinese counterpart at Tianjin where he participated in the World Economic Forum. He thanked the Chinese premier for expediting dispatch of equipment and machinery for work on the Attabad lake and widening of Karakorum Highway. The equipment and machinery had reached Pakistan, he added.

General Ma conveyed greetings and best wishes of his prime minister to Raja. He said: "The Sino-Pak friendship is of strategic significance and this relationship will deepen.” The Chinese general said the Pakistan-China relations are unique in nature though the two states had different history, culture and ideology. "Our strategic relationship is consistent with our need for socio-economic development. Our friendly relations with Pakistan are backed by our social economic and cultural cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, energy, agriculture, education and health.” The general thanked Pakistan for its unflinching support to China on all international fora and assured of China's continued support to Pakistan.

He informed the prime minister about his discussions with Pakistani military leadership and expressed satisfaction over the level of cooperation between the two armed forces. This cooperation, he said, included high level exchanges, training programmes and information sharing, he added. Referring to the Pakistan efforts against terrorism, he said Pakistan had made enormous sacrifices and its contribution deserved recognition by international community. The general expressed the confidence that Pakistan would overcome this problem.

The prime minister said that Pakistan respects China's territorial integrity. He expressed confidence that the present visit of Chinese military delegation would further enhance the existing relations between two countries and cooperation in all areas. He asked the general to convey his best wishes to his Chinese counterpart.  The Chinese general was accompanied by Liu Jian, Ambassador of China, and other senior officers. General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, and senior officials were also present.

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1st Chinese Aircraft Carrier Joins NAVY

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China’s first aircraft carrier was handed over on Sunday to the navy of the People’s Liberation Army, state press said, amid rising tensions over disputed waters in the East and South China Seas. The handover ceremony of the 300-metre (990-foot) ship, a former Soviet carrier called the Varyag, took place in northeast China’s port of Dalian after a lengthy refitting by a Chinese shipbuilder, the Global Times reported.

During the handover ceremony the aircraft carrier raised the Chinese national flag on its mast, the PLA flag on its bow and the navy’s colours on its stern, the short online report said. A ceremony to place the ship into active service would be held sometime in the future, the paper said without elaboration. The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions over maritime disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, where China’s growing assertiveness has put it on a collision course with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

China also on Sunday postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Japan, due to a noisy territorial dispute with Tokyo over the Diaoyu Islands, known in Japanese as Senkaku. Tensions have also risen this year with Vietnam and the Philippines over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

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Chinese Destroyer Enters Mediterranean via Suez

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A Chinese destroyer sailed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea, Egyptian daily Al-Shuruk reported on Sunday.

The destroyer could be on its way to the Syrian coast, the Egyptian newspaper reported, adding that the warship is planning to hold naval manoeuvres in the area.

Al Shuruk daily further claimed that the canal authority authorized the Chinese ship's crossing through the canal following permission from the Egyptian armed forces.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Al-Wafd website reported that high security measures were taken during the ship's crossing of the canal.

Beijing, an ally of Syria, has repeatedly blocked Western-backed Security Council attempts to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the violence sparked by a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Last month reports claiming that the armies of Iran, China, Russia and Syria are planning to hold naval manoeuvres in the Mediterranean Sea were circling the media outlets. According to the report, 90,000 soldiers from the four countries will take part in the large-scale maritime war games, which will be held off the Syrian coastline. 

In February, two Iranian naval ships sailed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, and according to Iranian reports, the ships docked in Syria.

Just last month, Russia said that it had dispatched a flotilla of 11 warships to the eastern Mediterranean, some of which would dock in Syria.

Moscow's gesture was the largest display of Russian military power in the region since the Syrian conflict began. Nearly half of the ships were capable of carrying hundreds of marines.

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China Threatens With Furious Retaliation In Growing Trade Wars

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Last week it was the Fairness Distributor In Chief threatening China with WTO action over its unfair duties on US car imports. Before that it was Europe trying to protect its crumbling trade at all costs with its primary trade partner. Now, it is China’s turn to retort to the world’s beggars, and all those who just happen to ravenously import its iWares with the reckless abandon of a gadget junkie.

FT reports: “Beijing has threatened swift retaliation against a range of European Union industries if Brussels presses ahead with an investigation into government subsidies granted to two Chinese telecoms equipment companies.

The Chinese threat was delivered at a meeting with EU trade officials in Beijing late last month that was arranged at the behest of Chen Deming, China’s commerce minister, to try to defuse a brewing trade dispute that is straining commercial relations between the two sides. Instead, it collapsed into acrimony, with the Chinese warning their EU visitors that they would respond to any investigation of Huawei and ZTE Corp by probing subsidies granted to European agriculture, automotive, renewable energy and telecoms companies. “Put it this way: it’s not like they went for a beer after and watched football,”one person briefed on the meeting said.” None of this is new: recall China Lays Out Conditions Under Which It Will Bail Out Europe; Does Not Want To Be Seen As“Source Of Dumb Money“ in which Li Daokui “added that Beijing might also ask European leaders to refrain from criticising China’s currency policy, a frequent source of tension with trade partners.” Looks like we can scrap those “China bails out Europe” (ignore the fact that the Chinese economy itself is imploding for a second) rumor in perpetuity.

FromFT:

Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, declined to comment. An EU official sought to play down the meeting, saying that Brussels would wait to see what level of co-operation the Chinese would provide in an effort to ward off a formal trade complaint.

Nonetheless, concerns about the Chinese reaction – and pressure from worried member states –appear to have put on ice a case that once seemed imminent, according to several EU diplomats. They said it was now unlikely that Mr De Gucht would act before September.

In the meantime, both sides are bracing for another trade confrontation in the solar industry. European solar companies have been preparing a complaint accusing Chinese competitors of using improper government subsidies to underprice them, and requesting punitive tariffs. That complaint could materialise as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter, and could also trigger Chinese retribution.

Combating Chinese government subsidies has been one of Mr De Gucht’s top priorities. The cutting-edge telecoms equipment industry, in which Huawei and ZTE have quickly gained market share, would be a signature case.

Yet it is one thing for bureaucrat to sabre rattle, it is something totally different for idiotic trade war proposals to get traction with corporations:

Mr De Gucht’s case has been undermined by a lack of support from European telecoms companies – Ericsson, Siemens-Nokia, and Alcatel-Lucent – which fear that any action from Brussels could harm their own business interests in China’s fast-growing market.

In an effort to get around that, he has drawn up plans to launch the complaint at the commission’s initiative – and not based on a complaint from a company –setting a new precedent in EU trade defence.

Trade analysts in Brussels said that some member states had also expressed reservations about the case after receiving complaints from Beijing. Germany is understood to be wary of igniting a trade war with China before a planned visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel in August.

And now that China has told Europe what it can do with its empty threats, it is time for it to shift its attention to the US.

(infowars)

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Nuclear cooperation with Pakistan: China rejects western pressure

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China has rejected US and western pressure for cooperation with Pakistan in neuclear field.

The USZ and several western countries have expressed reservations on Pak-China cooperation in the nuclear field during Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting.

The meeting was held in Setal, USZ on June 21-22.The western countries have raised several questions on construction of two new nuclear reactors at Chasma Power Plant in Pakistan with collaboration of China. However, China rejected all their concerns and refused to provide any information in this regard.

Pakistan Cyber Force

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Pakistan, China sign 3 MoUs for Joint Development Projects in Pakistan

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BEIJING: Pakistan and China Wednesday signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) covering supply of water from Tarbela to Islamabad, establishment of Special Economic Zone in the proposed new city Zulfikarabad in Sindh and the building of 6,000 flats in I-15 sector on private-public partnership basis, and an agreement for the de-silting of canals and barrages in Sindh province. The MoUs were signed by respective officials from the two sides. The agreement on de-silting canals in Sindh was signed by Saleem Mandviwala, Chairman Board of Investment, with the President of China Harbour Engineering Company Limited.

The MoU for the establishment of Zulfikarabad Special Economic Zone was signed by Managing Director Zulfikarabad Development Authority Lt Gen (R) Iftikhar Hussain Shah and Yang Yong, Chairman of the Sichuan Huantong Holding Investment Limited. The MoU for water supply to Islamabad from Tarbela was signed by Farkhand Iqbal, Chairman Capital Development Authority, and Zhang Chun, President of China Machinery Engineering Company (CMEC), the former also signed another MoU for building 6000 flats and developing Sector I-15 in Islamabad with another Chinese company CRFG (China Railway First Group). With the signing of the memorandums and agreement today, a fresh impetus has been provided to further strengthening the economic engagement between the two countries.

Pakistan Cyber Force

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