Militia Boats in Julian Felipe Reef (Union Reef) at the West Philippine Sea (WPS)

Today’s News 23 March 2021 (Tuesday)

A. NAVY NEWS/COVID NEWS/PHOTOS Title Writer Newspaper Page PH Marines chief, over 1000 others get M Sadongdong Tempo 3 1 Sinovac jabs 2 ASG Leader killed: four Indonesians rescued M Standard A4

B. NATIONAL HEADLINES Title Writer Newspaper Page 3 DOH: Virus variants driving case surge D Pazzibugan PDI A1 4 Palace: No ‘ayuda’ during GCQ bubble A Romero P Star 1

C. NATIONAL SECURITY Title Writer Newspaper Page 5 China denies militias, says fishing vessels in P Brago P Star 3 its territory 6 Chinese ships still at reef near Palawan – J Andrade PDI A4 AFP chief 7 Stop your incursion, recall boats from WPS, M Sadondong M Bulletin 1 Lorenzana boldly tells China 8 Chinese embassy denies militia in WPS B Tamayo M Times A3 9 Military: Chinese ships still at PH-claimed V Reyes Malaya A12 reef 10 Ships still in Julian Felipe reef – AFP D Reyes M Times A3 11 Felipe Reef ‘incursions’ continuing J Roson D Tribune A3 12 Locsin awaiting order to file China protest C Pisco P Journal 3 13 Pinas naghain uli ng diplomatic protest vs G Garcia Ngayon 2 China 14 Proteksiyon ng PH territory, idiniin ng AFP F Taboy Balita 3 Chief 15 AFP Chief says Chinese flotilla still moored R Acosta B Mirror A3 in Julian Felipe Reef 16 DND Chief Lorenzana sa China: ‘Itigil ang P Files 4 incursion sa teritoryo ng Pilipinas

D. INDO-PACIFIC Title Writer Newspaper Page 17 Myanmar protesters hit streets after 8 death D Tribune B14

E. AFP RELATED Title Writer Newspaper Page AFP camp goes on lockdown; Napolcom still M Punongbayan P Star 6 18 closed DILG warns of another hard lockdown if C Chavez M Bulletin 2 19 COVID-19 cases continue to rise 20 Checkpoints set up for ‘border security’ V Reyes Malaya A12 21 Jabs imports open to all M Blancaflor D Tribune A1 22 Infections disrupt SC, DoJ work A Murcia D Tribune D24 23 Peralta bids SC ‘bittersweet’ goodbye H Lawas P Journal 3 SC moves anti-terror oral arguments to Apr. H Lawas P Tonight 3 24 6

F. CPP-NPA-NDF-LCM2= Title Writer Newspaper Page 25 2 NPA, soldier killed in Bukidnon clash M Crismundo M Bulletin 8 26 2 rebels surrender in Sarangani J Jannaral M Times A7 27 Wanted youth leader nabbed in CDO C Diaz M Times A7 -of- A Dalizon P Journal 7 28 ‘Whole government’ approach needed to defeat Reds – PNP 29 NPA leader killed in CamSur raid A Dalizon P Journal 13 Eleazar cites need for whole-of- A Dalizon P Tonight 6 30 gov’t approach vs Reds 31 NPA kumander patay sa shootout J Hallare Ngayon 9 32 2 NPA child warrior sumuko A Dumlao Ngayon 9

G. MNLF/MILF/BIFF/ASG Title Writer Newspaper Page 33 Wounded Sayyaf leader dies from blood loss R Pareño P Star 7 4 Indonesian kidnap survivors look forward J Alipala PDI 34 A8 to going home

H. EDITORIAL-OPINION-COMMENTARY-SPECIAL Title Writer Newspaper Page 35 Du30 order awaited on Sino militia ships F Pascual Jr P Star 4 36 Justice for victims of state-sponsored killings M Times A5 37 Zero credibility D Tribune A4 38 Task Force Bantay Bangsamoro launched R Pacpaco P Tonight 11

I. ONLINE NEWS Title Link NATIONAL NEWS Experts agonize over hunger, health https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/23/experts- 39 balance agonize-over-hunger-health-balance/ Duterte: Closing down the economy would https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/duterte-closing- 40 be disastrous down-the-economy-would-be-disastrous/ NAVY NEWS China confirms presence of fishing vessels https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/china-confirms- 41 in Julian Felipe Reef, claims jurisdiction presence-of-fishing-vessels-in-julian-felipe-reef- over the area claims-jurisdiction-over-the-area/ Require Chinese envoy to explain latest https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/require-chinese- 42 WPS incursion, ex-DFA chief urges envoy-to-explain-latest-wps-incursion-ex-dfa-chief- urges/ Roque on presence of Chinese vessels in https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/roque-on-presence- 43 West PH Sea: Friends can thresh out issue of-chinese-vessels-in-west-ph-sea-friends-can- thresh-out-issue/ Palace on China boats in PH sea: We can https://manilastandard.net/news/national/350157/p 44 talk it out alace-on-china-boats-in-ph-sea-we-can-talk-it- out.html Pangilinan: Chinese exploited COVID-19 https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/pangilinan-chinese- 45 situation for militarization, expansionism bid exploited-covid-19-situation-for-militarization- over WPS expansionism-bid-over-wps-2/ Hontiveros hits ‘severe provocation’, utter https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/hontiveros-hits- 46 disrespect as Chinese vessels swarm into severe-provocation-utter-disrespect-as-chinese- WPS vessels-swarm-into-wps/ Is China’s sea incursion the tradeoff for https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1410109/bayan-muna- 47 donated vaccines? – Bayan Muna asks-china-is-west-ph-sea-incursion-an-exchange- for-donated-vaccines Protest over Beijing’s little blue men or https://www.scmp.com/week- 48 waive SCS claims, Manila told asia/politics/article/3126490/philippines-must- protest-over-beijings-little-blue-men-or-waive Manila files complaint as Chinese boats https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2 49 swarm reef 021/03/23/2003754339 AFP chief says Chinese flotilla still moored https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/23/afp- 50 in Julian Felipe Reef chief-says-chinese-flotilla-still-moored-in-julian- felipe-reef/ Chinese vessels still moored in WPS two https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/chinese-vessels- 51 weeks after first sighting — AFP Chief still-moored-in-wps-two-weeks-after-first-sighting- afp-chief/ 183 Chinese fishing vessels remain at West https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/78 52 Philippine Sea 0759/183-chinese-fishing-vessels-remain-at-west- philippine-sea/story/ PH air itia https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134450 53 patrol confirms Chinese ‘mil boats’ presence in WPS https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134507 54 Union Reefs incident won’t be another Panatag standoff PH Marines Commandant, over 1,000 https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/ph-marines- 55 others get COVID-19 vaccine commandant-over-1000-others-get-covid-19- vaccine/ PH Coast Guard stations to rise in Surigao https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/ph-coast-guard- 56 del Norte stations-to-rise-in-surigao-del-norte/ Another Manila Bay reclamation project https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/78 57 scores PCC approval 0696/another-manila-bay-reclamation-project- scores-pcc-approval/story/ AFP RELATED AFP HQ lockdown remains until Covid-19 https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134454 58 situation improves AFP lists 870 active COVID-19 cases; https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/78 59 Camp Aguinaldo stays locked down 0682/afp-lists-870-active-covid-19-cases-camp- aguinaldo-stays-locked-down/story/ SC suspends March 23 oral arguments on https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/sc-suspends-march- 60 37 petitions vs. anti-terrorism law; resets to 23-oral-arguments-on-37-petitions-vs-anti- April 6 terrorism-law-resets-to-april-6/ ASG leader involved in kidnapping Indon https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/asg-leader-involved- 61 fishermen dies in-kidnapping-indon-fishermen-dies/ 2 NPA, soldier killed in Bukidnon clash https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/2-npa-soldier-killed- 62 in-bukidnon-clash/ DepEd urged to cancel ‘face-to-face red- https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/deped-urged-to- 63 tagging’ seminars in Mindoro schools cancel-face-to-face-red-tagging-seminars-in- mindoro-schools/ INDO-PACIFIC NEWS https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/cgtn-loses-uk- 64 CGTN Loses UK License: China’s Global Media Gambit license-chinas-global-media-gambit/ Xi tells Kim Jong Un he will work for peace https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at- 65 on peninsula crossroads/Xi-tells-Kim-Jong-Un-he-will-work-for- peace-on-peninsula North Korea seeks to strengthen its ties to https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3126513/ 66 China, even as it ignores US north-korea-seeks-strengthen-its-ties-china-even-it- ignores-us DPRK Tells China They Should Team Up https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-china- 67 on 'Hostile Forces' as Both Face Biden team-hostile-forces-biden-1577933 After U.S. Talks Turn Tense, China Turns https://www.newsweek.com/us-talks-tense-china- 68 to Russia to 'Advance Cooperation' turns-russia-advance-cooperation-1577901 For China and the US, a narrow road https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl 69 through deep divisions e/3126292/alaska-talks-china-and-us-narrow-road- through-deep-divisions U.S. senators press Biden to set end date https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos- for gas-powered car sales emissions-california-exclusive/exclusive-u-s- 70 senators-press-biden-to-set-end-date-for-gas- powered-car-sales-idUSKBN2BE111 For China and the US, a narrow road https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl 71 through deep divisions e/3126292/alaska-talks-china-and-us-narrow-road-

through-deep-divisions U.S. weighs next steps on China after talks, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china- 72 sanctions: White House whitehouse/u-s-weighs-next-steps-on-china-after- talks-sanctions-white-house-idUSKBN2BE2HB Russia's top diplomat starts China visit with https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-china- 73 call to reduce U.S. dollar use usa/russias-top-diplomat-starts-china-visit-with-call- to-reduce-u-s-dollar-use-idUSKBN2BE0XH Russia, China can reduce sanctions risks https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl 74 by moving away from US dollar, Sergey e/3126466/russia-china-can-reduce-sanctions- Lavrov says risks-moving-away-us-dollars Espionage trial starts for second Canadian https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2087707/espi 75 detained in China onage-trial-starts-for-second-canadian-detained-in- china Democracy activists freed from Chinese jail https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong- back in custody in Hong Kong security/democracy-activists-freed-from-chinese- 76 jail-back-in-custody-in-hong-kong- idUSKBN2BE0SC U.S., Canada, UK call on China to end https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-eu- 77 'repression' in Xinjiang statement/u-s-canada-uk-call-on-china-to-end- repression-in-xinjiang-idUSKBN2BE2SP Xinjiang: EU hits China with first sanctions https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl since Tiananmen Square e/3126487/xinjiang-eu-hits-china-first-sanctions- 78 tiananmen- square?li_source=LI&li_medium=asia_section_top _picks_for_you EU agrees China sanctions over Xinjiang https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-china- 79 abuses; first in three decades sanctions/eu-agrees-china-sanctions-over-xinjiang- abuses-first-in-three-decades-idUSKBN2BE1AI West sanctions China over Xinjiang https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-eu- 80 abuses, Beijing hits back at EU sanctions/west-sanctions-china-over-xinjiang- abuses-beijing-hits-back-at-eu-idUSKBN2BE2MC China’s embassy in Paris attacks ‘mad https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl 81 dogs’ and defends Wolf Warriors in public e/3126472/chinas-embassy-paris-attacks-mad- row with French scholar dogs-and-defends-wolf France to summon Chinese envoy over https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france- 82 threats, insults china/france-to-summon-chinese-envoy-over- threats-insults-idUSKBN2BE2O1 Australian parliament debates motion on https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-china- rights abuses in China's Xinjiang human-rights/australian-parliament-debates- 83 motion-on-rights-abuses-in-chinas-xinjiang- idUSKBN2BE0C2 Australian Parliamentary Debate https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/australian- 84 Condemns China over Uyghur Abuses parliamentary-debate-condemns-china-over- uyghur-abuses/ China confronted by show of Western unity https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/asia 85 at Canadian’s trial -pacific/crime-legal-asia-pacific/china-canada- kovrig-trial/ Tokyo prosecutors charge two Americans https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ghosn- 86 with helping Ghosn escape charge/tokyo-prosecutors-charge-two-americans- with-helping-ghosn-escape-idUSKBN2BE0G1 India-Pakistan detente continues with https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india- 87 water-sharing talks pakistan/india-pakistan-detente-continues-with- water-sharing-talks-idUSKBN2BE1IN Western Governments Intensify Diplomatic https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/western- 88 Pressure on Myanmar Junta governments-intensify-diplomatic-pressure-on- myanmar-junta/ Indonesia, Malaysia Call for Urgent ASEAN https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/indonesia- 89 Summit on Myanmar malaysia-call-for-urgent-asean-summit-on- myanmar/ Myanmar activists find new ways to protest https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar- as EU prepares sanctions on junta politics/myanmar-activists-find-new-ways-to- 90 protest-as-eu-prepares-sanctions-on-junta- idUSKBN2BE074 Myanmar protests gain steam as EU https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast- 91 sanctions junta chief asia/article/3126444/myanmar-holds-car-convoy- protests-singapore-foreign Fearing Myanmar border battles, Thai kids https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar- taught to take cover politics-thailand-evacuation/fearing-myanmar- 92 border-battles-thai-kids-taught-to-take-cover- idUSKBN2BE1WG Australia to rescue thousands as Sydney https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia- 93 faces worst floods in 60 years weather/australia-to-rescue-thousands-as-sydney- faces-worst-floods-in-60-years-idUSKBN2BE011 Thousands evacuated as rains worsen ‘one https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/articl 94 in 100 year’ Australia floods e/3126392/australia-floods-thousands-evacuated- schools-shut-fresh-rains Singapore urges ASEAN to focus on own https://www.scmp.com/week- 95 interests if US-China tensions escalate asia/politics/article/3126424/singapore-weighs-us- china-talks-urges-asean-focus-own-interests Singapore foreign minister to visit three https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar- Southeast Asian countries politics-singapore/singapore-foreign-minister-to- 96 visit-three-southeast-asian-countries- idUSKBN2BE0DG New Laos president faces rising China debt https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/New-Laos- 97 and battered economy president-faces-rising-China-debt-and-battered- economy Sri Lanka not renegotiating port lease deal https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/articl 98 with China, ambassador says e/3126378/sri-lanka-not-renegotiating-hambantota- port-lease-deal-china Foreign Ministry reaffirms Taiwan's https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157022 99 sovereignty after Chinese comment https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/ 100 Taiwan’s MAC hits at Chinese assertion 2021/03/22/2003754267 Taiwan thanks Japan over support for https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220011 101 cross-strait peace, stability Palau president rejects Beijing, reaffirms https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220023 102 ties with Taiwan Lithuania establishes organization to https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4156986 103 promote Taiwan ties China’s Himalayan salami tactics https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2021/03/21/c 104 ommentary/world-commentary/china-india-border- south-china-sea-defense/ DEFENSE NEWS China beats US in ultimate military strength https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defenc index while India comes in fourth e/china-beats-us-in-ultimate-military-strength- 105 index-while-india-comes-in- fourth/usa/slideshow/81632462.cms Secretary John Lehman On Strategic https://cimsec.org/secretary-john-lehman-on- 106 Credibility And Leveraging Command Of strategic-credibility-and-leveraging-command-of- The Seas the-seas/ China denies militias, says fishing vessels https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/23/208 107 in its territory 6297/china-denies-militias-says-fishing-vessels-its- territory Palace confident Chinese militia presence https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/22/208 108 in West Philippine Sea won't lead to 6209/palace-confident-chinese-militia-presence- standoff west-philippine-sea-wont-lead-standoff China’s maritime militia still at reef off https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/03/22/chinas- 109 Palawan maritime-militia-still-at-reef-off-palawan/

Chinese soldiers are using virtual reality to https://www.businessinsider.com/china-rocket- 110 do cheaper, more frequent training with force-virtual-reality-more-frequent-cheaper-training- missile systems 2021-3 China Makes It A Crime To Question https://www.npr.org/2021/03/22/979350003/china- 111 Military Casualties On The Internet makes-it-a-crime-to-question-a-military-death-toll- on-the-internet China PLA-N Upgrades Russian https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29183/China_ Sovremenny-class Destroyers with Anti- Upgrades_Russian_Sovremenny_class_Destroyer 112 ship Cruise Missiles s_with_Anti_ship_Cruise_Missiles

Russian Navy: Which Submarines Will Be https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 113 Delivered This Year? news/2021/03/russian-navy-which-submarines-will- be-delivered-this-year/ Missiles, vaccines and China bring the https://www.scmp.com/week- 114 Philippines and India closer asia/politics/article/3126230/missiles-vaccines-and- china-bring-philippines-and-india-closer China’s confrontational military buildup to https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/ 115 be laid bare by U.S. spy agency in 21/china-military-buildup-be-revealed-national- unprecedented reveal geospa/ The U.S. Military Is Getting Ready to Fight https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-military- 116 A New Kind of War getting-ready-fight-new-kind-war-180667 US DoD should better coordinate https://www.upi.com/Defense- 117 hypersonic weapons programs News/2021/03/22/gao-DoD-hypersonic- report/5091616442424/ Why Biden Sends Warships to the South https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa- 118 China Sea, Just as Trump Did news-china/why-biden-sends-warships-south- china-sea-just-trump-did US Military Operations Challenging China's https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/03/22/us- 119 Territorial Claims Peaked Under Trump military-operations-challenging-chinas-territorial- claims-peaked-under-trump.html US Navy Fleet and Marine Tracker: March https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/usni-news-fleet- 120 22, 2021 and-marine-tracker-march-22-2021 US Navy Wants Triple-Packed Hypersonic https://www.thedrive.com/the-war- 121 Missile Modules On Its Stealthy Zumwalt zone/39867/navy-wants-triple-packed-hypersonic- Destroyers missile-modules-on-its-stealthy-zumwalt-destroyers Drones Could One Day Make Up 40% of a https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2021/03/d 122 Carrier Air Wing, US Navy Says rones-could-one-day-make-40-carrier-air-wing- navy-says/172799/ US Lawmaker Endorses Aegis Ashore for https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/ 123 Guam 2021/3/22/just-in-lawmaker-endorses-aegis- ashore-for-guam US Navy Looking to Accelerate Effort to https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/navy-looking-to- 124 Revitalize Public Shipyards Amid accelerate-effort-to-revitalize-public-shipyards- Lawmaker Concerns amid-lawmaker-concerns US Navy seeks prototype data fusion https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 125 system for CUAS detail/us-navy-seeks-prototype-data-fusion-system- for-cuas US Navy Zumwalt Destroyer Will Control https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/zumwalt- 126 Unmanned Ships, Aircraft in Upcoming destroyer-will-control-unmanned-ships-aircraft-in- Fleet Battle Problem upcoming-fleet-battle-problem US Marines Test Javelin Missile Teams In https://www.thedrive.com/the-war- 127 Rubber Rafts in Japan zone/39865/marines-test-javelin-missile-teams-in- rubber-rafts-like-somali-pirates-but-better-armed USAF RC-135 Spy Plane Make An https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39890/did- Unprecedented Run At Chinese Airspace an-rc-135-spy-plane-really-make-an- 128 Near Taiwan unprecedented-run-at-chinese-airspace-near- taiwan US F-22 Raptors train in Hawaii and Japan https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/03/us-f-22- 129 for ‘high-end fight’ raptors-train-in-hawaii-and-japan-for-high-end-fight/ Toshiba and US startup to offer drone https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aerospace- 130 interception service Defense/Toshiba-and-US-startup-to-offer-drone- interception-service Japan mulling order to deploy military if https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157109 131 China attacks Taiwan Taiwan kicks off field exercises in Combat https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220010 132 Preparedness Month Taiwan scholar releases report on defense https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157283 133 ministry's military strategy review Taiwan to deploy upgraded F-16 jets, says https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/03/22/taiw 134 air chief an-to-deploy-upgraded-f-16-jets-says-air-chief/ Taiwan loses two fighter jets in apparent https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan- collision, third such crash in six months defence/taiwan-loses-two-fighter-jets-in-apparent- 135 collision-third-such-crash-in-six-months- idUSKBN2BE13M Taiwanese air force pilot killed, another https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3 136 missing after fighter jet crash 126481/taiwanese-rescuers-search-missing-pilot- after-fighter-jet-crash Indian Navy commissions eighth and final https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 137 Mk IV landing craft detail/indian-navy-commissions-eighth-and-final- mk-iv-landing-craft Indonesian Navy Shortlists Frigate Designs https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/2021/0 138 As Follow-On To Martadinata-Class 3/indonesia-shortlists-frigate-designs-as.html Seoul’s military ties with Beijing hit snag as https://www.scmp.com/week- 139 it needs Washington on its side asia/politics/article/3126485/seouls-budding- military-ties-beijing-hit-snag-it-tries-stay South Korea hints it may strengthen military https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/nati 140 ties with Japan onal/south-korea-japan-military-cooperation/ South Korea and UK reportedly start talks https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 141 on carrier technologies detail/uk-south-korea-reportedly-start-talks-on- carrier-technologies U.K. to unveil global focus in defense https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/worl 142 modernization plans d/uk-military-global-footprint/ UK Defence Command Paper: New https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 143 headmark set for for Royal Navy detail/uk-defence-command-paper-new-headmark- set-for-for-royal-navy Hardware-Based Solutions: An Answer to https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2021/03/ 21/hardware- 144 Cybersecurity’s Software Problem? based_solutions_an_answer_to_cybersecuritys_so ftware_problem_769220.html The State Of (Deterrence By) Denial https://warontherocks.com/2021/03/the-state-of- 145 deterrence-by-denial/ https://tnsr.org/2021/03/americas-alliances-after- 146 America’s Alliances After Trump: Lessons from the Summer of ’69 trump-lessons-from-the-summer-of-69/ Who are the winners and losers in Britain’s https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/ 147 new defense review? 03/22/who-are-the-winners-and-losers-in-britains- new-defense-review/ Here’s what to expect in Taiwan’s new https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia- 148 defense review pacific/2021/03/22/heres-what-to-expect-in- taiwans-new-defense-review/ Hypersonic weapons are coming whether https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/hypersonic- 149 — we’re ready or not weapons-are-coming-whether-were-ready-or-not/ Boosting regional cooperation and training https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/boosting- 150 in maritime law enforcement regional-cooperation-and-training-in-maritime-law- enforcement/ Defining The Maritime Strategy https://cimsec.org/peter-swartz-on-defining-the- 151 maritime-strategy/ COVID NEWS Duterte: Vaccine funds still with banks, not https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/duterte-vaccine- 152 held in cold cash by gov’t funds-still-with-banks-not-held-in-cold-cash-by- govt/ Two COVID-19 variants present in all Metro https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/22/COVID- 153 Manila cities – DOH 19-variants-UK-South-Africa-Metro-Manila.html No causal link between AstraZeneca https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/no-causal-link- 154 vaccine, blood clot — WHO between-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clot-who/ Israeli drug offers glimmer of hope after https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/israeli-drug-offers- 155 curing 30 COVID-19 patients glimmer-of-hope-after-curing-30-covid-19-patients/ First Covid-19 cases may have been https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3 156 infected in October 2019, says new study 126499/first-chinese-covid-19-cases-may-have- been-infected-october-2019 Most ASEAN nations need 10 yrs for https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/22/most- 157 vaccine drive asean-nations-need-10-yrs-for-vaccine-drive/ What you need to know about the https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health- 158 coronavirus right now coronavirus-snapshot/what-you-need-to-know- about-the-coronavirus-right-now-idUSKBN2BE0HZ Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020- 159 the World coronavirus-cases-world-map/?srnd=coronavirus

J. OPINION/EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Title Link 160 Du30 order awaited on Sino militia ships https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/03/23/20863 58/du30-order-awaited-sino-militia-ships 161 Alaska tirade shows China and the US are https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Alaska-tirade- further apart than ever shows-China-and-the-US-are-further-apart-than- ever 162 Pineapple wars may show Beijing’s real https://www.scmp.com/week- motives in the South China Sea asia/opinion/article/3126103/pineapple-wars-may- show-beijings-real-motives-south-china- sea?li_source=LI&li_medium=china_section_top_p icks_for_you 163 Boris Johnson's 'Global Britain' tilts toward https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Boris-Johnson-s- Asia Global-Britain-tilts-toward-Asia 164 Fidel V. Ramos and red-tagging https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/eagle- eyes-by-tony-la-vina/350143/fidel-v-ramos-and- red-tagging.html 165 China’s Warning to Biden https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-warning-to- biden-11616360915 166 Leaders Must Calibrate Their Moral https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/ Compass march/leaders-must-calibrate-their-moral-compass

Experts agonize over hunger, health balance

ByCAI ORDINARIO

MARCH 23, 2021

A boy carries a cauldron inside a huge, cylindrical steel post meant to be used for LRT Line 3, being built on C-5 extension in Las Piñas City. Prior to its erection, the giant cylinder serves as a temporary shelter for his family. Economic managers and private experts are still navigating the tricky balance between imposing fresh mobility restrictions amid record-high Covid-19 cases, and preventing thousands of businesses from permanently shuttering and workers going hungry.

THE national government must immediately focus on containing the pandemic, as an overstretched health-care system straining under rising Covid and non-Covid cases would cause further disruption to the economy.

Action for Economic Reforms (AER) Coordinator Filomeno Sta. Ana III issued the statement in reaction to the pronouncement on Sunday of Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua now is not economy vs health. It is the total health of the people, whether from Covid, non- who said, “the issue we face Covid sickness, or hunger.” the that. But we must likewise recognize that the non-Covid diseases are Sta. Ana said: “Secretary Karl [Chua] mentioned that we should be concerned with the ‘total health of people.’ Everyone agrees with indirect consequences of the pandemic,” Sta. Ana told the BusinessMirror. He said health workers are overstretched and health facilities are overburdened because of Covid-19. Patients could also postpone appointments and doctors could close their clinics, which could lead to a rise in other diseases.

in terms of bed occupancy for Covid-19 patients. This meant that these hospitals had a Covid-19 occupancyThe Department rate of of more Health than (DOH) 85 percent. earlier said 29 hospitals in Metro Manila were already at “critical” level

reopening the economy at a time that the virus is surging will only result in higher Covid and non-Covid “In short, the pandemic and total health of the people will be served. On the other hand, insisting on cases, and will result in further economic disruption,” Sta. Ana said. millions who are hungry, he said, the government should give food and subsidies to these people and those who are vulnerable.Sta. Ana said it is the government’s responsibility to provide relief to Filipinos. If there are

On Sunday, the Neda chief said 3.2 million people or 23 percent of Metro Manila residents are hungry.

Sta. Ana said the government can borrow funds for these given t the economy contracted 9.5 percent with the fourth quarter seeing a decline of 8.3 percent. he country’s economic state. In 2020, ] can provide the means for people “It is most naive for the government to think that the market [when there is market failure to feed themselves,” Sta. Ana said.

“To say that there is no funding is wrong. For the government can borrow. Good economics allows heavy borrowing during a time of national emergency,” he added. Meanwhile, Foundation for Economic Freedom President Calixto V. Chikiamco clarified to

BusinessMirror on Monday that it was the government who made their decisions “without science and data” and not the President’s economic team. In a letter to the editor sent to BusinessMirror, Chikiamco said h including the Department of Health [DOH] and other officials, not the economic managers for the e blamed “the entire government, situation we are facing now.” Chikiamco said loosening restriction was the correct policy response. The only thing was that the government failed to manage this with the proper implementation of a testing, tracing, and treatment strategy.

He also said the mixed messaging coming from government officials who themselves violated health protocols contributed to the spike in Covid-19 cases.

“The failure to secure vaccines earlier has also pushed the government to resort to more restrictions as a response to the spike in cases,” Chikiamco said. On Monday, Chua said Neda supported the localized quarantine measures in areas showing high transmission rates, as directed by Resolution 104 of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The Neda chief said the relaxation of quarantine restrictions from April to October 2020 helped restore 6 million jobs.

Further, Chua said stricter compliance with health standards allowed for a safe reopening of the economy without causing a spike in cases in the last quarter of 2020, allowing more Filipinos to earn income and feed their families.

gnize the risks associated with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases but reverting back to a stricter and blanket community quarantine is no longer an option, knowing how much it has cost the Filipino“We reco people in the past year. That is why a careful and calibrated approach is needed to address the sources of highest risks through localized quarantines and additional restrictions, so that jobs or

livelihoods will not be affected,” Chua said. Chua said the country has been in varying levels of quarantine over the past year. As a result, an estimated 16.4 million people have experienced hunger nationwide. In NCR alone, 3.2 million individuals or 1 in 4 people are hungry. There are also 506,000 jobless people. However, he said, the recent spike in cases compels the government to act swiftly to slow down the infection rate. The IATF recommended adding restrictions in specific areas without constraining the overall mobility of people.

nt, Detect, Isolate, Treat,

“Over the next two weeks, we will strengthen the implementation of the ‘Preve and Recover’ or PDITR strategy and continue rolling out the vaccination program,” Chua said. vaccines to at least 70 million Filipinos he“We added. have already started inoculating our medical frontliners last March 1, 2021 and we aim to provide this year, or around 100 percent of the entire adult population,” when they recommended loosening mobility restriction in their bid to boost the economy. Over the weekend, economists said the President’s economic team may have miscalculated the situation On top of this, economists who spoke to the BusinessMirror said there were many issues in the implementation of the quarantine restrictions as well as the arrival of new Covid-19 variants which eventually caused the spike.

Over the weekend, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 15,756 new Covid-19 cases in the Philippines. This included the 7,999 recorded last Saturday and the 7,757 cases reported last Sunday.

On Monday, the DOH reported that another 8,019 new Covid-19 cases were reported. A total of 103 Filipinos recovered from the virus while four passed away.

it presumes they are even Mendoza told the“Government BusinessMirror miscalculation in an interview is a generous last Sunday. description at this point— attempting the math,” Ateneo de Manila University School of Government Dean Ronald U.

“All earlier indicators and forecasts suggested systems were still not ready even after a year of lockdown. They need the humility to ask the private sector and academia for help,” he added. Sta. Ana earlier explained to the BusinessMirror that the efforts to loosen restrictions failed because the government was not effective in contact tracing and the referral system for Covid-19 patients was not functioning.

He added the following: government officials violated health protocols; the pronouncements from government officials provided a false sense of security encouraging more people to go out; and, the government lacked resources for relief or social amelioration.

Sta. Ana also noted a failure of coordination among national government agencies and between central government and local government units. Sta. Ana pointed as well to divisiveness among Filipinos, which eroded collective action.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/23/experts-agonize-over-hunger-health-balance/ Duterte: Closing down the economy would be disastrous

Published March 22, 2021, 11:03 PM by Argyll Cyrus Geducos President Duterte explained that despite the speedy rise of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country, the government cannot simply close down the economy again because it would be a disaster for the Philippines.

Duterte made the statement after he approved placing the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal under a general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble from March 22 to April 4 to arrest the spike in COVID-19 cases.

In his weekly public address on Monday evening, President Duterte noted the volume of people going to malls and markets, particularly in Divisoria, but said they cannot impose another economic lockdown as it would spell disaster for the country.

“So kung sarahan mo naman ‘yan lahat– medyo tagilid na ang ekonomiya (If you close it all– our economy is not good) and that is a problem,” he said.

“It would be a disaster for our country. Kung sarahan mo talaga lahat (If you will really close everything down), it would be a disaster for the country,” he added.

The President said that the government is trying its best to balance the situation by limiting the movement of the people, something, according to him, is well within the power of the State.

“Balance-balance na lang tayo tutal maliit pa naman ito (Let’s just balance everything for after all the number of cases is still small), it’s a small–not really small but ah… Not so many are being affected in the sense that your movements are being curtailed,” Duterte said.

“The curtailment of your freedom to travel is always subject to the power of the State to control the movement, putting you at the right places at the right time at this time,” he added.

Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, collectively known as the NCR+, are under a GCQ bubble wherein non-essential travel going in and outside the bubble is prohibited.

Only authorized persons outside their residences will be allowed to enter and exit the bubble.

During the two-week bubble period, mass gatherings are prohibited and some businesses will be operating at a limited capacity. Public transportation, however, will remain operational.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/duterte-closing-down-the-economy-would-be-disastrous/ China confirms presence of fishing vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, claims jurisdiction over the area

Published March 22, 2021, 6:19 PM by Roy Mabasa The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Monday confirmed the presence of its vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) or Niu’e Jiao (Chinese name) in the West Philippine Sea but insisted these are only fishing vessels taking shelter in the area due to “rough sea condition”.

“There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged. Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation. It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement.

In the statement, the Chinese Embassy maintained that the Julian Felipe Reef is part of China’s Nansha Qundao, saying that Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many years.

“Recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu’e Jiao due to rough sea conditions. It has been a normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances,” the Embassy added.

On Sunday, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) raised concern about the presence of about 220 Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, an area located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

This development prompted the Department to file a diplomatic protest against China Sunday night.

Former DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario has called on the government to summon the Chinese ambassador in Manila to explain the presence of the mammoth number of Chinese vessels in Philippine waters.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/china-confirms-presence-of-fishing-vessels-in-julian-felipe-reef-claims- jurisdiction-over-the-area/

Require Chinese envoy to explain latest WPS incursion, ex-DFA chief urges

Published March 22, 2021, 3:02 PM by Roy Mabasa Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario on Monday urged the government to summon the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines and ask him to explain the reported intrusion of about 220 of its vessels at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), an area within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“Given the gravity of this development, we should consider summoning the Chinese Ambassador in the Philippines to ask why we should not consider this Chinese action at Julian Felipe Reef to be an act of unilateral aggression against the territorial integrity of our country,” Del Rosario said in a statement.

Del Rosario made this call two days after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) expressed its concern over the latest Chinese intrusions as confirmed by the Philippine Coast Guard.

Aside from summoning the Chinese envoy, Del Rosario also called on the government to seek consultation with the country’s security partners like the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan on how to move forward with this recent act of what he described as “Chinese aggression”.

“This recent Chinese action fits the pattern of blatant bullying being done by the Chinese leadership over decades against its neighbors in the South China Sea,” the former DFA secretary added.

Del Rosario commended the government’s “proactive stance” in reporting, condemning and issuing a diplomatic protest against the massing of around 220 Chinese Maritime Militia vessels around Julian Felipe Reef on March 7, 2021.

“It is the sworn duty of our leaders and officials to defend what is ours and therefore be proactive against incursions on our sovereign rights,” he said.

Del Rosario was the secretary of foreign affairs when the Philippines filed an arbitration case against China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea before the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague.

On July 12, 2016, the international court ruled in favor of the Philippines petition invalidating China’s nine-dash line claim.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/require-chinese-envoy-to-explain-latest-wps-incursion-ex-dfa-chief- urges/ Roque on presence of Chinese vessels in West PH Sea: Friends can thresh out issue

Published March 22, 2021, 7:08 PM by Genalyn Kabiling The Philippines and China could thresh out any issue given its close friendship, Malacañang declared Monday following the reported presence of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque expressed confidence that the latest maritime incident would not escalate into another standoff, citing the friendly ties between the two neighbors.

“I don’t think so po dahil mayroon po tayong malapit na pagkakaibigan (because we have a close friendship),” he said during a virtual press briefing Monday, March 22 when asked if the presence of the Chinese ships could lead to a repeat of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012.

“Lahat naman po ay napag-uusapan sa panig ng mga magkakaibigan at magkapitbahay (Friends and neighbors can talk through everything),” he added.

So far, Roque said the Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a protest after National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. confirmed the presence of the foreign ships in local waters. “Hinahayaan ko muna po sa kanila dahil nakatutok po muna tayo dito sa COVID (I’d would defer to them because we are focused on the COVID response),” he added.

In a statement late Saturday, March 20, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said the coast guard authorities reported 220 Chinese fishing vessels were spotted “moored in line formation” at the Julian Felipe Reef, located within the country’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, on March 7.

The vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen by authorities on March 7. “The NTF-WPS notes this circumstance as a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation,” the task force said in a statement.

On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in Manila issued a statement denying the vessels were manned by maritime militia, saying the fishing boats were merely taking shelter due to rough sea condition. It also insisted that the Julian Felipe Reef was part of China’s Nansha Qundao territory.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/roque-on-presence-of-chinese-vessels-in-west-ph-sea-friends-can- thresh-out-issue/

Palace on China boats in PH sea: We can talk it out posted March 23, 2021 at 01:30 am by Rey E. Requejo

Friends such as China and the Philippines "can talk everything out," Malacañang said on Monday, in response to the presence of some 200 Chinese boats in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.

This was after the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines denied the presence of Chinese militia vessels off Julian Felipe Reef or Whitsun Reef, saying they were just fishing boats seeking shelter in rough seas.

"There is no Chinese Maritime militia as alleged," the embassy said, adding that it has taken note of the recent statement and remarks of the Philippine side.

Asked if he believed that the incident could intensify to a standoff, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said, "I don't think so."

"Meron po tayong malapit na pagkakaibigan. Lahat naman po napag-uusapan sa panig ng mga magkakaibigan at magkapitbahay (We have a close friendship. Friends and neighbors can talk everything out)," Roque said.

"Let us wait first what China would say. There was a protest. They need to give an answer," the spokesman added on what else the Philippines would do.

A Philippine air patrol on Monday spotted the Chinese boats off the Julian Felipe Reef.

“They are still there and we are counting them carefully," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of- staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana confirmed in a media interview.

The AFP's Western Command, which is based in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, deployed a fixed-wing aircraft to fly over the area around 8:40 a.m. on Monday.

The Chinese embassy said some fishing vessels took shelter recently near the reef “due to rough sea conditions.”

"It has been a normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances," it said.

The embassy statement insisted that the reef, which is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), “is China’s territory and part of its Nansha Qundao (islands)."

“Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many years. Recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu'e Jiao due to rough sea conditions,” it said.

“Any speculation… causes unnecessary irritation. It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner,” the statement said.

On March 20, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said it received a confirmed report from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that about 220 Chinese fishing vessels believed to be manned by Chinese Maritime militia personnel were sighted moored in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) on March 7, 2021.

The task force released photos of the vessels.

The Julian Felipe Reef is a large boomerang shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs), located about 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

It is within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the country enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources which encompass both living resources, such as fish, and non-living resources such as oil and natural gas.

The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest over the incident Sunday night. But former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario on Monday prodded the government to summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to shed light on the presence of the Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.

Del Rosario also proposed that the Philippines should seek consultation with security partners like the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan "on how to move forward with this recent act of Chinese aggression."

"Given the gravity of this development, we should consider summoning the Chinese ambassador in the Philippines to ask why we should not consider this Chinese action at Julian Felipe Reef to be an act of unilateral aggression against the territorial integrity of our country," Del Rosario said in a statement. He said the recent Chinese action “fits the pattern of blatant bullying being done by the Chinese leadership over decades against its neighbors in the South China Sea.”

Del Rosario, who led the Philippines' arbitral tribunal victory against China in 2016, said that while it is the sworn duty of government leaders and officials to defend country’s sovereignty, they must be “proactive against incursions on our sovereign rights.”

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s massive claims over the hotly-contested South China Sea and upheld Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.

The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea called the latest Chinese incursion a cause for concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation.

Reacting to the presence of Chinese boats in Philippine waters, Senator Francis Pangilinan said while the world is busy battling COVID-19, China is unabated in its militarization and expansionism in the West Philippine Sea.

China, he said, was using donated vaccines as a “geopolitical weapon.”

"We are behind the government in asserting our rights in our seas. We may not be as strong militarily but we are certainly strong legally, morally, and diplomatically," he said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the presence of Chinese boats was a “severe provocation” that only escalates tensions in the South China Sea.

As the diplomatic protest takes its course in this issue, Hontiveros said the government should also study more tangible ways to make China pay. Hontiveros also emphasized the environmental damage and the natural resources that could be further lost due to the presence of the vessels in Julian Felipe Reef.

“We have exclusive rights over the resources—fish, oil, and natural gas—in Julian Felipe Reef. ...It’s maddening how China continues to snatch away our nation’s wealth while we’re in the depths of an economic crisis,” the senator said.

Last month, Hontiveros said China owes Filipinos over P800 billion in marine damage and losses due to its adventurism in the WPS. In April 2020, the senator also filed Senate Resolution No. 369 demanding that China pay ₱200 billion worth of reparations, which could be used in the country's fight against COVID-19.

"China really has no plans of recognizing and respecting the 2016 Hague ruling that favors our country," she added.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana urged the Chinese to stop the incursion and immediately recall the boats that he said were violating Philippine maritime rights and encroaching on the country’s sovereign territory.

"This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are territories well within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.

Lorenzana said the government was considering "appropriate action" to take to protect Filipino fishermen, the country's marine resources and maintain peace and stability in the area. A government task force charged with monitoring the contested waters announced Saturday the detection of around 220 "Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels" earlier this month.

“Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities," the agency said.

The United States has previously accused China of using maritime militia to "intimidate, coerce and threaten other nations" over its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.

The resource-rich waterway is also contested by several countries, including the Philippines.

China has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its assertion as without basis. Philippine-China relations have improved under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has tried to steer his country away from the ambit of the United States -- its former colonial master -- to pursue greater economic cooperation with its giant neighbor and American rival.

But Duterte's shift has failed to stem Chinese ambitions in the sea or unlock much of the billions of dollars of promised trade and loans.

He has repeatedly said conflict with China would be futile and that the Philippines would lose and suffer heavily in the process.

Lorenzana, however, has been more outspoken.

In August he accused China of illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory, saying the nine-dash line used by Beijing to justify its alleged historic rights to the key waterway was a fabrication.

His remarks at the time came amid a fresh row over the disputed Scarborough shoal, which China seized from the Philippines in 2012following a tense standoff.

In 2019, the Philippines also complained after hundreds of Chineseships were seen near Pag-asa island, also known as Thitu, which the country branded as "illegal.”

https://manilastandard.net/news/national/350157/palace-on-china-boats-in-ph-sea-we-can-talk-it- out.html

Pangilinan: Chinese exploited COVID-19 situation for militarization, expansionism bid over WPS

Published March 22, 2021, 5:27 PM by Mario Casayuran Opposition Senator Francis ‘’Kiko’’ Pangilinan on Monday lamented that while the world is busy battling coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China is unabated in its militarization and expansionism in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Senator Francis Pangilinan (Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO)

Pangilinan asked aloud whether China is using as ‘’geopolitical weapon’’ the COVID-19 vaccines it donated to the Philippines.

This followed the revelation by the Department of National Defense (DND) that there are 220 Chinese militia boats in Julian Felipe Reef (Union Reef) at the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party (LP), said he fully supports the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for coordinating with other government agencies in filing ‘’diplomatic protest over this clear provocative action.’’

‘’Hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon na mayroong nakitang Chinese warships sa lugar (This is not the first time that Chinese warships are seen in the area),’’ he said.

‘’We are behind the government in asserting our rights in our seas. We may not be as strong militarily but we are certainly strong legally, morally, and diplomatically,’’ he stressed.

‘’Di man tayo kasing laki o kasing lakas ng kanilang military, tayo naman ay nasa tama dahil atin ‘to (We may not be as big or as strong compared to China’s military, but we are right in our position),’’ he added.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/pangilinan-chinese-exploited-covid-19-situation-for-militarization- expansionism-bid-over-wps-2/

Hontiveros hits ‘severe provocation’, utter disrespect as Chinese vessels swarm into WPS

Published March 22, 2021, 11:26 AM by Hannah Torregoza Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, March 22 called on the government to file another diplomatic protest against China to signify the Philippines objection to the presence of 220 Chinese maritime militia vessels spotted in the West Philippine Sea.

Hontiveros scored the presence of these vessels as reported by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), describing it a “severe provocation” that only escalates tensions in the disputed maritime territory.

The senator said she supports the filing of diplomatic protests to China over the matter, noting that while the country is battling a new wave of COVID-19 cases, China is blatantly intruding in Philippine waters.

“Not aggravating the tensions in our seas is the absolute least China could have done in the middle of a global pandemic. Respeto nalang sana, hindi pa maipakita (they can’t even show some semblance of respect),” Hontiveros said in a statement.

The lawmaker reiterated China’s repeated incursions in the West Philippine Sea do not build peace or stability in the ASEAN region.

She also pressed the Duterte administration to study more tangible ways to make China pay for the environmental damage and the natural resources that could be lost due to the presence of the vessels in Julian Felipe Reef.

This reef, she pointed out, is within the Philippine’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

“We have exclusive rights over the resources — fish, oil, and natural gas — in Julian Felipe Reef. Atin lang dapat iyan pero pilit na naman nang-aagaw ang Tsina ng mga bagay na hindi kanila. Nakakagalit (It should only be ours but China is snatching things that are not theirs in the first place. it’s infuriating),” Hontiveros pointed out.

“It’s maddening how China continues to snatch away our nation’s wealth while we’re in the depths of an economic crisis,” the senator said.

Hontiveros further reiterated that China now owes Filipinos over P800-billion in marine damage and losses due to its adventurism in the WPS. She filed Senate Resolution No. 369 demanding that China pay the country billions worth of reparations which could be used in the country’s fight against COVID-19.

“China really has no plans of recognizing and respecting the 2016 Hague ruling that favors our country,” she said of the decision of the international tribunal that invalidated China’s claim to 90 percent of the South China Sea.

“Hindi na nakakatuwa ang patuloy na panggagahasa ng ating likas-yaman. Mag-ipon na ang Tsina kasi magbabayad sila (Their continuous raping of our natural resources is not funny. China should pool its resources and pay),” she said.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/hontiveros-hits-severe-provocation-utter-disrespect-as-chinese- vessels-swarm-into-wps/

vaccines? Bayan Muna Is China’s sea incursion the tradeoff for donated By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu - Reporter / @GabrielLaluINQ

INQUIRER.net / 01:21– AM March 23, 2021

MANILA, Philippines — “Is this act of China the tradeoff for the vaccines it has donated — this trampling on our sovereignty? This should not be ignored. The government should strongly condemn this,” House Deputy Minority Leaders Carlos Isagani Zarate said in a statement issued on Monday.

Zarate, who represents the party-list group Bayan Muna, issued the statement following reports that over 200 Chinese militia boats were spotted in the Juan Felipe Reef — an area within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines.

The Philippine government has filed a diplomatic protest against the incursion, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Sunday. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also called on China to recall the ships as the reef is within the EEZ and part of the country’s continental shelf.

Despite several diplomatic protests made against it, China has enjoyed renewed ties with the Philippines ever since President Rodrigo Duterte stepped into office in 2016.

As proof of the friendship between Manila and Beijing, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that the country received — CoronaVac from Sinovac BioTech — were donations from China. Duterte clarified, however, that the donations from China come with no strings attached.

Zarate, who is part of the progressive Makabayan bloc in the House, also took a swipe at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), urging them to focus on guarding the country’s territories rather than spending time over red-tagging activities.

“Maybe the reason why China has become spoiled and more aggressive was that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the police have become busier with their red-tagging and attacking activists and critics of the government rather than guarding our territory against the incursion of other countries,” Zarate said in Filipino.

“China’s coast guard and maritime militia has continuously harassed our fisherfolk and barricaded our traditional fishing grounds like Bajo de Masinloc or Panakot Shoal. They harvest our giant clams and fish on our exclusive waters. They have also been used as advanced forces to secure islands, islets or sand bars that China would militarize,” he added.

According to reports that came out early Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) informed the National Task Force West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) that 220 ships had been in a line formation near the Juan Felipe Reef since March 7.

The NTF-WPS then warned against the possibility of overfishing and destruction of the marine environment with so many ships over the reef — which is just around 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan. “Julian Felipe Reef may be next to be occupied by imperialist China if the Duterte administration does nothing about it,” Zarate said.

“Among others, the government should push for joint Coast Guard patrols with other claimants in the South China Sea like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, so as to discourage China’s bullying tactics,” he added.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1410109/bayan-muna-asks-china-is-west-ph-sea-incursion-an-exchange- for-donated-vaccines

Philippines must protest over Beijing’s ‘little blue men’ or waive South China Sea claims, Rodrigo Duterte’s government told

• The Philippines has lodged a formal protest with Beijing after spotting what it says is a militia of more than 200 Chinese vessels around Whitsun Reef • But it has also played down the friction, annoying its fishermen and prompting legal experts to warn it risks waiving its rights

In this Sunday, March 7, 2021, photo provided Sunday, March 21, 2021, by the Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea, some of the 220 Chinese vessels are seen moored at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea. The Philippine government expressed concern after spotting more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels it believed were crewed by militias at a reef claimed by both countries in the South China Sea, but it did not immediately lodge a protest. (Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP)

Manila must keep protesting against Chinese incursions in the South China Sea, or be seen to have given up its territorial claims, experts said on Monday.The warning came as the Philippines issued a formal diplomatic protest to Beijing after revealing that more than 200 Chinese vessels had been moored at Whitsun Reef since March 7.

Called Julian Felipe by the Philippines, the reef lies within both the area claimed by the Philippines as its exclusive economic zone and the nine-dash line with which China claims more than 90 per cent of the sea.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126490/philippines-must-protest-over-beijings- little-blue-men-or-waive

Manila files complaint as Chinese boats swarm reef

• Bloomberg

The Philippines on Sunday evening issued a formal diplomatic protest to China after hundreds of fishing vessels were spotted at a disputed reef in the South China Sea.

About 220 Chinese vessels were seen moored in line at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea on March 7, a Philippine government task force overseeing the disputed waters said in a statement on Saturday.

The vessels’ presence is “a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation,” the Philippine government statement said.

The area, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, is a large but shallow, boomerang-shaped coral reef within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the task force said.

A diplomatic protest was “fired off tonight,” Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin wrote on Twitter.

China was deploying “numerous ships into the area and stationing them at strategic locations, ready to be called upon to participate in any operations it may wish to carry out against any other countries,” said Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.

“These operations can cover everything from surveillance to forcing unilateral exploitation of resources to wresting islands away from other nations,” Batongbacal added. “Whether this particular deployment of vessels on Whitsun Reef is preparatory to another specific operation, we have yet to see.”

Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday played down the possibility of any escalation similar to one in 2012 when the Philippine Navy apprehended a group of Chinese fishing frigates at the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), which is also claimed by Taiwan.

“We have a close friendship. Everything can be discussed between friends and neighbors,” Roque said in a televised media briefing.

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2021/03/23/2003754339 AFP chief says Chinese flotilla still moored in Julian Felipe Reef

ByRENE ACOSTA,RECTO MERCENEandBUTCH FERNANDEZ

MARCH 23, 2021

In this photo provided Sunday, March 21, 2021, by the Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force- West Philippine Sea, some of the 220 Chinese vessels are seen moored at Whitsun Reef (Julian Felipe Reef), South China Sea on March 7, 2021. The Philippine government expressed concern after spotting more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels it believed were crewed by militias at a reef claimed by both countries in the South China Sea, but it did not immediately lodge a protest.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana on Monday reported that a Chinese maritime flotilla has remained in Julian Felipe Reef, more than two weeks after the militia boats were spotted in the contested area by the Philippine Coast Guard.

e territory, which “They are still there, and we are counting [the ships] properly,” said Sobejana, adding the military will officially issue its “take” on the Chinese ship’s presence in the country’s maritim Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana branded earlier as a “clear provocative action of militarizing the area.” Felipe Reef [Union Reef] in the West Philippine Sea [WPS]. This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are“We territories view with well grave within concern Philippine the presence Exclusive of 220 Economic Chinese Zone militia [EEZ] boats and in Contithe Juliannental Shelf where Filipinos have the sole right to resources under international law and the 20 Lorenzana said in a news statement issued on Sunday night. 16 arbitral ruling,” rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory. We are committed to uphold our sovereign rights “We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime over the WPS,” the defense chief added. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin tweeted late Sunday the Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest over the Chinese presence.

matic protest fire

“Diplo d off tonight; can’t wait for first light,” Locsin tweeted. rybody is baring h admitting“I got the coordinates, that the diplomatic so to speak. protest And was relayed endorsed to my by legal National artillery, Security ‘Fire Adviserat will.’ ShellRetired should General be flying at Hermogenesfirst light. I don’t Esperon usually Jr. announce maneuvers but it seems eve is chest,” he added,

y Adviser, however “I was in touch with the Secretary of National Defense but on another matter. The National Securit , notified me of this particular situation,” Locsin said. -party mediator in the hope of convincing China to stop its aggressive behavior in the contested waters. The country’s top envoy shot down the suggestion by a netizen to bring in a third ing in mediators it will be when we lost our reef: a third party saying, Stand down, both sides did; withdraw, we did, the other side did not; and all the third party said was, Oh, well, such is life. The strong“You bet, do br what they want, the weak suffer as they m

ust. Thucydides.” Locsin was referring to the Scarborough Shoal standoff between the Philippines and Chinese fishermen caught illegally fishing in the shoal in 2012. The United States, as third-party mediator, reportedly told the Philippines to withdraw at the same time as the Chinese. When the Philippines left the shoal, the Chinese remained and had remained in control of the shoal since then.

At the same time, Locsin toned down his statement after being told that the ships look like dredgers.

“Wait, this might be dredgers. Precision of fact and law is the only weapon of the weak,” he added. The three- intelligence fund of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], since it appears they are not up to par time Makati congressman agreed to a tweet, which said Congress should “look into the knowing the latest developments in the WPS.” Sobejana said the military is properly running through the numbers of the Chinese militia ships moored at the reef, where from the nearby Pagasa Island, at least eight Chinese fishing vessels were also seen as of Tuesday, according to Esperon.

The Julian Felipe Reef is located about 175 nautical miles from Bataraza, Palawan, which is well within

the country’s EEZ. The US military has declared that maritime militias and their ships in the WPS are considered as

“targets” should a shooting war erupt between American and Chinese forces. ordered and carried out by a fixed-wing aircraft. Sobejana’s statement on the presence of the Chinese vessels was issued following an aerial patrol that he prepared by Com, WESCOM [commander, Western Command] to be submitted to AFP Chief, and the NTF-WPS“The patrol [National mission Taskwas completed Force for the at around West Philippine 11:30 [a.m.] Sea] today through [Tues theday]. DND The [Departmen report is nowt of National being

Defense],” military spokesman Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a separate news statement. Following the reported presence of Chinese militias in the reef, Lorenzana said they are coordinating with the NTF-WPS and the Depa protecting the welfare of our Filipino fishermen, our marine resources, and maintaining peace and rtment of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action “in the context of stability in the West Philippine Sea.” Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday joined mounting protests against the presence of Chinese militia vessels brazenly intruding into the WPS territory and affirmed her support for the filing of a scalate tension in the region. formal diplomatic protest, warning that such a “severe provocation” is only likely to e The lawmaker lamented that such a sneaky maneuver involving such a number of Chinese maritime militia vessels spotted by the Coast Guard in the WPS calls for a strong diplomatic protest against China.

to contain rising Covid cases amid the contagion in the country, China does

“While we are scrambling with impunity intruding in our territory,” the senator said, adding: “Habang nagkakandarapa pa tayo sa pagtaas ng mga kaso ng Covid-19 sa bansa, ang Tsina naman walang pakundangan ang pagsulong sa ating karagatan.”

aggravating the tensions in our seas is the absolute least China could have done in the middle of a global pandemic. Respeto nalang sana, hindi pa maipakita,” she added. Hontiveros asserted that “not The senator, who has Chinese vessels in Philippine territory does not been vocal about China’s incursions in the WPS, deplored that “the presence of the build peace or stability in the region.” She suggested that as the diplomatic protest takes its course in this issue, the Duterte administration

“should also study more tangible ways to make China pay.” Hontiveros also reminded the environmental damage and the natural resources that could be further lost due to the presence of the vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf.

fish, oil, and natural gas in Julian Felipe Reef. Atin lang dapat iyan pero pilit na naman nang-aagaw ang Tsina ng mga bagay na hindi kanila. Nakakagalit. maddening“We have exclusive how China rights continues over the to resources— snatch away our na depths of an bemoaned. It’s tion’s wealth, while we’re in the economic crisis,” the lawmaker Hontiveros reminded earlier that in marine damage and l pril 2020, she filed Senate Resolution 369 demanding that China China, in fact, “owes Filipinos over P800 billion fight againstosses due Covid- to its19. adventurism in the WPS,” recalling that last A pay P200 billion worth of reparations, which could be used in the country’s She surmised that ly has no plans of recognizing and respecting the 2016 Hague ruling that favors our country. Hindi na nakakatuwa ang patuloy na panggagahasa ng ating likas-yaman. Mag-ipon na ang Tsina kasi magbabayad“China real sila,” the senator asserted.

The Chinese embassy denied allegations that Chinese militia vessels took refuge in Julian Felipe Reef ue to rough sea conditions. (Whitsun Reef), saying “recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu’u Ejao d Embassy has taken note of the recent statement and remarks of the Philippine side on the

Nansha“The Chinese Quandao. Chinese vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters presence of alleged Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels at Niu’u eJao and said “Niu’u eJao is part of China’s for many year.” Huang said it has been normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances. Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary “There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged,” Huang added, saying “ irritation.”

“It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manger,” Huang concluded.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/23/afp-chief-says-chinese-flotilla-still-moored-in-julian-felipe- reef/

Chinese vessels still moored in WPS two weeks after first sighting — AFP Chief

Published March 22, 2021, 4:21 PM by Martin Sadongdong Despite the Philippine government’s strongly-worded statement, the more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels believed to be manned by maritime militiamen and which were first spotted two weeks ago, remain at the Julian Felipe Reef (Union Reef) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

(AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said he had already sent Navy and Air Force assets in order to check the current situation in the area.The Western Command (WesCom), the unit which has operational jurisdiction over the WPS and led by its commander, Admiral Ramil Enriquez, twas the one assinged to account all the foreign vessels.

“Nandoon pa at binibilang naming mabuti ([The vessels] are still there and we are counting them carefully),” he said.

Citing a report from the Philippine Coast Guard, the National Task Force for WPS bared the presence of 220 Chinese fishing vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7.

Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said the military confirmed the report after it sent a fixed-wing aircraft from the Philippine Air Force around 8:40 a.m. Monday to conduct surveillance in the WPS.

Arevalo said the military plane came back around 12 noon at the headquarters of the WesCom in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. He said Sobejana is now awaiting Adm. Enriquez to submit an official report about the Chinese vessels’ presence in the WPS.

On Sunday night, Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana called on China to “stop” their “incursion” in the WPS and “immediately recall these boats” which are “violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that he already filed a diplomatic protest against China over the incident. The Julian Felipe Reef is a boomerang-shaped, shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reef.

It is located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan and is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

Sobejana said that the AFP will conduct more maritime patrols in the WPS to ensure the safety of fishermen casting their nets over the disputed waters and the citizens living on and near the troubled islands.

“We continue to monitor the situation in abidance to the international laws and the preservation of the status quo in the West Philippine Sea,” Sobejana said.

“Our utmost priority remains to be the protection of our citizens in the area, particularly our fishermen, through increased maritime patrols,” he added.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/chinese-vessels-still-moored-in-wps-two-weeks-after-first-sighting-afp- chief/

183 Chinese fishing vessels remain at West Philippine Sea

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/780759/183-chinese-fishing-vessels-remain-at-west- philippine-sea/story/

PH air patrol confirms Chinese ‘militia boats’ presence in WPS

By Priam Nepomuceno March 22, 2021, 4:51 pm

(PCG/NTF WPS photo)

MANILA – A Philippine air patrol on Monday has spotted Chinese militia boats off Julian Felipe Reef (Union Reef) in the West Philippine Sea that is well within the country's exclusive economic zone EEZ.

"Nandun pa at binibilang namin mabuti (They are still there and we are counting them carefully)," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff, Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, confirmed in a media interview.

When asked on the exact number of Chinese vessels, Sobejana said the AFP will probably share later its take on the presence of the Chinese militia boats in the Julian Felipe Reef.

The AFP's Western Command, which is based in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, deployed a fixed- wing aircraft to fly over the area around 8:40 a.m. on Monday.

"The air patrol was completed around 11:30 a.m.,” AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said.

On Sunday night, Sobejana said the Union reef is within the Philippines’ EEZ “therefore we oppose any move of encroachment of this sovereign territory”.

He said the military continues to monitor the situation "in abidance to international laws and the preservation of the status quo in the West Philippine Sea".

Sobejana, however, said the AFP would continue to pursue a "peaceful, principled, and rules-based approach" in resolving issues in the WPS.

"We will defer to the decision of the Department of National Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the matter," Sobejana said.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also expressed concern, calling the presence of 220 Chinese militia boats as a "clear provocative action of militarizing the area”. “We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory. We are committed to upholding our sovereign rights over the WPS," Lorenzana said in a statement on Sunday.

Following the latest incursion, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Sunday night.

“Diplomatic protest fired off tonight; can’t wait for first light,” Locsin said in a tweet.

“The NTF WPS notes this circumstance as a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to the safety of navigation,” the NTF WPS said.

The reef is a large boomerang-shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs), located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134450

Union Reefs incident won’t be another Panatag standoff

By Azer Parrocha March 22, 2021, 8:13 pm

MANILA – Malacañang on Monday said it believes that the alleged Chinese militia vessels spotted off the Julian Felipe Reef (Union Reefs) in the West Philippine Sea would not escalate to a repeat of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag) standoff.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) air patrol on Monday confirmed the presence of the Chinese vessels spotted within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf (CS) off Julian Filipe Reef.

Roque expressed confidence that strong ties between the Philippines and China would prevent such an incident from happening again.

“I don’t think so po dahil mayroon po tayong malapit na pagkakaibigan. Lahat naman po ay napag- uusapan sa panig ng mga magkakaibigan at magkapit-bahay (because we have a close friendship. Everything can be discussed between two friends and neighbors),” Roque said in a virtual press briefing.

Roque, however, refused to make further comments, saying he will leave the matter to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“Pinababayaan ko na muna po sa DFA iyan, nakatutok lang po muna tayo dito saCovid. Si Secretary Locsin na po ang sasagot diyan (We leave it to the DFA, we are prioritizing Covid. Secretary Locsin will respond to that),” he added.

On Sunday night, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China.

“Diplomatic protest fired off tonight; can’t wait for first light,” Locsin said in a tweet.

Earlier, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS) expressed concern about a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) report that around 220 Chinese fishing vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were sighted moored in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7. “The NTF WPS notes this circumstance as a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to the safety of navigation,” the NTF WPS said.

No Chinese maritime militia

In a statement on Monday, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said some Chinese fishing vessels recently took shelter near Julian Felipe Reef (Niu’e Jiao) “due to rough sea conditions.”

“It has been a normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances,” the statement read.

The Chinese embassy also clarified there is no Chinese maritime militia in the area which, it said, is part of China’s Nansha Qundao.

“Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many years,” it said. “Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation. It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner.”

Julian Felipe Reef is a large boomerang-shaped, shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs) located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

Scarborough Shoal, on the other hand, is a triangle-shaped coral reef situated 124 nautical miles off Zambales.

The Philippines lost Scarborough Shoal to China after a controversial standoff in 2012 where China blocked Filipino fishermen from Scarborough. This prompted Manila to file a case before the international arbitration.

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands ruled in favor of the Philippines’ petition, saying China has no legal basis to assert its supposedly historic rights over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The PCA did not rule on which country has sovereignty over Scarborough but called out China for violating Filipinos' traditional fishing rights there.

China, however, stood pat on its decision to reject the ruling, calling it “illegal and invalid.”

Apart from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam are also laying claim to parts of the South China Sea. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134507 PH Marines Commandant, over 1,000 others get COVID-19 vaccine

Published March 22, 2021, 2:24 PM by Martin Sadongdong The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) announced that it has completed the vaccination of the first batch of its frontliners against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which includes its Commandant, Maj. Gen. Ariel Caculitan.

Photo by MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

In a statement Monday, March 22, Maj. Emery Torre, PMC spokesperson, said more than 1,000 Marines received their first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech. The vaccination of Marine frontliners was held at the Jurado Hall, Marine Barracks in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City from March 8 to 16.

“The vaccination program followed the priority allocation of COVID-19 vaccines,” Torre assured.

He said that first to be inoculated were health service personnel from the Marine Corps Surgeon. They were followed by security personnel who are involved in a wide range of support operations; personnel aged 50 years old and above; those aged 40 to 50 years old; and those aged 40 years old and below.

“MGen. Caculitan encouraged everyone to get inoculated as soon as vaccines are available. He stressed that PMC personnel are free to choose their vaccine but advised to take whatever is available to avoid prolonging the pandemic,” Torre said.

The Marines spokesperson said the first batch of those vaccinated will receive their second dose after 28 days or between the first and second week of April.

The national government launched the country’s free vaccination program on March 1 as part of its efforts to eliminate the threat of COVID-19.

Under the government’s priority list, medical frontliners who directly face the threat of coronavirus –even in the military– should receive the first doses of available vaccines to give them an added layer of protection. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, ordered the 120,000-strong military to get vaccinated as they are considered as frontliners in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/ph-marines-commandant-over-1000-others-get-covid-19-vaccine/

PH Coast Guard stations to rise in Surigao del Norte

Published March 22, 2021, 2:40 PM by Richa Noriega The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is set to build additional stations and sub-stations in Malimono and Socorro in Surigao del Norte in a bid to strengthen maritime law enforcement in the area.

The construction of an additional station, according to the PCG statement, was made possible after the municipality of Malimono donated a 250 square-meter land area located in Punta Beach, Barangay Tinago, Malimono, Surigao del Norte.

(Photo courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard)

PCG Station Surigao del Norte Commander Elaine Pangilinan and Malimono Mayor Wallace Sinaca have signed the deed of donation on March 17.

Meanwhile, Pamosaingan Barangay Captain Leo Faron has approved the Coast Guard’s utilization of a 350-square-meter lot located in Purok 5, Barangay Pamosaingan, Socorro, Surigao del Norte.

PCG District Northeastern Mindanao Commodore Inocencio C Rosario Jr. and Faron have signed the deed of donation on March 12.

The Coast Guard said the construction of additional stations will govern and protect the waters of Caraga region.

“The expansion of Coast Guard presence in Surigao del Norte will further enhance maritime law enforcement, maritime security, maritime safety, maritime search and rescue, and marine environmental protection in the Caraga region,” the PCG said in a statement.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/ph-coast-guard-stations-to-rise-in-surigao-del-norte/

Another Manila Bay reclamation project scores PCC approval Published March 22, 2021 5:31pm By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA News The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved another joint venture between the Manila City government and a private firm for a reclamation project in the Manila Bay.

In a statement, the anti-trust watchdog said its Mergers and Acquisitions Office gave the go-ahead for the "Manila Horizon" Reclamation Project, a joint venture between JBros Construction Corp. and the city government of Manila.

"The transaction is a new area of investment formed for the creation of a residential and commercial real estate development project," the March 11 commission decision read.

"This will expand the existing market and likely create an opportunity for the emergence of new markets for commercial and residential real estate within the City of Manila.

There are neither affected customers nor any commercial activity in the relevant geographic market," it added.

Horizon Manila is planned to be a 419-hectare raw-land reclamation that involves the development of three islands on the foreshore and offshore areas in Manila Bay.

JBros Construction is engaged in the business of general and large-scale construction. Under the proposal, the firm will contribute capital and expertise while Manila City will contribute rights over municipal waters.

The unincorporated joint venture will be governed by a sharing arrangement with 51% for the Manila city government and 49% for the private firm.

To recall, the PCC earlier this month approved the Manila Waterfront City joint venture project of the Manila city government and Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc.

The PCC is mandated to implement the national competition policy and enforce the competition law which promotes and protects competitive markets.—LDF, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/780696/another-manila-bay-reclamation-project- scores-pcc-approval/story/

AFP HQ lockdown remains until Covid-19 situation improves

By Priam Nepomuceno March 22, 2021, 4:18 pm

MANILA – Lockdown of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City will remain until the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) situation improves.

"The lockdown of Camp Aguinaldo that took effect 8 o'clock in the morning of 21 March 2021 will be in force until the rise of Covid-19 infection has been contained and the health situation improves," AFP spokesperson Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement Monday. He added that a string of 83 fresh Covid-19 cases from March 17 to 21 has prompted AFP chief, Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, to order the lockdown.

"This measure will restrict entry and exit of all AFP personnel and workers in concessionaires inside the General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo," Arevalo said.

He added military personnel will be confined inside the camp and may leave only with proper authority.

Relatedly, Arevalo said that only those with official transactions inside the camp will be allowed to enter.

"Families and dependents of military personnel residing inside (the) camp are also covered by the lockdown," he added.

Only those between ages 21-59 who are essential workers may be allowed to leave their military-provided housing facilities provided they present relevant office and work identification cards.

"However, operations and delivery of services by military units and offices inside camp will continue unhampered. At least 50 percent of the workforce will personally man their offices. All civilian personnel, except those who by nature of their job requires personal presence, are to work from home," Arevalo said.

He added that as of March 21, Covid-19 infection in the AFP was placed at 7,342 with 870 active cases, 6,424 recoveries, and 48 deaths. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134454

AFP lists 870 active COVID-19 cases; Camp Aguinaldo stays locked down

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reached 870 as the lockdown imposed on the Philippine military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City stayed in effect, AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said Monday.

In a statement, Arevalo also said that as of March 21, AFP recorded 7,342 total cases of COVID-19 among its personnel, including 6,424 recoveries and 48 fatalities. There were 83 fresh cases documented from March 17 to 21 this year, which led to Camp Aguinaldo's lockdown.

Arevalo added that the lockdown imposed on Camp Aguinaldo, which began last Sunday, March 21, would stay "until the rise of COVID-19 infection has been contained and the health situation improves. "

The spokesperson emphasized that the lockdown would not hamper the military's ability to deliver services.

Meanwhile, 50% of the AFP's workforce would be physically present in their offices. "All civilian personnel, except those who by nature of their job requires personal presence, are to work from home," Arevalo added.

All military personnel will be confined to the camp and would only be allowed to leave if given the proper authority.

"Relatedly, only those with official transactions inside camp will be allowed to enter," the military spokesman added.

The families and dependents of AFP personnel living inside the camp were also covered by the lockdown.

"Only those between ages 21-59 who are essential workers may be allowed to leave their military-provided housing facilities provided they present relevant Office/Wok IDs," Arevalo explained.

On Monday, the Philippines reported 8,019 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the total tally to 671,792. This included 80,790 active cases, 577,850 recoveries and 12,972 fatalities. — DVM, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/780682/afp-lists-870-active-covid-19-cases-camp- aguinaldo-stays-locked-down/story/ SC suspends March 23 oral arguments on 37 petitions vs. anti-terrorism law; resets to April 6

Published March 22, 2021, 4:04 PM by Rey Panaligan The Supreme Court (SC) suspended anew on Monday afternoon, March 22, the scheduled March 23 oral arguments on 37 petitions against the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020.

In an announcement, the SC reset the arguments to April 6. It said the suspension is “due to the alarming increase of COVID (coronavirus disease) cases.

The SC said early Monday morning, March 22, it has 33 active cases of COVID-19 infections among employees in its offices on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila.

Since the start of the arguments last Feb. 2, the legal debates had been suspended last Feb. 23, and March 9 and 16 as preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.

Oral arguments are done on-site at the SC’s full court session hall. Only authorized persons are allowed inside the hall.

After four sessions, the petitioners have completed the presentation of their arguments on the alleged unconstitutionality of ATA.

The side of the government will be presented when the oral arguments resume April 6.

All the 37 petitions asked the SC to declare ATA, under Republic Act No. 11479, unconstitutional in its entirety.

Also, all the petitions sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) that could stop the law’s implementation which started on July 18, 2020.

The SC is yet to tackle the pleas for TRO which were reiterated by several petitioners during the past oral arguments.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/sc-suspends-march-23-oral-arguments-on-37-petitions-vs-anti- terrorism-law-resets-to-april-6/

2 NPA, soldier killed in Bukidnon clash

Published March 22, 2021, 4:03 PM by Mike Crismundo BUTUAN CITY – Two New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and a soldier were killed in an encounter in Sitio Kimutya, Barangay San Rafael, Talakag, Bukidnon Saturday.

Army 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division Public Affairs Office chief Major Rodulfo S. Cordero Jr. said troops of the 1st Special Forces Battalion under the Army 403rd Infantry (Peacemaker) Brigade mounted security operations after receiving reports that the NPA was conducting extortion activities in the area.

Along the way, they encountered 70 NPA rebels from the Guerrilla Front 68-B of the SRSDG WEI Sub-Regional Committee 4 of the CPP-NPA North Central Mindanao Regional Committee and a gunfight ensued.

Two NPA rebels and a soldier were killed while several other communist guerrillas and two soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Battalion were wounded in the four-hour gunfight that started 9:35 a.m. and ended at 1:40 p.m.

The identities of the two slain rebels were not immediately known while the name of the government fatality was temporarily withheld pending notification of next of kin. The cadavers of the two NPA rebels have been turned over to the barangay captain of San Rafael for proper disposition.

The two wounded soldiers are already in safe condition, Cordero said.

Recovered in the encounter site were four M16 Armalite rifles, one AK47 rifle, bomb- making materials, including three improvised explosive devices and seven blasting caps, six combat packs, seven caliber 40mm HE ammunitions, 1 rifle grenade, two commercial radios, one solar panel, two bandoliers, four long magazines for M16 rifle, four short magazines for M16 rifle, three magazines for AK47 rifle, assorted surgical and medical supplies, and enemy documents.

“Our operating troops in the area are still pursuing the fleeing communist terrorists,” Corpuz said. “They (pursuing troops) are still tacking the bloodstain of the running rebels,” he added.

Lt. Col. Vercisio G. San Jose Jr., commanding officer of the 1st Special Forces Battalion, is spearheading the hot pursuit operations in the hinterlands of Sitio Kimutya.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/2-npa-soldier-killed-in-bukidnon-clash/

DepEd urged to cancel ‘face-to-face red-tagging’ seminars in Mindoro schools

Published March 22, 2021, 2:19 PM by Merlina Hernando-Malipot

A teachers’ federation has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to “cancel” the scheduled face-to-face seminars of the National Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in Mindoro schools.

Citing information from the letters submitted by the military to local DepEd heads, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said that DepEd must “prohibit these activities” in line with its own department orders and memoranda.

“We call on DepEd to do its mandate and ensure that schools are free from military interference and operations,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said.

ACT said that DepEd – as stated in its Department Order (DO) no. 44 series of 2005 and DO 32 series of 2019 – schools should be considered as “zones of peace.” Given this, the group called also President Duterte to “pull out his troops” from schools.

“Immediately bar these activities from taking place in our schools and in DepEd office,” Basilio told DepEd. “Otherwise, you’ll have enabled these soldiers to commit more crimes against teachers, staff, and even students,” he added.

ACT Region IV-B union vice-president Kristy Borbe said that teachers already “fear for their health and safety” on a regular basis – especially with inadequate preventive health measures in their workplaces and the worst spike yet in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

The welfare of teachers, Borbe said, is already suffering due to the extensive demands of a “poorly implemented” distance learning. “You want us to attend face-to-face seminar of the military and for what, so we can listen to them arbitrarily redtag our union and violate our rights and freedoms? This must be stopped,” she added.

ACT argued that teachers are already overwhelmed with heavy workload doubled by the blended modes of learning, while being exposed daily to the worsening health crisis as they perform their duties and responsibilities. “They need not be subjected to more hostile work conditions with the presence of state forces at schools,” the group added.

The group also reminded DepEd of the aftermaths of allowing terrorist-tagging to “go on with impunity.” ACT noted that schools and DepEd offices must also be “demilitarized as part of pushing back against military encroachment on civilian agencies and spaces.”

Amid the surging number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, ACT also slammed the how “rabid the government is in forwarding its fascist agenda even in the education sector” – which it had abandoned throughout this health crisis.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/deped-urged-to-cancel-face-to-face-red-tagging-seminars-in-mindoro- schools/

Xi tells Kim Jong Un he will work for peace on peninsula

Leaders of China and North Korea exchange messages

Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walk during Xi's visit in Pyongyang in June 2019. © Reuters

March 22, 2021 23:07 JST

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Beijing will work to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Kim, for his part, told Xi that North Korea is eager to strengthen ties with China and that their friendly relations will be developed in accordance with the requirements of the times and their aspirations, according to the news agency.

The remarks by the leaders were exchanged at a meeting on Monday in Beijing between Song Tao, head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Ri Ryong Nam, North Korea's new ambassador to China, Xinhua said.

The meeting was held after U.S. foreign and defense chiefs agreed last week with Japanese and South Korean counterparts, respectively, that they should join hands to stand guard against China's rise in the region and tackle North Korea's nuclear threat.

As their ties with the United States have shown few signs of improvement soon since President Joe Biden took office in January, China and North Korea are expected to deepen their cooperation to resist political pressure from the new U.S. administration.

U.S.-North Korea negotiations on denuclearization and sanctions relief have been at a standstill, while Beijing and Washington are at loggerheads over several matters, including trade, state-of- the-art technology and alleged human rights abuses. Top diplomats from the United States and China held two-day talks from Thursday in Alaska -- the first in-person contact between high-level officials of the two countries since the change of U.S. administration.

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, acknowledged that they had "candid" discussions during the gathering, but they failed to make significant progress in improving bilateral relations.

As for U.S.-North Korea ties, Biden's predecessor Donald Trump met with Kim three times in 2018 and 2019 in the hope of convincing Pyongyang to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Negotiations, however, made little progress during Trump's four years in the White House that ended on Jan. 20 this year, with the two nations at odds over issues such as the degree of sanctions relief Pyongyang should receive for taking denuclearization steps.

On Thursday, North Korea pledged to ignore U.S. attempts to hold bilateral talks unless Washington withdraws its hostile policy toward Pyongyang, rapping the Biden administration for trying to use North Korea-U.S. contact as a "means for gaining time."

North Korea and the United States have no diplomatic relations.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Xi-tells-Kim-Jong-Un-he-will-work-for-peace- on-peninsula

North Korea seeks to strengthen its ties to China, even as it ignores US

• Pyongyang’s new ambassador to China delivers pledge by Kim Jong-un to develop a relationship with Beijing that will be ‘envied by the world’ • Exchange comes as White House says Pyongyang has not responded to overtures from new Biden administration

North Korea has made overtures to China to strengthen their ties, while not responding to US efforts to resume a relationship. Photo: AFP

While Washington under the new US administration struggles to communicate with Pyongyang, an isolated North Korea has pledged to strengthen its ties with neighbouring China into a relationship

Ri“envied Ryong- by the world”. leader Kim Jong-un when Ri met on Monday with Song Tao, director of the International Liaison Departmentnam, (IDL), North an Korea’sagency undernew ambassador the Central toCommittee China, conveyed of the Chinese that message Commun fromist NorthParty knownKorean for its central role in policymaking towards North Korea.

North Korea was on the agenda of the first high-level US-China face-to-face meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, last week. According to White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki, US President

Joe Biden ed to communicate with North Korea since last month through various channels but Pyongyang has so far not responded. ’s administration has tri

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3126513/north-korea-seeks-strengthen-its-ties-china-even- it-ignores-us

North Korea Tells China They Should Team Up on 'Hostile Forces' as Both Face Biden

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 3/22/21 AT 6:46 PM EDT 00:29

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Visits China For Third Time This Year

SHARE Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on PinterestShare on RedditShare on FlipboardShare via EmailComments

WO RLDI N TE RNA TIO NA L AF F AI RSN O RTH KOREA KIM J ONG UN CH IN A

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un reportedly praised his country's close ties with neighboring China, looking to boost their ties as both deal with hostile policies from the United States. Kim's message first appeared on China's state-run Xinhua News Network, which reported Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had exchanged spoken messages with the North Korean ruler via representatives of China, officially the People's Republic of China, and North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The exchange was then carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim informed Xi of the results of his ruling Korean Workers' Party 8th Party Congress in January, "as required by the times that call for intensifying the strategic communication between the two parties on the basis of deep comradeship."

The event, according to Kim, "set forth scientific and realistic struggle lines and strategic and tactical tasks for achieving a fresh innovation in the Party and state affairs, as required by the changed internal and external situations and reality."

He said the affair "took practical measures to strengthen the leadership and fighting efficiency of the Party, bring about its sound development and consolidate the state and social system, and fixed the direction of the advance and struggle policies of the Korean revolution, including discussion of and decision on the economic strategy and a new long-term plan in the current stage."

Kim also touched upon Pyongyang's recent turn on Washington and Seoul.

"Informing in detail that the WPK discussed and decided on its policy stand on the bolstering of defence capabilities of the country, the inter-Korean relations and the DPRK-U.S. relations after an in-depth study and analysis of the situations of the Korean peninsula and the international relations," Kim's message "stressed the need to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the two parties and two countries to cope with the hostile forces' all-round challenges and obstructive moves."

Kim said it was the will of his party and people "to vigorously advance the cause of socialism by dint of friendship and unity, the message expressed belief that the cooperation between the two parties would continue to go well and the friendly relations between the two countries would grow stronger, as required by the times and in conformity with the desires, wishes and core interests of the two peoples this significant year."

2021 is set to mark the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party as well as the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, the only defense treaty either country have with any other nation.

Kim finally "wished Xi Jinping good health and bigger success in performing his heavy duty of leading the CPC and the Chinese people," according to the Korean Central News Agency's account.

Xinhua and other Chinese state-run media outlets offered their own narrative of the messages, which were reportedly conveyed through senior diplomats.

In remarks delivered by North Korean ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam, Kim "gave a comprehensive briefing" of the 8th Party Congress, and praised Xi's leadership of his Chinese Communist Party, under which "the Chinese people have succeeded in combating the global public health crisis and made remarkable achievements in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the struggle for the complete eradication of poverty," according to Xinhua.

Kim took "the unswerving position" on behalf of himself, the Korean Workers' Party and the people of North Korea "to strengthen and develop DPRK-China relations into an envy of the world, and push forward the socialist cause with friendship and solidarity, adding that the DPRK side firmly believes that DPRK-China friendly relations will be lifted and developed in accordance with the requirements of the times as well as the aspirations, wishes and fundamental interests of the two peoples."

Chinese Communist Party International Department Minister Song Tao, speaking for Xi congratulated Kim for his Party Congress and "said that the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a precious treasure shared by the two parties, two countries and two peoples."

"Under the new situation, the Chinese side stands ready to work with the DPRK comrades to maintain, consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations, and strive to achieve new outcomes in the socialist causes of both countries, so as to bring more benefits to both peoples," he added.

Xi took note that "the world is now undergoing transformations rarely seen in a century, which is overlapped by the once-in-a-century pandemic," and said events across Asia and the globe also presented "profound changes."

"The Chinese side is willing to work with the DPRK side and other related parties to stick to the direction of political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and preserve peace and stability on the peninsula," Xi said, "so as to make new and positive contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity."

China and North Korea's close ties date back to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, and the outbreak of the Korean War in the latter a year later, a conflict in which Chinese troops supported North Korean forces, with the backing of the Soviet Union, against South Korea and a U.S.-led United Nations coalition. The fighting ended with a stalemate and the establishment of an armistice but no official peace, a situation that continues to this day.

Beijing has since proven to be by far Pyongyang's closest foreign partner, though Chinese leadership has not endorsed the Kim dynasty's development of nuclear weapons.

China has offered to play a role in resolving ongoing hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, and the topic came up during the first-ever meeting between Chinese officials and U.S. delegates of President Joe Biden's administration. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the two sides "exchanged views" on the matter along with a number of others, "and agreed to maintain and enhance communication and coordination."

But public segments of the debut conversation were tense at times, with Washington's side leading off with some of the most controversial takes between the two top powers and seeking a "position of strength" in doing so.

Still, North Korea was also among the list of topics in which U.S.-China "interests intersect," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Friday following the conclusion of the Alaska dialogue. That same day, however, the North Korea Foreign Ministry issued a statement referencing the troubled history of Pyongyang and Washington, referred to as "the principal enemy of our state" in remarks echoing Kim's 8th Party Congress speech.

"The relations between the DPRK and the U.S.—the most hostile one on this planet—are technically in the state of war for over 70 years," the ministry said in a statement Friday, "and it turns out to be an undeniable reality."

The statement hit out at Malaysia over the unprecedented extradition of North Korean national Mun Chol Myong from the Southeast Asian country to the U.S. on financial fraud charges. In censuring Malaysia, the ministry also warned "in advance that the U.S.—the backstage manipulator and main culprit of this incident—that it will also be made to pay a due price."

The comments were just the latest in a series of harsh messages from North Korea. First Vice Minister Choe Son Hui confirmed on Thursday that Pyongyang had ignored overtures for talks from the Biden administration on Thursday on the grounds that Washington's "hostile policy" must first be reversed, and Korean Workers' Party Central Committee Vice Department Director Kim Yo Jong last week took "the opportunity to warn the new U.S. administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land."

"If it wants to sleep in peace for coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step," Kim Yo Jong, who is Kim Jong Un's sister, said of the Biden administration at the time.

The Biden administration has said it was reviewing the U.S. approach to North Korea after former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully sought to forge a denuclearization-for-peace and sanctions relief agreement with Kim Jong Un, and became the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean supreme leader.

"The United States is conducting a thorough interagency review of the U.S. policy towards North Korea, and we're also evaluating all the options available to address the increasing threat posed by North Korea as well as to its neighbors and, quite frankly, our international community," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Friday. "And we're going to continue to lead a structured and detailed policy process that has an integrated a diverse set of voices from the government as well as outside of the government, which includes think tanks and outside experts."

Biden had sent Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to South Korea and Japan just ahead of the U.S.-China talks in Alaska, and discussed a strategy for "the denuclearization of North Korea" on both stops. The phrase also came up earlier this month for the first time in the context of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a grouping that includes Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., all of whom have raised the alarm about a perceived threat posed by China.

State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter echoed this position on Monday when asked about the Mun's extradition.

"I'll just reiterate that the United States remains committed to denuclearizing North Korea, and any other details I would have to refer back," Porter told reporters during a regular briefing.

As for Kim Jong Un, his 8th Party Congress marked a departure from the failed rapprochement under Trump, and the ruler proclaimed North Korea would "adopt an adroit strategy toward the U.S. and steadily expand solidarity with the anti-imperialist, independent forces."

North Korea and China are among the 17 parties to sign on to an international grouping known as the "Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations," which earlier this month shared its call for additional members with Newsweek.

https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-china-team-hostile-forces-biden-1577933

Alaska summit: for China and the US, a narrow road through deep divisions

• Relations will get worse before they get better as each country regroups with allies and partners, observers say • The Anchorage meetings were a chance for each side to size the other up as they consider longer term plans

Top Chinese diplomats Yang Jiechi (right) and Wang Yi (left) had a chance in Anchorage to size up their American counterparts. Photo: AFP

The first high-level talks between China and the United States since US President Joe Bidentook office began with acrimony and ended with a consensus that observers say opens up a narrow path to cooperation between the two powers.

Senior officials from the two countries met in three sessions in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday and Friday.

After the meetings, both sides noted a gulf on many contentious issues, but pledged to work together in areas such as climate change, Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3126292/alaska-talks-china-and-us-narrow- road-through-deep-divisions

Exclusive: U.S. senators press Biden to set end date for gas-powered car sales By David Shepardson 4 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California’s two U.S. senators are urging President Joe Biden to set a firm date to phase-out gas-powered passenger vehicles as the White House grapples with how to rewrite vehicle emissions rules slashed under President Donald Trump.

In an unreported letter going to Biden Monday, Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein called on Biden “to follow California’s lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles.” They also urged Biden to restore California’s authority to set clean car standards.

In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing the state’s air resources agency to require all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035.

Biden’s campaign in 2020 declined to endorse a specific date to end gas-powered vehicle sales, but he has vowed to dramatically boost electric vehicles and charging stations.

In January, Biden said the administration would replace the federal government’s fleet of 650,000 vehicles “with clean electric vehicles made right here in America made by American workers.”

The senators also say Biden should use a compromise deal that California struck with automakers including Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG that falls between the Trump administration and Obama-era requirements.

“We believe the national baseline should, at an absolute minimum, be built around the technical lead set by companies that voluntarily advanced their agreements with California,” Padilla, who replaced Vice President Kamala Harris in the Senate, and Feinstein wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. “California and other states need a strong federal partner.”

Shortly after taking office, Biden ordered U.S. agencies to revisit fuel efficiency standards by July.

The Trump administration in March 2020 finalized a rollback of fuel economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts in Obama-administration rules it discarded.

Then President Donald Trump repeatedly targeted California, a Democratic bastion that tangled with Trump on multiple fronts during his tenure. The Center for Biological Diversity estimates the California deal improves fuel economy 3.7% year over year between 2022-2026.

Biden also directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by April to reconsider Trump’s 2019 decision to revoke California’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles.

A White House spokesman declined to comment Sunday on the timing of any announcement on California’s vehicle authority.

California’s vehicle emissions standards are followed by 13 other states and the District of Columbia accounting for more than 40% of the U.S. population.

In January, General Motors said it aspires to end all gasoline passenger car and truck sales by 2035. Volvo, a unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said its entire car line-up will be fully electric by 2030 and Ford’s European lineup will also be fully electric by 2030.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing major automakers, declined comment Sunday but last month backed nationwide rules to achieve vehicle emissions reductions roughly midway between the Trump and Obama standards.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-emissions-california-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-senators-press- biden-to-set-end-date-for-gas-powered-car-sales-idUSKBN2BE111

U.S. weighs next steps on China after talks, sanctions: White House By Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ with the PRC on a wide

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said it was evaluating its next steps toward China after testy talks in Alaska last week between key U.S. and Chinese officials and sanctions over alleged abuses in Xinjiang announced earlier on Monday.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, speaking to reporters at a briefing, said the United States cannot rule out any further actions on China and that it continued to have concerns about human rights related to China’s Xinjiang region.

“We continue to have grave concerns about China’s crimes against humanity and genocide on Uighurs in Xinjiang,” Psaki said, noting it was an issue that was raised both in Alaska as well as in a recent call between U.S. and Chinese Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

When pressed about future sanctions, Psaki left the door open.

“We will be evaluating what the appropriate next steps are in close coordination with our allies around the world,” she said. The remarks came after the first high-level U.S.-China meeting of the Biden administration got off to a fiery start in Alaska last week, with both sides leveling sharp rebukes of the others’ policies in a rare public display that underscored the level of bilateral tension.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-whitehouse/u-s-weighs-next-steps-on-china-after-talks- sanctions-white-house-idUSKBN2BE2HB

Russia's top diplomat starts China visit with call to reduce U.S. dollar use By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, Andrew Osborn 2 M I N R E A D Slideshow ( 3 images )

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov began a visit to China on Monday with a call for Moscow and Beijing to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar and Western payment systems to push back against what he called the West’s ideological agenda.

Lavrov, on a two-day visit to China, is expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart at a time when both countries’ ties with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden are badly strained.

U.S. and Chinese officials on Friday concluded what Washington called “tough and direct” talks in Alaska, while Russia’s ambassador arrived back in Moscow on Sunday for consultations after Biden said he believed President Vladimir Putin was a killer.

Russia is also braced for a new round of U.S. sanctions over what Washington says was its meddling in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which Moscow denies.

Speaking to Chinese media before the start of his visit, Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing were compelled to develop independently of Washington in order to thwart what he said were U.S. attempts to curb their technological development.

“We need to reduce sanctions risks by bolstering our technological independence, by switching to payments in our national currencies and global currencies that serve as an alternative to the dollar,” Lavrov said, according to a transcript of his interview released on Monday.

“We need to move away from using international payment systems controlled by the West.”

Ahead of his visit, a Chinese state newspaper, The Global Times, suggested Lavrov’s trip was a sign of how close China-Russia coordination would offset the impact of what it called “U.S. troublemaking.”

“The timing of Lavrov’s visit is noteworthy as it means Russia is the first country China shares information and opinions with on key issues after the China-US face-to-face communication,” it said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-china-usa/russias-top-diplomat-starts-china-visit-with-call- to-reduce-u-s-dollar-use-idUSKBN2BE0XH

Russia, China can reduce sanctions risks by moving away from US dollar, Sergey Lavrov says

• Russian foreign minister says the nations should work together and strengthen self- reliance in science and technology • He made the remarks ahead of talks with his counterpart Wang Yi in the southern Chinese city of Guilin

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks to Chinese state media ahead of his two-day visit. Photo: Xinhua

Moscow and Beijing should work together to resist American sanctions by becoming more self-reliant in

Foreignscience andMinister technology Sergey and Lavrov moving made away the fromremarks the inUS an dollar interview for trade, with Russia’s Chinese top state diplomat media aheadsaid. of his arrival in Guilin on Monday afternoon, where he will meet his counterpart Wang Yi.Lavrov called sanctions imposed by the West against China and Russia should be cooperation. “unwise”, but said the two nations’ response

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3126466/russia-china-can-reduce-sanctions- risks-moving-away-us-dollars

Espionage trial starts for second Canadian detained in China

PUBLISHED : 22 MAR 2021 AT 09:45 WRITER: AFP

Jim Nickel, from Canada's Beijing embassy (left), told reporters that the trial had started and that diplomats had been denied permission to attend.

BEIJING: The trial for Michael Kovrig, the Canadian detained more than two years ago in China on espionage charges, started on Monday, with relations between Ottawa and Beijing in freefall.

The hearing comes days after the closed-door trial of another Canadian man, with both detained in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest on a US extradition warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

On Monday police cordoned off an area outside the Beijing court as Canadian diplomats were denied entry and turned away.

Kovrig, a former diplomat, was detained in 2018 and formally charged last June with spying at the same time as his compatriot, businessman Michael Spavor.

Amid new lockdowns, EU threatens AZ export ban Overseas fans barred from Tokyo Games Record rains batter Sydney area Jim Nickel, the charge d'affaires of the Canadian embassy in Beijing, told reporters that the hearing had started and that access for diplomats "has been denied."

"We're very troubled by the lack of access and lack of transparency in the legal process," he said.

A court official told reporters no entry was allowed because the trial is a national security case.

Representatives of 26 countries had gathered outside the building on Monday, Nickel said, and were "lending their voice" for Kovrig's immediate release.

The US is "deeply concerned at the lack of minimum procedural protections granted the two Canadian citizens", William Klein, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Beijing, told media outside the court.

Canadian diplomats were also barred from attending Spavor's trial in the northern city of Dandong on Friday, which lasted less than three hours and ended without any verdict being announced.

Following that closed-door hearing, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed the two men's detention as "completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings."

The cases have sent relations between Ottawa and Beijing to their lowest point in decades.

The court dates for the two Canadians come as an extradition hearing for Meng enters its final months, and alongside fiery high-level talks between the US and China in Alaska.

Meng, whose father is Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, has been fighting extradition to the US on charges that she and the company violated US sanctions on Iran and other laws.

Canada's former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, told AFP he expected Kovrig's trial to also be short.

"China does not even try to make this look like a real trial as evidence is not shared with the defence and the judge does not even take the time to review it," he said ahead of the hearing.

"It just confirms that the process is pre-ordained by the Communist Party and this is a political case."

China's judicial system convicts most people who stand trial and the two men face up to life in prison if found guilty of "espionage" and "providing state secrets".

They have had almost no contact with the outside world since their detention, and virtual consular visits only resumed in October after a nine-month hiatus that authorities said was due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beijing has insisted the detention of the two Canadians is lawful, while calling Meng's case "a purely political incident".

"The message to the USA is: if you want to help the Canadians, make sure that Meng is returned quickly to China," said Saint-Jacques.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2087707/espionage-trial-starts-for-second-canadian-detained-in- china

Democracy activists freed from Chinese jail back in custody in Hong Kong By Jessie Pang 3 MIN READ

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Eight Hong Kong democracy activists, jailed in China last year after being captured at sea, arrived back in the city and were immediately detained on Monday in a case that has drawn international attention and concern over their treatment.

They were among 12 activists facing charges in Hong Kong over pro-democracy protests, who were intercepted by mainland authorities in August 2020 on a boat allegedly en route to Taiwan.

They were sent home to Hong Kong on Monday after serving a sentence in China for illegally crossing the border, only to be detained on arrival on the previous Hong Kong charges.

Activist and barrister Chow Hang-tung, speaking on behalf of a concern group for the defendants, said she was unhappy with the handover arrangements for them.

“(Authorities) never communicated with the family about the whole arrangement so the family members are forced to come here and wait all day until now,” Chow said at a press briefing outside a Hong Kong police station close to the mainland border.

“Just for the very thin hope of seeing their families, waving to them, shouting to them, even till now, they still haven’t had any chance to meet their sons.”

Johnny Patterson, policy director for rights group Hong Kong Watch, said the “appalling ordeal” the group faced “shines a spotlight on the draconian new normal in Hong Kong.”

“It’s a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire.”

Among the eight is Andy Li, arrested under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the Asian financial hub in June 2020 that critics say is aimed at crushing dissent.

In December, a Chinese court sentenced 10 of the 12 to between seven months and three years in jail. Defendants Tang Kai-yin and Quinn Moon, who were sentenced to three and two years, respectively, are still in southern Guangdong province.

Two minors who were among the 12 pleaded guilty to illegally crossing the border and were returned to Hong Kong in December. During the detention of the 12 in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, mainland authorities denied their families and lawyers access, insisting they be represented by officially appointed lawyers, provoking criticism from rights groups.

Pro-democracy activists began fleeing Hong Kong for Taiwan from the early months of the protests in 2019, most legally by air, but some by boat, activists in Taipei have told Reuters.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of freedoms not seen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and assembly. Democracy activists complain that Communist Party rulers in Beijing are whittling away at those freedoms, a charge China rejects.

Since Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong, scores of democracy campaigners have been arrested, some elected legislators have been disqualified and others have fled overseas.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-security/democracy-activists-freed-from-chinese-jail- back-in-custody-in-hong-kong-idUSKBN2BE0SC

U.S., Canada, UK call on China to end 'repression' in Xinjiang By Reuters Staff 1 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and Great Britain denounced China on Monday for what they described as Beijing’s “repressive practices” against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

“We stand united and call for justice for those suffering in Xinjiang,” the three countries foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-eu-statement/u-s-canada-uk-call-on-china-to-end- repression-in-xinjiang-idUSKBN2BE2SP

US, EU, UK, Canada launch sanctions blitz against Chinese officials; Beijing hits back

• Chinese individuals targeted over alleged human rights abuses in the far western region • China hits back with sanctions on 10 European individuals and four entities

The US, EU, UK and Canada banded together to sanction Chinese officials over suspected human rights abuses in Xinjiang on Monday, a dramatic escalation in tensions with Beijing and a clear sign that the new

Joe Biden administration plans to wield its alliances as a powerful tool to counter an increasingly assertive

China. commit ge who will“Amid meet growing with European international Union condemnation, (EU) and Natoofficials the PRC in[People’s Brussels Republic this week. of China] continues to demonstratenocide our ongoingand crimes commitment against humanity to working in Xinjiang,” multilaterally said US to Secretaryadvance respec of Statet for Antony human Blinken, rights “These actions and shining a light on those in the PRC government and CCP responsible for these atrocities,” he said.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3126487/xinjiang-eu-hits-china-first-sanctions- tiananmen-square?li_source=LI&li_medium=asia_section_top_picks_for_you

By Robin Emmott EU, China impose tit-for-tat sanctions over Xinjiang abuses

4 MIN READ

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on four Chinese officials, including a top security director, for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, to which Beijing responded with its own sanctions on Europeans.

[Captions auto-generated & unedited.]

The European Union imposed sanctions

Unlike the United States, the EU has sought to avoid confrontation with Beijing, but a decision to impose the first significant sanctions since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy crackdown indicates a change in posture.

The Netherlands summoned China’s ambassador to The Hague after Beijing announced its measures on 10 Europeans, while the European Parliament, along with German and Belgian and other foreign ministers, rejected the Chinese retaliation.

Accused of mass detentions of Muslim Uighurs in northwestern China, those targeted by the EU included Chen Mingguo, the director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. The EU said Chen was responsible for “serious human rights violations.”

In its Official Journal, the EU accused Chen of “arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uighurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief”.

Others hit with travel bans and asset freezes were: senior Chinese officials Wang Mingshan and Wang Junzheng, the former deputy party secretary in Xinjiang, Zhu Hailun, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau.

However, the EU did not designate the top official in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, who is targeted by U.S. sanctions.

RELATED COVERAGE

U.S. weighs next steps on China after talks, sanctions: White House

China hits back at EU with sanctions on 10 people, four entities over Xinjiang

Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least 1 million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang. The activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations. China denies rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Beijing’s retaliation included sanctions on European lawmakers, the EU’s main foreign policy decision-making body known as the Political and Security Committee and two institutes.

German politician Reinhard Butikofer, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation to China, was among the most high profile figures to be hit. The non-profit Alliance of Democracies Foundation, founded by former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was on the list, according to a statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“As long as human rights are being violated, I cannot stay silent. These sanctions prove that China is sensitive to pressure. Let this be an encouragement to all my European colleagues: Speak out!” Dutch lawmaker Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, who was put on China’s sanctions list, said on Twitter.

Restricted from entering China or doing business with it, Beijing accused them of seriously harming the country’s sovereignty and interests over Xinjiang. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the EU to “correct its mistake” and not to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

While mainly symbolic, the EU sanctions mark a significant hardening in the bloc’s policy towards China, which Brussels long regarded as a benign trading partner but now views as a systematic abuser of basic rights and freedoms.

The EU had not sanctioned China significantly since 1989 although it targeted two computer hackers and a technology firm in 2020 as part of broader cyber sanctions. The arms embargo is still in place. All 27 EU governments agreed to the punitive measures, but Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, called them “harmful” and “pointless.”

China is the EU’s second-largest trading partner after the United States and Beijing is both a big market and a major investor which has courted poorer and central European states.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-china-sanctions/eu-agrees-china-sanctions-over-xinjiang- abuses-first-in-three-decades-idUSKBN2BE1AI

West sanctions China over Xinjiang abuses, Beijing hits back at EU By Robin Emmott, David Brunnstrom 7 MIN READ

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new U.S. President Joe Biden.

Beijing hit back immediately with punitive measures against the EU that appeared broader, including European lawmakers, diplomats, institutes and families, and banning their businesses from trading with China.

Western governments are seeking to hold Beijing accountable for mass detentions of Muslim Uighurs in northwestern China, where the United States says China is committing genocide.

China denies all accusations of abuse.

The coordinated effort appeared to be early fruit in a concerted U.S. diplomatic push to confront China in league with allies, a core element of Biden’s still evolving China policy.

Senior U.S. administration officials have said they are in daily contact with governments in Europe on China-related issues, something they call the “Europe roadshow.”

“Amid growing international condemnation, (China) continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in statement ahead of meetings with EU and NATO ministers in Brussels this week.

Canada’s foreign ministry said: “Mounting evidence points to systemic, state-led human rights violations by Chinese authorities.”

Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least 1 million Muslims have been detained in camps in Xinjiang. The activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations. China says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

The European Union was the first to impose sanctions on Monday on four Chinese officials, including a top security director, and one entity, a decision later mirrored by Britain and Canada.

Those also targeted by the United States were Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau and another senior official in the region, Wang Junzheng. The United States had already last year designated for sanctions the top official in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, who was not targeted by the other Western allies on Monday, to avoid a larger diplomatic dispute, experts and diplomats said.

The foreign ministers of Canada and Britain issued a joint statement with Blinken, saying the three were united in demanding that Beijing end its “repressive practices” in Xinjiang.

FILE PHOTO: Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Evidence of abuses was “overwhelming”, including satellite imagery, eyewitness testimony, and the Chinese government’s own documents, they said.

Separately, the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand issued a statement expressing “grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang” and welcoming the measures announced by Canada, the European Union, Britain and the United States.

The EU accused Chen Mingguo of “arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uighurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief”.

Others hit with travel bans and asset freezes were: senior Chinese officials Wang Mingshan, the former deputy party secretary in Xinjiang, Zhu Hailun, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau.

The EU has sought to avoid confrontation with Beijing and Monday’s sanctions were the first significant measures since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, although Brussels targeted two computer hackers and a technology firm in 2020 as part of broader cyber sanctions.

The steps were praised by the United States. “A united transatlantic response sends a strong signal to those who violate or abuse international human rights,” Blinken said.

While mainly symbolic, the EU sanctions mark a hardening towards China, which Brussels regarded as a benign trading partner but now views as a systematic abuser of rights and freedoms.

Britain has repeatedly denounced torture, forced labour and sterilisations that it says are taking place on an “industrial scale” in Xinjiang and repeated its criticism of Beijing on Monday.

‘POINTLESS’ Beijing’s reprisal was swift.

Retaliation included sanctions on European lawmakers, the EU’s main foreign policy decision-making body known as the Political and Security Committee and two institutes.

On Tuesday, China also summoned the EU ambassador, Nicolas Chapuis, to lodge a “solemn protest” and demand that the bloc correct its error to prevent further damage to relations.

“The so-called sanctions based on lies are not acceptable,” Wang Yi, foreign minister and state councillor, said separately during a joint briefing with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

German politician Reinhard Butikofer, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation to China, was among the most high-profile figures to be hit. The non-profit Alliance of Democracies Foundation, founded by former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was on the list, according to a statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Also included was Adrian Zenz, a German scholar whose research was cited by the State Department last year when highlighting alleged abuses in Xinjiang.

The Netherlands summoned China’s ambassador to The Hague after Beijing announced its measures on 10 Europeans, while the European Parliament, along with German, Dutch, Belgian and other foreign ministers, rejected the Chinese retaliation.

“These sanctions prove that China is sensitive to pressure,” Dutch lawmaker Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, who was put on China’s sanctions list, said on Twitter. “Let this be an encouragement to all my European colleagues: Speak out!”

Restricted from entering China or doing business with it, Beijing accused its targets of seriously harming the country’s sovereignty over Xinjiang.

All 27 EU governments agreed to the bloc’s punitive measures, but Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, called them “harmful” and “pointless”.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-eu-sanctions/west-sanctions-china-over-xinjiang-abuses- beijing-hits-back-at-eu-idUSKBN2BE2MC

defends Wolf Warriors in public row with French scholarChina’s embassy in Paris attacks ‘mad dogs’ and

• Diplomatic triangle of Beijing, Paris and Taipei gives rise to Twitter barbs and screed over ‘anti-China provocations’ • Research fellow Antoine Bondaz urges Beijing to ‘stop before it has gone too far’

France released a long screed defending its critic - interestsChina’s embassy and international in image. ism of a French scholar for “anti China provocations” and maintaining that its aggressive tactics were necessary to defend Beijing’s The harshly worded statement, published on th stify the

e embassy’s website on Sunday, sought to ju mission’s attack on Antoine Bondaz, a research fellow at the French think tank Foundation for Strategic TheResearch, insult ascame a “petite frappe”, a derogatory term in French meaning “little thug”. Alain plans toin visitresponse Taiwan to Bondaz’sthis summer tweet to the Chinese embassy offering “a big kiss to you and your trolls”, after the French foreign ministry said it would not interfere in French Senator .Richard’s

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3126472/chinas-embassy-paris-attacks-mad- dogs-and-defends-wolf

France to summon Chinese envoy over threats, insults By Reuters Staff 3 MIN READ

PARIS (Reuters) -France’s foreign ministry has summoned China’s ambassador over repeated insults and threats aimed at French lawmakers and a researcher and a decision by Beijing to sanction officials across the European Union.

FILE PHOTO: French European and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian speaks during a joint press conference in Paris, France March 11, 2021. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

“The words of the Chinese Embassy in France and the actions against European elected officials, researchers and diplomats are inadmissible,’ Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wrote on Twitter on Monday. “I requested that the Chinese ambassador be summoned to remind him firmly of these messages.”

The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new U.S President Joe Biden.

China’s ambassador Lu Shaye had already been summoned by the French foreign ministry last April over posts and tweets by the embassy defending Beijing’s response to the pandemic and criticising the West’s handling of the outbreak.

The embassy wrote in a Tweet that the ambassador would go to the foreign ministry on Tuesday to discuss the EU sanctions and questions linked to Taiwan.

His embassy last week warned against French lawmakers meeting officials during an upcoming visit to self-ruled Taiwan, drawing a rebuff from France..

Since then it has been in a Twitter face-off with Antoine Bondaz, a China expert at the Paris- based Foundation for Strategic Research, in which the embassy described him as a “small-time thug”.

Earlier on Monday, the embassy said the EU sanctions were based on lies and misinformation, which was an interference in China’s internal affairs.

The French foreign ministry said it would also summon the ambassador to protest the decision by the Chinese Foreign Ministry to sanction several European nationals, including French Member of the European Parliament Raphaël Glucksmann. “It is not by attacking academic freedom, freedom of expression and fundamental democratic freedoms that China will respond to the legitimate concerns of the European Union, nor that it will foster dialogue with the 27” countries in the EU, ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters in a daily briefing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-china/france-to-summon-chinese-envoy-over-threats- insults-idUSKBN2BE2O1

Australian parliament debates motion on rights abuses in China's Xinjiang By Reuters Staff 3 MIN READ

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s parliament debated on Monday a motion to condemn “systematic breaches” of human rights by China, saying other legislatures had described as genocide its actions towards Uighurs in the far western region of Xinjiang.

FILE PHOTO: A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Parliaments in Canada and the Netherlands drew rebukes from Beijing after they passed non-binding motions in February that said the treatment of China’s Uighur Muslim minority constituted genocide.

“The most egregious, systematic abuse of human rights in the world is occurring in Xinjiang,” said Kevin Andrews, a lawmaker of Australia’s ruling Liberal party, moving a private member’s motion that drew support from members of all major parties.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy said, “We flatly reject the ridiculous and absurd rhetoric on Xinjiang by a handful of MPs in today’s House session.”

It added, “Their allegations, based on disinformation and lies and out of political motive, were deliberately made to smear China.”

Andrews cited large-scale internment camps and accusations of forced labour among the reasons for the condemnation from the Dutch and Canadian parliaments, as well as Britain’s upper house and U.S. Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo and Antony Blinken.

Many have said, or questioned if, the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s programme contravened the United Nations’ genocide convention of 1948, he added.

Andrews’ motion urges Australia to enforce laws against modern slavery and identify supply chains that use forced labour. It was not immediately clear when it would be put to a vote.

A Labor MP said many of the 3,000 Uighurs in Australia lived in her electorate, and were desperate and anxious.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-china-human-rights/australian-parliament-debates- motion-on-rights-abuses-in-chinas-xinjiang-idUSKBN2BE0C2 China confronted by show of Western unity at Canadian’s trial • William Klein (right), acting deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and Jim Nickel, charge d'affaires of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, stand outside Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court where Michael Kovrig, a Canadian detained by China in December 2018 on suspicion of espionage, was standing trial, on Monday. | REUTERS • BLOOMBERG • SHARE • Mar 22, 2021 More than 20 Western diplomats staged a public show of unity outside a Canadian’s high-profile spying trial on Monday, highlighting their shared concern about the risk of arbitrary detention in the country.

Representatives from the U.S., the U.K., the European Union and numerous European countries were turned away en masse while attempting to attend the trial of Michael Kovrig. The International Crisis group analyst and a former Canadian diplomat was accused of spying on state secrets.

"Michael Kovrig has been arbitrarily detained for more than two years now, precisely 833 days,” Jim Nickel, the charge d’affaires at the Canadian Embassy, told reporters outside the court. "This is completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency in these court proceedings.”

Also present was William Klein, an official at the U.S. Embassy, who said the Washington stood "shoulder to shoulder” with Ottawa on the issue. The court cited national security as the reason for barring outside observers at the trial.

Kovrig’s hearing at the Beijing No. 2 People’s Intermediate Court comes days after a two-hour spying trial for another Canadian, Michael Spavor. China seized the pair in December 2018 after Canada detained Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou in response to a U.S. extradition request.

The U.S. is seeking the extradition of Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, to try her on fraud charges. China has linked the cases of the two men to Meng, with a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying last year that halting her extradition "could open up space for resolution to the situation of the two Canadians.”

The two trials were disclosed to Canadian diplomats just before to U.S. and Chinese diplomats met Thursday in Alaska for their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden’s election. Biden has said be wants to work with "like-minded countries” to forge a common approach to Beijing.

Canada sought access to the hearings under the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations and a two-way consular agreement it signed with China, which guarantees access to court proceedings against each other’s citizens. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying rejected Canada’s "interference,” telling a regular briefing Monday in Beijing that Ottawa should respect the country’s "judicial sovereignty.” Last month, Canada and 57 other governments signed a declaration against detaining each others’ citizens for geopolitical leverage, a move that was seen as aimed at nations like China and Iran. A spokesperson at China’s embassy in Ottawa said Beijing was unhappy with the campaign and that "ganging up” on countries was pointless. Spavor, who organized trips to North Korea, was tried Friday in the northeastern city of Dandong on charges of stealing and illegally providing state secrets to other countries. No verdict was announced after his brief hearing. Individuals convicted of serious violations of parts of the law cited by Chinese authorities face 10 years to life in prison.

Outside the courthouse in Beijing, uniformed police checked the IDs of journalists, while men who appeared to be plainclothes police walked around the area. Street- sweeping machines were busy through the morning, keeping crowds of reporters from amassing in front of the court.

Canada has criticized China’s handling of the two men’s cases. Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said his country is "deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings.” On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the situation "completely unacceptable.” The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa disputed those comments, with an unnamed spokesperson saying in a statement posted on the embassy website: "This is just fact- distorting.”

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/asia-pacific/crime-legal-asia-pacific/china-canada- kovrig-trial/

Tokyo prosecutors charge two Americans with helping Ghosn escape By Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ

TOKYO (Reuters) - Americans Michael Taylor and his son Peter could face jail terms of up to three years after Tokyo prosecutors charged them on Monday with illegally helping former Nissan Motor Co Ltd Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan more than a year ago.

Extradited by U.S. authorities this month, the U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and his son have been detained in the same prison in the Japanese capital where Ghosn was held.

In a statement, the Tokyo prosecutors’ office said the men knowingly helped Ghosn evade punishment and escape to Lebanon by hiding him in carry-on luggage aboard a private jet that departed from western Japan’s Kansai airport in Dec 2019.

The prosecutors did not say when they expect the trial to start. Japan’s conviction rate is 99%.

Ghosn remains a fugitive in his childhood home, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Japanese law does not allow suspects to have their lawyers present during questioning by prosecutors. Once charged, defendants are often refused bail by courts before trial.

Lawyers for the Taylors had waged a months-long battle to keep them from being sent to Japan, arguing they could not be prosecuted for helping someone to jump bail.

They also said they faced the prospect of relentless interrogation and torture.

The U.S. State Department rejected the torture claim as unlikely, and the U.S. Supreme Court last month cleared the way for their extradition.

Prosecutors said Michael Taylor, a 60-year-old private security specialist, and his 28-year-old son received $1.3 million for their services.

At the time of his escape, Ghosn was awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing charges, including understating his compensation in Nissan’s financial statements and enriching himself at his employer’s expense through payments to car dealerships. Ghosn denies wrongdoing.

Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive, is standing trial in Tokyo charged with helping Ghosn hide 9.3 billion yen ($85 million) in income.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ghosn-charge/tokyo-prosecutors-charge-two-americans- with-helping-ghosn-escape-idUSKBN2BE0G1

India-Pakistan detente continues with water-sharing talks By Sanjeev Miglani, Neha Arora 3 MIN READ NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and Pakistan are to hold the first meeting in three years on Tuesday of a commission on water rights from the Indus River in a further sign of rapprochement in relations frozen since 2019 during disputes over Kashmir.

The Permanent Indus Commission, set up in 1960, will meet for two days in New Delhi, according to two Indian officials involved with water issues and Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

Pakistan will raise objections to the technical designs of India’s planned Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydroelectric plants, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.

The Indus River, one of the world’s largest, and its tributaries feed 80 percent of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture.

The talks are the latest in both nations’ tentative efforts to re-engage after a 2019 suicide bomb in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based guerrillas and India’s move later that year to strip Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy.

Both nations are now focussed on coping with unprecedented economic downturns due to COVID-19.

Bloomberg news agency and Foreign Policy magazine have reported that the United Arab Emirates, with whom both India and Pakistan have close ties, may have played a role in secret efforts to achieve a detente.

Last month, India and Pakistan announced a rare agreement to stop firing on the bitterly- contested Kashmir border, which Bloomberg said was also the result of UAE-brokered talks. There was no immediate comment from India, Pakistan or the UAE to the Bloomberg report out on Monday.

At the water-sharing talks, both sides are expected to try and narrow differences over the hydro- projects, Indian officials said.

One of the Indian officials, who asked to remain unidentified, said the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai projects along with a couple of others - which Pakistan is concerned would hurt the flow of water downstream - were in line with the provisions of the treaty.

“We will discuss to allay those objections, we believe in an amicable resolution,” the official said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-pakistan/india-pakistan-detente-continues-with-water- sharing-talks-idUSKBN2BE1IN

EU, US impose sanctions on Myanmar as protests gain steam

• In Yangon, motorists honked car horns to mark the one-month anniversary of the launch of one of the biggest protests since the coup • Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visits Brunei to share ‘deep concerns’ over situation as he lays groundwork for Asean summit

Protesters honked car horns in Myanmar on Monday and planted posters in an empty square to avoid arrest, injury or death as the European Union placed junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on an assets freeze and visa ban blacklist over a coup and crackdown on demonstrators and the US also imposed sanctions.

-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing has been directly involved in and responsible for decision- making concerning state functions and is therefore responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of“Commander law in

Myanmar,” the EU said. authorities in the wake of the February 1 seizure of power. It said that the army chief was “directly responsible” for a brutal crackdown by the

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3126444/myanmar-holds-car-convoy- protests-singapore-foreign

Fearing Myanmar border battles, Thai kids taught to take cover By Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Thai army rangers Thailand’s northwest border have been training children to duck, crawl and take cover, readying them for a spillover of fighting if conflict between Myanmar troops and ethnic armies resumes.

Thai elementary school students were performing evacuation drills late last week and preparing them for clashes as opposition mounts against Myanmar’s military in the wake of its Feb. 1 coup and use of deadly forces against demonstrators.

A video seen by Reuters shows students walking along tracks then hitting the ground of a schoolyard in Mae Hong Son province at the command of rangers in uniforms and berets, who demonstrate techniques for keeping safe from gunfire.

More than two dozen ethnic armed groups are active in Myanmar’s borderlands, while the Karen National Union, one of the most prominent, has vowed to support the resistance movement.

Thai authorities are bracing for a surge of refugees and have set aside areas to shelter more than 43,000 people in Mae Sot district, according to plans seen by Reuters.

The coup has cast doubts on the military’s commitment to a nationwide ceasefire agreement with rebel armies, with which it shares a long and bitter history of conflict, worsened by allegations of atrocities by government troops against civilians. The junta has said it will respect the ceasefire.

Dozens of civil society organisations from Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state have joined condemnation of the coup in a further sign of ethnic minorities uniting against the army.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-thailand-evacuation/fearing-myanmar-border- battles-thai-kids-taught-to-take-cover-idUSKBN2BE1WG

Australia to rescue thousands as Sydney faces worst floods in 60 years By Jill Gralow, Renju Jose 4 MIN READ PITT TOWN, Australia (Reuters) - Australia was set on Monday to evacuate thousands more people from suburbs in Sydney’s west, battered by the worst flooding in 60 years, with torrential rains expected to continue for another day or two.

Reuters images showed submerged intersections, marooned livestock and cars up to their windshields in water, out of which poked the tops of street signs, as three days of rain swelled rivers in the most populous state of New South Wales (NSW).

“This is an ongoing situation that is evolving and is extremely dangerous,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament.

Two major insurers said most of the more than 3,300 claims they received concerned damage to property, with more expected. Suncorp and IAG said it was too early to estimate the final number of claims or costs.

Australia’s coal exports were disrupted, as the deluge shut rail lines into the port of Newcastle, the world’s largest coal export port, and forced some mines to cut output.

The rain submerging large swathes of the state contrasts with weather conditions a year ago, when authorities were battling drought and catastrophic bushfires.

“I don’t know any time in state history where we have had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.

Sunday was Sydney’s wettest day of the year, with almost 111 mm (4.4 inches) of rain, while nearly 900 mm (35 inches) was dumped in some north coast regions in the last six days, or more than three times the March average, government data showed.

The Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers flooded most of northwestern Sydney, leaving residents stranded.

“You get a lot of rubbish. It was going past...as fast as the ski boats go...As soon as it broke the banks, it was like a torrent,” said Larry Powers, after he was rescued by emergency services following a day’s wait at his property in Pitt Town.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-weather/australia-to-rescue-thousands-as-sydney-faces- worst-floods-in-60-years-idUSKBN2BE011

Singapore weighs in on US-China talks, urges Asean to focus on own interests if tensions escalate

• Deputy PM Heng Swee Keat says the Alaska discussions are a ‘step in the right direction’ that shows a mutual recognition of the need for dialogue and cooperation • He urged Asean nations to work with both parties while emphasising the bloc’s interests and its ‘ability to make choices for ourselves’

Singapore -to-face talks between the United States and China ’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday said the first face Asean had to remain united as it navigated the shiftingunder political the Biden tides. administration were a “step in the right direction”, though direction.he warned The that meeting the global showed order a was recognition transiting from through both “choppiersides on the seas” need and for that dialogue and said Heng, who was delivering a keynote address“Despite at a conference the tough organised rhetoric, byit is Credit a step S uisse.in the right important that they persevere maintain open channels of communication, find a way forwardcooperation,” to deal with their differences, and manage the te “It is – nsions and frictions.”

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126424/singapore-weighs-us-china-talks-urges- asean-focus-own-interests

Singapore foreign minister to visit three Southeast Asian countries By Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit Brunei Darussalam on Monday, after which he will go to Malaysia and Indonesia, the foreign affairs ministry said.

FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan speaks at the 15th ASEAN Lecture on "ASEAN: Next 50" at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

The minister’s visit reaffirmed the close and longstanding special relationship between Singapore and Brunei, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not specify any other reason for the visits, but last week Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for an end to bloodshed in military-ruled Myanmar and for Southeast Asian leaders to hold a high-level meeting to try to find a way out of the country’s escalating crisis.

Balakrishnan is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on Tuesday for a two-day visit, where he is expected to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues with counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia’s foreign ministry said.

“Both foreign ministers will also explore post COVID-19 collaboration, including reciprocal vaccination certification, which will benefit both the nations,” it said in a statement.

Balakrishnan is also scheduled to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Brunei is currently chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Myanmar, which is a member of ASEAN, has been locked in crisis since the elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1 was overthrown by the military, bringing an end to 10 years of tentative democratic reform.

At least 250 people have now been killed since the military coup, according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group.

A meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on March 2 to discuss the crisis failed to make a breakthrough.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-singapore/singapore-foreign-minister-to-visit- three-southeast-asian-countries-idUSKBN2BE0DG

Exclusive | Sri Lanka is not renegotiating Hambantota port lease deal with China, ambassador says

• If there are talks going on, the two sides are ‘whispering … so that nobody else hears’, Palitha Kohona says • Envoy also denies claims Sri Lanka is sliding into a debt trap, saying China accounts for just 10 per cent of its outstanding borrowing extend a 99-year lease it granted to Beijing to run Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China has dismissed suggestions the South Asian country is planning to Hambantota port. s ongoing power struggles with the United States and PalithaIndia. Kohona said in an interview that his country would “never be an unsinkable aircraft carrier posing a threat to anyone else”, referring to China’ a potential key maritime hub in the Indian Ocean. Colombo agreed to hand over the running of the port inHambantota’s 2017 when itlocation was unable at the to southern make the tip repayments of Sri Lanka, on overlook the Chineseing South loans Asia’sused to vital devel seaop lanes, it. makes it

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3126378/sri-lanka-not-renegotiating- hambantota-port-lease-deal-china

Foreign Ministry reaffirms Taiwan's sovereignty after Chinese comment

China labeled Taiwan as its territory along with Xinjiang, Tibet during high level meeting with US in Alaska

3026

By Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

2021/03/22 11:18

Taiwanese flag (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) denounced China Sunday (March 21) for distorting the facts during its meeting with the U.S. last week by claiming Taiwan as part of its territory.

During the first high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials under the Biden administration in Alaska on Thursday, Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) erroneously suggested that "Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan are all inseparable parts of China's territory." He emphasized that Washington has no right to interfere in matters that Beijing considers its internal affairs.

MOFA responded by describing Yang's comment as a "fallacy" in a press release on Sunday. It said the remark was not in line with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.

The ministry stressed that Taiwan is an independent sovereign state with a vibrant democracy and that only 23.5 million Taiwanese can determine its future. It also pointed out that the country has never been under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party.

The ministry said it is an established fact that Taiwan exists independently in the global community. No effort by Beijing could possibly shake the Taiwanese people's determination to pursue democracy, it insisted.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157022 MAC hits at Chinese assertion

SOVEREIGN NATION: Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China, the MAC said, urging Beijing to face the realities of cross-strait relations

• By Wei Chin-yun and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday hit back at China’s repeated assertion of sovereignty over Taiwan during talks with the US in Alaska, saying that the Republic of China is a sovereign nation whose future could only be decided by its 23 million people.

Chinese officials were reportedly “defensive” after the US raised concerns over Beijing’s coercion of Taiwan during high-level talks in Anchorage on Thursday and Friday, their first since US President Joe Biden took office in January.

The two sides on Thursday traded barbs during unusually long opening remarks to reporters, followed by “tough and direct” dialogue during which the US also accused Beijing of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet.

Premier Su Tseng-chang, center, speaks as Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, left, and Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng, right, look on at a news conference in Taoyuan yesterday. Photo: Wei Chin-yun, Taipei Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China, the council said, urging Beijing to face up to cross-strait realities, including popular opposition among Taiwanese to China’s political framework.

It also called on China to halt its military and diplomatic pressure against Taiwan and remove its preconditions for dialogue so that the two sides could pragmatically resolve their political differences.

Meanwhile, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was upbeat about the new US administration’s vocal concern over Chinese persecution of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Taiwan, the US and many other nations all share the values of freedom and democracy, but some authoritarian extremists have an outsized effect on the world order, Su said in response to media queries during a visit to the Hygge Healthcare long-term care center in Taoyuan. While many are worried about totalitarianism, a growing number of people worldwide are also united in the hope that together they can maintain peace and stability, as well as enable the continued viability of freedom and democracy, Su said.

The Anchorage talks marked a change from past practice in that both sides directly addressed their conflicting views, he added.

Since taking office, the Biden administration has clearly expressed its basic stance toward China, Su said, citing its intention to form an alliance of like-minded nations, and concern for China’s persecution of Taiwan and other regions.

It is clear that joining countries that share the same values makes everyone stronger, he added.

However, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) cautioned against hyperbole just as US-China talks have only begun.

The two sides would invariably compete, confront and cooperate with each other, Ma said on the sidelines of a launch event in Taipei for a book written by former Executive Yuan secretary-general Chao Shou-po (趙守博).

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said he has always emphasized that cross-strait relations are not only bilateral, but involve complicated regional and international relationships as well.

Taiwan must examine events as they unfold to grasp shifts in the overall situation and adjust its policies accordingly, he said, urging the government to act fast.

“You cannot miss a beat, or else before you know it, the entire environment would have changed,” Chiang said.

Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng and Chen Yu-fu

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/03/22/2003754267

Taiwan thanks Japan over support for cross-strait peace, stability

03/22/2021 03:46 PM

Listen

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Taipei / CNA file photo

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday thanked Japan after Japanese media reported the nation's defense minister last week said Tokyo is studying the feasibility of helping the United States defend Taiwan in the event of a cross- Taiwan Strait crisis.

During their meeting in Tokyo on March 16 Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs discussed closely cooperating in the event of a military clash between China and Taiwan, Japanese government sources told Tokyo-based Kyodo News Saturday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised the issue in talks with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, though there was no discussion on how the countries would coordinate their response in such an emergency, the sources added.

According to Kyodo News, Kishi told Austin that Tokyo has been reviewing the feasibility of sending Japanese Self-Defense Forces to cooperate with U.S. forces defending Taiwan in the event of Chinese aggression, "given the strait's geographical proximity and the possibility of an armed conflict there affecting the safety of Japanese citizens."

Tokyo and Washington have not confirmed the Kyodo News report.

A public statement issued after the talks by Kishi and Austin called only for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Asked to comment, MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) on Monday said Taiwan's government thanks the U.S. and Japan for stressing the importance of maintaining cross- strait peace and stability.

The spokeswoman added that Taiwan will continue to work closely with the U.S., Japan, and other like-minded countries to jointly defend democracy and the rules-based international order and to maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity.

https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220011

Palau president rejects Beijing, reaffirms ties with Taiwan

03/22/2021 09:59 PM

Listen

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. CNA photo March 22, 2021

Singapore, March 22 (CNA) Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., who is scheduled to visit Taiwan next week, told CNA on Monday that he has informed Beijing that Palau cherishes its relations with Taiwan and that no one should ask Palau to cut ties with Taipei.

In a special interview via videoconferencing, Whipps said Beijing had contacted him last year after he won the presidential election, trying to convince him to switch diplomatic recognition to China.

"I told them, you know, I believe that we should be free to choose who our friends are," he said. "We value the relationship that we have with Taiwan and nobody should tell us that relationship should be severed," said Whipps.

Palau is one of Taiwan's four remaining diplomatic allies in the Asia-Pacific region, along with the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu.

China, which sees Taiwan as one of its provinces, has been aggressively suppressing its international space, especially in the past four years as relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated. Beijing has poached 17 diplomatic allies from Taiwan since 2001, including seven since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected in 2016.

The Solomon Islands and Kiribati are the two latest countries that have switched to recognizing China.

On Beijing's growing influence in the Pacific region, Whipps said it was very important for Palau, as a democratic country, to maintain close relations with countries to which it shared common values. "Palau has been fortunate to be a strong partner with Taiwan, and we want to continue to strengthen that relationship. There's no question," he stressed.

Whipps is scheduled to visit Taiwan from March 28-April 1 to launch a "travel bubble," which allows travel between the two countries with fewer COVID-19 restrictions.

Whipps is expected to meet with President Tsai, tour an aquaculture company, a shipbuilding firm, a hospital with trans-hospital cooperation with Palau, and attend a tourism exhibit promoting his country.

On the last day of his visit, he will join Taiwanese tourists on the inaugural flight to Palau under the travel bubble program, which was announced simultaneously by both sides on March 17.

Whipps told CNA that he was "very excited" with the upcoming visit to Taiwan and the travel bubble was "very important" to both countries.

He said both sides had spent a lot of time building confidence on the travel bubble, stressing that they wanted to prove the scheme was feasible.

"I think it's important to demonstrate to the world that this can work," he said.

Whipps was sworn in on Jan. 21. According to Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, he affirmed the two sides' bilateral relations with Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮 ), who attended the inauguration ceremony.

As of Sunday, Palau remains free of coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.

Taiwan, on the other hand, recorded 1,006 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 10 fatalities, based on the data from the Central Epidemic Command Center.

https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220023

Lithuania establishes organization to promote Taiwan ties

Lithuania-Taiwan Forum aimed at strengthening economic, cultural, political relations with Taiwan

1109

By Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

2021/03/22 10:55

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lithuania on Tuesday (March 16) established the Lithuania- Taiwan Forum to promote relations with Taiwan, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported.

Lithuania held a general election last October. The new government declared that it would support Taiwan, which it said is "fighting for freedom," and announced its goal of establishing a representative office in the nation.

According to BNS, representatives of Lithuania’s political and cultural circles established the Lithuania-Taiwan Forum Tuesday and chose former Minister of Education Gintaras Steponavicius as chairman to strengthen economic, academic, cultural, and political relations with Taiwan.

The pro-Taiwan organization is comprised of more than 50 founding members, including Economic Minister Ausrine Armonaite; Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas; and the mayor of the capital city of Vilnius, Remigijus Simasius.

Steponavicius, who is already chairman of the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, said that “The forum combines elites from all walks of life in Lithuania. The one thing they have in common is that they support a value-based foreign policy and understand the challenges facing Taiwan.”

He added that Lithuanians are familiar with living under constant threat from a larger nation and are willing to work hard to fully integrate Taiwan into the international community.

Lithuania was formerly a constituent republic in the USSR. The Baltic nation now considers Taiwan a model for democracy.

Last April, more than 200 political and intellectual figures co-signed a letter to President Gitanas Nauseda expressing support for Taiwan's entry into international organizations and the establishment of a representative office in the East Asian nation.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4156986 China’s Himalayan salami tactics

• • Protesters pay tribute to the Indian Army soldiers killed in a border clash with Chinese troops in the Ladakh region, during a rally in New Delhi in June. | REUTERS

• BY BRAHMA CHELLANEY • SHARE • Mar 21, 2021 NEW DELHI Emboldened by its cost-free expansion in the South China Sea, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s regime has stepped up efforts to replicate that model in the Himalayas. – In particular, China is aggressively building many new villages in disputed borderlands to extend or consolidate its control over strategically important areas that India, Bhutan, and Nepal maintain fall within their national boundaries.

Underscoring the strategic implications of China’s drive to populate these desolate, uninhabited border areas is its major buildup of new military facilities there. The new installations range from electronic warfare stations and air defense sites to underground ammunition depots.

China’s militarized village-building spree has renewed the regional spotlight on Xi’s expansionist strategy at a time when, despite a recent disengagement in one area, tens of thousands of its troops remain locked in multiple standoffs with Indian forces. Recurrent skirmishing began last May after India discovered to its alarm that Chinese forces had stealthily occupied mountaintops and other strategic vantage points in its northernmost Ladakh borderlands.

China’s newly built border villages in the Himalayas are the equivalent of its artificially created islands in the South China Sea, whose geopolitical map Xi’s regime has redrawn without firing a shot. Xi’s regime advanced its South China Sea expansionism through asymmetrical or hybrid warfare, waged below the threshold of overt armed conflict. This approach blends conventional and irregular tactics with small incremental territorial encroachments (or “salami slicing”), psychological manipulation, disinformation, lawfare, and coercive diplomacy.

Now China is applying that playbook in the Himalayan borderlands. The Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post, citing a Chinese government document, recently reported that China intends to build 624 border villages in disputed Himalayan areas.

In the name of “poverty alleviation,” the Communist Party of China is callously uprooting Tibetan nomads and forcing them to settle in artificial new border villages in isolated, high-altitude areas. The CPC has also sent ethnic Han Chinese party members to such villages to serve as resident overseers.

Creating a dispute where none previously existed is usually China’s first step toward asserting a territorial claim, before it furtively tries to seize the coveted area. Xi’s regime frequently uses civilian militias in the vanguard of such a strategy.

So, just as China has employed flotillas of coastguard-backed civilian fishing boats for expansionist forays in the South and East China Seas, it has been sending herders and grazers ahead of regular army troops into desolate Himalayan border areas to foment disputes and then assert control. Such an approach has enabled it to nibble away at Himalayan territories, one pasture at a time.

In international law, a territorial claim must be based on continuous and peaceful exercise of sovereignty over the territory concerned. Until now, China’s Himalayan claims have been anchored in a “might makes right” approach that seeks to extend its annexation of Tibet to neighboring countries’ borderlands. By building new border villages and relocating people there, China can now invoke international law in support of its claims. Effective control is the sine qua non of a strong territorial claim in international law. Armed patrols don’t prove effective control, but settlements do.

The speed and stealth with which China has been changing the facts on the ground in the Himalayas, with little regard for the geopolitical fallout, also reflects other considerations. Border villages, for example, will constrain the opposing military’s use of force while aiding Chinese intelligence gathering and cross-frontier operations.

Satellite images show how rapidly such villages have sprouted up, along with extensive new roads and military facilities. The Chinese government recently justified constructing a new village inside the sprawling Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh by saying it “never recognized” Indian sovereignty over that region. And China’s territorial encroachments have not spared one of the world’s smallest countries, Bhutan, or even Nepal, which has a pro-China communist government.

China conceived its border-village program after Xi called on Tibetan herdsmen in 2017 to settle in frontier areas and “become guardians of Chinese territory.” Xi said in his appeal that, “without peace in the territory, there will be no peaceful lives for millions of families.”

But Xi’s “poverty alleviation” program in Tibet, which has steadily gained momentum since 2019, has centered on cynically relocating the poor to neighboring countries’ territories.

The echoes of China’s maritime expansionism extend to the Himalayan environment. Xi’s island building in the South China Sea has “caused severe harm to the coral reef environment,” according to an international arbitral tribunal. Likewise, China’s construction of villages and military facilities in the borderlands threatens to wreak havoc on the ecologically fragile Himalayas, which are the source of Asia’s great rivers. Environmental damage is already apparent on the once-pristine Doklam Plateau, claimed by Bhutan, which China has transformed into a heavily militarized zone since seizing it in 2017.

India’s army chief, Manoj Naravane, recently claimed that China’s salami tactics “will not work.” Yet even an important military power like India is struggling to find effective ways to counter China’s territorial aggrandizement along one of the world’s most inhospitable and treacherous borders.

China’s bulletless aggression — based on using military-backed civilians to create new facts on the ground — makes defense challenging, because it must be countered without resorting to open combat. Although India has responded with heavy military deployments, Chinese forces remain in control of most of the areas they seized nearly a year ago.

So far, China’s strategy is proving just as effective on land as it has been at sea.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2021/03/21/commentary/world-commentary/china-india- border-south-china-sea-defense/

China beats US in ultimate military strength index while India comes in fourth

1/5 China has the strongest military force in the world according to a study released on March 21 by defence website Military Direct. The study said "ultimate military strength index" was calculated after taking into consideration various factors including budgets, number of inactive and active military personnel, total air, sea, land and nuclear resources, average salaries, and weight of equipment. China has the strongest military in the world, scoring 82 out of 100 points in the index, it noted. China wins in a sea war with 406 ships vs Russia with 278 and the USA or India with 202, it said.

Getty Images "The USA, despite their enormous military budgets, comes in 2nd place with 74 points. The world's biggest military spender with a budget of USD 732 billion per year is the USA, it noted, adding that China comes second with USD 261 billion, followed by India at USD 71 billion.

Russia comes in third with a score of 69. The Russian Federation wins in a land war with 54,866 vehicles vs USA with 50,326 and China with 41,641," it mentioned. Getty Images

India is fourth with a score of 61. Soldiers are not paid relatively highly but it is not known whether the report takes account into other benefits and various tax rebates. India has 202 ships.

Who would win "Based on these scores, which account for budgets, men, and things like air and navy capacity, it does suggest that China would come out as top dog in a hypothetical super conflict," it mentioned. "China would win by sea, USA by air and Russia by land" in this hypothetical conflict, it said. "USA wins in an aerial war with 14,141 total airships vs Russia with 4,682 and China with 3,587.

(https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/china-beats-us-in-ultimate-military-strength-index-while-india-comes-in- fourth/usa/slideshow/81632462.cms)

SECRETARY JOHN LEHMAN ON STRATEGIC CREDIBILITY AND LEVERAGING COMMAND OF THE SEAS

MARCH 22, 2021 DMITRY FILIPOFF LEAVE A COMMENT

1980s Maritime Strategy Series By Dmitry Filipoff

CIMSEC discussed the 1980s Maritime Strategy with Secretary John Lehman, who served as the 65th Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration from 1981-1987. In this discussion, Secretary Lehman looks at how the Navy tied the Maritime Strategy to force structure goals, how it built credibility with Congress, and how the Navy could offensively leverage command of the seas in a major conflict today.

How would you describe the Maritime Strategy and how was it a shift from 1970s concepts and plans?

First, the Maritime Strategy was global, not driven by NATO. It was geopolitical and based on a recognition that in the Cold War geography was a huge advantage to the U.S. and its allies. The Soviet Union was a relatively land-locked power and the U.S. and its allies were capable of easily establishing command of the seas. It was part of a three- dimensional national strategy: to maintain nuclear parity with the Soviets, to recognize that the Warsaw Pact had clear superiority in land forces, but to neutralize that advantage with overwhelming naval supremacy. President Reagan believed that the West could win the Cold War without armed conflict and that it was time to move from containment and détente to a forward strategy to demonstrate that if the East attacked NATO they would be defeated. An offensive U.S. Navy could not only protect the sea lanes, but could surround Soviet power, sink the Soviet fleet, and use the seas to blockade, mine, and strike deep into the Soviet heartland.

Navy concepts and plans in the 1970s were driven by post-Vietnam naval deterioration, exhaustion, and underfunding compounded by the almost desperate search for détente by Presidents Ford and Carter. Under Carter, the national strategy focused almost entirely on the central front in Europe, assigning only a supportive and defensive role to the Navy, with budgets reduced accordingly.

To many of us veterans of the Kissinger National Security Council and the realist academic world, this “swing strategy” was absurd. Dick Allen, Sam Huntington, Bing West, Fred Ikle, myself, and others began to meet irregularly for lunch and dinner to discuss strategy, often with active duty sailors like Jim Holloway, Ace Lyons, and Peter Swartz, who were then engaged in the mortal combat of PRM 10. It was in those informal gatherings that the Maritime Strategy first began to take shape. In your book Command of the Seas, you said “Many retired admirals believe that the secretary of the navy should stick to administration…and leave strategy and requirements to the admirals. It never occurred to me as secretary that strategy was none of my business. In fact, it had to be my business.” How did you wield the office of the Secretary of the Navy with respect to developing and advocating for the Maritime Strategy? How should Navy Secretaries view their role on crafting strategy?

Under Title X, the SECNAV is responsible for the personnel, equipping, training, and readiness of the Navy and Marine Corps to carry out the missions assigned to them by the national strategy. Effective naval strategy is what integrates and determines the kinds of personnel policies, ships, aircraft, weapons, and training that are needed for the naval services. Hence ensuring that naval strategy is sound should be seen as the first priority of the SECNAV.

This was especially true when I was sworn in on February 5, 1981, because the new president inaugurated two weeks earlier had changed national strategy and the role that naval strategy must play, a shift in effect from a defensive to offensive posture. I had been selected because my education and experience was in geopolitics, strategy, and military affairs. I therefore had to take the lead in changing the strategy and its doctrine, concepts, and plans. My handpicked SECNAV staff included proven strategic thinkers and operators with experience in walking the walk as well as talking the talk. My immediate successors’ role in strategy was not to be a change agent but to understand the strategy and to see that it was being carried out. When the Cold War ended in victory some years later however it was time again for a new strategy.

My task as SECNAV was made easier because the CNO, Admiral Tom Hayward, was a natural strategist and had already implemented a forward strategy in the Pacific when he was Commander of the Pacific Fleet before becoming CNO.

In the future, SECNAVs must always understand naval strategy and its concepts, implementation, and its role in procurement and training.

How did the Maritime Strategy manifest in real-world fleet operations and exercises? What was the significance of these exercises?

The Maritime Strategy led immediately to dramatic changes in Navy pronouncements in Congressional testimony, beginning with my strategy testimony at the Senate Armed Services Committee the day after I was sworn in, and in public speeches, articles, and press and TV appearances by senior flag officers and civilians. A full-scale effort was immediately begun to change training syllabi, doctrine, concepts and plans, and wargames. Exercises took a little longer to modify, with the first being Ocean Venture ’81, in the North Atlantic, Norwegian, and Barents Seas. RIMPAC and other exercises in the Pacific and Mediterranean soon followed. In each, offensive mirror-image strike raids were practiced along with the usual anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and other training. In addition to the traditional training the exercises now had two additional important purposes, one was to develop new tactics using the new technology coming into the fleet, while testing real world effectiveness under the beady eyes of embarked teams of Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) operations analysts. The other prime purpose was to demonstrate to Soviet tattletales and observers how good we were and how they could not beat us. These exercises went on in all theaters and every year. After each one there was thorough analysis of what worked and what didn’t, changing and refining tactics, improving weapons and getting better. By the late 1980s both U.S. and Soviet sailors and leaders believed that we would defeat the Soviets handily. That is of course real deterrence. The proof of its success was demonstrated not only by sensitive intelligence, but also by the now famous “Akhromeyev Map” and Gorbachev’s now public complaints about being “surrounded” by the U.S. Navy. How did the Maritime Strategy interface with the POM process? What were the budgetary and programmatic influences of the Maritime Strategy? In some previous and current periods, naval strategy (if you could call it that) has been derived from predicted budgets. During the 1980s, the process was reversed: first strategy, then requirements, then the POM, then budget. This was possible because the president, SecDef, SecNav, CNO/CMC, and the comptroller were all aligned on policy. Because of that alignment and the unified message, and the simple logic of the strategy and the programs derived from it, plus the strong congressional relations and public affairs campaigns, we were able to get congressional support for the whole of the program throughout the 1980s, even two two-carrier buys. Without the strategy that could not have happened. What was the relationship between the drive toward a 600-ship fleet and the Maritime Strategy? How did you tie force structure goals to strategy? In all intra-DoD and interagency meetings, all classified and unclassified pubs, all congressional testimony, and public affairs, there was a disciplined message: first strategy with a global map, from strategy came five theaters of vital interest, from those theaters came the Soviet threat in being, from the threat in each theater came Navy force levels, along with allies and our Air Force and Army partners, force levels which were necessary to defeat that threat. The numbers needed to prevail in each theater were tested every year in the exercises and in the wargames at Newport. From those five totals came: 15 carriers, 100 SSNs, 140 cruisers and destroyers, 100 frigates, and the rest, adding up to 600. The logic was simple and compelling, and we never wavered year to year. More importantly, we delivered what we said we would: ships and jets on time, and on and under budget; an affordable fleet. How did the Maritime Strategy enhance the Navy’s ability to tell its story to outside audiences, such as Congress, the other services, and allies? How was it received and challenged by these outside audiences? The easily understood simplicity and logic of the Maritime Strategy was a great advantage, as was its unchanging consistency year after year. Unlike some prior periods, there were no significant disagreeing leaks from within the Navy or Marines. Truth to be told, there were some admirals who had drunk the kool-aid in the previous administration and made it known to friends in Congress and the press that they did not like the new strategy, but they soon retired. (Stansfield Turner would always turn up on Sunday talk shows and tell people like Sam Donaldson that the Maritime Strategy was “dangerous” and that the 600-ship navy was “too expensive.”) What lessons can be taken from the Maritime Strategy for engaging in modern great power competition? History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. It is rhyming today. Once again we face a hostile world power, accompanied by an axis of lesser powers, including Russia, Iran, and North Korea, whose only common bond is hostility to the U.S. We need a new Maritime Strategy. We need to think as a naval power and not as a land power. Naval powers use geography to their advantage. Land powers feel imprisoned by geography. It must start as always with a contemplation of the world map. Once again we find that geography and geopolitics favors us and our allies. Our principal competitor, China, is far more dependent on unfettered use of sea routes for trade and resources than was the Soviet Union. China is threatened by limited access to those vital routes, which are surrounded by American friends and allies, and beset by straits and chokepoints that can be easily interdicted. These are severe vulnerabilities to China’s economy. To our strategic benefit, the continuing Chinese military buildup seems to be modeled on their study of Western Cold War victory and Alfred Thayer Mahan. The force they are building is not being optimized to deal with the strategy that will best serve U.S. and allied deterrence. In the Cold War, Soviet strategy and posture was organized around the confrontation of huge armies massed in Central Europe. China’s strategy seems to be building toward a capability in the shorter term to deter U.S. forces from interfering with a military takeover of Taiwan, or if deterrence were to fail, to attack and defeat American forces at sea. For the longer term they seem to be building toward an unquestioned capability to command the Western Pacific and additional sea-lanes crucial to their economy. Such a strategy would include the Mahanian capability of destroying the American Pacific Fleet in a grand fleet battle. They have been turning the South and East China Seas into a maritime fortress in the expectation of an American Normandy-style invasion. They are making a great mistake. American naval strategy should be quite different than the strategies that won WWII or the Cold War. Like the Maritime Strategy of the 1980s, it should be focused on the adversaries’ vulnerabilities, which in the case of China are completely different than those of the Soviet Union. China’s economy will always be dependent on uninterrupted sea- lanes spread all over the world. The U.S. strategy to deter China should of course include the targeting of crucial mainland nodes through cyber and kinetic means, but it should be built primarily on the unquestionable capability to strangle China’s economy through closing chokepoints and straits, mining harbors, and sanctuaries. It is much, much easier to interdict such worldwide arteries than to protect them. The U.S. capability should be agile and unpredictable. Our combined forces should be designed and exercised to be rapidly configurable while moving between specific tasks and objectives. There are 50,000 islands in the Pacific, the majority well-suited for temporary offensive bases targeted on Chinese vulnerabilities. Horizontal escalation across the seas can roll up the center of gravity of China’s great power status: its global trade economy. Without compromising some secret capabilities, the strategy should be advertised and exercised regularly as was done with the 1980s Maritime Strategy. Such a strategy will require a larger fleet, with some different characteristics enhancing agility, flexibility, and rapidly evolving technologies, but not one materially larger than the 350- to 500-ship fleet already in planning. A critical lesson from the Maritime Strategy is that the Navy must restore credibility with Congress and the public that it knows what kinds of ships, aircraft, and technologies are needed. And perhaps more importantly, it must know which platforms it will be able to procure at far lower cost than the recent examples of Ford, Zumwalt, and LCS. To win back that credibility the Navy must find a way to escape the paralyzing shackles of the vast joint bureaucracy. The Navy’s leaders must restore their former iron grip on procurement, end the culture of change orders during production, and restore annual competition. Thanks to authorities enacted during Senator McCain’s tenure at the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Navy can reclaim the necessary authority, but it will take a strong SecNav and CNO to wield it effectively. Fortunately, the Marine Commandant is already in the lead with the right strategic vision.

https://cimsec.org/secretary-john-lehman-on-strategic-credibility-and-leveraging-command-of-the-seas/)

China denies militias, says fishing vessels in its territory Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star ) - March 23, 2021 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Despite being confirmed by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the reported presence of 220 Chinese maritime militia vessels around Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea is just “speculation,” according to the Chinese embassy.

“There is no Chinese maritime militia as alleged. Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement.

“It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner,” it added.

The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest on Sunday after confirming information regarding the swarming of 220 Chinese maritime militia vessels in the vicinity of the Julian Felipe Reef, which China calls Niu’e Jiao.

The embassy admitted that some Chinese fishing vessels took shelter in the reef due to rough sea conditions. Chinese fishing vessels normally seek refuge in the area during bad weather, he said.

“Niu’e Jiao is a part of China’s Nansha Qundao. Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many years,” the embassy said.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), citing report from the PCG, said the Chinese vessels operated within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf (CS).

The PCG first spotted the foreign vessels on March 7, 2021.

The vessels were not conducting fishing activities when sighted and their white lights were on at night.

Former foreign affairs chief Albert del Rosario said the government should summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian and make him explain why the Chinese intrusion into Philippine waters should not be treated as an act of unilateral aggression.

He lauded the government’s issuing a diplomatic protest in response to the reported swarming of vessels in the reef. “Given the gravity of this development, we should consider summoning the Chinese Ambassador in the Philippines to ask why we should not consider this Chinese action at Julian Felipe Reef to be an act of unilateral aggression against the territorial integrity of our country,” Del Rosario said in a statement.

“We should seek consultation with our security partners like the US, EU, UK, Australia and Japan on how to move forward with this recent act of Chinese aggression,” he added.

Still in the area

Despite the Chinese embassy’s denial, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the Chinese vessels were still in Julian Felipe Reef as of yesterday.

“They’re still there. We’re carefully counting them and later we will share with you our take on their presence,” he told reporters.

AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo also confirmed that a patrol mission was completed at around 11:30 a.m. and the report on the same is being prepared by the military’s Western Command (WESCOM) headed by Vice Admiral Ramil Enriquez.

“The AFP maintains that it will oppose any acts of incursions or encroachment in our sovereign territory. Our mandate includes ensuring that our fisherfolk and our kababayans can freely take advantage of our maritime resources and conduct their livelihood in our EEZ,” the AFP chief said.

“Nonetheless, we will pursue rules-based approach of resolving the issue at hand – consciously taking into account the call of the Secretary of National Defense (Delfin Lorenzana) for the Chinese to stop the incursion and immediately recall those sighted ships encroaching in our territory,” he added.

In a radio interview, Arevalo said the military – as an “instrument of national power” – is ready to deploy forces to areas “where we are directed to go at the time and period as required from the AFP.”

No Panatag

For Malacañang, the problem over the presence of Chinese maritime militia ships in Julian Felipe Reef is unlikely to escalate to something similar to the 2012 Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal standoff.

“I don’t think so because we have a close friendship,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing when asked if he thought the incident would lead to a situation similar to what happened in Panatag nine years ago.

“Everything can be discussed by friends and neighbors,” he added. Panatag Shoal is situated 124 nautical miles from the nearest point in Zambales and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile EEZ.

In 2012, a standoff ensued after Chinese vessels stopped Philippine Navy ships from arresting Chinese poachers. China has since maintained its presence in the traditional fishing ground.

“Under international law, that’s what we should do, file a diplomatic protest. Let us wait for the response of China,” the Palace spokesman said.

Senators, meanwhile, expressed support for the filing of diplomatic protest against Beijing.

“We are behind the government in asserting our rights in our seas. We may not be as strong militarily but we are certainly strong legally, morally and diplomatically,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan said in a statement.

“We may not be as big or as strong as their military, but we’re on the right side because this is ours,” he said in Filipino.

He lamented that “while the world is busy battling COVID-19, China is unabated in its militarization and expansionism in the (West Philippine Sea).”

He said it appeared that Beijing was using the donated vaccines to the country as a “geopolitical weapon.”

Pangilinan called for more support for the AFP as well as closer coordination among concerned agencies in confronting Chinese encroachment in the West Philippine Sea.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros called the presence of Chinese vessels a “severe provocation” that only escalates tensions in the South China Sea.

“While we’re stumbling with the continued rise in COVID-19 cases, China brazenly enters our waters. Not aggravating the tensions in our seas is the absolute least China could have done in the middle of a global pandemic. It could not manage to show even respect,” Hontiveros said.

She said the presence of the Chinese vessels in the country’s waters does not build peace or stability in the region.

As the diplomatic protest takes its course, Hontiveros said the government should also study more tangible ways to make China pay. – Paolo Romero, Alexis Romero, Michael Punongbayan

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/23/2086297/china-denies-militias-says-fishing-vessels-its- territory) China’s maritime militia still at reef off Palawan

Chinese fishing vessels are still at Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea today, two weeks after being spotted there by the Coast Guard, Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.

“Nandoon pa at binibilang naming mabuti,” Sobejana told reporters.

The military chief said the aerial patrol team confirmed the vessels’ presence, and he tasked it to determine exactly how many Chinese vessels were at the reef.

Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said a fixed-wing aircraft was dispatched only today to conduct a “sovereignty patrol,” contrary to reports that this was done Sunday.

The plane was sent at 8:40 a.m. and completed its mission around 11:30 a.m., he said.

Its team is still preparing its report, which will be submitted to Sobejana and the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea through the Department of National Defense, said Arevalo.

Earlier, the task force reported that the Coast Guard spotted some 220 Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe, located about 175 nautical miles off the nearest shore of mainland Palawan. The PCG made the sighting on March 7.

The vessels’ presence, which the DND called an “incursion,” was detected just a few weeks after increased patrols in the West Philippine Sea were ordered because of China’s controversial coast guard law.

The defense and military establishments are now referring to such vessels as part of China’s “maritime militia” — a term they adopted sometime in 2019, after a few years of avoiding its use, at least in public.

“This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area,” Lorenzana said on Sunday, as he called on China to recall the boats.

Arevalo said the Western Command ordered the dispatch of an aerial patrol on Sunday, after the task force’s report came out.

The command, however, had to wait for an available air asset as those that are already detailed to it were already nearing the limit of flying hours before routine maintenance, he said by phone. “The AFP will oppose any acts of incursions or encroachment in our sovereign territory… Nonetheless, we will pursue the rules-based approach of resolving the issue at hand,” Arevalo said.

On Sunday evening, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he has already filed a diplomatic protest for the Chinese vessels’ presence at Julian Felipe Reef/

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/03/22/chinas-maritime-militia-still-at-reef-off-palawan/

Chinese soldiers are using virtual reality to do cheaper, more frequent training with missile systems

Kristin Huang , South China Morning Post 16 hours ago

A military vehicle carries DF-21D missile past an image of the Great Wall of China, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, September 3, 2015. GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images • Simulated exercises are part of efforts to improve training across the Chinese military. • Technology has transformed drills from "large-scale" to "quiet and highly effective," the military says • See more stories on Insider's business page.

China's rocket force is using virtual reality to train its soldiers to use missile systems, a move that means exercises can be carried out more frequently and at reduced cost.

The People's Liberation Army's strategic and tactical missile force is using the technology as a "virtual training ground" for troops, according to a report in the official PLA Daily on Thursday.

Battalion commander Sun Yingjiu told the military newspaper the technology had improved training.

"You can practise launching without an actual installation, and you can practise tactics without leaving the base," he said.

The new virtual reality training platform meant rocket force soldiers could practise command, action and support in a setting that was close to a real-world scenario, Sun said.

The technology has also transformed the "large-scale" missile exercises of the past into "quiet and highly effective" training, according to the report.

It has also made training in the rocket force far more efficient and flexible. A standard missile launch exercise involves thousands of personnel, and large pieces of equipment need to be transported to a training environment, so the frequency is limited, the report said. But the "virtual training ground" means this can all be simulated so that soldiers can use it to train much more often.

Military vehicles carrying DF-26 ballistic missiles in a military parade in Beijing for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II September 3, 2015. Reuters

Beijing wants to transform the country's military into a modern fighting force, with a focus on becoming more technologically advanced. Like other militaries around the world, the PLA has been using virtual training and exercise simulations to boost combat readiness. It is part of a wider push to improve training across the military.

In December, PLA Daily reported that newly recruited paratroopers had successfully carried out parachute training using virtual reality.

New recruit Zhang Chuxuan told the paper he had used the simulated training system to learn basic skills and theory.

"Virtual reality airborne training is very flexible [in] its simulations of take-off and landing as well as some emergency situations [and the experiences] are very real," Zhang said.

Virtual reality has also been used to train air force pilot cadets, according to earlier media reports.

Hong Kong-based military commentator Song Zhongping said the technology could make military exercises more efficient but it also reduced training budgets.

"For example, China has attached great importance to joint exercises across its armed forces, but in reality a drill that involves the army, navy and air force is complex and time- consuming to conduct," Song said.

"However, computer simulation can achieve similar effects while saving on both energy and costs."

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-rocket-force-virtual-reality-more-frequent-cheaper- training-2021-3

China Makes It A Crime To Question Military Casualties On The Internet

A paramilitary police officer talks next to a screen showing frontier soldiers of the People's Liberation Army during an event at a primary school in Wuzhishan, Hainan province, China, on Feb. 22. On the screen are (L-R) Qi Fabao, who was seriously wounded in the border clash with Indian troops in June last year, and four who were killed: Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. China Daily/via Reuters

BEIJING — When China acknowledged this year that four of its soldiers had died fighting Indian forces on the two countries' disputed mountain border eight months prior, the irreverent blogger Little Spicy Pen Ball had questions.

"If the four [Chinese] soldiers died trying to rescue their fellow soldiers, then there must have been those who were not successfully rescued," he wrote on Feb. 19 to his 2.5 million followers on Weibo, a Chinese social media site. "This means the fatalities could not have just been four." The day after, Qiu Ziming, the 38-year-old former newspaper journalist behind the blog, was detained and criminally charged. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to three years.

"Little Spicy Pen Ball maliciously slandered and degraded the heroes defending our country and the border," according to the annual work report published by the country's chief prosecutor office this month. A contrite Qiu, sitting behind bars, called his actions "an obliteration of conscience" in a taped statement aired on the state broadcaster's prime-time news show on March 1.

GOATS AND SODA Critics Say China Has Suppressed And Censored Information In Coronavirus Outbreak Qiu's is the first case to be tried under a sweeping new criminal law that took effect March 1. The new law penalizes "infringing on the reputation and honor of revolutionary heroes." At least six other people have been detained or charged with defaming "martyrs." The government uses the terms "revolutionary heroes" and "martyrs" for anyone it memorializes for their sacrifice for the Communist Party. The detentions typify the stricter controls over online speech under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which have deterred nearly all open dissent in the country. The new law even seeks to criminalize speech made outside China.

Such is the case of Wang Jingyu, 19, who lives in the United States and is now a wanted man in his hometown of Chongqing, China. The authorities accuse him of slandering dead Chinese soldiers after Weibo reported him for a comment questioning the number of border fight casualties.

WORLD How China's Massive Corruption Crackdown Snares Entrepreneurs Across The Country "This is killing a monkey to scare the chickens," Wang says. "The Chinese state wants to show others that if anyone wants to be like me or relay the truth, then you will be pursued."

A 2018 law allows police to investigate speech defaming martyrs. Several people have been detained as a result, according to an online spreadsheet kept by a free speech activist, but such behavior did not carry a jail sentence until now. "Cyberspace is not outside the law," the Chongqing public security bureau said in an online notice after it declared Wang would be "pursued online" for his comments. "Public security organs will crack down on acts that openly insult the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs in accordance with the law."

TECHNOLOGY China Intercepts WeChat Texts From U.S. And Abroad, Researchers Say It's unclear how authorities plan to apprehend Wang. A police officer who contacted Wang, asking him to turn himself in, did not answer calls and texts from NPR.

China's ruling Communist Party is hyper-sensitive to challenges of its rule. One of the newer threats it has identified is "historical nihilism" — that is, rejecting the party's official version of history and its pantheon of revolutionary heroes and martyrs. The four Chinese soldiers who died during the border clash last June are the newest members of this canon. They were killed high up in the Himalayas, where hundreds of Chinese and Indian soldiers armed with nothing but stones and batons beat each other bloody, with each side accusing the other of alleged encroachments over an unmarked border line. Days after the incident, India said 20 of its troops died in the brawl.

CHINA UNBOUND How The Chinese Government Works To Censor Debate In Western Democracies China refused to confirm fatalities on its side until this February, when it released the names of four soldiers killed and a fifth who was critically injured in the disputed Galwan Valley area. State media ran extensive footage of their service and the last hours of their lives. The sudden media blitz infuriated Wang, he says. He had closely followed China and India's border tensions and questioned the initial lack of fatalities reported by China. He wondered about the families of the soldiers who he suspected had died, left to grieve silently in the absence of official recognition.

In late February, as he sat in the backseat of a friend's car in Europe, Wang went back and forth for half an hour over whether to write anything online. He currently lives in California but his parents remain in the Chinese municipality of Chongqing, where they worked for two state-owned firms. "I knew if I mocked these soldiers, it would bring a negative impact on my parents," Wang says. "But I was just too angry." He pressed publish on three comments under a news item lauding the four Chinese troops.

The People's Liberation Army soldiers "deserved to die," he wrote, and the Indian forces were within their rights to confront their "offenders." Wang now acknowledges the comments were offensive, but he says he deliberately crafted them to push the bounds of speech in China. His comments went viral and were aired on China's most-watched evening news program. Shortly after, Wang says his parents were questioned for hours by police officers.

Chongqing's police department did not respond to a request for comment.

In the days following his social media posts, Wang says his mother and father were kept under effective house arrest in their Chongqing home, where they were able to call Wang twice, briefly, under police watch. He has been unable to reach them since.

"They told me they support me, and they are proud of me," Wang said.

(https://www.npr.org/2021/03/22/979350003/china-makes-it-a-crime-to-question-a-military-death-toll- on-the-internet)

China Upgrades Russian Sovremenny-class Destroyers with Anti-ship Cruise Missiles

Chinese Navy’s Sovremenny-class guided missile destroyers conduct exercises in early 2021. China recently displayed the upgraded Russian-made Sovremenny-class Destroyer, Hangzhou installed with YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missile launchers. A series of naval exercises held by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently featured two of these destroyers Hangzhou and Ningbo delivered to China around 20 years ago. Taiyuan Type 052D destroyer and Zhoushan Type 054A destroyer also took part in the drills. Hangzhou underwent modernization in 2015 that was wrapped up in late 2019. It involved equipping the warship with eight YJ-12 anti-ship missiles to replace the original eight Russian-made Sunburn missiles, fitting a 32-unit vertical launch missile system for the HQ-16 air defense missiles that replaced the original two sets of Shtil air defense missile systems, besides upgrading the ship's electronic systems, PLA Navy’s navy.81.cn news website reported. Yin Zhuo, a Chinese naval expert, said that the YJ-12 is almost impossible to intercept because its fast speed only leaves the enemy with a mere 10 or so seconds to attempt an intercept, Passion News a media outlet under k618.cn, a news portal run by the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee, reported. A military expert explained to the Global Times that refitting the Sovremenny-class with China's domestically developed advanced weapons and equipment significantly enhances the ship's combat capability, as China's related technologies nowadays have far surpassed that of Russia's when the ships were delivered. It also enables the warship to better integrate into China's new combat system.

(https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29183/China_Upgrades_Russian_Sovremenny_class_Destroyers_wi th_Anti_ship_Cruise_Missiles

Russian Navy: Which Submarines Will Be Delivered This Year ? The Russian Navy will receive three new nuclear-powered submarines by the end of the year Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov told the Krasnaya Zvezda daily: One Borei-A-class SSBN (project 955A) and two Yasen-M-class SSGN (project 885M). In addition it will soon commission three more conventional submarines: One improved Kilo- class SSK (project 636.3) and two Lada-class SSK (project 677).

Naval News Staff 22 Mar 2021 By TASS Russian news agency “By the end of the year, the Navy will receive the Knyaz Oleg Borey-class strategic submarine, the Kazan and the Novosibirsk Yasen-class submarines built by Sevmash Shipyard. The Knyaz Potemkin and the Dmitry Donskoy strategic submarines will be laid this year. The design of fifth-generation nuclear submarines is going along the construction of fourth-generation SSBN and SSGN”

Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov The Navy will soon receive the Magadan diesel-electric submarine of project 636.3. Admiralty Shipyard will lay the Mozhaisk and the Yakutsk subs of the same project. The whole series of six submarines will be handed over to the Pacific fleet by 2024. “The Navy will also receive the Velikie Luki and the Kronshtadt non-nuclear Lada-class submarines in the midterm. They have upgraded tactical and technical characteristics. Another two submarines are to be built. The expansion of the series depends on the operational experience and we shall follow the rule,” Yevmenov said.

Project 677 / Lada-class The overhaul and modernization of third-generation submarines of projects 949A and 971 will continue. Their life cycle will be doubled. The Navy is developing technical services and maintenance to provide high technical readiness of warships and submarines during the whole life cycle. “The time at sea of submarines exceeded 2700 days in 2020 and is over 400 days in two months of 2021. In 2020-2021, the submariners fulfilled over 60 combat exercises with live torpedo and missile fire and laid mines. The submarines together with surface warships train fire at sea targets and train engaging Kalibr missiles. The training intensity will grow in 2021,” Yevmenov said. The training base of the Navy is constantly upgraded. The submarine training center in Sosnovy Bor launched the coastal Klen-85 complex. The Novorossiisk naval base launched a complex to train rescuers and divers. The Nakhimov Black Sea Navy School in Sevastopol is launching Mostik simulator. The Pacific and Northern fleets created deployment bases. “The creation of the latest submarine deployment base has been completed in Gadzhievo. All deployment facilities have to be completed and launched in Vilyuchinsk. Close to 40 infrastructure objects were built in Gadzhievo and Vilyuchinsk. New earthquake resistant technologies were used in Vilyuchinsk in Kamchatka,” Yevmenov said. The Baltic fleet has reconstructed over 70 percent of berths for warships and submarines. The deployment base in Novorossiisk near Geoport is to be completed by the end of the year. “Work is ongoing to prepare the participation in the Navy salon to be held in St. Petersburg. Visitors will see a lot of interesting things in underwater shipbuilding,” Yevmenov said.

(https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/03/russian-navy-which-submarines-will-be-delivered-this- year/)

Missiles, vaccines and China bring the Philippines and India closer

• Manila this month signed a deal to buy the world’s fastest cruise missile from New Delhi, while it could also secure up to 38 million doses of Covid-19 inoculations made in India • Analysts say there is potential for stronger political relations, though opinions are mixed about the potential of further defence cooperation between the two

The Philippines has signed an agreement to buy the Indian-made BrahMos PJ-10, the world’s fastest cruise missile, which it plans to use to defend its coastal areas in the face of Chinese encroachment. Photo: AFP The Philippines and India , which share concerns about China’s territorial assertiveness, are drawing closer together on the back of two very different means of defence: missiles and Covid-19 vaccines . On March 2, Manila signed an agreement with New Delhi to buy the Indian-made BrahMos PJ-10, the world’s fastest cruise missile, which it plans to use to defend its coastal areas in the face of Chinese encroachment. In recent weeks, Shambhu Kumaran, New Delhi’s ambassador to the Philippines, said talks were ongoing for Manila to secure 8 million doses of the Covaxin vaccine developed by India’s Bharat Biotech , while Philippine “vaccine tsar” Carlito Galvez Jnr announced that the country had secured 30 million doses of Covovax after he had made a trip to India to finalise a supply deal.

Galvez said the Covovax vaccine – which is developed by US company Novovax and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) – would arrive in the third or fourth quarter of this year. The purchases will be a shot in the arm for the Philippine government’s slow-going vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate at least 70 million Filipinos within 12 months. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126230/missiles-vaccines-and-china-bring-philippines-and-india- closer The U.S. Military Is Getting Ready to Fight A New Kind of War

For years there has been a growing chorus of senior military leaders and weapons developers saying that the military force which dominates the electromagnetic spectrum will prevail in future conflict. by Kris Osborn

Enemy radar relies upon an electronic signal, guidance systems directing incoming enemy missiles need electronics to impact targets, and many forms of enemy communications such as radio and RF-based datalinks also require electromagnetic transmissions. These seemingly obvious or self-evident realities speak to an increasingly vital, yet under-recognized element of modern war: electronic warfare.

For many years, there has been a growing chorus of senior military leaders and weapons developers saying that the military force which dominates the electromagnetic spectrum is the one who will prevail in future conflict.

The U.S. Navy is taking new steps to defend against an entirely new generation of advanced anti-ship missiles, drone attacks, and other kinds of incoming enemy fire by fast-tracking new EW applications able to merge intelligence information with electronic attack.

The Navy is working with Northrop Grumman to prepare for a new series of ground tests for the newest EW variant, engineered to combine offensive and defensive attacks as well as integrate with Information Operations to a much greater extent.

It’s called the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3, a new EW system being prepared to deploy over the next few years on Navy DDG-51 Destroyers and possibly the services’ new Frigate warships as well.

The SEWIP Block 3 EW system uses a collection of 16 Active Electronically Scanned Arrays, or AESA’s, to emit groups of targeted, individually separated “pencil” beams. “One advantage of an AESA is that it can generate pencil beams as opposed to a transmission of wide overlapping beams,” Mike Meaney, Northrop vice president of Land and Maritime Sensors, told The National Interest in an interview last year. Interestingly, Meaney said that Block 3 SEWIP operates at much faster, “machine speeds” so that the missile is driven to “kill itself” while inbound to a target. Narrowly focused EW beams introduce several significant tactical variables such as an ability to achieve precision effects such as an ability to streamline, tailor or “scale” an attack in proportion to a given threat. A tactical advantage of equal or greater consequence is the reality is the ability to emit a smaller, more linear or “less detectable” electromagnetic signature, something which can massively reduce any chance of being identified or found by enemy sensors.

Yet another way EW is advancing is through the use of software upgrades able to program the weapons to adjust to new threats and in some cases even rely upon AI- enabled computer programming to discern, deconflict or distinguish specific signals within the electromagnetic spectrum. One such system is Raytheon’s Electronic Warfare Planning Management Tool which seeks to align critical intelligence data with signature recognition and accurate identification of otherwise entangled, overlapping, or conflicting signals within the spectrum.

(https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-military-getting-ready-fight-new-kind-war-180667)

GAO: DoD should better coordinate hypersonic weapons programs

By Ed Adamczyk (0)

A report recommends that the Pentagon coordinate its hypersonic missile development efforts -- including tests like that of the X-60A rocket, pictured, which is capable of hypersonic speed -- with better definition of the roles and responsibilities of those in leadership. Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force

22 (UPI) -- The Defense Department's push to achieve hypersonic weapons should better define the roles and duties of those in leadership, a government report published Monday says.

The Government Accountability Office noted that the development of hypersonic weapons and related technologies has cost about $14 billion since it started in 2015, through 70 identified efforts.

The Defense Department, with support from the Department of Energy and NASA, is responsible for nearly the entire amount.

The 54-page report, sent to members of Congress in January but released on Monday, suggests that the Pentagon should clarify roles and responsibilities to ensure coordination across development efforts.

RELATED U.S. Navy releases 10-year plan to compete with China, Russia

Hypersonic missiles can travel at up to five times the speed of sound and use unpredictable flight paths as they travel to targets.

China and Russia have also invested heavily in the weapons, and in October 2020, Russia announced the successful test-firing of its Zircon hypersonic missile, which it said struck a target 300 miles away after traveling at over 6,100 mph. The U.S. military plans to field offensive hypersonic weapons by the early- to mid- 2020s, the Pentagon announced in February.

RELATED SpaceX, L3Harris pursue hypersonic missile defense system

A layered system for defense against hypersonic weapons is then expected by the mid-to-late-2020s and reusable hypersonic systems by the early- tomid-2030s.

The report acknowledges that offensive and defensive hypersonic weapons have emerged as a Defense Department priority, but notes that dozens of DoD agencies are at work on the effort -- and that effective coordination and guidance are lacking.

It calls for a "formalization for hypersonics" to avoid breakdowns in direction in the next decade, and enhanced "opportunities to leverage the various efforts to develop such weapons."

RELATED U.S., Australia agree to partner on hypersonic missile development

GAO recommended that the Secretary of Defense should define the responsibilities of those in leadership, noting that the Defense Department concurred with the assessment.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/03/22/gao-DoD-hypersonic-report/5091616442424/

US Military Operations Challenging China's Territorial Claims Peaked Under Trump

Cmdr. Joseph Gunta, the executive officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) observes a surface contact from the bridge wing while the ship is conducting routine underway operations, Feb. 05, 2021. (Markus Castaneda/U.S. Navy) 22 Mar 2021 Military.com | By Gina Harkins The U.S. carried out more freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea toward the end of Donald Trump's presidency than any other year on record.

There were 10 challenges to territorial claims in the South China Sea between October 2019 and September 2020, said John Supple, a Defense Department spokesman at the Pentagon. That included six specifically aimed at challenging China's "excessive maritime claims" in the area, a new Pentagon report shows.

The U.S. carried out eight freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea in fiscal 2019, Supple said. Navy ships also sailed through the Taiwan Strait 13 times in 2020, according to The Associated Press, which noted that it was the highest number of transits there in at least 14 years.

Read Next: West Coast Marines Are First to Try Out New Amphibious Combat Vehicle to Replace Legacy AAV

The U.S. conducts hundreds of freedom-of-navigation operations, known as FONOPs, across the globe annually, with ships or aircraft passing through international waters or airspace to challenge assumptions that the area belongs to any one country. But as tensions continue to build between Washington and Beijing, there has been an uptick in the operations off China's coast, where the country has made sweeping territorial claims and built artificial islands with airstrips and military structures. "The United States remains focused on the importance of freedom of navigation to preserving the rules-based international order," Supple said.

The Trump administration ushered in a host of tough policies aimed at China, starting with tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports. The 2018 National Defense Strategy centered largely around threats from China; that same year, the Defense Department also changed the name of U.S. Pacific Command to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command -- a move meant to counter China's influence in the region.

China isn't the only country making maritime claims in the South China Sea though, which has led to rising tensions in the region. The U.S. military also hit back at excessive claims made by Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam through freedom-of-navigation operations there, Pentagon data shows.

The U.S. has continued carrying out FONOPs in the South China Sea in fiscal 2021, which began in October. China claimed in December that it used naval and air assets to "expel" a U.S. Navy destroyer from waters near the Spratly Islands -- a claim Navy officials denied.

"The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," a U.S. 7th Fleet spokesman said at the time.

About a week later, the destroyers McCain and Curtis Wilbur transited the Taiwan Strait "in accordance with international law," Navy officials announced.

The destroyer Russell then carried out a FONOP near the Spratly Islands in February to challenge territorial claims by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

(https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/03/22/us-military-operations-challenging-chinas-territorial- claims-peaked-under-trump.html)

Navy Wants Triple-Packed Hypersonic Missile Modules On Its Stealthy Zumwalt Destroyers

JOSEPH TREVITHICK View Joseph Trevithick's Articles

@FranticGoat The U.S. Navy is now officially looking into what it would take to arm its Zumwalt class stealth destroyers, also referred to as DDG-1000s, with hypersonic missiles. The service has also now disclosed that it is looking to field these missiles loaded into an Advanced Payload Module, or APM, that has "a three-pack configuration." The Navy's Strategic Systems Program (SSP) office issued the so-called "sources sought notice" on March 18, 2021. This kind of announcement is intended to get companies to submit proposals in order to see what kind of options might be available to meet certain requirements, but is not automatically a prelude to a formal contract. SSP is better known as being responsible for managing the development, acquisition, and sustainment of the Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile and the service's Ohio class ballistic missiles submarines, or SSBNs, as well as work on the forthcoming Columbia class SSBNs.

USN The USS Zumwalt fires an SM-2 Block IIIAZ surface-to-air missile during a test. "SSP is currently assessing the means to implement the goals set in the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to integrate hypersonic technologies with the Zumwalt class destroyers," the Navy's contracting notice says. "SSP is seeking input from industry to determine if there are sources with the facilities and proficiency required for executing the following capabilities." The requirements include integrating the various components of the Navy's Intermediate- Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) weapon, including the triple-packed APM and the necessary fire control systems, onto the service's DDG-1000s. Contractors also need to submit proposals for how they would support expanding production of IRCPS components, as well as related items that are common between those weapons and the U.S. Army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).

(https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39867/navy-wants-triple-packed-hypersonic-missile- modules-on-its-stealthy-zumwalt-destroyers)

JUST IN: HASC Lawmaker Endorses Aegis Ashore for Guam

3/22/2021 By Meredith Roaten

Photo: Raytheon

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command needs funding to defend Guam from increasing missile threats, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee said March 22.

The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System is necessary to defend the U.S. territory from China’s naval investments in the Pacific Ocean, said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., at a Defense Writers Group event. The funding is part of a 3 to 5 percent increase to the national security budget needed to face the great power competitor's growing military strength, he added.

“We've got to be prepared to deal with those threats,” he said. “We can't just ignore them like some people seem to think we can.”

Indo-Pacific Command has requested $5.2 billion for the system over the next five years. Indo-Pacom Commander Adm. Phil Davidson called it his region's top acquisition priority. Financing must begin in fiscal year 2021 for it to be in place by 2026, the year adversaries are expected to achieve the capability to overcome the current missile defense system. The backbone of the system will be the Baseline 10 Aegis Ashore system, Davidson said recently.

While many analysts have predicted flat defense budgets over the coming years, Rogers said increasing it is his “No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 priority.”

Meanwhile, concerns raised recently about sustainment costs and performance issues for the F-35 joint strike fighter program are “legitimate,” he said.

The program is the largest acquisition in Pentagon history, with a projected cost of more than $1 trillion. The jet has experienced a number of technical problems over the years, though advocates say it will be an asset in the U.S. military inventory as the United States competes with adversaries such as China and Russia. A recent Government Accountability Office report said development costs for its block 4 technology upgrade had swollen to $1.9 billion.

Democrats on the committee have criticized the program recently. HASC Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., told reporters earlier this month that Pentagon officials had to find a way to “cut our losses” on the aircraft. He called the program a "rat hole."

Prime contractor Lockheed Martin has been working to drive down the per-aircraft price tag as well as the operation and sustainment costs for the program.

Rogers noted he was open to suggestions for decreasing reliance on the program but unaware of any existing solutions. “We’ve got to find a way to get control of cost and handle those shortcomings,” he said. “But I don't really see that we have a lot of options other than doing that.”

Rogers said he was open to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr.’s idea of purchasing a 4.5 generation fighter if it can meet the service’s capability challenges.

Rogers also emphasized his support for the nuclear triad modernization, specifically the ground based strategic defense system. Rogers predicted that replacing the Minuteman III ballistic missile system has bipartisan support in Congress.

He added modernizing long-range fires, one of the Army’s top modernization priorities, is not likely to happen without the 3 to 5 percent budget increase he is advocating.

(https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/3/22/just-in-lawmaker-endorses-aegis- ashore-for-guam)

Navy Looking to Accelerate Effort to Revitalize Public Shipyards Amid Lawmaker Concerns By: Mallory Shelbourne March 22, 2021 5:20 PM

The portside anchor of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is lowered into a dry dock for maintenance. GHWB is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va. US Navy Photo

The Navy is evaluating how it can speed up the timeline for its initiative to renovate aging public shipyards amid concern from lawmakers that the current 20-year timeframe is too long.

As the service continues to work its way out of a years-long maintenance backlog and the nuclear-powered fleet is set to grow in the coming years with new ships that will strain outdated yard infrastructure, lawmakers argue the Navy should fast-track the timeline for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan.

While the service has previously said it must be able to renovate the yards, one of which is older than the Declaration of Independence, while still keeping submarine and aircraft carrier maintenance activities on schedule, the Navy is now assessing the potential for a 10-year and a 15-year timeframe for the $21 billion effort.

During a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing on Friday, Naval Sea Systems Command chief Vice Adm. Bill Galinis told lawmakers he directed his team to assess the shorter timelines.

“We kind of notionally rolled out, I’ll say a 20-year plan. I asked them to go back and look at what it would take to do this capitalization in 10 years, in 15 years,” Galinis told the panel.

“And so we’re working through that right now,” he added. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns about the 20-year timeline for the SIOP, including HASC readiness subcommittee chairman Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.).

“I’m concerned that the Navy will not dedicate the necessary resources to prioritize this effort and that the 20-year time horizon is a very long and probably too long to support a very changing fleet,” Garamendi said in his opening statement at Friday’s hearing.

Hull Maintenance Technician Fireman Keriyate Lewis, from New Iberia, La., welds a metal brace aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on Aug. 14. 2018. US NAvy Photo

USNI News previously reported that the Navy and a top lawmaker on the HASC seapower and projection forces subcommittee – ranking member Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) – were at odds over the timeline for the SIOP. Wittman has for months argued 20 years is too long for the plan and recently suggested the service assess a 10-year timeline. Meanwhile, Galinis has voiced trepidations about the Navy’s ability to speed up the effort while also sustaining its maintenance obligations.

In addition to reevaluating the timeline for the SIOP, Galinis said the Navy is working on “a 15-year public sector maintenance plan” as part of the Naval Sustainment System – Shipyards effort, for which the Navy contracted Boston Consulting Group. Galinis said the service expects to complete the shipyard plan “within the next month or so” and then provide briefings to the Navy’s leadership.

The NSS-S effort is modeled after a similar NSS-Aviation initiative meant to recapitalize the service’s aircraft maintenance work. While the SIOP is focused on modernizing the infrastructure in the public shipyards, the NSS-S concentrates on honing best practices and processes for the work performed within the yards.

Galinis said the Navy is looking for ways to improve how it conducts availabilities in the shipyards, including how it handles unplanned work that emerges once maintenance has begun, and finding more effective ways to perform various tasks.

“We are taking a hard look at the work that we are doing inside the shipyards. And as I said, that productive capacity that we’re trying to build – when we’re doing work inside of a public shipyard that maybe we could outsource to industry – so not an entire availability, but as you know we do a lot of work on rotatable pools and repairable items … would that be more efficient to do that work outside in private industry? So maybe not at another private shipyard, but there’s a lot of good machine shops and smaller business that could probably use some of that work. So that’s also part of our strategy to increase that capacity,” Galinis said.

Galinis pointed to unplanned maintenance work as one factor that contributes to the maintenance delays and backlog.

“And just the way we kind of think about when you come up as you work through an availability and you come up with unplanned work, or you have an efficiency item, or something that may cause additional time in there – how do we work our way through that in a very expeditious and efficient manner? And frankly we’ve kind of lost, I’ll say, our edge in that area a little bit,” Galinis said.

Terrance Wells, from San Diego, ties straps for a containment project on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Oct. 26, 2020. US Navy Photo

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), a former Navy nuclear-qualified surface warfare officer who is also the vice chairwoman of the HASC, agreed that the service should fast-track the SIOP timeline. Luria, who represents portions of Norfolk, Va., where one of the four public yards is located, argued the Navy must focus on maintenance work to grow the fleet’s capacity so it can counter threats like China.

“I think we can’t wait any longer to make the investments that we need to in our ship maintenance infrastructure,” Luria said. “Investing [in] both our public and our private yards has the effect of adding increased capacity to our fleet in the near term.”

“I think the ship maintenance resources are absolutely critical to getting our ships out deployed, providing that forward presence that we need to counter [the] Chinese in the Western Pacific,” she added. “And I really feel like we need to shift from that mantra that I feel like we have today where maintenance is driving operations, rather than maintenance is supporting and enabling operations.”

Both Luria and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the chairman of the HASC seapower and projection forces subcommittee, asked Galinis what he would need to speed up the SIOP effort. While Galinis said he does not need more authorities from Congress to execute the SIOP, he conceded he may need more resources down the road after his team looks at accelerating the timeline.

“One of the things to doing that is being able to integrate the recapitalization work along with the ship repair work that we need to do,” Galinis said of fast-tracking the timeline.

“And to your point on maintenance driving fleet operations, I agree with you on that. It’s an area [where] we certainly need to get better,” he continued. “Personally, I think it starts with our planning efforts as we build that work package for the ships and the carriers and the submarines going into our public yards.”

Meanwhile, Courtney pointed to a Congressional Budget Office report that concluded performing maintenance on the attack submarines in the private shipyards is not more expensive than doing so in the public yards.

Galinis said the buildup of the submarine force means the Navy will need to turn to the private yards for submarine maintenance in the years to come.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF) personnel bring the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) into Drydock 6 at PSNS in Bremerton, Wash. PSNS and IMF personnel will work side by side with ship’s force teams to get the ship back in fighting condition and back to the Fleet. US Navy photo.

“The SIOP program is fundamental to what we’re doing to build a productive capacity that we need inside our public shipyards to do the nuclear maintenance” Galinis said. “Even with that being said, I believe given what we see as an increase in force structure – especially in the submarine force – toward the end of the ’20s and into the early ’30s, we are going to need capacity in the private sector to do submarine repair work.”

While the Navy has moved some of its repair work for the Los Angeles-class submarines to the private shipyards, Wittman has pointed to performing more work in the private yards as a way for the Navy to balance the maintenance work with the recapitalization effort.

(https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/navy-looking-to-accelerate-effort-to-revitalize-public- shipyards-amid-lawmaker-concerns)

US Navy seeks prototype data fusion system for CUAS by Carlo Munoz

The US Navy is seeking industry input toward the development of a new High Level Data Fusion (HLDF) prototype system architecture, designed to augment command and control capabilities (C2) aboard current combat platforms to support counter unmanned aerial system (CUAS) operations.

The crux of the new HLDF prototype will be a new open systems architecture “that can fuse data from multiple sources to provide object assessment, situational assessment, and threat assessment,” particularly those posed by small UAS (sUAS) platforms, according to Request for Solutions (RFS) posted by the National Security Technology Accelerator in March. Service leaders have set aside USD3.5 million for the programme.

In the end, the new architecture and associated Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI) requirements, will lay out the technological blueprint for “competitive design and development of complete HLDF components of C2 systems, or individual data fusion software modules, [which] can be used to allow software modules from multiple organizations or systems to be interoperable,” the RFS solicitation stated.

Specifically, the architecture requirements being sought by navy engineers will allow service personnel to integrate “various software modules” into existing C2 systems, allowing those programmes to “adopt the HLDF reference architecture [and] enable efforts to be focused on improving specific data fusion capabilities within the system,” the solicitation stated. “The HLDF reference architecture developed in [RFS] will include requirements and interfaces for software modules, as well as an assessment of existing capabilities with the goal of reducing the cognitive workload on the operator so the only decision is whether or not countermeasures should be employed,” it added.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-navy-seeks-prototype-data-fusion-system- for-cuas Zumwalt Destroyer Will Control Unmanned Ships, Aircraft in Upcoming Fleet Battle Problem

By: Megan Eckstein March 22, 2021 5:10 PM

USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) cruises under the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay, Dec. 7, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy will get a first glimpse of what future operations could look like, when a Zumwalt- class destroyer manages long-range surveillance and fires by manned and unmanned platforms in an upcoming exercise in the Pacific.

U.S. Pacific Fleet will host its most complex exercise to date involving unmanned systems, with next month’s Fleet Battle Problem exercise including unmanned aircraft on the water’s surface and in the air and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) commanding and controlling the missions.

As the Navy tries to convey the seriousness with which it plans to pursue a fleet overhaul to incorporate manned-unmanned teaming into almost everything the service does, this upcoming exercise will show off how far the sea service has come in technology and concept of operations (CONOPS) development and what work still remains.

“The Unmanned Campaign Framework states it is imperative that we understand what our future force will need to operate both in day-to-day competition as well as high-end combat. The event being held in the 3rd Fleet operational area, under the guidance of U.S. Pacific Fleet, is exploring elements of that future force that will have the greatest impact on increasing the fleet’s lethality,” U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Tim Pietrack told USNI News today. “Through operational scenarios, what we learn from this event will provide pertinent and timely input to the Naval Research Enterprise and the acquisition community, to better inform unmanned system development moving forward.” USNI News previously reported that a Zumwalt destroyer would be integrated into the complex exercise this spring, alongside unmanned surface vessels – both the Zumwalt DDGs and medium and large unmanned surface vessels fall under the same developmental squadron for concept of operations development and fleet introduction – but the Navy today revealed more details about this event.

An Air Force MQ-9A Reaper. General Atomics Photo

“This event will incorporate many unmanned capabilities and unmanned capability enablers, including the Super Swarm project, the Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vessels (MDUSV) Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk, the MQ-8B Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and the MQ-9 Sea Guardian UAV,” Pietrack said.

The Navy has already used the first MUSV prototype, Sea Hunter, in several exercises and fleet familiarization events through the Surface Development Squadron-1 (SURFDEVRON). SURFDEVRON was expecting to take control of the second vessel, newly renamed Sea Hawk, in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2021, making it available to also participate in the April event.

“The MDUSV Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk will support manned fleet units by integrating various payloads to assist in anti-submarine warfare and building maritime domain awareness. The continued assessment of the autonomous capability of both Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk have led to great advances in reliability and compliance with collision provision regulations for autonomous surface vehicles,” Pietrack said. USNI News previously reported that Sea Hunter had conducted operations with a towed array for anti- submarine warfare and with an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) package for maritime domain awareness.

In the air, “the MQ-9 Sea Guardian will expand the traditional role of the MQ-9 by working with Navy and Marine Corps systems in both scouting missions and anti-submarine warfare missions,” Pietrack said. The Marines are using the MQ-9A extended range aircraft today in U.S. Central Command and plan to explain their fleet to conduct mission over land and oversea, and contractor General Atomic has pitched the SeaGuardian MQ- 9B as a potential tool for ASW operations.

Sea Hunter USV. US Navy Photo

“The Fire Scout, which will conduct operations from a Littoral Combat Ship, is designed to integrate with both Navy and U.S. Marine Corps units,” Pietrack added.

Heading up the event is Monsoor, which “will use the ship’s unique capabilities to command and control manned and unmanned forces to conduct long-range, multi-domain fires.”

The Navy has seen some success – both in technological development and securing support from lawmakers in Congress – with unmanned systems that are smaller and focused on a particular mission, such as the mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle, formerly called the common USV (CUSV), which had a clear purpose to carry a minesweeper and then later a minehunting sensor package. As the Navy tried to scale up to larger platforms like the Sea Hunter MUSV and the Overload Large USV prototype, though, lawmakers have had a lot of questions about the technical risk of such programs, as well as how well thought out the CONOPS were and if the Navy knew what it really needed to buy to complete the missions it envisioned conducting with larger-sized USVs.

Fleet Battle Problem will be the first opportunity to use two MUSVs in an exercise and to integrate them with unmanned aircraft.

Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Taylor Stahl, from Gurnee, Ill., left, and Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Juan Cano, from Austin, Texas, watch an MQ-8B Fire Scout, assigned to the “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, land on the flight deck of Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) in 2019. US Navy Photo

The Zumwalt-class destroyers have been something of a ship class without a focus since the Navy stopped work on the long-range rounds for the DDG-1000 advanced weapon system and the ship was switched from a land-attack focus to a blue-water maritime strike focus. Aside from talk of installing hypersonic anti-ship missiles onto the Zumwalts, it’s been a bit unclear how the three-ship class might be used. This demonstration could provide a path forward, if the advanced destroyer and its significant space and power margin onboard prove useful as a mothership to unmanned craft in multiple domains.

(https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/zumwalt-destroyer-will-control-unmanned-ships-aircraft-in- upcoming-fleet-battle-problem)

Marines Test Javelin Missile Teams In Rubber Rafts "Like Somali Pirates, But Better Armed"

JOSEPH TREVITHICK

@FranticGoat Teams of Marines armed with Javelin anti-tank guided missiles riding in small inflatable boats trained to engage enemy naval forces for the first time as part of a major recent exercise on and around the Japanese island of Okinawa. The development of these waterborne tactics was influenced, in part, by lessons learned from responding to Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in the past two decades or so. This follows a smaller exercise earlier this year, in which Marine Corps forces in that same region practiced employing Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, also known as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or MANPADS, from rubber rafts. The use of Javelin teams in small boats was a component of Exercise Castaway 21.1, which wrapped up on March 20, 2021. The main scenario centered on the establishment of a simulated Expeditionary Advance Base (EAB) on Japan's Ie Shima island, which is situated less than five miles off the coast of Okinawa. Though led by the 3rd Marine Division, which is forward-deployed in Japan, other Marine units, as well as Air Force and Army elements, including special operations forces, also took part in Castaway 21.1. The main task for the Marines in small boats was "littoral defense," consisting mainly of keeping watch for any attempts by enemy naval forces to land on Ie Shima and uproot the EAB and being positioned to help respond to any attacks.

USMC A Marine Javelin team operates from a small inflatable rubber boat during Exercise Castaway 21.1. "The guy on the offense gets to choose where he lands, right?" Marine Captain Jonathan Kohler, a company commander with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who was in charge of the littoral defense operations, told The War Zone in an interview from Japan. "So, this gives us the ability to kind of react to wherever that happens." "Boats are kind of like a waterborne observation post," he continued. "They give us a lot of push farther out, really over the horizon is what they're able to see. I can see where a ship is or what it's doing."

The current type of small inflatable rubber boat, which is propelled by an outboard motor, that the Marine Corps operates has a v-shaped hull that makes it better able to operate further from shore compared to earlier flat-bottom types. "It gives us a little more range in the water, like 20 to 30 nautical miles on it, and it's a much smoother ride for the guys in the boat," Captain Kohler explained.

When it comes to putting Javelin teams in those boats, "there are no concerns with firing" them on the water, Marine Captain Nicholas Royer, a spokesperson for 3rd Marine Division, also told The War Zone. "It’s a recoilless weapon so the accuracy won’t be significantly impacted, and the boat itself is small and low-profile, so ensuring the backblast area is over the water and not the boat is easy. The safety aspect of it is actually easier than firing it on land as we don’t need to worry about things being kicked up by the backblast, even, although we’ve fired them from a number of ground platforms and on foot without incident."

Javelins can be employed in one of two modes of operation, a direct fire option and another that sees the missile execute a pop-up maneuver before it dives onto its target. Against tanks and other heavy armored vehicles, the latter mode is particularly useful since it sends the weapon into the top of the vehicle in question, which is typically very vulnerable, even on types with advanced defenses, such as active protection systems. That method of attack can also be used to engage threats behind cover. The entire weapon system, which you can read about in more detail in this past War Zone piece, includes a reusable Command Launch Unit (CLU) that has a thermal imaging system capable of 12x magnification, giving it a valuable secondary surveillance capability. The video below gives a general look at the Javelin's modes of operation.

However, during Castaway 21.1, the concept of operations envisioned the boat-borne Javelins being used against maritime threats to the EAB, rather than those on land. "I think the main thing would be targeting ship-to-shore connectors," Captain Kohler said, referring to things like landing craft and amphibious vehicles ferrying troops from larger vessels to the beach. "So, after they offload of the main [amphibious] ship, kind of interdicting those landing craft as they come ashore." The Marines are not the only ones to have explored the use of anti-tank guided missiles against landing craft and other similarly-sized maritime threats. Finland, for instance, has dedicated coastal defense units armed with Spike-ER missiles from German firm Eurospike, which produces multiple variants of this Israeli-designed weapons family. In Finnish Defense Forces service, the Spike-ER is actually known as the Rannikko-ohjus 2006 (RO2006), or Coastal Defense Missile 2006. Putting those teams in small boats, rather than in positions ashore, is a more novel application of this concept. It's also one that the Marine Corps sees as being applicable to offensive, as well as defensive operations, as part of the service's new Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO) concept of distributed operations, which you can read more about in detail in this previous War Zone story. At its core, EABO involves planning to have relatively small groups of Marines quickly establishing bases of operation in forward areas, especially small islands. This distributed concept of operations also envisions them being able to then rapidly reposition themselves, as necessary. The general idea is to use these flexible, responsive ground forces to help control littoral areas, and even surrounding "seaspaces," to deter opponents in situations short of an actual conflict, and then, if that fails, be well-positioned to engage enemy forces.

"We're not just going to take and hold the island, but looking beyond the island to the seaspace," Captain Royer said. "That's what a lot of these small boat type operations let us do."

USMC Marines in an inflatable rubber boat during Exercise Castaway 21.1. "If it's just transport ships, they're most vulnerable when they're loading troops," Captain Kohler added. "That's a time when Javelins can be used against the actual ship, even targeting helicopters sitting on the deck of a ship."

That latter notional scenario is very interesting to envision given the notable employment of anti-tank guided missiles against helicopters, on the ground and in flight, as well as other targets beyond armored vehicles, in various conflicts around the world in recent years. This tactic has been used to particular effect by rebel groups in Syria opposed to dictator Bashar Al Assad. "Think of like Somali pirates, but better armed," Captain Kohler added. For years, pirate groups operating from Somalia routinely attacked very large commercial vessels from small skiffs using various small arms, including rocket-propelled grenades. Counter- piracy efforts have significantly curtailed, but not eliminated such criminal activity in that region. Experiences from Millennium Challenge, a controversial exercise that the now-defunct U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) conducted in 2002, have also had an important impact in the Marine Corps' thinking about small boats, Captain Kohler said. As far back as 2017, the Marine Corps had also publicly highlighted a desire to make greater use of “itty bitty boats," especially in future distributed operations. Small boats, in general, offer a valuable and discreet means of getting around, especially at night, enabling hit-and-run-type raids, as well as more sustained operations, in littoral environments. "Simplicity is the advantage. They're hard to spot, quick to set up, quick to operate, you can easily train someone to operate them," Captain Royer said. "It allows us to kind of exist behind enemy lines, on small islands especially," according to Captain Kohler. "So, I can be moving around a lot and not just limited to one small piece of terrain. I can bounce island to island in the middle of the night."

USMC A Marine on a small boat aims a Javelin missile launcher at night during Exercise Castaway 21.1. "You can fit these on a helicopter, right?" he continued. "You can land somewhere and push a couple off the back and leave some Marines for really an extended period of time." "We're not going to be beholden to having to have your larger, more traditional kind of shipping to get somewhere," Captain Royer noted. In 2019, the Marine Corps first revealed its intention to get away from its reliance on traditional amphibious warfare ships and the service is now working with the Navy on the acquisition of at least one new class of lighter vessel, the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW), to support its future operational plans. When it comes to attacking larger ships with small boat swarms, Captain Kohler acknowledged that "it would be difficult if they have naval escorts, to kind of punch through that."

Still, "at the end of the day, it's a lot harder to see some of Marines in a boat with a Javelin coming than it is to see destroyer coming your way," Captain Royer pointed out. "And you can definitely field a lot more of those boat teams with a lot more Javelins."

Issues surrounding the survivability of small boat teams when targeting larger, more traditional naval assets would not necessarily preclude the Marine Corps from employing swarms of small boats with Javelins, as well as other weapons, as part of a larger EABO campaign. Operations against any opponent, including near-peer competitors, would include many tiers of long-range strike and other capabilities applied in various contexts, not all of which would necessarily be high-risk. Castaway 21.1 itself included High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), TOW anti-tank missile- armed 4x4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, and other light forces using all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles, among other things, all contributing to the complete littoral defense picture, as well as other tasks.

USMC US Army Special Forces soldiers, including one a motorcycle with a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, in position in front of a Marine Corps High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

USMC A TOW missile-armed Marine Corps 4x4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Marines also demonstrated an ability to engage maritime targets using mortars and Captain Royer explained that the Corps was looking to eventually employ that capability from amphibious ships, as well. Of course, unguided mortar rounds would be of more limited utility against faster-moving threats at sea, whether they were engaging them from the shore or afloat. The Marines, among others, have been looking into precision- guided mortar rounds over the years, which would definitely help make this particular tactic more effective. All of this is "letting us set up the bubble of observation and fires well in excess of what you might traditionally think of a company or platoon-level outfit is able to create and influencing a much broader seaspace around a piece of land, which obviously opens up some interesting possibilities with coordinating with the Navy to determine where we might want to funnel an adversary or where we want to deny the adversary freedom of movement," Captain Royer told us, talking more broadly about the concepts explored during Castaway 21.1. "A lot of this capability allows us to create that denial in a way this very very compressed time scale, low-notice, and very low signature, as well."

"We've got a lot of things for your lower-intensity, counter-insurgency-type fights and we have a lot of things for your sort of very high-end, peer-peer competitor-type fights," Captain Royer added. "Some of the stuff we're experimenting with here today gives us the opportunity to work in kind of that wide spectrum in between, whether that's still smaller vessels that don't rise to the level of the formal navy being used in an offensive capacity by an adversary."

That latter point is especially important given that many potential adversaries now employ forces that are commonly referred to as occupying a "gray zone" that exists outside of an outright conflict. Good examples of this are the small boat fleets that Iran, as well as its proxies in the Middle East possess, which are capable of conducting swarming operations or engaging in missions that are virtually indistinct from terrorist attacks. China's Maritime Militia, a paramilitary force of fishing boats that is often employed to harass foreign commercials interests as a sideshow to various maritime boundary disputes, particularly in the South China Sea, also fits into this category of malign activity. In a new tri-service naval strategy released earlier this year, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard highlighted how they expect monitoring and documenting incidents short of an outright war to be a major component of routine operations in the future. Modified commercial or commercial-type vessels are also often used by many countries for intelligence gathering and the insertion or extraction of special operations forces or intelligence operatives. "I've got snipers in a maritime hide site, basically observing what fishing boats are going out, when are they going out, how can I discern in those patterns that may tip me off for something happening," Captain Kohler added while talking about the more general aspects of the Castaway 21.1 exercise. Captain Kohler and Captain Royer both stressed that the kinds of small boat concepts of operation that the Marine Corps is exploring now would be applicable outside of the Asia-Pacific region and potential conflicts there, especially with China, which the Pentagon says is presently the "pacing threat" for overarching defense planning decisions. "I can think of many pieces of terrain in Europe, near Turkey, in different places" Captain Kohler said. "There's small islands everywhere, right?" "The ability to reach difficult places on short notice, that could be useful in a humanitarian situation, that could be useful in counter-piracy, counter-terrorism," Captain Royer added.

How future Marine Corps small boat operations continue to evolve in the near term very much remains to be seen, as well. Captain Kohler explained that the Marine Corps was looking at new boat capabilities, "definitely larger than what we've got," as part of the development of its new Marine Littoral Regiment force structure plans, which are part of a larger, radical redesign of the Marine Corps structure, as a whole. You can read more about those plans, known as Force Design 2030, in this past War Zone piece. It's interesting to note that Marines conducting a separate exercise in the Philippine Sea in February conducted the first-ever launches of Stinger missiles from Navy Mk VI patrol boats. That comes amid indications that service is looking to divest all of those boats in the very near future, a story The War Zone broke. It's possible that, if the Navy's plans go ahead, the Mk VIs could be transferred to the Marine Corps to support its expanding use of small boats.

USMC A Marine fires a Stinger missile from a Navy Mk VI patrol boat during an exercise in the Philippine Sea in February 2021. In the meantime, the Marines are pushing ahead with their development of new small boat tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as other capabilities to support future distributed operations. "It's about innovating with what we have available and kind of looking to some of the future capabilities we might get and laying the groundwork now," Captain Royer said. "We're not waiting for technology to catch up with our ideas."

It's all about developing "a more flexible, scalable force with a mix of very old concepts that we're revamping and then new stuff," he added. Small boats, carrying teams armed with Javelin missiles and more, look set to only be an increasingly important part of that force mix going forward.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39865/marines-test-javelin-missile-teams-in-rubber- rafts-like-somali-pirates-but-better-armed)

Did An RC-135 Spy Plane Really Make An Unprecedented Run At Chinese Airspace Near Taiwan?

Public flight tracking data showed the RC-135U spy plane very near Chinese airspace, but that info alone doesn't tell the whole story. BY THOMAS NEWDICK MARCH 22, 2021

THOMAS NEWDICK View Thomas Newdick's Articles

@CombatAir AU.S. Air Force RC-135U Combat Sent electronic intelligence aircraft flew a mission over the Strait of Taiwan this morning, supposedly approaching nearly 25 nautical miles from the coast of mainland China. The Beijing-based SCS Probing Initiative claims that today’s flight came closer to the Chinese coast than any other previously recorded, based on publicly available data, but the story may not be so straightforward. The RC-135U, serial number 64-14849, which was visible using online flight-tracking websites under the transponder code AE01D5, had been preceded by a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and an EP-3E Aries II intelligence-gathering plane operating in the South China Sea, all in the course of March 22, the SCS Probing Initiative noted in a Tweet.

U.S. AIR FORCE One of two RC-135U aircraft currently operated by the U.S. Air Force. The RC-135U, of which the Air Force has just two, is specifically configured to gather electronic and signals intelligence, with a particular focus on collecting data regarding adversaries’ radars and air defense networking nodes. These aircraft collect information about electronic signatures to help commanders build so-called “electronic orders of battle” detailing the disposition of an opponent’s air defenses. This includes detecting and classifying threat emitters, and pinpointing their locations, among other electronic intelligence-gathering capabilities. The reported flightpath is a fairly familiar one, routing through the strategic Bashi Channel, which runs from the southern end of Taiwan to the northern tip of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The spy plane then apparently headed directly toward the Chinese coast, in the airspace close to the border between the provinces of Fujian in the north, and Guangdong to the south. The aircraft then seems to have turned away, headed back to Kadena Air Base, in Okinawa, Japan. AMERICAN SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT HAVE BEEN FLOODING INTO THE AIRSPACE SOUTH OF TAIWAN (UPDATED)By Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE

NAVY P-8 WITH SECRETIVE RADAR POD SURVEILS MASSIVE CHINESE NAVAL BASE IN SOUTH CHINA SEABy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE

FLOOD OF CHINESE AIRCRAFT SOUTH OF TAIWAN CONTINUES DAYS AFTER MOCK ATTACK RUNS ON U.S. CARRIERBy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE

COGNITIVE ELECTRONIC WARFARE COULD REVOLUTIONIZE HOW AMERICA WAGES WAR WITH RADIO WAVESBy Joseph Trevithick and Tyler RogowayPosted in THE WAR ZONE U.S. NAVY RELEASES IMAGES OF CHINESE WARSHIP'S DANGEROUS MANEUVERS NEAR ITS DESTROYERBy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE This has all the traits of a typical Cold War-style reconnaissance maneuver, stimulating radar emitters of interest to “light up” so that onboard analysts can gather critical data before the aircraft leaves the scene. U.S. surveillance flights in the wider South China Sea area are a regular occurrence, of course, with an abundance of potential items of interest for their sensors to analyze. What made this RC-135U flight so notable, according to the SCS Probing Initiative, which is hosted by Peking University in Beijing and is one of the most active entities tracking American military aviation activity, was its proximity to the People’s Republic. The same source stated that the closest the RC-135U got to the Chinese coast was 25.33 nautical miles. However, U.S. military surveillance aircraft are generally permitted to fly a minimum distance of 20 nautical miles from the coast, although a 40-nautical-mile limit is often used by planners to ensure there is no possibility of a radar misidentifying the exact location of the jet, potentially sparking an international incident.

ROBERT S. HOPKINS III

The primary platform sensors (PPMS), the RC-135U’s main intelligence-gathering sensors, are located on the nose…

ROBERT S. HOPKINS III

…on the tail…

ROBERT S. HOPKINS III

…and on each wingtip. That last point raises another possible problem with the analysis, based on its accuracy — or lack of it. Flight-tracking available in the public domain is inherently imprecise, meaning that using it for calculations of this kind is not of definitive value. Whether the aircraft actually remained well outside the 20-nautical-mile zone or even encroached it, cannot be determined from this kind of data alone. A more reliable source would be required to confirm the exact flight path, such as radar plots, like those released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense during incursions of their airspace.

Representatives from our favorite open-source flight data website ADS-B Exchange told The War Zone that the information presented by the SCS Probing Initiative likely came from multilateration data, or MLAT, in which there are “tons of variables depending on [radio frequency] propagation.” Using this method, it would be hard to determine the position of the RC-135U with any certainty, suffice to say it was broadly in this area. MLAT, the representatives explained, is a “mathematical calculation based on the time different receivers in the area get the signal, kind of like triangulation. But tons of factors can affect it and the fewer receivers in the area the less accurate it is.” This becomes abundantly clear when you notice how the track jumps around while the Combat Sent likely flew in a straight line. While today’s RC-135U flight could appear provocative, and, as the Tweet below shows, some observers took it to mean as such, the available flight-tracking data from publicly available sources is not enough to go on. Furthermore, the information that it does provide actually seems to reflect a continuation of established practices and patterns flown by U.S. spy planes in international waters ever since the Cold War. Any wider significance comes from the status of the Taiwan Strait, which has played host to tensions between China and the United States, as well as between China and Taiwan. For its part, China has been increasingly flexing its military muscles in this hotly disputed region since the beginning of the year, sending fighter jets, maritime patrol, and surveillance types into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ at the northern end of the South China Sea. For its part, Taiwan has been busy beefing up its military assets standing guard over the strait, including upgraded F-16 fighter jets, ready to intercept potential threats to the island, and cruise-missile-toting warplanes that would be tasked with defending against a possible Chinese amphibious invasion force. What we can say with some certainty, is that it looks as though the U.S. Air Force RC- 135U made a run at the Chinese mainland, which is an established air defense stimulation tactic, but exactly how close this one got to the coast cannot be precisely established with the information we have to hand. If this becomes part of a new pattern of operations, we may be able to better define it as a change from the status quo, but for not, we will just have to wait and see.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39890/did-an-rc-135-spy-plane-really-make-an- unprecedented-run-at-chinese-airspace-near-taiwan

Japan mulling order to deploy military if China attacks Taiwan

Tokyo weighing release of 'SDF dispatch order' to protect US military if China attacks Taiwan

22692

JS Hyuga helicopter destroyer. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japan is exploring ways its military can help U.S. forces defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China.

During talks with Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo on March 16, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin broached the subject of joint U.S.-Japanese cooperation in defending Taiwan if China were to attack. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to cooperate closely in the event of such military aggression, but the details of this coordination have not yet been discussed, reported Nikkei Asia.

During the meeting, Kishi noted the recent dramatic increase in flights by Chinese military planes in the Taiwan Strait. He emphasized the need for Japan's Self- Defense Forces (SDF) to coordinate with their American counterpart in the event of an assault by the People's Liberation Army.

Amid China's stepped-up military aggression towards Taiwan and Japan's proximity to any potential conflict, Tokyo has recently been assessing the viability of releasing "an SDF dispatch order to protect U.S. warships and military planes" if a conflict were to arise, according to the news site.

After the meeting, the two countries issued a lengthy statement in which they stated they would not tolerate China's "destabilizing behavior." Deutsche Welle cited Go Ito, a professor of international relations at Tokyo's Meiji University as saying that "The wording of this statement is surprising in its strength, particularly from Japan's perspective as Tokyo generally prefers to take a more delicate or diplomatic approach."

(https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157109) Taiwan kicks off field exercises in Combat Preparedness Month 03/22/2021 02:39 PM Listen

File photo courtesy of the Military News Agency Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Troops from various military units in Taiwan were mobilized early Monday morning to begin field training exercises, as part of the country's Combat Preparedness Month.

With the start of the field exercises, the public can expect to see military vehicles such as armored cars and tanks on the streets, military sources told CNA.

Combat Preparedness Month, which is designated every quarter, started on March 1 and is scheduled to be held in four stages -- battlefield scouting, tabletop exercises, field strategy and tactics, and field exercises, the sources said.

All of those exercises are geared ultimately toward enhancing the troops' integrated air defense capabilities, the sources said.

Taiwan resumed its quarterly Combat Preparedness Month two years ago, in response to increased nearby military activities by China.

One of the features of this month's exercises is the defense of Tamsui River, which connects the Taiwan Strait to the heart of Taipei City, where the Presidential Office is located, military sources said. The exercises will also test the strength of Taiwan's combined arms battalions, by bringing together soldiers from the different military branches to form a unit capable of operating independently on the battlefield, according to military sources.

A combined arms battalion comprises soldiers from infantry and cavalry units; snipers; liaison officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force; and controllers of unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles.

This week, combined arms battalions will be deployed at strategic points along Tamsui River, at beaches in central and southern Taiwan, and in highlands, to test their combat power, counter strike, air defense and reinforcement capabilities, according to military sources.

Taiwan had suspended its Combat Preparedness Month in the 1990s but resumed in 2019 due to the increased nearby maneuvers of China's military.

Beijing has shut down official communication channels with Taipei and stepped up its military intimidation efforts since Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016.

Cross-strait tensions escalated further 2016-2020 when the United States, under the administration of then President Donald Trump, increased its arms sales to Taiwan, began allowing visits by high-level officials to Taiwan, and passed some Taiwan-friendly bills in Congress.

Beijing responded by increasing its military maneuvers around Taiwan, including drills and sorties. In 2020, Taiwan recorded more than 100 incidents of harassment by Chinese warplanes and battleships, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202103220010)

Taiwan scholar releases report on defense ministry's military strategy review

Ou Hsi-fu says nation’s approach to asymmetric warfare has changed multiple times

1188

By Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

2021/03/22 17:00

Institute for National Defense and Security Research logo. (Facebook, INDSR photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ou Hsi-fu (歐錫富), an Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) expert on Chinese political and military affairs, on Saturday (March 20) commented on the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).

The academic shared his observations on the review in his National Defense Security Analysis Report, which was released Saturday.

Ou pointed out that the QDR includes the concept of “forcing the enemy to capitulate” and details the nation’s development of asymmetric combat power. These strategies have appeared in a number of past MND documents but have undergone many adjustments over the years, CNA quoted him as saying.

Ou noted that at the end of the annual Han Kuang 33 exercise in May 2017, the MND had altered the term "decisive victory on the beach" to "decisive coastal victory" and adjusted its defensive strategy accordingly, signifying that the beach was considered the last line of defense. This change was due to the Chinese military's focus on "beyond the horizon" operations in recent years, which entails carrying out rapid beach landings from outside the defending force’s field of operations.

Ou stated that in the future, the military will deploy its assets in and around Taiwan’s coastal areas with the goal of destroying most of the enemy force. He cited the MND’s 2019 National Defense Report (NDR) as stating that in accordance with the country’s “defense and deterrence” strategy, the military is embracing the concepts of "combat power preservation, decisive coastal victory, and eliminating the enemy on the beach."

These approaches play into "innovative and asymmetric" thinking, Ou remarked. He added that they help realize the goal of “forcing the enemy to capitulate.”

The think tank researcher noted that the contents of the 2021 QDR are very similar to the 2019 NDR. However, the QDR emphasizes the use of asymmetrical warfare to avoid enemy attacks head-on and instead strike at the invading force’s center and other vital points, using local geographic advantages in the Taiwan Strait.

Ou pointed out that with the acquisition of long-range strike weapons, Taiwan will be able to attack the enemy at sea, not just on beaches.

(https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4157283)

Taiwan loses two fighter jets in apparent collision, third such crash in six months By Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Two Taiwanese fighter jets crashed on Monday in the third such incident in the past half year, at a time when the Beijing-claimed island’s armed forces are under increasing pressure to intercept Chinese aircraft on an almost daily basis.

While Taiwan’s air force is well trained and well equipped, mostly with U.S.-made equipment, it is dwarfed by China’s. Beijing views the democratic island as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.

Taiwan’s air force said two air force F-5E fighters, each with one pilot aboard, crashed into the sea off the island’s southeastern coast after they apparently collided in mid-air during a training mission.

One pilot was found and air-lifted to hospital by helicopter but later died, while the other is missing, air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei told reporters, adding the aircraft were in good working order.

The air force has now grounded the F-5 fleet and suspended all training missions, he said.

The U.S.-built F-5 fighters first entered service in Taiwan in the 1970s and have been mostly been retired from front-line activities, though some are still used for training and as a back-up for the main fleet.

Another F-5 crashed in October, killing the pilot. The following month a much more modern F-16 crashed off Taiwan’s east coast, and the pilot of that aircraft also died.

In January of last year, Taiwan’s top military official was among eight people killed after a helicopter carrying them to visit soldiers crashed in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei.

The incidents have raised concern about both training and maintenance, but also the pressure the air force is under to respond to repeated Chinese flights near the island.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has warned Chinese aircraft, including drones, are flying repeatedly in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, seeking to wear out Taiwan’s air force.

(https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-defence/taiwan-loses-two-fighter-jets-in-apparent-collision- third-such-crash-in-six-months-idUSKBN2BE13M Taiwanese air force pilot killed, another missing after fighter jet crash

• Two planes collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea during a training mission, the third such incident in six months • One of the pilots was pulled unconscious from the water and later declared dead but search is still under way for the second

A seat from one of the fighter jets with a parachute attached was found on a highway in Pingtung county on Monday. Photo: CNA A Taiwanese air force pilot was killed and another is missing after two fighter jets collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea off the south of the island on Monday, the third such incident in six months.

The two F-5E fighter jets each had one pilot on board and went missing from radar around 3pm, about 1.4 nautical miles from the fishing town of Mudan in Pingtung county, air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei said.

They had taken off with two other F-5s from the Chihang airbase in Taitung, eastern Taiwan, at 2.30pm for a training mission, he said.

(https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3126481/taiwanese-rescuers-search-missing- pilot-after-fighter-jet-crash)

Indian Navy commissions eighth and final Mk IV landing craftby Gabriel Dominguez

The Indian Navy (IN) has commissioned its eighth and final Mk IV landing craft utility (LCU) platform ordered from state-owned shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in September 2011.

The IN commissioned its eighth and final Mk IV landing craft in a ceremony held on 18 March at Port Blair. (Indian Navy)

Named IN LCU L58, the 62.8 m vessel entered service in a ceremony held on 18 March at Port Blair, the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and headquarters of the IN-headed tri-service command.

The LCU, which is part of an INR21 billion (USD290 million) contract for eight such vessels signed between GRSE and the Indian government, was launched on 16 December 2016 at GRSE’s facility in Kolkata, and has now joined the seven other vessels of the class – L51, L52, L53, L54, L55, L56, L57 – the first of which entered service in March 2017.

Each of the LCUs is capable of transporting up to 160 fully equipped troops, main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, and other equipment, including containerised mission modules for amphibious and sealift operations.

Based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), these ships can also be employed in a number of missions, including beaching, search-and-rescue, humanitarian- assistance and disaster-relief, and supply and replenishment operations.

Each vessel of the Mk IV class displaces 830 tons, has a crew of 50 – including five officers – and is fitted with “state-of-the-art equipment and advanced systems” such as a locally designed integrated bridge system (IBS) and an integrated platform management system (IPMS), according to the IN.

(https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/indian-navy-commissions-eighth-and-final- mk-iv-landing-craft)

Indonesia shortlists frigate designs as follow-on to Martadinata-class

A Bergamini-class (FREMM) frigate of the Italian Navy, which was among those said tl be shortlisted for an Indonesian requirement. Photo c/o Italian Navy.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MOD) was reported to have shortlisted 4 frigate designs, as it plans to procure additional frigates as a follow-on to the Martadinata-class of the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL).

According to British defense press Jane’s, the four designs shortlisted were the SIGMA 10514 design from Dutch shipbuilder Damen, the 30FFM design from Japanese shipbuilder Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, the Bergamini-class (FREMM) from Italian shipbuilder Fincantierri, and the Arrowhead 140 design from a British consortium led by Babcock International.

Currently, the TNI-AL’s Martadinata-class frigates are its most capable surface warfare ships, which were based on the SIGMA 10514 design from Damen, and built locally by Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL.

The new frigates, together with the two existing Martadinata-class frigates, will replace the entire Ahmad Yani-class (Van Speijk-class) frigates of the TNI-AL, which are already operating beyond their service lives and were built more than 55 years ago.

Three ships are planned for construction, and are expected to be better equipped than the current Martadinata-class.

The Indonesian MOD has previously been looking at acquiring two large frigates based on the Iver Huitfeldt-class design of the Royal Danish Navy. A Preliminary Contract has been signed between the Indonesian MOD and Danish Odense Maritime Technology (OMT) in 2020 It is still being confirmed if the plan to build two Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate is separate from this new frigate program.

https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/2021/03/indonesia-shortlists-frigate-designs-as.html) Seoul’s budding military ties with Beijing hit a snag as it tries to stay on Washington’s good side

• South Korea needs the US as it looks to resume diplomatic ties with North Korea, meaning defence cooperation with China could be an issue, analysts say • Similarly, while trilateral security ties between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo were emphasised by a US delegation last week, lingering tensions with Japan remain

Chinese and South Korean navy personnel during preparations for the 70th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in 2019. Photo: Reuters

South Korea’s budding military ties with China may hit a snag due to the rivalry between its ally the United States and an increasingly assertive Beijing, analysts say, at a time when Seoul needs Washington’s cooperation as it bids to resume the denuclearisation process with North Korea.

Seoul and Beijing earlier this month expanded their military communications to avoid potential miscalculations, adding two new direct lines between their navies and air forces to the three existing hotlines, while they also held their 19th round of defence talks to explore ways to promote peace on the Korean peninsula. The moves came after four Chinese warplanes and 15 Russian aircraft in December entered South Korea’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

South Korean defence minister Suh Wook, who held talks last week with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, on Monday told Bloomberg the new China lines had been discussed with the American officials.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3126485/seouls-budding-military-ties-beijing- hit-snag-it-tries-stay

South Korea hints it may strengthen military ties with Japan

• South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook (left) speaks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as they inspect an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI • • • BY JEONG-HO LEE AND JIHYE LEE • BLOOMBERG • • SHARE • Mar 22, 2021 South Korea’s defense minister signaled the country may strengthen its military cooperation with rival Japan as the two U.S. allies work to boost regional security against threats like the ones posed by North Korea.

Suh Wook, who held talks last week with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on their debut trip abroad since taking office, said Seoul considers Japan as one of its crucial security partners and wants to continue its cooperation with the neighbor in partnership with the U.S.

“What is protecting the Korean Peninsula is centered around the Korea-U.S. alliance, but we believe the Korea-Japan security cooperation is also a valuable asset, which is why we need to maintain this,” Suh said in a Bloomberg Television interview, a day after finishing talks with the U.S. envoys.

The visits to Tokyo and Seoul by Blinken and Austin appeared to help defrost chilly relations between the neighbors, who host the bulk of American troops in the region. Ties plunged during U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenure as tensions arising from historical differences touched off a trade dispute that at one point threatened global supply lines for semiconductors and nearly led South Korea to abandon a joint intelligence-sharing agreement.

“There is indeed the matter of history-related issues, but we feel that the Korea-Japan relations are needed in terms of defense cooperation,” he said. “We will continue to hold military talks and continue on cooperation in the future.” The defense minister also said that Seoul would continue to develop its alliance with the new Biden administration, allowing it to play a bigger security role on the international stage.

President Moon Jae-in’s government has embarked on one of the country’s biggest military build-ups in years, seeking to add an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine. The moves would allow it to project more power abroad and comes after the Trump administration pushed Seoul to increase its presence in international security arrangements, such as guarding waterways in the Middle East from which South Korea receives the bulk of its oil.

Asked about South Korean plans to build an aircraft carrier, Suh characterized it has part of creating a more flexible military.

“It’s for preparing against potential threats in the future — a matter of range for the Korean Peninsula — and to secure flexibility for matters such as humanitarian assistance, which is why we believe it’s necessary.” The Biden administration has also been seeking help from allies to form policy against what Blinken called Chinese “aggression and coercion,” which puts South Korea in a difficult position. Beijing is its biggest trading partner and a key player in persuading North Korea to wind down its nuclear arsenal.

Suh said there had been advancements in the long-delayed transfer of wartime troop management known as Operational Control Authority, or OPCON, from the U.S. to South Korea and highlighted South Korea’s New Southern Policy, aimed at elevating ties with Southeast Asia and India.

“Actually, there’s not much difference in terms of bringing the current combined forces command to a future version of the combined forces command besides switching the position of the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander-in-chief,” Suh said. “In that sense, our stance in readiness doesn’t have much of a change besides the citizenship of the commander-in-chief, so we believe there’s no need to be worried about the issue of our readiness posture.”

(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/national/south-korea-japan-military- cooperation/)

UK, South Korea reportedly start talks on carrier technologies

The United Kingdom and South Korea have reportedly started talks on potential cooperation on aircraft carrier technologies.The Telegraph newspaper reported the development on 21 March, saying the UK had offered South Korea technologies that support the UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

A CGI showing the conceptual design of South Korea’s proposed future light aircraft carrier. (RoKN)

According to the report, officials from the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) have held informal discussions with counterparts from South Korea about areas of technology the Northeast Asian country might be interested in.

Commenting on the report, a UK government spokesperson told Janes on 22 March, “The UK and South Korea have an important defence and security relationship. Our Indo-Pacific tilt will provide further areas for co-operation.”

However, an official from South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) denied the development. “It is not true that we began informal discussion with the British government on the issue,” a spokesperson from the government agency told the Yonhap news service on 22 March.

DAPA announced in February that work on developing the Republic of Korea Navy’s (RoKN’s) future next-generation light aircraft carrier will officially start in 2022 and be completed by 2033.

DAPA said that about KRW2.3 trillion (USD2 billion) had been tentatively earmarked for the project, which was previously known as LPX-II but has now renamed CVX.

The proposed carrier is expected to support operations of helicopters and short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

(https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/uk-south-korea-reportedly-start-talks-on- carrier-technologies) U.K. to unveil global focus in defense modernization plans

• British artillery soldiers are pictured after a shooting session during the Dynamic Front 18 exercise in Grafenwoehr, Germany, in March 2018. | AFP-JIJI • Mar 22, 2021 LONDON – The U.K. government will on Monday unveil much-anticipated military modernization plans, vowing to bolster its defense of British interests “across multiple domains and in all corners of the globe.” The long-awaited proposals, detailed in a report entitled “Defence in a Competitive Age,” focus heavily on boosting the country’s navy and global footprint, the Ministry of Defence said.

It promises more ships, submarines and sailors and the transformation of the Royal Marines into a new unit called the Future Commando Force.

The force will be deployed on “an enduring basis” to help secure shipping lanes and uphold freedom of navigation, according to the ministry.

The army will create a new special operations Ranger Regiment that would “be able to operate discreetly in high-risk environments and be rapidly deployable across the world,” the ministry said.

It highlighted the armed forces’ continued global activity, including launching strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and drugs busts in the Arabian Sea, ahead of the report’s release. The ministry also noted ongoing naval operations with NATO allies in the Baltic, and the deployment to Asia later this year of a carrier strike group led by the country’s new aircraft carrier.

“In the coming years, we will broaden the spectrum of this worldwide engagement even further,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.

“Across a vast global footprint, we will be constantly operating to deter our adversaries and reassure our friends, integrating with our allies, and ready to fight should it be necessary.” The defense paper comes less than a week after the government published a broader overhaul of Britain’s security, defense and foreign policy, billed as the biggest since the Cold War era.

Crafted over the past year as London recalibrates its post-Brexit foreign policy, the so- called Integrated Review outlined a pivot in strategic focus toward Asia, labeling China a “systemic competitor.”

The Trident nuclear submarine HMS Victorious patrols off the west coast of Scotland in April 2013. | AFP-JIJI It also prioritized ongoing efforts to counter Russian threats and, in a surprise move to many, set out plans to increase Britain’s nuclear stockpile. The narrower defense review earmarks £200 million ($277 million) in investments over the next decade in the new navy commando force, which will conduct roles traditionally carried out by U.K. special forces.

It also pledges £120 million to establish an army special operations brigade and the new Ranger Regiment, which is set to be involved in what the ministry called “collective deterrence” with partner forces. A new Security Force Assistance Brigade will provide guidance and training to allied partner nations and draw expertise form across the army, the ministry said.

“Elements of each brigade will be routinely deployed across the globe to assist partner nations in delivering defence and security,” it added. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy will develop a new surveillance ship, to come into service by 2024 with a crew of around 15 people, aimed at protecting Britain’s undersea cables and other critical national infrastructure.

(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/22/world/uk-military-global-footprint/)

UK Defence Command Paper: New headmark set for for Royal Navy by Richard Scott

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has set out plans to grow an increasingly forward- deployed Royal Navy (RN) surface fleet as part of the government’s wide-ranging Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

Published on 22 March, the Defence Command Paper, entitled ‘Defence in a competitive age’, spells out plans to introduce a new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS) to safeguard critical undersea national infrastructure in the North Atlantic, and lays out an ambitious long-term UK shipbuilding programme to include three new solid support ships, Type 32 frigates, and a new class of Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS).

(https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/uk-defence-command-paper-new-headmark- set-for-for-royal-navy)

State of (Deterrence by) Denial Great power competition is all the rage. The 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) and the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) both argue that the United States’ central challenge is the reemergence of strategic competition with revisionist powers (China and, to a considerably more limited degree, Russia).1 The Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States (NDS Commission)—a Congressionally-mandated, independent review of the NDS—applauds “the priority the NDS places on competition with China and Russia as the central dynamic in shaping and sizing U.S. military forces and in U.S. defense strategy more broadly.” 2 As former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster put it: “Geopolitics are back … with a vengeance, after this holiday from history we took in the so-called post-Cold War period.” 3 Great power competition can mean many things, from assuring economic reciprocity to avoiding nuclear war, but it boils down to the United States’ ability to deter China and Russia from attacking the United States and our allies or established partners. For example, Washington does not want China to invade Taiwan, nor Russia to invade the Baltic states. Deterring China and Russia from doing such things, however, is difficult today due to the relative decrease in U.S. economic power and military capability.4 The era of U.S. military dominance—when the United States could count on controlling the air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace—is over. More capable adversaries plus declining American dominance add up to less favorable balances of power and less confident allies in key regions of the world.

(https://warontherocks.com/2021/03/the-state-of-deterrence-by-denial/)

America’s Alliances After Trump: Lessons from the Summer of ’69 Lindsey Ford, Zack Cooper Richard Nixon's 1969 Guam doctrine led America's allies in Asia to pursue a variety of strategies based on perceptions of America's reliability. If the Biden administration wants to strengthen the country's alliances moving forward, and avoid repeating Nixon's alliance errors, its first priority should be to restore confidence in U.S. reliability.

(https://tnsr.org/2021/03/americas-alliances-after-trump-lessons-from-the-summer-of-69/)

Who are the winners and losers in Britain’s new defense review?

By: Andrew Chuter

British soldiers walks past Warrior tanks after they arrived by ship on March 22, 2017, in Paldiski, Estonia. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delivered on his promise: A new defense, security and foreign policy review released March 22 calls for cuts to the Army’s end strength and aging hardware as well as the creation of new military structures and the acquisition of high-tech capabilities. By the time Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stood up in Parliament to announce the outcome of the review, the fate of several key capabilities had already been leaked by the government over several weeks as it promoted the virtues that a data- and intelligence-driven military could bring to competing with potential adversaries like Russia, particularly in gray zone warfare. In the government’s review, the Ministry of Defence committed to buying more than the 48 F-35B fighter jets it has already ordered, but the timeline for securing more of the aircraft is vague. The government also unveiled a major naval shipbuilding program that calls for a multi-role ocean surveillance ship designed to protect underwater communications cables from possible Russian interference. But older, conventional hardware in the MoD’s inventory took a hit as the military cut programs to better afford a pivot toward high-tech acquisitions in the fields of space, cyber, unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence, among other advanced capabilities. The Warrior infantry fighting vehicle and the Hercules C-130J military transport aircraft fleets are both being axed, while Typhoon combat jets and Challenger 2 tanks are being reduced in numbers. Some of the takeaways:

• The Lockheed Martin UK program to update several hundred Warrior infantry fighting vehicles has been axed, before it even entered the manufacturing stage and a decade after development work began. • The government will speed up work on the Boxer eight-wheel drive armored vehicle to introduce it into service sooner than planned, with the platform to replace the Warrior. • Army personnel numbers are being cut by 10,000 to 72,500 by 2025 — the smallest it has been for about 200. • Space investments will include the £5 billion (U.S. $7 billion) Skynet 6 program to recapitalize satellite communication capabilities. And the government wants to spend an additional £1.4 billion in the space domain over the next decade, including developing a U.K.-built intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite constellation. • Transformation of amphibious forces will include more than £50 million to convert a Bay-class support ship to deliver a more lethal littoral strike capability. Force structure changes include the creation of self-sufficient brigade combat teams, boosting support of special forces with a rangers regiment, and the global deployment of security force assistance units to help stabilize nations and fight extremism. • The concept and assessment phase for a new Type 83 destroyer will get underway to begin replacing Type 45 destroyers in the late 2030s. • Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130J military transport aircraft, mainly used for special forces deployments, are to be taken out of service by 2023, ending an association between the British military and the tactical airlifter going back to 1967. The Airbus A400M will fill the gap. • Twenty-four early build Typhoon combats jets, known as Tranche 1, will be retired from service. • Nine older Chinook helicopters are to be withdrawn from service and replaced with an extended-range version. • More than £250 million is to be spent over 10 years on the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System. In addition, the Army is spending more than £800 million over the next decade on a new 155mm howitzer platform. • The Army is upgrading the Challenger 2 tank fleet at a cost of £1.3 billion, but only 148 vehicles will be improved. • The Royal Navy is to retire early two aging Type 23 frigates. Mine countermeasures are also in line for the cutting block.

(https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/03/22/who-are-the-winners-and-losers-in- britains-new-defense-review/)

Here’s what to expect in Taiwan’s new defense review

Taiwanese soldiers operate a CM-11 battle tank during an exercise at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Jan. 15, 2020. (Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) MELBOURNE, Australia — Taiwan will soon release its latest Quadrennial Defense Review, with the island’s parliament receiving advance copies of the document, according to the state-run Central News Agency. The document received by the Legislative Yuan says Taiwan’s military will prioritize deep- strike capabilities as it seeks to improve its defense and ability to delay a potential Chinese invasion, according to CNA. Taiwan is considered a renegade province by China, which had vowed to reunite the island with the mainland by force if necessary. Taiwan plans to shift its focus from being able to destroy enemy forces landing on its beaches, and instead adopt an asymmetric force structure that can annihilate an enemy at sea prior to making landfall. The review, which is to be released within 10 months of any Taiwanese presidential inauguration, will also say that Taiwan’s asymmetric systems must be small, mobile, stealthy and numerous for strategic dispersion, taking advantage of the deployment of anti-ship missiles in coastal areas, rapid reaction forces and mine laying at sea.

(https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2021/03/22/heres-what-to-expect-in- taiwans-new-defense-review/)

Hypersonic weapons are coming—whether we’re ready or not 23 Mar 2021|

It’s always risky to proffer an opinion on the probable impact of a new technology, especially if you aren’t entirely convinced that a much-touted ‘game-changer’ is quite as significant as its proponents would have you think. For example, there were plenty of distinguished scientists and engineers last century who badly misread the future possibilities for aircraft or nuclear energy, two developments that changed the nature of warfare and military strategy. There’s even a hall of infamy for erroneous predictions about technology—into which I would prefer not to be inducted. Nonetheless, I’ve had a go at assessing the significance of hypersonic technologies in a new ASPI paper released today.

Hypersonics is both literally and figuratively a fast-moving field. I’ve had to revise my paper several times in the past few weeks to include new publicly available information— which is an indication of the current high level of activity, as several nations push ahead with the rapid development of new hypersonic weapons. (There is no precise definition of hypersonic, but roughly speaking it includes anything travelling faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.)

Australia is a player in the field as well. We have been involved in joint experimental activities with the US for over 20 years and have a cadre of world-class researchers. The government has included hypersonic weapons in its defence acquisition plans—though, typically, details of funding and timelines are scant.

As I explain in the paper, hypersonic systems are not new to the world’s military arsenals. The first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) appeared in the 1950s. Their development required engineering solutions to deal with the heat generated by very high- speed flight through the atmosphere, but that problem was solved theoretically in the mid- 1950s and practically in the years that followed. Re-entering the earth’s atmosphere at speeds in excess of Mach 20, ICBMs were essentially immune to any sort of defensive action, leading to the Cold War standoff of mutually assured destruction. Even today, defence against anything other than a small number of unsophisticated ICBMs remains highly problematic. And the emerging generation of hypersonic weapons is likely to render defensive efforts even less effective. At the strategic level, there are hypersonic ‘prompt global strike’ systems, in the form of glide weapons that skip off the upper layers of the atmosphere one or more times before re-entering at hypersonic speed. By travelling at a lower altitude than the lofted trajectories of ICBMs, they provide reduced warning times to ground-based radar. And, because they can manoeuvre—in contrast to the predictable trajectories of ICBMs—they can approach the intended target from almost any direction.

At the tactical level, air-breathing hypersonic strike weapons will enable attackers to stand off at long range, but still engage the target in short times. A Mach 8 weapon travels 100 kilometres in a little over half a minute. Heating caused by motion through the atmosphere means that hypersonic speed isn’t practically achievable near sea level, so the flight will take place at high altitude before dropping down to a supersonic terminal phase. Because high speed precludes high manoeuvrability, such weapons won’t be suitable against fast- moving targets but could be very effective against fixed targets or slow-moving targets such as ships. In 30 seconds, a 20-knot surface vessel will have travelled around 400 metres. Provided that the initial position data programmed into the missile at launch was accurate, only small course corrections would be needed.

Australia is investing many billions of dollars in advanced sensors and combat systems to defend its surface vessels against subsonic and supersonic weapons. In the paper, I hedge about the possible consequences of hypersonic strike weapons for the effectiveness of our current and future ship-based missile defence systems. I think that’s analytically correct, as there might be clever ways of using the systems we’re buying to work against faster and less predictable incoming weapons. But my gut says otherwise. The fundamental problem of defending ships is that they are large, slow and confined to a two-dimensional surface. And if they have to rely on large, multimillion-dollar missiles that can’t be reloaded once fired, any performance increase to the incoming weapon that reduces the effectiveness of the defensive missile makes life much harder.

In between strategic and tactical systems, intermediate range (500- to 5,000-kilometre) hypersonic weapons raise some serious arms control and stability issues. Intermediate range ballistic weapons were banned by treaty towards the end of the Cold War because the reduced warning times increased the risk of uncontrolled escalation. (That was at the heart of the Cuban missile crisis.) So hypersonic weapons don’t create a new problem, but they exacerbate the old one by providing even shorter warning times.

My paper contains a survey of current hypersonic developments. Many Russian and Chinese systems are being developed with the capability to field either conventional or nuclear warheads. That presents an obvious escalation concern—the detection of an incoming weapon that could be carrying a nuclear weapon presents a decision-maker with a difficult choice. Again, that’s not a new problem, as Chinese anti-ship ballistic missiles already raise that spectre, but hypersonic delivery further increases the chance of miscalculation. Collectively, the issues raised by the likely deployment of hypersonic weapons during the course of this decade have prompted the US Congressional Research Service to wonder whether there’s ‘a need for risk-mitigation measures, such as expanding New START [the new strategic arms reduction treaty], negotiating new multilateral arms control agreements, or undertaking transparency and confidence-building activities’. With new announcements and reports of hypersonic developments coming along every few weeks, it seems like a good time to move discussions of their implications along at a faster speed as well.

(https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/hypersonic-weapons-are-coming-whether-were- ready-or-not/)

Boosting regional cooperation and training in maritime law enforcement 22 Mar 2021|Anthony BerginNorth of 26° south

Maritime law enforcement (MLE) vessels are non-naval vessels employed on maritime law enforcement duties, primarily coastguard vessels, but also vessels of other MLE agencies, such as marine police and fisheries protection services.

The growth of coastguards and other MLE forces has been particularly evident in Southeast Asia. There have been several reasons for this development.

There’s the general increase in maritime activity, especially shipping and the exploration and exploitation of offshore oil and gas, which require monitoring and possible policing for safety, security and environmental protection reasons. The regulatory environment for these activities has become more complex over the years, necessitating a higher level of training for the officers of MLE agencies.

There’s also been the continuation of a high level of illegal activity at sea, be it piracy, armed robbery against ships, acts of terrorism in the vicinity of the Sulu Sea, or trafficking in drugs, arms and people.

The third reason is the number of boundary and sovereignty disputes in the region, notably in the South China Sea. MLE forces are now regarded as preferable for sovereignty protection and their presence in disputed areas is preferred over navies, which carry a higher level of political risk, especially where there are pre-existing tensions between neighbouring countries.

Regional countries recognise that cooperation is necessary for most forms of MLE and safety, even though there may be no agreed maritime boundary. Again, MLE forces are preferable to navies for these operations.

MLE forces, ships and aircraft are generally cheaper to acquire than their military equivalents. They are also cheaper to operate, invariably requiring smaller crews and less sophisticated equipment.

MLE is also becoming more complex with the increased number of international conventions and regulations dealing with illegal activity at sea. It’s more difficult for navies to undertake MLE on an ad hoc basis. Meanwhile, regional navies are focusing more on war-fighting capabilities. Most are reluctant to be too heavily involved in policing tasks. The development of MLE forces has provided increased opportunities for more advanced allies and partner countries to assist in building the capacity of less advanced countries to handle MLE and maritime safety tasks.

Pacific island countries are now facing increasing maritime security challenges. Much of the transnational crime reported in the region has a maritime dimension.

The tasks of MLE in the Pacific islands’ ocean domains have never been more difficult. There are operational gaps in maritime patrolling by many islands. Aerial surveillance of remote areas, offshore zones and adjacent areas of high seas is only conducted on a limited basis.

In the Indian Ocean, maritime safety and security have been identified as priorities for the Indian Ocean Rim Association, with specific reference made to piracy, sustainable fisheries management, and the need for preparations to deal with the natural disasters. The association has established a working group on maritime safety and security that may sponsor some training courses.

MLE training around the Indo-Pacific is available in a variety of forms, ranging from online delivery to in-country delivery of capacity-building assistance to residential programs extending over weeks or even months.

Most regional coastguard academies are focused on providing basic training for coastguard officers, but some, such as the Japan Coastguard Academy, also offer advanced training programs for middle-ranking officers both national and international.

The US Coast Guard has helped in hands-on exercises to train Southeast Asian coastguards in conducting boarding procedures and vessel inspections. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Thailand has a global maritime crime program that conducts capacity-building.

But overall, there’s no regional institution focused on providing professional training and education for middle-ranking officers from regional MLE agencies that enhances their knowledge and skills to enable them to exercise command within their organisations.

By careful analysis, engagement and intelligent program design, an Indo-Pacific maritime law enforcement centre (IMLEC) would effectively identify strategic interventions that leverage the respective strengths of existing MLE programs and institutions in the Indo- Pacific.

The IMLEC would reflect the position that MLE and maritime safety are common interests of all regional countries and necessary tasks, regardless of any discord or disagreement. The centre would deliver modular training and focus on MLE, but with some attention also to maritime safety and marine environmental protection. Once established, IMLEC might also offer bespoke courses and workshops that might be agency- or country-specific, or multi-agency, multi-sector and/or multilateral in nature.

IMLEC should have a research function that would enable it to keep abreast of technological developments and how they might be employed by regional countries to assist them with MLE and providing maritime safety in their waters.

The main role of IMLEC would be to promote a combined, joint, intragovernmental, interagency and multinational approach to the conduct of regional MLE operations drawing on the very best expertise and skills.

It should host high-level regional MLE gatherings that foster links between partner-nation MLE leaders as well as host track 1.5 dialogues on sensitive topics.

Critical to the success of the centre as a facilitator for integrating MLE training across the Indo-Pacific would be sponsors ranging from national MLE authorities, national governments and various regional and international bodies—such as Interpol, UNODC and the International Maritime Organization—that are committed to better MLE and stronger maritime security and safety in the Indo-Pacific.

In terms of location, given Australia’s regional reputation as a country with a strong civil maritime law enforcement regime, there’s a strong case for IMLEC to be based in northern Australia.

Darwin has deep links to the region. It’s a rapidly growing centre of maritime activity supporting the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Border Force, the offshore oil and gas industry, commercial fishing, ship repair and maintenance, and marine tourism.

The range and depth of civil maritime security efforts in Darwin would provide participants with opportunities to engage with operational commanders and senior executives from a diverse array of agencies. This would be invaluable for generating a shared understanding of regional civil MLE challenges.

For Australian Border Force staff, there’s the possibility that some of the training that’s now conducted at the ABF College in Sydney might be undertaken in Darwin.

By maintaining engagements with all MLE authorities in the Indo-Pacific, IMLEC would be able to nimbly shift to develop programs on emerging policy issues at the request of key stakeholders. It would operate innovative MLE programs to build partner capacity, promote professionalism in MLE agencies and strengthen regional cooperation to better meet civil MLE challenges.

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/boosting-regional-cooperation-and-training-in- maritime-law-enforcement/ PETER SWARTZ ON DEFINING THE MARITIME STRATEGY MARCH 22, 2021 DMITRY FILIPOFF LEAVE A COMMENT 1980s Maritime Strategy Series By Dmitry Filipoff CIMSEC discussed the 1980s Maritime Strategy with Capt. Peter Swartz (ret.), who at the time served as a naval strategist on the OPNAV staff, and worked to refine and disseminate the Maritime Strategy. In this discussion, Swartz defines the contents of the strategy, its primary tenets, and how it maintained a remarkable degree of continuity across nearly a decade of naval leadership.

(https://cimsec.org/peter-swartz-on-defining-the-maritime-strategy/)

Duterte: Vaccine funds still with banks, not held in cold cash by gov’t

Published March 22, 2021, 11:57 PM by Genalyn Kabiling Where are the money for the government’s procurement of coronavirus vaccines?

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte presides over a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members prior to his talk to the people at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on March 22, 2021. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

President Duterte explained that the funds borrowed by the government for the vaccine purchases were being held by the banks, not in cold cash by the government, pending the delivery of the supply.

And so far, the President said the government has not spent a single centavo for the vaccine acquisition since the country’s current supplies were so far donations.

Duterte made the clarification during his televised address Monday March 22 after two senators questioned the alleged slow vaccine delivery despite the billions of loans secured by the government. The lawmakers were reportedly looking for the vaccine supplies bought by the government.

“Ang buong akala nila ‘yung pera na bilyon na ibigay nila sa Kongreso, nandiyan na sa kamay natin na it’s cold cash,” Nasaan na yung pera? Sinasabi na natin (The billions of money given by Congress, they think that’s in our hands, that it’s cold cash. Where’s the money? We’ve said) time and again, that the money is still with the lending banks,” the President said.

“We have not used any single centavo because as a matter of fact, about the vaccines we are going to buy…What is in our hands are the donated vaccines,” he added.

Duterte assured the nation the financing program with the multilateral lending institutions was not susceptible to corruption, citing that the funds would go straight to the vaccine manufacturers once the supplies are delivered to the country.

“If you are afraid of corruption, let your mind go easy because these things are not susceptible to anything,” he said. Transactions with lending firms are also made through paper, and not actual delivery of five truckloads of money, according to the President.

“The money is in the hands of the bank and they collect, ‘yung nagpabili sa atin ng bakuna (those who sold us the vaccines) from the bank,” he said.

“It’s the bank who will pay upon our advice na na-deliver na yung bakuna (that the vaccines have been delivered),” he added.

He said the lawmakers should ask about the money after the first batch of vaccine supplies procured by the government has arrived.

At least 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines bought by the government are expected to delivered on March 29, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.

Additional 400,000 doses donated by China will arrive on March 24 while another 979,000 AstraZeneca doses could be delivered from March 24 and 26, Galvez said during the meeting with the President.

Early this month, the country received over 1.125 million million doses of vaccines, including those donated by China and the COVAX facility, that allowed the government to start the immunization of health workers.

“Darating na ‘yung babayaran natin. Doon pa dapat sila magtanong kung nasaan na ‘yung pera (Those we paid for will arrive soon. That’s when they should ask where the money is),” Duterte said.

The President also appealed to his critics to go slow in hurling baseless accusations against the government since it would sow doubt in public minds. He later conceded it was still up to the people if the want to believe the critics or the administration in relation to the vaccine funds.

Prior to his remarks, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government has allocated P82.5 billion for the procurement of coronavirus vaccines, logistics and related supplies.

So far, around $1.2 billion or P58.5 billion in loans have been secured from lending firms such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and theAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

He said these funds, alongside the vaccine resources allocated by the private sector and local government units, could buy enough vaccines to inoculate 70 million adults in the country this year.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/duterte-vaccine-funds-still-with-banks-not-held-in-cold-cash-by-govt/ Two COVID-19 variants present in all Metro Manila cities – DOH By CNN Philippines Staff Published Mar 22, 2021 3:11:50 PM

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) — Two more contagious COVID-19 variants have spread in all 17 cities and municipality in the National Capital Region, the Department of Health confirmed on Monday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the SARS-CoV-2 variants first detected in United Kingdom (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351) are present in all parts of Metro Manila, with some even recording cases of the two variants.

“Hindi po natin ipagkakaila na nakikita na natin itong mga variants sa lahat na ng cities dito sa Metro Nanila at iyan po ay factual na. Meron na tayo either the UK variant or the South African variant. Also in other cities meron na siyang both UK variant and South African variant," she said in a media briefing.

[Translation: We will not deny that these variants were recorded in all cities in Metro Manila. We either have the UK or South Africa variant, while other cities have both.]

DOH said there are 76 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and 105 patients with the B.1.351 variant in Metro Manila.

The B.1.1.7 variant is not only more easily transmitted, but a study by the British Medical Journal or BJM also said it appears to be more fatal meaning a patient with the UK variant has a 64% higher risk of dying from COVID-19. The B.1.351 variant, meanwhile, has a component of “immune escape” – wherein the vaccine may have trouble in helping the inoculated patient build antibodies to fight the virus because of the presence of the E484K mutation, Vergeire earlier explained.

The country has recorded at least 223 cases of the variant from the UK, 152 with the variant from South Africa, and 104 of the variant from the Philippines called P.3. Vergeire said the variants have contributed to the spike in cases in the country. She added they are still waiting for the World Health Organization to declare if there is already community transmission of the new variants.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/22/COVID-19-variants-UK-South-Africa-Metro-Manila.html

No causal link between AstraZeneca vaccine, blood clot — WHO

Published March 22, 2021, 4:15 PM by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe assured the public that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, as there is no indication that severe cases of blood clots had been caused by the shot.

(Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP / FILE PHOTO)

“There was some concern that there was a relationship between a few episodes of thromboembolic disease or blood clotting, which have been observed in some countries of Europe,” Abeyasinghe said during the Laging Handa public briefing on Monday, March 22.

“But we are happy to state that the European Medical Association, after careful evaluation of all the data, has agreed with WHO’s position that there doesn’t seem a causal link with the AstraZeneca vaccine and the frequency of thromboembolic episodes that have been reported in the population,” he pointed out.

Abeyasinghe noted that the number of thromboembolic episodes that has been reported in the vaccinated population was lower than the normal populations.

“There is no causal link established,” he said.

Abeyasinghe said WHO is aware that there were about 40 cases of blood clotting in Europe after receiving AstraZeneca jabs but noted that the number is insignificant compared to the 50 million people worldwide that did not experience such effect.

“Our position is that there is no evidence that the vaccine is causing those episodes and that this vaccine outweighs the sporadic episodes,” he added.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/no-causal-link-between-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clot-who/

Israeli drug offers glimmer of hope after curing 30 COVID-19 patients

Published March 22, 2021, 12:42 PM by Jaleen Ramos An Israeli drug was reported to be successful in initial trials after all 30 moderate to severe cases were cured, providing a glimmer of hope in fighting the COVID-19 crisis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Prof. Nadir Arber, the director of the research project on developing an anti-coronavirus drug at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem (Photo by GPO/Amos Ben Gershom via Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Thirty patients in serious conditions participated in the Phase I clinical trial of EXO-CD24, an experimental inhaled medication developed at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, according to a report by CBN News.

Twenty-nine of these patients were discharged from the hospital within three to five days, while one patient took slightly longer to recover.

Among those who participated in the trial was Sonya Cohen.

Cohen, who tested positive for COVID-19, went to the hospital unable to breath. She was placed in intensive care and needed oxygen.

Professor Nadir Arber, head of the Preventive Medicine Division at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center, asked Cohen if she would be willing to be a part of a clinical trial for a new drug. She said yes.

“From the first, it’s possible to say I felt a lot better. After two days, I got off the oxygen in stages and I could breathe,” Sonya told CBN News.

“I could really breathe. I felt that I was between life and death. Thanks to God and of course thanks to the doctors.”

CD24 is a protein delivered to the lungs by exosomes in the drug, helping the immune system to rebalance.

“This is a drug. It is very simple. We give it to patients with severe disease before they are going to deteriorate to very severe disease that mandates ventilations and even mortality,” Arber told CBN News. “We give it by inhalation… It’s very simple. It’s like two to three minutes per day and you do it for five days. So, we enrolled 30 patients in phase one,” he said. “We checked for safety and the drug was very safe. No side effects whatsoever.”

He added COVID-19 is just like a regular flu for most people but for about five to seven percent of those who contracted it, it can be much worse.

“We don’t really treat the corona, we treated the endpoint,” he said. “There [are] over- reactions of the immune system. The immune system is acting furiously and mainly in the lung releasing a lot of cytokines and chemokines that usually fight infections but now they are destroying the lung tissue, which is very friable,” Arber said.

The medicine will now move on to further trial phases.

“The biggest advantage of my drug, if it’s effective of course, is that I can produce it fast, efficient, and cheap. Within a few months, I can supply the entire world’s needs. So, this is exciting,” Arder said.

Israel is known for leading the world in inoculating its population against COVID-19, with more than five million people or half of its population, already having received the vaccine.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/22/israeli-drug-offers-glimmer-of-hope-after-curing-30-covid-19-patients/

First Chinese coronavirus cases may have been infected in October 2019, says new research

• Scientists from University of California San Diego calculate that people in Hubei may have contracted the coronavirus several weeks before the first known cases • Paper published in Science magazine says this timing would mean the disease had established a firm foothold among humans before it had been identified

The earliest Covid-19 cases in Hubei province might have emerged as early as October 2019 weeks before the first known cases according to new research. – A study published in the journal Science– last week said these cases would have been difficult to detect and the disease would have established a firm foothold among the human population before it was identified.

-CoV-2 was circulating in Hubei province at low levels in early

University“It is highly of probable California that San Sars Diego wrote. November 2019, and possibly as early as October 2019, but not earlier,” the researchers from the

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3126499/first-chinese-covid-19-cases-may-have- been-infected-october-2019

Most Asean nations need 10 yrs for vaccine drive

ByCAI ORDINARIO

MARCH 22, 2021

THE Philippines and many Asean nations will need over a decade to vaccinate majority of their respective populations, according to the Covid-19 vaccine tracker of Bloomberg.

The data, which was based on vaccine information from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, showed the average vaccination rate in the Philippines is at 25,527 doses per day, the third highest in the Asean.

st vaccination rate is 25,527 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will

“In the Philippines, the late take another more than 10 years to cover 75 percent of the population,” Bloomberg stated. However, Asean countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia will be able to vaccinate 75 percent of their population within 7.5 years.

Data for Singapore showed that at an average rate of 30,185 doses per day, it will be able to vaccinate 75 percent of its population in a period of just eight months.

This is followed by Indonesia which can cover majority of its population in 3.1 years. The average vaccination rate in the country is at 342,132 doses per day, the highest in Asean.

This is followed by Malaysia which, at the rate of 17,688 doses per day, needs 7.5 years to vaccinate majority of its population.

Meanwhile, Asean nations in the same boat as the Philippines are Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The report did not include data from Brunei Darussalam and Lao PDR.

The average vaccination rate in Vietnam is 3,675 doses per day; Thailand, 3,350 doses per day; Cambodia, 4,622 doses per day; and Myanmar, 52 doses per day.

Globally, the data showed it will take three years before the world can vaccinate 75 percent of all humankind. The current average vaccination rate is at 10.01 million doses per day.

In an Asian Development Blog, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Independent Evaluation Department Senior Evaluation Specialist Saleha Waseem said vaccination programs, including that for Covid-19, should not stop at financing.

The national government earlier received a $400-million loan from the Access Facility (or APVAX). The Philippines is the first country to receive funding from the facility. ADB’s Asia Pacific Vaccine The $9 billion APVAX was created for the purpose of timely vaccine procurement and capacity building as well as infrastructure investment.

parts including strategic and proactive communications. Engaging with those unsure about inoculations will“Financing go a long is justway the toward starting optimizing point. Delivering the Covid- vaccines is a complex process, containing many moving

19 vaccine rollout,” Waseem said. Waseem said the success of all vaccination programs rest on good communication which can combat misinformation and overcome hesitancy among vaccine recipients.

the medical journal Lancet that effective communication are needed to vaccine acceptance. She said the lack of effective communication strategies have been cited by ADB’s evaluation reports and A Lancet study, Waseem said, found that factors influencing vaccine decisions include trust, safety, effectiveness, and compatibility of the vaccine to religious beliefs.

online fitness class, my trainer asked me if I would opt for vaccination against Covid-19. I told

“During an him I would do so as soon as I had the option,” Waseem said. -19 vaccine could alter the rec DNA. I argued with scientific facts that dispute this claim but very quickly realized I had lost the debate “Not convinced, the trainer enquired if I was aware that the Covid ipient’s to the information the trainer had read on social media,” she lamented. Waseem said communication strategies, media involvement and strategic engagement of stakeholders for new vaccine introduction will play a positive role.

She added that messaging from local leaders, celebrities, and other credible individuals, can contribute a great deal.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/22/most-asean-nations-need-10-yrs-for-vaccine-drive/

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now By Reuters Staff 4 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

FILE PHOTO: A student looks at a health worker before taking a lateral flow test at Weaverham High School, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown begins to ease, in Cheshire, Britain, March 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

Britain marks first anniversary of lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday praised the “great spirit” shown by Britain in tackling COVID- 19, marking a year since the first lockdown by saying everyone’s efforts had allowed the country to start “on the cautious road” to easing restrictions.

When Britain suffered one of the highest death tolls from the coronavirus, Johnson came under fire for moving too slowly last year. But since then, his government has overseen a successful vaccine rollout, reaching more than half of the adult population.

Merkel banks on Easter circuit-breaker

Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18 and calling on citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holidays to try to break a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said early on Tuesday.

Talks had dragged on for hours as Merkel and state leaders were at loggerheads over whether to ease restrictions on domestic travel over the Easter holiday season. Merkel said Germany was in a race against time to vaccinate its population before new coronavirus variants took over.

Interim approval for sale of virus nasal spray

Israel and New Zealand have given interim approval for the sale of biotech firm SaNOtize Research and Development’s Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) which could help prevent transmission of the COVID- 19 virus, the company said on Monday.

Last week, SaNOtize and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, UK announced results of clinical trials showing that NONS was an effective antiviral treatment that could prevent the transmission of COVID-19, shorten its course, and reduce the severity of symptoms and damage in those already infected.

Moon gets AstraZeneca shot

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in received AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday ahead of an overseas trip, as the country began inoculating more senior citizens and health workers in an effort to accelerate its vaccination drive.

Moon, 68, got the shot from a community clinic near his office in Seoul to prepare for a planned visit to the United Kingdom for a G7 summit in June. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited South Korea, India and Australia to attend the summit as guests.

UK variant can make pets very sick

The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, has been linked to severe cases of heart disease in pets who appear to have caught the infections from their humans, veterinarians near London report.

Between mid-December and February, mirroring the emergence and spread of B.1.1.7, the vets noticed a sudden surge of cats and dogs with myocarditis, a serious inflammation of the heart. Many owners of these affected pets had a recent history of confirmed COVID-19.

Myocarditis in pets remains rare, and in all of these cases it appears that the infections were passed from people to pets, and not vice versa, said co-author Dr. Luca Ferasin of The Ralph Veterinary Centre in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-snapshot/what-you-need-to-know-about-the- coronavirus-right-now-idUSKBN2BE0HZ

Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across the World Updated: March 23, 2021, 12:26 PM GMT+8

• U.K. 1,932 65,950 1,668.2 2.5

U.S. 1,644 90,434 1,091.4 2.8

Brazil 1,405 57,287 N/A N/A

France 1,372 64,470 N/A 6.0

Germany 934 33,348 591.6 8.0

Russia 661 31,112 806.7 8.1

India 122 8,880 178.8 0.5

Japan 70 3,632 69.5 13.1

Mainland China 3 65 N/A 4.3

Testing data as of March 22, 2021, 9:39 PM GMT+8

Sources: OECD for number of hospital beds (2016 for the U.S., 2017 for other countries), government agencies and the COVID Tracking Project via Our World in Data for testing data (various recent dates) (reported in the past 45 days) and the U.S. Census Bureau for population figures (2019).

The world is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 infections, as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 120 million people and killed more than 2.7 millionglobally since late January 2020. Efforts many countries took to stamp out the pneumonia-like illness led to entire nations enforcing lockdowns, widespread halts of international travel, mass layoffs and battered financial markets. Recent attempts to revive social life and financial activities have resulted in another surge in cases and hospitalizations, though new drugs and improved care may help more people who get seriously ill survive.

Getting to a Flatter Curve  The first 430 days with more than 100 confirmed cases

• Asia

• Other Show deaths

01002003004001 yrDays since 100 confirmed cases1001,00010,000100,0001,000,00010,000,00030,000,000CasesMainland ChinaFranceU.K.Hong KongU.S.AustraliaBrazilIndiaRussiaTaiwanNew Zealand

Note: JHU CSSE reporting began on January 22, 2020, when mainland China had already surpassed 500 cases.

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering

123,635,494

Confirmed cases worldwide

2,722,716

Deaths worldwide

Jurisdictions with cases confirmed as of March 23, 2021, 12:26 PM GMT+8

• 1–99

• 100–999

• 1,000–9,999

• 10,000–99,999

• 100,000–999,999

• 1,000,000–9,999,999 • 10 million or more Where deaths have occurred Deaths Cases

U.S. 542,888 29,867,690

Brazil 295,425 12,047,526

Mexico 198,239 2,197,160

India 159,967 11,646,081

U.K. 126,411 4,315,602

Italy 105,328 3,390,181

Russia 93,812 4,416,226

France 92,776 4,358,910

Germany 75,009 2,678,262

Spain 73,543 3,228,803

Colombia 62,148 2,342,278

Iran 61,877 1,808,422

Argentina 54,671 2,252,172

South Africa 52,196 1,538,451

Peru 50,198 1,466,326

Note: Totals for Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. include overseas territories and other dependencies. Cases and deaths for cruise ships have been separated in accordance with JHU CSSE data.

More Coverage From Bloomberg • Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter • Stories about the coronavirus outbreak from Bloomberg News • Virus Update from Bloomberg News • The Future of Travel in the Covid Era • How Covid Is Shifting Human Behavior Around the World • The Covid Resilience Ranking

The epicenter of the pandemic has continued to shift throughout the year, from China, then Europe, then the U.S., and now to developing countries like Brazil. Cases globally surpassed 10 million in late June, but ever since infections have been multiplying faster. The U.S. and India have the most infections, accounting for more than a third of all cases combined.

Global Cases Added Per Day New cases: 393,865 Jan 21, 2020 Mar 21, 2021 Brazil New cases: 47,774 Jan 21, 2020 Mar 21, 2021 India 46,951 U.S. 33,645 Russia 9,215 Iran 7,260 U.K. 5,356 Germany 768 France 603 Mainland China 7

Note: On February 14, 2020, Hubei officials changed their diagnostic criteria, resulting in a spike in reported cases.

Countries took drastic measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 on their homefront— with varying degrees of success. More than 140 governments placed blanket bans on incoming travelers, closed schools and restricted gatherings and public events, according to data compiled by Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Bloomberg reporting.

As countries loosen lockdowns in an effort to reboot their economies, many have seen a resurgence of infections. The number of new daily cases in the U.S. rose to record highs after some states relaxed social distancing requirements. Even places that successfully contained infections earlier in the year, like China and South Korea, have seen cases bubble back up. Theories that warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere would bring relief appear to be unfounded.

Note: Shown are the 15 places with the highest totals of confirmed cases, as of March 21. Negative values resulting from governments revising their totals have been excluded from rolling average calculations.

The “worst is yet to come” given a lack of global solidarity, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said at a briefing in Geneva on June 29.

In May, the WHO emphasized the need for a plan that includes testing for the virus and its antibodies, effective contact tracing and isolation, and community education. Antibody tests on the market that could potentially indicate a person’s immunity have been unreliable so far. Researchers and drugmakers are racing to develop treatments that could hold the key to recovery.

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir is one of the first widely used drugs for Covid- 19. It received an emergency use authorization from U.S. regulators in May, after a trial found it sped recovery by about four days in hospitalized patients. It was also part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s treatment after he tested positive for the coronavirus in early October, along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s antibody cocktail and the generic drug dexamethasone.

Vaccines are also in development, though the study of one leading candidate from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is on hold in the U.S. while regulators investigate a potential safety issue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/?srnd=coronavirus

Du30 order awaited on Sino militia ships POSTSCRIPT - Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star ) - March 23, 2021 - 12:00am How will President Duterte, a good friend of China President Xi Jinping, handle the dilemma between accepting Xi’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines and asking for the withdrawal of the offensive swarm of Chinese militia ships in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone?

Before we could hear from the Commander-in-Chief, Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. said Sunday he had fired off a protest over the presence of the Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) in the West Philippine Sea.

The coral reef, located within the country’s EEZ and continental shelf, lies northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs) some 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, for his part, said Sunday that the presence of Chinese militia boats in the reef is a “clear provocative action of militarizing the area.”

“We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory,” he said, citing international law and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

Locsin has confirmed that National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. recommended the filing of the diplomatic protest.

In a tweet Sunday, Locsin said: “I got the coordinates, so to speak. And relayed to my legal artillery, ‘Fire at will.’ Shell should be flying at first light. I don’t usually announce maneuvers but it seems everybody is baring his chest.”

Rendered sleepless, we wondered if this is “touch-move” chess that our intrepid diplomats and generals are now playing – knowing the “urong-sulong” style of Dutertic governance.

Joining the game, the armed forces through its spokesperson, Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, said: “The AFP will not renege from our commitment to protect and defend our maritime interest within the bounds of the law.” Article II (Declaration of Principles) of the Constitution says in Section 3: “xxx The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.”

At this point, it seems that the only big missing part in the rising chorus is Duterte’s marching order. Also being awaited by us kibitzers is any official word from Washington. Of course.

President Duterte has said often enough that it was not a good idea to move (or even speak) against China on the West Philippine Sea dispute and risk igniting a war the Philippines cannot win.

But some Dutertic policy elements may have changed in this time of the pandemic or of political panic.

We read Saturday that the number of new COVID-19 infections was 7,999! Seeing such uncharacteristic precision, we wondered if one or two positive tests were excluded just to avoid a shocking 8,000-high count that day.

Soon after, we heard some discordant notes in the vaccination symphony being orchestrated by health authorities and military-led task forces.

This story tagged “Maddening!!” was shared by our businessman-friend Elmer about an angry post reportedly from the private sector group that had offered to buy their own vaccines to help ease the burden on the government:

“Another single-day record for new COVID-19 cases was set today, with 7,999 new cases being reported, and the end doesn’t seem in sight amidst the incompetence of this country’s leaders, particularly those tasked with managing this unprecedented scourge.

“To give one an idea of why the much-awaited vaccines have not come despite initiatives made as early as late last year by the private sector when it became apparent that the government would make its purchases much later, here’s a story relayed by an insider in a recent meeting spearheaded by Go Negosyo about the vaccines (with edits for more clarity):

“Today is a very upsetting day after attending the Go Negosyo-led Zoom meeting for private-sector partners for vaccines. TLDR: The national government is essentially doing NOTHING for us regarding vaccines. “1. The government, in late 2020, BANNED (underscoring ours) the private sector from getting vaccines on its own. Then the government proceeded to fail to secure a national supply for the Filipino population.

“2. In January, upon the initiative of Go Negosyo, the private sector got the government to agree to a 50-50 deal, where large and medium-sized companies could negotiate with AstraZeneca to bring in doses, but all under DOH control. LGUs were allowed to secure their own supply (erratum: I was informed that LGUs still had to go through the DOH). I was very skeptical because it’s a pure gamble on whether or not the DOH would actually allocate you anything if you participate in this program. Go Negosyo’s line was: ‘Just trust in the DOH.’

“3. Today, March 17, I attended a Zoom call midway and found out that Go Negosyo introduced Zuellig Pharma as a service provider. This is for taking care of the vaccines from end-to-end, all the way to administering it to the employees of the different private-sector companies when they arrive.

“So wala palang gagawin yung DOH. The entire chain from arrival at the port, storage, app development for registration, securing several sites for the dose- administration infrastructure would be managed by Zuellig and other medical companies, these companies taking charge of the ad hoc purely private sector-led infrastructure for getting the vaccines in our arms.

“What pisses me off so much is hinarang na tayo from getting our own supply, and government officials said they wanted to take control. Then when the vaccines were slated to arrive in the coming months – because planning and setting up the infrastructure would take months, something that was delayed because the DOH said it would take charge of all this – the DOH would be basically a no-show and turned out to have no plan. So Joey Concepcion – bless his soul – now sees this coming train wreck and musters private-sector participants (yet again) to match with a service provider so that the vaccines are not spoiled when they finally arrive.”

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/03/23/2086358/du30-order-awaited-sino-militia-ships

South China Sea Pineapple wars may show Beijing’s real motives in the • The actions of China, as its farmer population ages, are likely more about food security than empire building • But as China realigns its trade relationships, the Asia-Pacific looks an increasingly dangerous place

A long time ago in a land far, far away, a large ship that had travelled a great distance slipped quietly into and in the process seized rich deposits of natural resources, food and water. He was soon followed by a fleeta perfect of ships, natural military harbour equipment in paradise. and hordesHer captain of invaders. got off, stuckThe evil a flag empi inre the had sand once and again said expanded“this is ours”, its territory.This is exactly what happened in April 1770 when captain James Cook first arrived in

Australia on the HMS Endeavour, to be quickly followed by the British First Fleet of 11 ships and 1,500 people under the command of captain Arthur Phillip to colonise the place.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3126103/pineapple-wars-may-show-beijings-real- motives-south-china-sea?li_source=LI&li_medium=china_section_top_picks_for_you

Fidel V. Ramos and red-tagging posted March 23, 2021 at 12:50 am by Tony La Viña

"It makes sense that the one who would want peace the most for the country is the soldier who became our greatest president.

Last March 18, Fidel V. Ramos (FVR as he is affectionately called), former president of the Philippines, turned 93 years old. According to a story in this newspaper, he celebrated this milestone privately with his family. My wish is that someday soon we can gather together to toast this great Filipino.

Cely Dimaculangan, FVR’s spokesman, shared an anecdote about FVR’s last meeting with friends before the lockdown last year. Among those he met was newly-appointed Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, now the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. When FVR saw Sobejana, he immediately recalled that he had granted the latter with the Medal of Valor way back in 1996.

FVR is my hero. He has been the best President of the Philippines—at least since Ferdinand Marcos.

I am biased of course about saying the FVR is the best because I was one of the youngest in his Cabinet. In early 1996, when I was in my mid 30s, Ramos appointed me Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). I was recommended by his namesake, then DENR Secretary Victor O. Ramos, and FVR did not hesitate to appoint me for my credentials and record and cognizant that I did not have any political backing.

FVR was truly committed to sustainable development. He boasted about us when the DENR disallowed the building of what would have been the largest cement plant for the world in Bolinao, a town in FVR’s home province of Pangasinan. He liked that the Philippines was described in the international press as The Green Tiger of Asia. He was hands on in the Kyoto climate negotiations and was thrilled when US President Bill Clinton called him to enlist the help of the Philippines in concluding the negotiations in its final days. He sent me and Secretary Ramos the thank you note of Clinton and congratulated us for our work in Kyoto. FVR left a legacy of good governance to the country, a template for future administrations: Complete staff work, a consensus building and inclusive approach to decision making, a global perspective, a passion for peace, adherence to democratic principles and processes, a total commitment to levelling the playing field, modernization of our economy and government processes, reforming the tax system, and an emphasis on the social reforms, basic decency, and above all his belief that we can overcome our differences and tribalism and come together as one Team Philippines.

Indeed, Ramos’ greatness is that he sought to unite us in spite of our differences. Others sought to exploit those differences or pitted us against each other—even for good causes like national security, social reforms, anti-corruption, and the war vs drugs.

Ramos acknowledged these challenges and said that only a United Team Philippines can solve them. His attitude is one we badly need today as we face a pandemic that has again taken a turn for the worse for the country.

FVR reminds us that we can be a great country and not the bickering, conflict-driven, and disunited nation that Marcos, Erap, GMA, PNoy, and Digong has given us.

On a personal note, FVR was personally affectionate with me, especially when I joined the provincial Cabinet visits where he made me the point person for mining concerns. It’s interesting that my boss Secretary Vic Ramos assigned me to do those trips because some people apparently accused me of being a communist or a radical and that my best protection was for FVR to get to know me.

That is happening again today as red-tagging becomes a norm in the Duterte government. Among others, the mad dogs of anti-communism have targeted human rights, environmental, and indigenous peoples defenders. I am all of these, with student and youth activists and Lumad children and educators as my most prominent clients.

I am not a communist but proudly a radical on environmental and social justice. I believe absolutely in non-violent means to change society and is committed to a peaceful resolution of all our disputes. I am fully committed to uphold human rights and the rule of law and justice.

I have worked, representing the country in climate negotiations and in peace processes with the MNLF, MILF, and NDF, for all presidents from FVR onwards. I have worked and continue to work with many government departments, responding to requests for assistance on the subjects I have expertise on. I have engaged with many top and retired military and police officials and have taught/mentored (and continue to teach/mentor) dozens of young officers of the AFP. There should be no reason why I should worry about my safety. But I do. I am actually resigned to being attacked, even killed by the mad dogs who have no capacity to distinguish between dissent and terrorism.

FVR is the best president we have ever had, and not the least because he put a stop to red- tagging during his time by repealing the odious Anti-Subversion Law. It might seem ironic but it actually makes sense that the one who would want peace the most for the country is the soldier who became our greatest president.

https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/eagle-eyes-by-tony-la-vina/350143/fidel-v-ramos- and-red-tagging.html

China’s Warning to Biden A lecture in Alaska shows that adversaries sense U.S. weakness. Blow Up the Filibuster?

Journal Editorial Report: A radical path to passing the progressive agenda. Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Editorial Board

March 21, 2021 5:08 pm ET

That was some tongue lashing a senior Chinese official delivered last week in Anchorage to top Biden Administration officials in their first meeting. This is the new reality in U.S.-China relations, as adversaries look to see if they can exploit President Biden as they did Barack Obama.

The two sides had agreed to two minutes of opening remarks each. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kept his short a

China, including in Xinjiang,nd hospitable, Hong Kong, though Taiwan, he cyberdid say attacks the U.S. on has the “deep United concerns States, and with economic actions by coercion toward our allies. Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains

global stability.” -

China’s director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Yang J-iechi, then went on a 20 minute tear (including translation) aabout reference the superiority to Black Lives of “Chi Matter,nese human-rightsstyle democracy” problems, and and America’s sins. The latter included-arm jurisdiction and suppression and overstretched the national that the U.S. “has exercised long security through the use of force or financial hegemony.” is important for the United States to change its own image

Mr.and Yangto stop added: advancing “So we its believe own democracy that it in the rest of the world. Many people within the United

StatesChinese actually like to haveecho littlethe woke confidence U.S. media in the critique democracy of America. of the United States.” As we’ve noted, the

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-warning-to-biden-11616360915 Leaders Must Calibrate Their Moral Compass

By Lieutenant Patrick Hill, U.S. Navy

No one wakes up in the morning and decides to derail his or her marriage, career, or life. When people experience catastrophic failures, it usually is the result of ethical fading—a series of poor choices, each one a little worse than the one before, and each one getting further from the values they once thought they held. When Leonard Glenn Francis (“Fat Leonard”) began his efforts to bilk the U.S. Navy out of millions of dollars, he started with seemingly innocent gestures: a nice dinner, a fountain pen, a Cuban cigar. Then he graduated to luxury hotel stays, cash, and prostitutes in exchange for information about ship movements and favors directing Navy assets to ports controlled by Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). More than 500 military personnel, including about 60 admirals, have been investigated for possible ethical and legal violations in the GDMA case. Criminal charges have been filed against 33, and 15 Navy officials have pled guilty in federal court. This is one of many high-profile cases in which leaders in positions of trust have violated the values to which they were once committed and often require others to uphold. Even in cases not as public, but where leaders have drifted from their moral compass, the deleterious impact on trust from those they lead and the public trust is profound. The Navy’s evaluation, fitness reporting, and promotion systems are, by and large, performance based, with little attention paid to a person’s moral capacity to lead. Further, a significant number of leadership failures stem not from professional and technical incompetence, but from character issues. Over the past several years, there have been calls for a character evaluation to be a part of officer development and the screening process for command. Former Chiefs of Naval Operations Admirals Jonathan Greenert and John Richardson even worked character development into their Navy Leader Development Framework through schools, on-the-job training, and self- guided study. If the Navy truly values character as a foundational pillar of leadership, the character traits considered for command positions need to reflect more than the ability to accomplish the mission. While professional competence is a must and should not be replaced, effective leadership at all levels requires a number of intangible skills. Emotional intelligence, strong moral compass, and empathic listening that focuses on both compassion and commitment to the mission are vital elements of effective leadership. Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence as a measure of leadership potential can be a bit of a hard sell. Military leaders tend to be uncomfortable with the word “emotions” in the context of combat leadership. However, emotional intelligence does not require leaders to carry tissues in their pockets for their troops, nor does it mean leaders must shed tears during an all-hands call or a change of command ceremony. Emotional intelligence is characterized by knowing and managing one’s emotions, having emotional self-motivation, and recognizing and managing emotions in others. The Mayer measurement of Emotional Intelligenceincludes four branches: emotion perception, emotion facilitation, emotion understanding, and emotion regulation. Leaders well in tune with the three characteristics and who measure high in the four Mayer branches can capitalize on the emotions of their teams to motivate them to accomplish the mission. Further, leaders able to regulate emotions in themselves and others tend to be more successful in job performance. Leaders must be aware of their own emotions and how they affect others. They must also be able to perceive emotions in others and work to raise or lower the emotional temperature as needed. A leader can defuse a tense situation by not losing control and remaining calm and decisive. Not only will this lower the emotional temperature in a conflict situation, but it also can instill confidence in leadership during emergencies or combat operations. Leaders unaware of their emotions or unable to manage them can create toxic and hostile work environments. They can be too focused on short-term goals and unconcerned about the morale of the people who help them accomplish those goals. Further, their followers tend to see them as arrogant, self-serving, inflexible, and petty. This leads to eroded trust and poor command climate. However, emotional sensitivity alone is not enough to advance the mission. Leaders must be cautious in how they use their emotional intelligence to manipulate their followers. Adolf Hitler rose to power by appealing to Germans’ national pride, their fear of economic failure, and their hatred of those they perceived to be at fault. Hitler used those emotions to gain support and ultimately plunged the world into World War II. Therefore, it is imperative for leaders with high Emotional Intelligence to also have a strong moral compass.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/march/leaders-must-calibrate-their-moral-compass