Showing posts with label Vol. 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vol. 8. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Taiwan Strait | Oct. 6, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing with reporters — 10/4/2021
​ Oct 5, 2021
White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing on Monday. President Joe Biden on Monday blamed Republicans for blocking efforts to raise or suspend the U.S. borrowing limit and avert a dangerous first-ever default on the national debt. The president slammed the GOP for what he described as hypocritical behavior: Adding nearly $8 trillion to the U.S. debt during the Trump administration and later refusing to pay for already-approved tax cuts and spending.



The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer (110 mi)-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is 130 km (81 mi) wide.


The journey through the Taiwan Strait has angered China.
China accuses British navy of 'evil intentions' as UK warship sails through Taiwan Strait


​China's military followed and warned the British warship that sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

Sep. 28 - A British warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait - a move that angered China, which claims self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory. 

​China's military followed and warned the British warship that sailed across the waters the People's Liberation Army said on Monday, adding that Britain was engaging in behaviour that "harboured evil intentions".

"After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are new en route through the Taiwan straight to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Navy," the official account of the frigate HMS Richmond said on Twitter...     more


US-China politics collide over Taiwan airspace

Growing conventional wisdom in Washington says that Beijing is preparing to attack the island. Not so fast.

Oct. 6 - Since late last year, the Chinese military has begun significantly increasing its offshore air activities near Taiwan. 

​This trend has grown over time to include a wide range of different types of military aircraft, often sortied in ever-larger numbers, mostly to the west and southwest of the island. But many flights are also crossing the so-called midline of the Taiwan Strait between the island and mainland China, and almost all of them cross into Taiwan’s very expansive Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), in each case forcing the Taiwan aircraft to sortie aircraft in response.


This significant increase in Chinese military activity near Taiwan is of considerable concern, as it represents a largely unprecedented set of actions (in scale and frequency and type of aircraft involved), thus raising tensions across the Strait. This situation has naturally generated all manner of both informed and uninformed speculation by a wide range of pundits on the meaning of the Chinese flights. 

Unfortunately, rather than shedding light on the issue, much of this commentary simply serves to reinforce the growing conventional wisdom in Washington that Beijing is preparing to attack the island at the first opportunity, or is at the very least gearing up for vastly more provocative actions, such as flights over Taiwan, or perhaps the seizure of a small offshore island under Taipei’s control, thus daring the U.S. to respond. 

The problem is thus seen as a very simple one of growing Chinese military aggression; hence, for most pundits, the answer is equally simple: we need ever greater levels of military deterrence, including far more arms for Taiwan. For some that means an unambiguous U.S. commitment to defend the island if attacked, regardless of the reason, and for others a call to place Taiwan within the U.S. defense perimeter, which could imply the placement of U.S. forces on the island...     more



美日再炒钓鱼岛话题 三航母在台海周边军演意图何在?20211005 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Oct 6, 2021

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Bagram | July 3rd 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Then-President Donald Trump visiting troops at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on November 28, 2019.
US troops pulled out of a pivotal air base in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, a major step toward total withdrawal

Jul. 4 - US troops have departed the military air base at Bagram, the most significant step to date toward the complete American military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Control of Bagram Airfield, which was central to US operations against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, has been ceded to the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces, The Associated Press reported Friday, citing US officials.

The base was captured during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan almost 20 years ago and had been continuously occupied by US forces until this week.


The move is a clear step toward President Joe Biden's aim to complete the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

At the time of Biden's April announcement of the timeline, there were about 3,500 US troops in the country, according to The New York Times. As many as 1,000 US troops are expected to remain in the country to guard the US Embassy in the capital, Kabul, CNN reported.

Most of the 7,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan have already left, the AP said.

The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan began under President Donald Trump, who cut a deal with Taliban forces in February 2020 under which all troops were to leave by May 1. The US missed that deadline.
—lyse doucet (@bbclysedoucet) July 2, 2021

On June 25, Biden said during a meeting at the White House with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that it was time for Afghanistan to cut its own path.

"Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want," Biden said. "The senseless violence has to stop."
With the impending withdrawal of US troops comes fears that Afghanistan will sink into civil war, as the Taliban have made substantial territorial gains in recent months.

Deborah Lyons, the UN envoy for Afghanistan, said on June 22 that the Taliban had taken control of 50 of the country's 370 districts since May, Reuters reported.

Gen. Austin S. Miller, the top US general in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that he was concerned the situation could deteriorate further.


"A civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if this continues on the trajectory it's on right now, that should be of concern to the world," Miller told the AP.     source from

Related Article:
US vacates key Afghan base; pullout target now ‘late August’
https://reporterly.net/

Date published on March 5, 2020

Deborah Lyons Appointed as Head of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Deborah Lyons of Canada as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Ms. Lyons succeeds Tadamichi Yamamoto of Japan, who has served in this critical role since 2016.

UN in a press release said, “The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Yamamoto’s important contribution and service to UNAMA since taking up his role as Deputy Special Representative in 2014 and then Special Representative.”

Ms. Lyons is a diplomat with 21 years of professional experience in political affairs, international cooperation and economic development.

Most recently, she served as Ambassador of Canada to Israel, and from 2013 to 2016, as Ambassador to Afghanistan.     source from

Friends of Afghanistan Urge NATO, EU to Continue Support for Afghanistan

Jul. 3 - In a letter signed by prominent leaders and individuals worldwide, friends and supporters of Afghanistan urged NATO and the European Union that as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan, “we must not abandon the Afghan people and their democratic republic.”

The letter signed by former foreign ministers, former ambassadors to Afghanistan, diplomats, along with a range of civil society groups and leaders states that while NATO armed forces are leaving Afghanistan, “it is the obligation of all NATO and European countries to continue to strongly stand by our Afghan partners.” The letter urges NATO and the EU to continue the financial support to the Afghan state, protect the human rights of Afghan women and girls, and continue to provide “robust financial” support to the Afghan national security forces...     more

Russian aircraft conduct training fights above Black Sea amid NATO exercise
An international naval exercise codenamed Sea Breeze-2021 is being held in the Black Sea with NATO countries and Ukraine taking part

July 3 - The naval aviation of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, jointly with the Southern Military District air forces, carried out training flights above the Black Sea amid the Sea Breeze 2021 exercises of NATO and its partners in the region, the Black Sea fleet’s press service said in a statement on Saturday.

"Plane crews of the Black Sea fleet’s naval aviation and air defense units, jointly with the Southern Military District’s aviation, carried out training flights above the Black Sea, practicing missile and bomb attacks on vessels of a notional enemy. The Black Sea fleet’s naval aviation was represented by Su-30SM multirole fighter jets and Su-24M front-line bombers, the Southern Military District - by Su-34 fighter bombers and Su-27 air superiority fighter jets," the statement says.

As part of the exercises, a Be-12 amphibious aircraft carried out target reconnaissance in the Black Sea. A notional enemy’s naval task force was imitated by two large landing ships, the Saratov and the Orsk.

At the moment, an international naval exercise codenamed Sea Breeze-2021 is being held in the Black Sea with NATO countries and Ukraine taking part. This largest naval exercise in more than 20 years will last till July 10. The drills are expected to involve about 4,000 personnel, 40 warships, boats and auxiliary vessels and over 100 vehicles, including armored ones.     source from

北约军舰“车轮战”挑衅俄 普京:再有下一次就开火!20210702 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Jul 3, 2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Rivlin | Jun. 29, 2021

2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Biden tells Rivlin he won’t allow Iranian nukes on his watch

US president hosts outgoing Israeli head of state at White House, says he will meet with Bennett ‘very soon’; Rivlin says he is ‘very much satisfied’ with Biden’s comments

Jun. 29 - ...Rivlin, on his last foreign visit as president, is set to leave office on July 7 after a seven-year term. Isaac Herzog, a former parliament member who most recently headed the Jewish Agency for Israel will take over as Israeli president.
Rivlin later met with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the House leadership team. Pelosi said support for Israel in Congress remained bipartisan “because of our shared values and because of our mutual security concerns”...    quoted from
Reuven "RuviRivlin (Hebrew: רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין‎ [ʁeʔuˈven ʁivˈlin] (listen); born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who is the tenth and current president of Israel since 2014. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and subsequently served as Speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2013. On 10 June 2014, he was elected President of Israel.[1]

Rivlin argues for a Greater Israel that would embrace all people and give the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza full Israeli citizenship.[2] He is also a strong supporter of minority rights, particularly for Arab Israelis.[3][4] He supports the one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Rivlin is fluent in Arabic.     from Wikipedia
Biden's Strikes at Iraq-Syria Border Likely Illegal, Contrary to White House Claims
The United States does not appear to have a legitimate basis in either domestic or international law to justify the recent airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which means the attacks could be seen as acts of aggression that violated the sovereignty of both countries, legal experts told Sputnik.

Jun. 29 - On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that US military aircraft targeted the facilities of two Iranian-backed militias - Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada - in the Syria-Iraq border region, claiming it was a retaliatory attack.

On Monday, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said Article II of the US Constitution gives President Joe Biden authority to take such action. She described the White House's self-defence argument as the Biden administration’s "domestic justification".

Exchanges between the two sides continued into Monday, with US military forces in Syria targeted by multiple rocket attacks. US-led coalition spokesperson Wayne Marotto said the US returned fire with artillery but suffered no casualties.

No Legal Justification...     more details

美罕见承认俄舰逼近美领土 俄美近距离较量愈演愈烈 20210627 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Jun 28, 2021
Boris Johnson Defies Vladimir Putin's Claim to Crimea

Jun. 29 - ...This is not an unserious matter.

If the Brits repeat this exercise, which they see as a right, a duty and a mission, we could witness a Russian attack on a British warship.

This would trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty that requires all member nations to treat an attack on one as an attack on all.

Britain's challenge to Russia, a few kilometers off Crimea, could have resulted in a shooting incident that could have forced a U.S. response against Russia. And that raises some serious questions:

Did Johnson inform us he was about to issue this direct challenge to Moscow? Or were the Americans left in the dark?
Did President Joe Biden or the Pentagon tell Johnson that if Defender were attacked, U.S. forces would have their back?

With this clash off Crimea, a peninsula Russia regards as vital and we have never regarded as vital, we could have been drawn into a conflict by our ally, Britain, which could not prevail against Vladimir Putin's Russia without the military assistance of the United States....    quoted from

《花生漫畫》西元1953年六月/"Peanuts" on Jun. 29 1953
https://yaoleechen.weebly.com/1.html
https://smashwords2.weebly.com/3.html
https://yaoleechen.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/1953-june/
https://yaoleec.blogspot.com/2021/06/lucy-plays-in-center-field-jun-29-2021.html
https://yaoleechen.pixnet.net/blog/post/269634896
https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts-begins/1953/06/29
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373798837830721207/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/683350943464850649/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/647181408957001598/
https://yaoleechen.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/062953t.jpg

《花生漫畫》西元1953年六月/"Peanuts" on Jun. 30, 1953
https://yaoleechen.weebly.com/1.html
https://smashwords2.weebly.com/3.html
https://yaoleechen.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/1953-june/
https://yaoleec.blogspot.com/2021/06/lucy-plays-in-center-field-jun-29-2021.html
https://yaoleechen.pixnet.net/blog/post/269634896
https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts-begins/1953/06/30
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373798837830721268
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/683350943464850653/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/647181408957001614/
https://yaoleechen.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/063053t.jpg

《花生漫畫》西元1953年七月/"Peanuts" on Jul. 1st, 1953
https://yaoleechen.weebly.com/
https://smashwords2.weebly.com/3.html
https://yaoleechen.wordpress.com/2021/06/29/1953-july/
https://yaoleec.blogspot.com/2021/06/lucy-plays-in-center-field-jun-29-2021.html
https://yaoleechen.pixnet.net/blog/post/269634896
https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts-begins/1953/07/01
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/373798837830721235/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/647181408957001615/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/683350943464850659/
https://yaoleechen.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/070153t.jpg

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Kyiv | Jun. 26, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

British Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender arrives at the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine. 
Russia Forces British Warship Away from Crimea amid Rising Tensions with NATO

Jun. 26 -...For Russia, the Black Sea is of particular importance for economic and geostrategic reasons. Russia’s Black Sea ports, as the country’s only warm water ports, have always served its economic interests. The control of the Black Sea also means total control over the Sea of Azov - a small body of water surrounded by Russia and Ukraine connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.

Director of the Information and Press Department at Russia's Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a media briefing that Moscow regards the Black Sea incident with the British Navy destroyer as a "blatant provocation" by the British side. In this regard, the British Ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow over the incident in the Black Sea and met with officials on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident comes amid years of rising tensions between Russia and its neighbors in the west...     quoted from
...Kyiv is the undisputed center of business and commerce of Ukraine and home to the country's largest companies, such as Naftogaz UkrainyEnergorynok and Kyivstar. In 2010, the city accounted for 18% of national retail sales and 24% of all construction activity.[149][150][151][152] Indeed, real estate is one of the major forces in Kyiv's economy.

Average prices of apartments are the highest in the country and among the highest in eastern Europe.[153] Kyiv also ranks high in terms of commercial real estate for it is here where the country's tallest office buildings (such as Gulliver and Parus) and some of Ukraine's biggest shopping malls (such as Dream Town and Ocean Plaza) are located.

In May 2011, Kyiv authorities presented a 15-year development strategy which calls for attracting as much as EUR82 billion of foreign investment by 2025 to modernize the city's transport and utilities infrastructure and make it more attractive for tourists...     quoted from Wikipedia
KYIV (KIEV), UKRAINE, Is This Europe's Most Underrated City? 🇺🇦
Aug 17, 2019

British warship challenge

Jun. 26 - ...Russia’s numerous acts of maritime aggression have let to result in any additional international sanctions. This apparent reluctance to impose further costs has fueled fears in Kyiv that an emboldened Kremlin may seek to expand its naval blockade and cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea altogether. In spring 2021, existing concerns over Russia’s naval plans deepened when Moscow moved a number of additional ships to the Black Sea...     quoted from
俄警告英再挑衅直接炸船!俄万人大演习反制日美联演?20210625 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Jun 26, 2021

Featured Post

Mischief Reef |Mar. 25

  WH keeping public in dark on what Biden demanded of China’s Xi over arming Putin​ Mar. 18 - The White House was tight-lipped Friday about ...