https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/why-is-china-stockpiling-key-resources/

Where are the USN FONOPs? Has Sleepy Joe abandoned the South China Sea?

Great question!

I looked for at least one Freedom of Navigation operation in the area for this calendar year, and I found nothing.

We can make excuses that there is not enough manning for ships, or perhaps more ships are joining task forces for the Mediterranean to Red Sea area for support of the Ukraine, Israel, maritime operations against the Houthi rebels, but those are just excuses.

No idea! But, great question!!!!

I dont think there are enough ships and certainly not enough of the right ones.....not an excuse.  

I also believe that some leadership is concerned that if we have a bunch of ships close to main land china ....they may say fuck it we're going in and decide to take out a a bunch of ships with land based weapons.  Basically the calculus may have changed from they wont fuck with us to....the reward is not worth the risk.  


ETA: but i could be completely wrong too our leadership comes off as so inept at the top i have no idea where there is any competency left

FONOPs are a great reminder to everyone that China is flagrantly violating UNCLOS, which is settled international law duly ratified by China, and a great way to assert on behalf of the weaker nations that China's expansive claims in SCS are BS, and expansionist, imperialist power grab that violates all international norms, laws, and treaties. With what PRC has been pulling with Philippines, I would think some FONOPs in PI's EEZ should be required. It only takes a destroyer.

Apologies for excessive acronyms, it's late and I'm tired.

I'm quoting myself!! I'm that important!!!!

Even more importantly, Capt. Fanell (Ret'd) raises a very important issue. He could have gone further in his criticisms, IMHO, but just stuck with blaming the intelligence agencies, instead of the political leadership that determines direction and policy where the blame actually belongs.

Here's Capt. Fanell's thesis statement:
He then went on to say that the CCP "fooled" American political leaders:
Is there some truth to the above? Yes.

Is that the whole truth? No.

I have a quote by xnarc on one of my computers (obviously not the one I'm using tonight...fuck!) that described former Officer Derek Chauvin's actions and responsibilities when George Floyd died. xnarc's point was that the elected political leadership endorsed the hiring policies, training policies and doctrine of the Police Dept. In effect, Off Chauvin was only following orders (and yes the PD leadership got caught denying that to be the case, but it didn't matter as far as the trial went.)

It's the same exact thing here. Political leadership is what creates and sets the monsters against us, and we have one political party in this Country that wants to destroy us to realize a better future! The collective "we" of those that are either actively oppose them. or at least disagree with them, are the enemy. Obviously, Capt. Fanell can't say that in front of Congress even if he thought this. (I have no way of knowing what the Captain thinks or believes with his "inside" voice.)

Therefore, the one part of his reported testimony that I take exception to is this:

"...misled our executive branch...?"
I say, "nope!"

Our "Executive Branch" was misled because it wanted/needed to be misled, and yes, that's mostly by one party (Dems) with elements of the other party (Rinos) helping.

Let's divide the US-Sino relationship quickly in this manner:

•    John Hay "Open Door Note/Open Door Policy" meant to maintain the territorial integrity of China
•    Working with the followers of Sun Yat-sen or "two sides of the same coin" to help the fight with the Imperial Japanese
•    Asking the Soviet Union to invade Northern China to help fight the Imperial Japanese
•    The '71-'72 Raprroachement with the PRC to split the PRC from the USSR
•    The "Hot 'n' Heavy '90s

The one thing that dominates during this entire time period, and actually since 1860, is that with the exception of FDR, Republicans get elected to the Presidency much more than Democrats.

That gnaws on them greatly.

While there were a number of card carrying commie rat bastards forwarding themselves as Democrats, and even more Fellow-Travelers doing like-wise, the Soviets were never stupid enough to trust them. Ask any Soviet that's left. They'll tell you. The Democrats would not receive help from them as the Soviets perceived them as traitorous and therefore treacherous.

However, the Chinese saw this same landscape in a different way, one in which they could manipulate and benefit from even if there were set backs from time to time.

You can learn a lot about a culture by playing its games. The purpose of any game is to win (unless, of course, you want to teach others how not to take risks or attempt at anything, and for their failure to achieve, you reward them with a participation trophy), using rules, not arbitrariness. Rules are very important. Rules enforce cooperation even between opponents, and cooperation achieves Victory. Capriciousness does not.

Take Mahjong, for example. Think slow, you lose. Play safe, you lose. Violate a rule, the other players will cooperatively gang up on you. Lots of rules up until the time you yell out, "Pong." Then the only rule left is to win, or face the wrath of the other three players.

The Chinese don't have a problem with helping Democrats win political power in the US, and no, they do not trust the Democrats. They don't trust any foreign devil. The game they play doesn't require it. All they need is cooperation to win.

US "political leaders" were not blind as to what was going on. They turned a blind eye to it as they were receiving benefits from it, and that's a lot different than being "fooled."

As these same "political leaders" were in charge, they set the policies, directions and doctrines of the agencies that serve them. Yes, Dorothy, not the FBI, CIA or even the NOAA serve the American people. They serve their political masters.

"...the Department of Defense and the intelligence community were deceived...?"
I say, "nope again!"

One of the things I learned in the Air Force is that the "Truth" is what the guy writing the report says it is. That's kind of the end of the story on that one.

To put it another way, if a people with a 4700 year history of conquest and being conquested (Is that a word?), one day says "Oh, we're not a hegemon and don't really want to be one," do you believe them? No, not really.

There are a couple of points the good Captain makes that I can whole-heartily believe. To wit:
This is what our Officer Corp purge looked like. As another example, I have a good friend that was passed over twice for O-6 for "defying" the Obama Admin on a relatively small matter.

Then there's this gem of a statement which again, I'm in 110% agreement:
We used to have some tough old bastards running things who knew when to make a stand and pay the price for it.


ETA: I tried to fix the red color boo-boo. No such luck.

Yeah!
I was going to mention the acronym thing! LOL  

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314823.shtml

Wow! So the new guy (new Prime Minister) who ran on slowing things down with the PRC is...
to visit China, to elevate ties to new heights

The PRC already has made the Solomon Islands "strategic partners" which I thought was the highest. What's left? Mutual Masturbation partner? Is this the new "highest" level of diplomacy?

Well...there it is.

Taiwan News is behind in score cards!!!!!

Taiwan tracks 18 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships around nation
Attached File

Again, the Taiwan News is behind in publishing these updates, but it looks like the PLA has gone over 400 aircraft for this month.

In our continuing coverage of "where the hell are the promised US weapons?", here's another story:
Taiwan plans to buy new barrels to extend life of M60A3 tanks

You guys may not remember earlier this year when Carmel posted the video link to a Congressional Hearing on the South China Seas.
This guy...
Attached File

is the guy that kept answering questions with the phrase, "we have a strategy."

Originally, I couldn't find any information on trying cases in absentia. I assumed the PRC would be pretty much kidnapping people. But, if the professionals say "absentia" is there, good enough for me.

So the we kicked off RIMPAC yesterday.  Instead of doing this massive exercise around Hawaii we need to do it around the Philippines. That will send a clear message to China.  When the Philippines try to resupply the second thomas shoal we should be sending half a dozen warships and a dozen aircraft.  The Philippines are an actual treaty ally and we are definitely not acting like they are.  

Our whole foreign policy is a dumpster fire.

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/china-taiwanese-visit-execution-threat-b2571102.html

We are rewarding countries with military help based off how much money the DC elites can earn off it. Ukraine has huge return on investment, especially considering the pre-war corruption and kickbacks Biden had… so.. defense of Ukraine is CRITICAL!

When the Philippines start making dc elites rich then they will get the red carpet military treatment. But that only works if they can pay more than the Chinese are bribing certain dc elites with to help control us policy towards chinas aggression. If we had some less corrupt politicians in office our behavior and response to chinas behavior would be far, far, different. Probably more like how we treated Russia in the Cold War.

But… the Chinese is funneling billions into dc bank accounts, Chinese spy drivers driving dc limousines, etc. so….

You're correct. Not much to say beyond that really.

The hatred for Trump at the high-level of political leadership has always been because he wasn't on payroll like the rest of them were. That made Trump dangerouse to their flow of money. It's pretty much that simple.

As for the lower level of politics, your average Democrat hates Trump because they were told to. They loved his cameos in movies; they watched his TV show; they like his pithey quotes in the NYT; they liked his donations!! But these same people will one day say, "we've always been at War with East Asia."

Here's a "Tale of Two Cities"

The PRC is committed to "actions" while the US is committed to "word smithing." No other way to really explain it. Goldenmead brought up the point of the RIMPAC being conducted near Hawaii instead of closer to the South China Seas. West of Midway is a damn good place to conduct the exercise. But that's not happening.

Let's get to some quotes for the CNBC report:
Chester Cabalza, president and founder of the Philippines-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation.


Richard Heydarian, policy adviser and senior lecturer of international affairs at the University of the Philippines.
This is a link provided, but it's a dead PDF page:
https://www.pacom.mil/Portals/55/Documents/Legal/J06%20TACAID%20-%20SIERRA%20MADRE%20V2%20
If it works for anyone, please post!! Thanks




Let's do the second article from Reuters:
That's it!! That's the whole thing.

We started this thread a couple of years ago as a punch line to the joke that is US Foreign Policy, and also to see if the Biden Admin would "live" up to its own words and standards over PRC policies/actions in the Solomon Islands and, by extension, the entire region. The Biden Administration did not...at all...never even brought up PRC para-military units in the Solomon Islands or remarked on the number of visits by PLAN "hospital" ships that moored in their ports.
(For those that weren't visiting the thread back then, the PLAN has 12 "hospital" ships, and by the antennae array that can be seen, they are used as intelligence gathering missions and have a contingent of armed troops aboard. They're really careful about who's onboard when in port or when they actually show up for humanitarian events.)
On the other hand, they did reopen consulates through out the area. I can't say how oftened they're manned, but they exist to have mail delivered. (Embassies have Ambassadors assigned in residence.)

Other than that, we should be grateful the the PRC is led by a bunch of old ladies. I would've already attacked...everybody!! By the time they can gather up forces and launch a counter-offensive of some sort, it's time for diplomacy to take over. I win!

Still no Score Card!!!

Team Biden has e pressed fear of involvement in a war during an election year - I guess Democrats hate Russia are indifferent to China at best but are anti war otherwise yet that mentality usually leads to an inevitable war by peeling back deterrence under the false notion deterrence leads to war.


Should team Biden remain in the White House there is no third term. Team Biden are corrupted incompetent losers but seem to go where the wind blows like flip flopping on condemning Iran after Europe pressured them to join in on the condemnation of Iran’s nuke program or how South Korea and Japan got Team Biden to send some bombers and subs to reassure them over China and North Korea.

Team Biden doesn’t call shots they stick their thumb up in the air on polls between grifting

China in fact kidnapped 36 Taiwanese in Africa put them on a plane bound for China and tried them in China a few years ago

I stand corrected it was 600

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59486286.amp

https://www.politico.eu/article/precious-rare-earth-metals-belong-to-the-state-china-declares/

They "discussed concerns"

!!!

That must mean things are gettting serious!

100% correct. I don't know the geographical scope of the exercise, but surely there is open space in the western Pacific to do it. Around Guam, maybe between Guam & Taiwan.

Sorry busy filming with Warner Brothers and missed opportunity to post it on propaganda Friday

https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3268723/chinas-communist-party-track-100-million-members-years-end

It's just the lag time in the development process. As insane as it sounds now, we did not appreciate the threat China posed until very recently.  The f117 was a 70s bird, B2 was 80s, f22 was 90s tech, F35 2000s.  I was working for a major defense contractor in the 2000s. Not in a defense division but same company.  We gave China gen 3 night vision. Biggest ITAR violation in the history of the state department.  They didn't have to work that hard for it, the company just didn't see the threat.

Certainly lockmart and Northrop did better but still China stole info.   I think now we are more aware and protect our info better, so it'll be a while before China can get its paws on tech specs.  It'll happen,  but we've slowed the leaks.

You can't manufacture something at scale without making the info more vulnerable.

But the navy just added PAC-3 to its VLS....so what does that mean?

Sorry guys I just realized I was 10 pages behind the discussion....

https://www.deccanherald.com/world/china-deploys-aircraft-carrier-off-philippine-coast-amid-tensions-over-south-china-sea-3087736

Full blown trade war between China and Indonesia.

Indonesia will impose 100-200% tariffs on a range of Chinese imports.

Can you post a link, please? I'll look for this when I get home in about 9-10 hours. Thank you!!

Score Card Time!!! This is the only one in about 4 days:
Taiwan tracks 7 Chinese naval ships, 6 military aircraft around nation
Attached File

For a comparison, June's numbers are as big as May's numbers, and May had the Joint Sword, 2024 Exercise. (Joint Sword sounds so American. I'm quaking.)

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-funds-research-that-involves-chinese-military-linked-universities/

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-funds-vanuatu-new-presidential-palace-buildings-developing-friendships-pacific-island-countries-4451241

Indonesia is set to introduce tariffs of up to 200 percent on imports from China, its biggest trade partner, citing an oversupply of goods from the world's second-largest economy.

https://thediplomat.com/2024/07/indonesia-announces-hefty-tariffs-on-chinese-made-goods/#:~:text=On%20Friday%2C%20a%20senior%20Indonesian,and%20medium%20enterprises%20

https://www.newsweek.com/china-dealt-trade-blow-indonesia-1920107

Taiwan has demanded that Beijing releases a Taiwanese fishing boat that was boarded by the Chinese coastguard and steered to a port in mainland China.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/02/taiwan-demands-beijing-returns-fishing-boat-seized-by-coastguard

I wonder if Biden knows about any of this? Lol

10 pages???
At 2.25 beers per page, that's...(gears whirring, carry the two) that's 22.5 beers you have to drink!!! Good thing 4th of July is coming up.

SCORE CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Taiwan tracks 13 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships around nation
(This is for the first day of July which was like 30+ something hours ago. I already did one math problem today.)
Attached File

The South West is a much bigger holding area now.
13 and 6. (C and 6 if we want to show how cool we are instead.) Over 10 aircraft gets a count of its own. I think this is how I'm going to count on the side.


GoldMead story:
Taiwan demands China returns fishing boat seized by coastguard  


We need to find another story on this topic. The Guardian writes this last paragraph, "China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and says the island must come under its control. It regularly sends warplanes and ships toward Taiwan and in May staged a large exercise with dozens of aircraft and vessels," without a context to the current story they're writing about. Typical!

Let's expand ourselves in one direction. The PRC boarded, took into custody a foreign crew and impounded a foreign boat out side of it's territorial waters, and there is no attempt by the Guardian to find out why. Was there a May Day?

With other Chinese Coast Guard boats blocking the progress of the Taiwanese Coast Guard boats, and getting on the PA telling the Taiwanese to halt their pursuit, if there was a May Day call, once again, the PRC  has violated international laws and conventions. One could say, The Chinese Coast Guard is acting as a privateer organization using letters of marque from the PRC.

Whoa!! Don't know what happened to that first link!!
Indonesia Announces Hefty Tariffs on Chinese-made Goods




Now, I'm not understanding this paragraph's use of the word "securitization":
Does the US sell securities, bonds or has a tranche for tariffs on Chinese goods or the trade deficit? I am unaware of what they are trying to say here.

The Diplomat does come to a conclusion for their article at least:
This is "food for thought" as it needs to play out first.

Newsweek comes out swinging for some reason:
China Dealt Major Trade Blow by Neighbor




Here's a third story from Malaysia's number 1 source for automotive news. I shit you not, Gentlemen:
Indonesia to impose 200% tariff on goods from China to counter dumping   will this affect the auto industry?
(It's also easy to read and understand than the above.)
This guy even explains what he's referencing:
Not only that, this guy found the precursor step to China's dumping:
Plus, he comes to a conclusion:

Attached File
          See!! Number 1!

Here's the title:
one line summary:
So, besides offering the opportunity for the US Navy to record the audio of a bunch of PLAN ships, where is the USN so these small countries can see it?


From here on out, this Deccan Herald goes "fellow traveler" on us:
Again, the PRC claims have already been adjudicated, the PRC did more than just lose, the claims were found to be groundless and spurious.
But here's more of their BS:
Grounding your own ships on your territory is not illegal; nor is sinking your own ships for that matter.

Now check this conflation out:
The conflation is "back by the US." The Philippines took the matter to the UNCLOS without US assistance or lawyers, but what the Deccan Herald is implying is that the Philippines "won" the decision because the Philippines is "backed by the US."

I've been noticing we've been doing Propaganda Friday almost every day for the last few weeks. (I mean I've been posting it, so I should've noticed.) That must mean things are ramping up.

They are definitely priming their citizens for what they are about to do and convincing everyone that they are the victim and they are just defending what’s theirs.

The war drums are getting louder and louder.

China, Philippines agree to lower tensions in South China Sea, boost communications

China and the Philippines have agreed to restore trust and build confidence in the South China Sea, two weeks after a skirmish near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal left a Filipino soldier injured and raised the risk of a serious conflict.

The agreement came after officials from both sides held “frank and constructive” talks on the South China Sea in Manila on July 2. The meeting was headed by Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong and his Philippine counterpart Theresa Lazaro.

Maritime tensions have run high in the past year, with both sides clashing repeatedly over the Philippines’ resupply missions to the Second Thomas Shoal, where an ageing warship called the BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded since 1999 to serve as Manila’s remote military outpost.

The latest escalation came in a face-off between Chinese coast guard and Philippine naval vessels on June 17.

Using knives and spears, Chinese personnel boarded the Philippine Navy dinghies and confiscated firearms – the first intervention since new Chinese rules came into force on June 15 that authorise China’s coast guard to detain foreigners who trespass into waters it proclaims as its own.

On July 2, the Philippines said that “both sides recognised that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction”.

“The two sides discussed their respective positions on Ayungin Shoal and affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions,” said the Philippine statement, which added that “significant differences remain”. Ayungin is the local name for the Second Thomas Shoal.

The July 2 talks, called the Ninth Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea, is a dialogue that began in 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed with then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to establish this dialogue in 2016. The last meeting was held in Shanghai on Jan 17, 2024.

Both sides agreed to continue discussions on maritime cooperation, such as between their coast guards, and an academic forum among scientists and academics on marine scientific and technological cooperation.

They also agreed to hold the 10th meeting of the bilateral talks in China, although no specific date was mentioned.

While analysts welcomed the positive signals for peace, there was little sign that either side was ready to back down on its sovereignty claims.

Ms Lazaro said that her country would be “relentless in protecting its interests and upholding the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea”.

In its statement about the meeting, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country reiterated its sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including the Ren’ai Jiao, referring to the Chinese names for the Spratly Islands and Second Thomas Shoal, respectively.

China urged the Philippines to “immediately stop its maritime infringement and provocative acts”, and work with China to manage the situation in the Ren’ai Jiao to ease the situation, added the statement.

Dr Ding Duo, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in China, however, saw it as a positive sign that the dialogue has continued at the vice-foreign minister level.

“As long as both sides keep talking, there is a chance to avoid conflict and reduce tensions,” he told The Straits Times, noting that they had agreed on a 10th meeting, which would sustain the positive momentum of talks.

“This signals there is mutual intention to set aside more contentious claims for now, and use this dialogue mechanism to manage differences and prevent accidents from happening.”

Dr Ding added that a possible point of friction would be whether the Philippines still intends to transport construction materials to reinforce the Sierra Madre warship, and what measures China will take in response. “That is probably the core issue.”

Whether the talks will have practical effects on calming tensions at sea, Dr Ding said he is “cautiously optimistic”; however, the Philippines might yet renege on mutual agreements, or the US might further interfere in the situation.

Beijing has claimed that Mr Duterte made a “gentleman’s agreement” with China at the end of 2021 that Manila would not make repairs to the Sierra Madre warship. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration has said there are no documents or records to prove such an agreement existed.

The Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but also falls within China’s expansive nine-dash line, which it says forms a historical basis for its claims to most of the South China Sea.

Dr Collin Koh welcomed the dialogue, telling ST that it is in line with the Philippines’ strategy of being transparent in dealing with China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the disputed sea.

He said the talks also benefit Beijing “because they do not want to be seen as the bad guy”.

But he was sceptical about whether the communication mechanism would be effective in settling the dispute in the long run.

“My question is: How do you actually lower tensions and manage the situation if both sides, based on the statement, clearly still have differences?

“It seems to imply that the Chinese are not likely going to roll back on patrolling the area. On the Philippines’ side, the routine resupply mission will continue,” said Dr Koh.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/china-philippines-agree-to-lower-tensions-in-south-china-sea-boost-communications

We’ll Pacific Ocean adjacent Gavin Newsom has big fans across the Pacific

https://fortune.com/asia/2024/07/02/china-democrat-biden-steps-down-gavin-newsom/

https://www.businessinsider.com/suspected-china-spy-bases-cuba-growing-near-us-sites-report-2024-7

Combine this thread with the above article and damned if this whole scenario doesn't come across like a series of books I've been reading called the 'monroe doctrine'

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1957634022/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not great writing but it's an easy read.  However, the series seems to run parallel with events these days.  Let's hope life does not imitate art.

From pro China news

https://asiatimes.com/2024/07/newsom-a-better-bet-than-biden-for-china-ties/

Score Card Time because for some reason, these reports are becoming precious!
Taiwan tracks 30 Chinese military aircraft, 8 naval ships around nation
Attached File

First thing is first! The black diagonal line is the "median" line, the half way point between the PRC and Taiwan. In the North East, the jutting out is in direct line to the Capital city of Taipei.

Second is compare this to the one above from a couple of days ago. This jutting out is now very provocative to say the least.

Plus, the naval ship contingent is down this month because of the carrier near the Philippines and the carrier operation to the North of here.

For such a large Navy, its really weird they can't operate more ships off their coast at a single time. If this was in the 1950s, I would say that as the PLAAF didn't put in a lot of fuel into aircraft to clamp down on defections, that only a few PLAN ships can be sent out of port for the same reason?; which doesn't make a lot of sense, but it may make for a good movie. So, our reason for this lies elsewhere.



Taiwan monitoring 3-day PLA military exercises in East China Sea
You may recall last week when Taiwan announced its exercise, the PRC cried "foul" (It was a lot stronger than that) when Taiwan its previous exercise.
Exercise area:
Attached File

Next story is something, I can't find evidence for:
US State Department closely monitoring Chinese seizure of Taiwan fishing boat

The above is the part I can't find any evidence for. The only two press briefings at the US Dept of State site is from 1JUL and 2JUL and Taiwan was never addressed over any subject. On their Press Release page, there were no statements from the US regarding this issue or even Taiwan.

The story linked was publish a number of hours ago. I'll check over the weekend to see if the DOS site updated press releases for this.

But, if true!...that's the extent of what the US Gov't is willing to say.

I found an illustration of where the seizure occured from CNA English, and then I brilliantly deleted the webpage before I put in the link and no I have options set to not save history because sometimes my genius out does me when I don't want it to.
Attached File

The Taiwanese boat was taken outside of Chinese territorial waters as we reported earlier because that's what we do here!! Mother-fuckers.


It was early this year, Jan or Feb, we covered the US Coast Guard boarding some Chinese fishing, not boats, but ships near Kiribati which is a contract job for the US Coast Guard.

It's always possible that this is a tit-for-tat- by the PRC, but I believe this is more provocation towards Taiwan to force a confrotation.

But WAIT, there's more!
China protests against Festival Off Avignon inviting Taiwan as guest of honor
Stand by for typical leftist wishy-washy answer regarding one visitor who is not a "Trump" or a "Le Pen" making demands against another visitor:
Leftist hypocrisy knows no end.

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/104053342

Well, at least we know for certain now that the Newsom is on their payroll. When he does run for President we can wonder in amazement that all those Chinese restaurants will be giving "small  dollar donations" that leap into the millions as they did with Clinton, Obama and Biden (to a lesser extent as his son was given millions). The funny thing has always been that these same restaurants employ many a "Esteban, Jose and Rodrigo" in their Kitchens. But, Hey!! That's how the Democrats roll.

This piece is originally a Bloomberg piece, so no need to check out sources what-so-ever. Let's just get to the fawning, shall we?
Then there's multiple quotes from Chinese bloggers and these guys know how to suck dick with the written word. Most impressive, so we'll skip it.
We are going to do Henry Wang, though!!
This next one is my favorite quote of the peice:
Yup, the Cantonese speakers here really love those commie ruling Mandarins so much, it literally hurts. In fact, they love so much, that the PRC, since the Carter Admin agreed to the immigration process back in 1979 or cerca 1979, the PRC has been sending in Northerners into the US damn near exclusively. Fujian has been the big area of immigrants up to before Obama.


Let's go to the next hand job:
A lot of this story has the same basic elements and structure and people quotated from the Bloomberg story. If you ever wondered which side Blooomberg is on, wonder no more!
Oh look!! It's Henry Wang again! I wonder what he has to say in this story:
And here's my favorite quote of this piece which is similar to my other favorite quote in the first link Carmel provided:
The one thing this article does give, being that it's what's known as an organ for the CCP, is the CCP's wish list:
The interesting part of all this conjecture is that for Newsom to be elected either President or Vice-President, Harris has to be gone othewise all the electors from California would be ineligible to vote due to the proscription of the 12 Amendment:
One can only wonder about the amount of "kiddy pron" her or her husband will be caught with so that even the most die hard Democrat out there won't vote for her?

Thanks to 2tired2run, I was very much intrigued by the link provided, but not made hot:
Suspected Chinese spy bases in Cuba are growing, including one near a US naval base: report

The way I've chosen to present it, renders a TL:DR summary:

• Reports of the PRC opening spy bases in Cuba
• Center for Strategic and International Studies finds four places that are likely candidates
• China has no idea what all this means; never heard of such a thing
• US says the reports are wrong!!! But, can't talk about it
• Cuban Foreign Minister, well, we'll be focusing on his quotes for the lulz

The link provided to 2tired2run has links to past stories, so that's why I did the TL:DR. From the provided link:
and lastly
Strangely enough, it really doesn't matter where these bases are in Cuba, but you can go to the link and read for yourselves. What's really intriguing is that the Biden Admin doesn't want to talk about any of it at all. They've already made up their minds that "White Nationalists" and veterans compose the entire class of Domestic Terrorism, and that's where the real threat lies...plus Global Warming! Don't forget that one!!

Here's the first major story of someone paying the Cubans, so they can spy on the US:
Everything We Know About The Huge Spy Base In Cuba That Russia Is Reopening

This was written in 2014 during the Obama Admin at a time when the Obama Admin wanted to normalize US-Cuban relations, so they denied this story right from the get go.

No way it's (the Russian base) that big again!

Here's one of the earliest stories of the PRC wanting to get a spy base in Cuba from 8JUN23:
 defense China seeking to spy on the U.S. from a base in Cuba
This is the basic structure of the all the stories:

The Way Back Machine didn't have the original Wall Street Journal article available.

In Blue above is the Kirby Response, never wavering, throughout the series of articles.
Here is the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.'s response:
Now, please allow me to introduce the honorable Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio:

The Obama Admin had an agreement back in 2015 to have embassies in the two countries.

Next story is from CNN and it's the next day, 9JUN24:
Cuba gives China permission to build spying facility on island, US intel says

The article goes throught the same structure as above with all the players, especially with Adm Kirby going with the "not accurate" judgement.

And again, may I present the Honorable Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio:
I must say this is quite the vocabulary for a "man of the people" and a dedicated Communist to boot! Can the Workers actually understand what he's saying without a diccionario? Beats me!

Next is the Business Insider again, it is still 9JUN24:
Reports say China plans to set up a spy base in Cuba. The Pentagon says that's not right, but it's closely watching what Beijing is up to.

We have two new players in this round:
You can tell Gen. Laura Richardson went to General School.
Our Second Player:
"Accurate" is an interesting word. It means with in a specified standard. It doesn't mean "wrong" or "missed completely."

It turns out the PRC does have something to say in this story, but first, I must announce the presence of the Honorable Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio:
Guess who went to Cambridge?????

Last story, Admiral Kirby decided to talk just a little bit more and with the Intelligence Community decided to throw its hat in the ring (everybody else was getting the Press) and also the Honorable Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio had some last thoughts on the subject:
US confirms China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019
This is from 10JUN24:
It looks like it's "old news" that the PRC is spying from Cuba, so what's all the fuss about?

Dialogue while continuing to act provocatively.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/ag600-all-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-new-large-amphibious-aircraft/amp_articleshow/111517867.cms





https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269274/chinas-new-large-amphibious-aircraft-goes-production-and-final-assembly