News Story: Malaysian police nab 290 foreigners in latest counter-terror operation

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian police rounded up some 290 foreigners in its latest anti-terror raids ahead of the Southeast Asian Games, but none of them has terrorism links, local media reported Thursday.

The foreigners, mainly from Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Palestine and Sudan including students, were detained in the country's digital hub of Cyberjaya during the operations on Wednesday night and early Thursday, state news agency Bernama reported.

Police's counter-terrorism head Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said those arrested undergone screening process at Sepang police headquarters, but none of them were found to have links to terrorist activities.

Read the full story at Xinhua

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (28-Mar-2017)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s second helicopter carrier, the Kaga, entered service last week. The warship is expected to embark Mitsubishi-Sikorsky SH-60K Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters and AgustaWestland/Kawasaki MCH-101 aircraft for mine-countermeasures. That commission takes Japan’s deployment capability another step forward (see last week’s Sea State). There’s little doubt where the ship’s resources will be directed—Japan’s Vice Minister of Defence said at Kaga’s ceremony that China is ‘raising security concerns,’ and by exerting pressure ‘is altering the status quo’ in the South China Sea. And Japan isn’t the only one setting sail. Last week, the Philippine Navy sent the BRP Ramon Alcaraz to patrol Benham Rise, an underwater plateau in the Philippine’s extended continental shelf, after Chinese survey vessels performed oceanographic research in the area.

There was an interesting read in Foreign Affairs last week on ‘Why Europe is Floating Egypt’s Navy’. Egypt is being increasingly sought out as a military partner against security threats in the Mediterranean, including sea-faring terrorists and migrants.

The US Office of Naval Research posted a video last week, showing a test fire of BAE’s electromagnetic cannon. The Navy’s railgun project has been in the works since 2005, and is reportedly still expected to be in service by 2025. This article from The Drive talks pros and cons of the experimental weapon. (ASPI’s James Mugg has some views too.)

News Story: Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu lose voting rights in UN general assembly

SYDNEY, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have lost their right to vote in the United Nation's General Assembly for failing to make compulsory payments to the organization, it has been revealed on Friday.

Papua New Guinea owes the United Nations 139,000 U.S. dollars, while Vanuatu's bill stands at 19,000 U.S. dollars.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill told local media the money was in a trust account and "someone in the Department of Foreign Affairs needs to explain why they did not pay."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Jihadist used Philippines as training ground

By Emmanuel Tupas

MANILA, Philippines – A foreigner with suspected links to the Ansar Al-Khilafa Philippines (AKP) was training in the country before possible deployment to join extremists in Syria when he was killed in a government operation in Sarangani on Saturday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said yesterday this was the information they obtained on Abu Naila, a Sudanese who was killed by government troops in a raid in Barangay Daliao, Maasim.

“He wanted to fight in Syria, but he first went here in the Philippines to train,” Dela Rosa said in a radio interview over dzMM.

Read the full story at The Philippine Star

News Report: Genuinely Domestic Design - Introducing China’s HJ-8 Anti-Tank Missile

Pakistan's Baktar-Shikan ATGM, a licence-manufactured
variant of HJ-8 (Image: Wiki Commons)

China’s HJ-8 anti-tank missile is an original Chinese military design that has been exported to a number of countries over the recent years. Sputnik takes a deeper look at China's ultimate battle weapon.

Back in the 1960’s China produced its first domestically produced antitank missile – the HJ-73, which was more or less a copy of the Russian AT-3 Sagger, according to online military publication The National Interest.

However, due to the deteriorating relations between China and the Soviet Union in the 1960’s Beijing decided to create its own domestic design and that’s how the anti-tank guided missile Hongjian (Red Arrow) 8 finally entered service in the mid-1980s.

In functionally it had a resemblance to the long-range American TOW antitank guided missile, joined with the discarding launch tube of the French Milan missile system.

Editorial: China-Mali Relations After the Bamako Attacks

By Benjamin David Baker

Chinese companies have a surprisingly large stake in Mali. How could this relationship unfold in the future?

There has been some speculation that China might be losing some of its oomph in Africa. According to Xinhua, Chinese investments on the continent have fallen by 40 percent in 2015. This has been due to a number of reasons, “including the slack global economic recovery, international commodity price fluctuations and the Ebola outbreak,” according to Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Shen Danyang.

While the MOC is optimistic that these figures will recover by 2020, Chinese businesses and citizens are facing another kid of threat as well. As both Shannon Tiezzi and myself have reported for The Diplomat, Chinese citizens recently been killed in Syria and Mali by jihadist terrorists.

The three Chinese citizens murdered at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako raise some interesting issues for Beijing’s engagement with Mali. All three, plus another four Chinese citizens who were rescued from the hotel, were senior employees with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), a state-owned firm.

This is indicative of China’s presence in the region. Both CRCC and the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) are involved in massive infrastructural projects in and around the region. Mali has been trying to diversify its economy from the exports of its natural resources, notably gold. A crucial part of this involves investments into Mali’s fledgling railways system. Considering Mali’s landlocked geographical position, this is especially urgent with regards to extending and repairing its rail links to the surrounding coastal states of Senegal and Guinea.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: The New China-Africa Relations - 4 Trends to Watch

By Shannon Tiezzi

The first China-Africa summit since 2006 provides clues about the future of China’s role on the continent.

This week, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) convened its first summit since 2006. Chinese President Xi Jinping joined more than 40 leaders of African countries for the massive meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The typical highlights of FOCAC are all about the numbers: how much in aid and loans China pledges to the African continent (this year, Xi announced the jaw-dropping figure of $60 billion, although as usual there’s no timetable and no clarity on whether that includes projects already previously announced). But it’s also worth acknowledging that China and African countries have changed greatly in the nine years since the last summit. These new realities, both locally and globally, are changing the way they cooperate. With that in mind, here are four areas that have blossomed in the past few years — four trends to watch that may end up defining the future of China-Africa relations.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: After Deadly Attack in Mali, How Will China Protect Its Citizens Abroad?

By Benjamin David Baker

The al-Qaeda attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali’s capital left 3 Chinese citizens dead. How will Beijing react?

As Shannon Tiezzi reported for the Diplomat, seven Chinese citizens were among the 170 hostages taken at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali on November 20. According to Xinhua, a total of 27 hostages were killed, including three Chinese nationals. The three killed were senior executives in the China Railway Construction Corporation, a state-owned firm. The attack was carried out by the jihadist groups al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Mourabitoun.

These killings are symptomatic of the vulnerability Chinese citizens face abroad. Although the Chinese citizens present at the Radisson were probably not the main target for these attacks, they are as vulnerable to transnational terrorism as anybody else. Secondly, it shows that for all the hype, China’s non-interference policy in Africa is under threat and Beijing is struggling to find an effective way to secure its economic interests there.

Over the last couple of years, the protection of Chinese nationals overseas has become a key priority for Beijing. This is a problem that is not isolated to China’s presence in Africa. For example, as Shannon reported last week, a Chinese hostage was recently killed by ISIS in Syria. Chinese nationals have been kidnapped and killed in Sudan,Ethiopia, the Gulf of Aden, and throughout the Middle East. In fact, in the African context, Chinese nationals are increasingly at risk, not least due to the fact that there are so many of them on the continent. This has generated pressure among the population for the Chinese Communist Party to do more to protect its citizens overseas.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: China's Navy Makes First-Ever Tour of Europe's Arctic States

Image: Flickr User - Simon YANG

By Shannon Tiezzi

With historic visits to Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, the PLAN is breaking new ground.

A Chinese naval fleet is making the rounds of Nordic countries this week. A trio of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels – a missile destroyer, a missile frigate, and a replenishment ship – has visited Denmark, Finland, and Sweden in the past two weeks on goodwill visits. For each of those countries, it was the first time PLAN vessels had paid a port call.

According to China’s Ministry of Defense, PLAN Fleet 152 is on a “round-the-globe voyage” after wrapping up a four-month anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden were the third, fourth, and fifth stops (respectively) for the fleet, led by the guided-missile destroyer Jinan. The first two stops were Sudan and Egypt.

IHS Jane’s Navy International provided further details on the three vessels, identifying them as “the Type 052C Luyang II-class guided-missile destroyer Jinan (152), the Type 054A Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate Yiyang (548), and the Type 903 Fuchi-class replenishment ship Qiandao Hu (886).” Finland’s YLE News pointed out that the Jinanand Yiyang are among the PLAN’s most modern ships, having been completed in late 2014. The Qiandao, meanwhile, was commissioned a decade earlier, in 2004.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Japan's Military Gets New Rules of Engagement

By Franz-Stefan Gady

The United States and Japan are also working on a new joint action plan for the defense of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is in the process of updating operational rules of engagement for the members of the Japanese Self-Forces (JSDF) deployed abroad, The Japan Times reports.

The revision of the JSDF’s operational code of conduct is a direct result of new security legislation recently passed by the Upper House of the Japanese Diet that includes the right to collective self-defense.

According to The Japan Times, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani held a committee meeting this Monday to discuss details and, among other things, initiate a new training plan to ensure JSDF personnel will be familiar with the new rules of engagement.

What is clear already is that the scope of JSDF operations abroad will widen significantly. For example, during UN peacekeeping operations, Japanese blue helmets will now be allowed to come to the rescue and support troops of other peacekeeping contingents and can engage in “normal” military security operations such as patrolling and vehicle inspections at checkpoints.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Here's What You Need to Know About China’s Grand Military Parade

By Franz-Stefan Gady

Beijing announced cuts of 300,000 troops while parading some of the deadliest missiles in the PLA’s arsenal.

Beijing’s grand military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War involved more than 12,000 troops from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Second Artillery Force, and Armed Police marching down Chang’an Avenue by Tiananmen Square, along with approximately 500 military vehicles and around 200 aircraft.

Notably, in his pre-parade keynote speech, delivered from a podium overlooking Tiananmen Square, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced cuts in the size of the military. “I announce that China will reduce military personnel numbers by 300,000,” he said while noting that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is “loyally committed to its sacred duty of defending the security of the motherland and the peaceful life of the people, and loyally committed to the sacred duty of safeguarding world peace.”

The force reduction would constitute an approximately 13 percent cut in the active duty strengths of the 2.3 million strong Chinese military. However, Xi did not indicate when the planned reduction in size might begin. The largest reduction of PLA manpower in China’s recent history occurred in 1997 when a cut of 500,000 troops was announced.

The parade also involved 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries, including 75 members of the elite Russian 154th Infantry Regiment, which had the honor of being the last marching phalanx passing Tiananmen Square and concluding the massive military spectacle.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: UN Report - China Sold $20 Million in Arms and Ammunition to South Sudan

A Djiboutian Mi-24 (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Shannon Tiezzi

A UN panel says such arms sales, while legal, are prolonging the conflict and facilitating human rights violations.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council held a “briefing and consultations on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and on the work of the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee.” The meeting discussed the situation in South Sudan, including the role of foreign-produced military supplies in the conflict. According to a report from the UN Panel of Experts on South Sudan, China has been one of the top sources of arms and ammunition for the South Sudan government.

The conflict in South Sudan pits President Salva Kiir against former Vice President Riek Machar, whom Kiir accused of plotting a coup. Violence has since spread along ethnic lines – Kiir is part of the majority Dinka ethnic group, while Machar belongs to the Nuer ethnic group. The ethnic dimension of the conflict is particularly worrying to observers.

According to the UN Panel of Experts report, which was introduced at the UNSC meeting yesterday, China North Industries Corp. (Norinco) sold $20 million worth of “arms, ammunition, and related materiel” to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the government’s armed forces. The shipment included 100 HJ-73D anti-tank guided missile-launchers (plus 1,200 missiles), 9,574 automatic rifles with 2 million rounds of ammunition, 2,394 grenade launchers, and 40,000 “type-69 high-explosive anti-tank rockets.”

The sale was made in July 2014, while the conflict was in full swing. However, the report noted that South Sudan’s government claimed the arms sale had been finalized before the conflict began, and that assertion was confirmed by documentation viewed by the panel.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: In New White Paper, China's Military Embraces Global Mission

Chinese Navy Warships (File Photo)

By Shannon Tiezzi

China envisions a global role for its military –especially its navy — to protect overseas interests.

On May 26, China’s State Council Information Office unveiled a new white paper in a press conference. The paper, entitled “China’s Military Strategy,” is the ninth such white paper focused on China’s military to be released since 1998, but it’s also unique. Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun noted a stronger strategic and forward-looking focus in this year’s white paper compared to its predecessors.

The Diplomat has already looked at the new white paper, with Franz-Stefan Gady providing an overview and Ankit Panda noting the continued focus on Taiwan. But there’s another aspect on the broad strategic and forward-looking level noted by Yang deserving of attention: China’s vision for a more global role for its military.

The white paper started with an emphasis on the positive: “world war is unlikely and the international situation is expected to remain generally peaceful.” That being said, however, China also sees a variety of threats to both world peace and China’s specific national interests: “power politics” and international competition for influence, “neo-interventionism,” terrorism, and “ethnic, religious, border and territorial disputes” leading to possible and on-going small-scale wars.

In the words of the white paper, “the national security issues facing China encompass far more subjects, extend over a greater range, and cover a longer time span than at any time in the country’s history.” The greater range of threats necessitates of a greater range of response: “In response to the new requirement coming from the country’s growing strategic interests, the armed forces will actively participate in both regional and international security cooperation and effectively secure China’s overseas interests.”

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: China - The World’s New Peacekeeper?

By Emma Campbell-Mohn

Contributing to peacekeeping operations is helping Beijing to build a global presence.

While Americans recognize China’s rapid rise as an economic powerhouse, the implications remain murky. According to a 2014 Gallup poll, most people unfavorably view China as the world’s leading economic power. Indeed, twenty percent of Americans viewed China, not Iran, as America’s top enemy in 2014. When discussing China, Americans think of its 13.39 trillion GDP (2013 est.), expansion into the South China Sea or human rights abuses.

Yet China’s global influence is expanding in surprising ways. China is the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations of all the permanent members of the UN Security Council. China’s rise in peacekeeping operations is indicative of China’s rise in global prominence by both expanding its role in foreign affairs and protecting its own economic interests.

China currently contributes 2181 police, military experts and troops to UN Peacekeeping missions –seventeen times more than the U.S. contribution. These peacekeeping forces are scattered around the world located in areas ranging from Mali to Lebanon to Cyprus according to data collected in 2013. It ranks 13th among countries dedicating troops to peacekeeping missions. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: China forges ahead in fighter jet export market

China is capable of exporting modern fighter aircraft to developing countries while at the same time upgrading the technical standards of its own domestic aircraft manufacturing industry, according to Russian media cited by China's nationalistic tabloid Global Times.

The FC-1 Xiaolong fighter, also known as JF-17 Thunder, is suitable for use by developing countries that cannot afford fifth-generation fighters, the article said. The Xiaolong is a more affordable solution for these countries, as they are less likely to be attacked by stealth aircraft and have no need to carry out long-range strikes, the paper said.

The Xiaolong is made of composite materials, which makes it lighter and improves its stealth capability. Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) may even replace the fighter's Russian RD-93 engine with an indigenous turbofan engine if there proves to be sufficient demand. China is also considering whether it should allow countries which cannot afford to buy the aircraft outright to rent fighters.

Read the full story at Want China Times

Editorial: China Triples Peacekeeping Presence in South Sudan

By Shannon Tiezzi

China will send a battalion of 700 troops to join the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

China’s defense ministry confirmed on Thursday that Beijing will send an additional 700 troops to join the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The new battalion will triple the number of troops China currently has deployed with UNMISS.

Speaking at the Ministry of National Defense’s monthly press conference, spokesperson Geng Yangshen announced that China will send “a 700-personnel infantry battalion” to act as U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan. According to the U.N., this marks the first time China has contributed a battalion to a peacekeeping mission. Geng said the troops would “protect civilians, U.N. employees and humanitarian workers, and … perform patrol and security duties.” The battalion will be equipped with light weapons for use in self-defense, armored vehicles, and bullet-proof gear. The location of the troops, as well as the timing of their deployment, is still under discussion.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was established in July 2011, with a limit of 7,000 troops. In May 2014, in response to increased fighting between political factions in the country, the U.N. authorized raising the troop levels to 12,500. As of July 31, there were a total of 10,316 peacekeeping troops from over 50 countries in South Sudan, including 350 from China. That makes UNMISS the third largest U.N. peacekeeping mission in the world, after missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Iraq Exposes Limits of China’s Non-Interference Policy

By Oliver Bräuner

Like Libya and Sudan, the recent crisis in Iraq underscores the limits of China’s non-interference policy.

On June 28, 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. In his keynote speech, Xi reiterated China’s traditional policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries. He warned against the “flexing of military muscles” and vowed China’s continued opposition to “illegal” regime changes.

However, at the same time, China was struggling to safely evacuate up to 1,300 Chinese workers from northern Iraq. They had been working on a $1.2 billion power plant project for the state-owned China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in Samarra, a city currently under threat from Sunni Islamist rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

These two events illustrate the growing gap between China’s official non-interference rhetoric and the rapidly evolving challenges to Chinese overseas interests.

Read the full story at The Diplomat