The CHN/ China thread

[Skybird]

Compare American and Chinese ship-building capacity. Sobering. The US is being outclassed: counting al tonnage build, the factor separeating the two is a whopping 230. They also have the lead in total military ship building and submarine building.


This race gets lost the more the longer the US runs it. The UK, France do not count, sorry: way too few units in service and in the theatre anyway.

[Jimbuna]

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden tells Parliament that China is responsible for “malicious cyber campaigns” targeting the Electoral Commission and MPs

He says two people and a company linked to the Chinese state have been sanctioned by the UK government and China's ambassador will be summoned.

The attacks on the Electoral Commission took place in August 2021 but were only revealed last year. At the time it said the attacks had no impact on elections.

China says it "strongly opposes" the accusations, calling them "completely fabricated and malicious slanders"

Earlier MPs who are thought to have been targeted in cyber-attacks by Beijing called for the UK government to label China as a threat.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls China "the greatest state-based threat to our economic security" and says "it's right we take measures to protect ourselves"

[Jimbuna]

China demands Philippines cease South China Sea provocations

The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Wu Qian, has urged the Philippines to stop violations and provocations at the Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea. "The incident was entirely provoked and troubled by the Filipino side," he stressed.

"On March 23, a Filipino warship entered the waters next to China's Ren'ai Jiao, attempting to resupply an illegal warship that had become stranded. The Chinese Coast Guard (...) firmly blocked Filipino attempts at violating rights and provoking." - the statement reads.

The Chinese side also emphasized that "the incident was entirely provoked and troubled by the Filipino side, and China's actions in response were lawful."

The defense ministry spokesperson urged the Philippines "to stop all statements that could lead to an intensification of conflicts and escalation of the situation, as well as to stop all violations and provocations. China will continue to take measures to decisively protect its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," he added.

There is an ongoing territorial dispute between China and the Philippines, along with other countries in the region, over the Spratly (Nansha) Archipelago in the South China Sea. These islands are sought after for their abundant biological resources, strategic position at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and potential oil and gas resources.

The presence of United States warships, which navigate through the area, is also contested. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs contends that these actions by the USA compromise China's sovereignty and security. On the other hand, Washington asserts that the United States will navigate wherever international law permits.

In January, the Filipino Secretary of Defense declared plans to enhance military cooperation with the United States and its allies, motivated by China’s increasingly aggressive behavior. According to the Secretary, boosting military capabilities will better contribute to regional stability.

That same month, the Foreign Ministers of the Philippines and China concurred on fostering cooperation and peacefully addressing incidents in the South China Sea to ease tensions in the area.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...499a15e3&ei=17

[Jimbuna]

Taiwan commissions two new navy ships amid rising threat from China

Taiwan has commissioned two new navy ships as a safeguard against the rising threat from China.

Beijing has been ratcheting up its naval and air force missions around the island that it claims as its own territory – to be annexed by force if necessary.

The pair of Tuo Chiang class corvettes completes the first order of six of the domestically produced catamarans with stealth capabilities.

The ships are relatively small, capable of carrying just 41 sailors and officers, but are fast and highly manoeuvrable and carry a range of missiles and deck guns aimed at countering larger Chinese vessels and rocketry.

Outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen oversaw the commissioning on Tuesday at the northern port of Suao, emphasising her push to revitalise Taiwan’s defence industries, alongside extensive arms purchases and support from key ally the United States.

Ms Tsai has also fast-tracked the production of trainer jets and the island’s first homebuilt submarines, sometimes pushing budgets for such purchases through the legislature against resistance from representatives of the opposition Nationalist Party, which favors eventual unification with China.

Ma Ying-jeou, the last president from the Nationalists, also known as the KMT, is reportedly planning a visit to China next month that could include a meeting with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

Taiwan was colonised by China in the 1600s but later taken over by Japan, before reverting to the Republic of China at the end of the Second World War.

The sides then split again amid the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Mr Xi has been building his military with an eye to consolidating China’s territorial claims throughout the Pacific, the South China Sea and along the contested high-mountain border with India.

China boasts the world’s largest standing military and biggest navy – with three aircraft carriers – but has not fought in a major conflict since its brief 1979 invasion of Vietnam.

Since then, its military budget has ballooned to the world’s second largest behind the US, alongside a huge expansion of its economy, which is now showing signs of losing steam.

Most recently, frictions between patrol vessels from the sides near Taiwan-controlled islands just off the Chinese coast have renewed concerns about a conflict that could draw in the US, which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan can defend itself and considers all threats to the island as matters of “grave concern”.

While vastly outgunned, Taiwan’s military has been bolstered by new weaponry and an extension of the universal period of national service for men from four months to one year. Its air force, navy and missile corps also respond to near-daily incursions by Chinese ships and planes.

Taiwan’s defence ministry says it is on alert for a Chinese sneak attack, possibly targeting Ms Tsai or Vice President William Lai, who will take over the top office in May.

Both are despised as separatists by Beijing. Recent Taiwanese media reports have shown satellite photos of Chinese People’s Liberation Army training grounds including mock-ups of the area surrounding Taipei’s Presidential Office Building.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected nine Chinese planes and six ships operating around the island between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

In Beijing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticised live-firing exercises by the Taiwanese military planned for next month near the Taiwan-held island group of Kinmen just off the Chinese coast.

“Any provocative move Taiwan’s military takes is doomed to fail,” Chen Binhua said at a biweekly news conference.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...79966318&ei=10

[mapuc]

On social media Reddit and X, there is one particular image that is being shared a lot right now. At first glance, it doesn't seem particularly interesting. It shows some roads and buildings out in a desert.

https://nyheder-tv2-dk.translate.goo..._x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Seven 'Chinese hackers' wanted in UK and US for 14 year cyber hacking campaign

Seven suspects wanted over a cyber hacking ring operated by the Chinese during 14 years are being hunted by UK and US authorities.

Images of the men aged between 34 and 38, all believed to be living in China, were released after they were charged by US prosecutors with a wide range of espionage including hacking politicians and businesses.

There has been confirmation that Chinese spies were behind "malicious" cyber attacks on the Electoral Commission and individual MPs and peers. Former cabinet ministers Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Suella Braverman have both featured among the prominent backbench voices calling for China to be labelled a threat.

And the US Department of Justice has alleged that more than 10,000 malicious emails were sent by the cyber hacking ring which aimed to threaten national security. Once opened, the emails installed tracking software that allowed the hackers to know the victims' location, IP addresses and even the devices they used to get email.
The hackers further leveraged that tracking to target home routers and other devices, "including those of high-ranking US government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major US political parties," the US claims.

The intention of the campaign, which officials say began in 2010, was to harass critics of the Chinese government, steal trade secrets of American corporations and to spy on and track high-level political figures. Western officials disclosed the operation, carried out by a hacking group known as APT31, while sounding a fresh, election-year alarm about a country long seen as having advanced espionage capabilities.

The British government, in a related announcement, imposed sanctions on a front company and two of the defendants in connection with a breach that may have given the Chinese access to information on tens of millions of U.K. voters held by the Electoral Commission.

The seven men being sought by authorities are Ni Gaobin, 38; Weng Ming, 37; Cheng Feng, 34; Peng Yaowen, 38; Sun Xiaohui, 38; Xiong Wang, 35; and Zhao Guangzong, 38. And the UK has issued sanctions against Guangzong and Gaobin, meaning that their UK assets have been frozen and the businesses Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company.

The Government currently describes China as an "epoch-defining challenge" but has faced pressure from MPs across the Commons to formally upgrade its assessment of Beijing. Asked on Tuesday morning whether she would be comfortable describing China as a threat, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Times Radio: "As I've said before, I'm not in the Diplomatic Service or the Foreign Office but it is obviously a security threat." Ministers have previously resisted calls to change their language on China, sticking to their description of the country as a "challenge".

Cabinet tensions have reportedly surfaced over the issue, with some ministers pushing for tougher action on Beijing while others are resistant over concerns it could harm economic and trade relations. Downing Street has again sought to play down the suggestion that it is preparing to describe China as a "threat".

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "There isn't a mechanism under UK law or indeed in our G7 or Five Eyes countries that has a designation process like that." Chinese spies are likely to use details stolen through hacking to target dissidents and critics of Xi Jinping's government in the UK, British intelligence services believe.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, New Zealand alleged hackers linked to the Chinese government launched a state-sponsored operation that targeted the country's parliament in 2021 but said it lacked the legal powers to impose sanctions. The UK said Beijing-linked hackers were behind the attack on the Electoral Commission which exposed the personal data of 40 million voters, as well as 43 individuals including MPs and peers.

Some of the MPs targeted by Beijing said the response did not go far enough. Conservative former minister Tim Loughton told Sky News: "We're going to sanction two people, two pretty lowly officials, and one private company, which employs 50 people. That is just not good enough."

The Electoral Commission attack was identified in October 2022 but the hackers had been able to access the commission's systems containing the details of tens of millions of voters for more than a year by that point. The registers held at the time of the cyber attack include the name and address of anyone in the UK who was registered to vote between 2014 and 2022, as well as the names of those registered as overseas voters.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, said it is likely that Chinese state-affiliated hackers stole emails and data from the electoral register. This, in combination with other data sources, is highly likely to have been used by Beijing's intelligence services for large-scale espionage and transnational repression of perceived dissidents and critics based in the UK.

There is no suggestion the hack had any impact on the largely paper-based UK electoral system. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden insisted the local elections in May and the general election later this year will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks. He said: "Yes, I can guarantee that our electoral processes will be safe and secure."

The Chinese government strongly denied that it has carried out, supported or encouraged cyber attacks on the UK, describing the claims as "completely fabricated and malicious slanders". A spokesman for China's embassy in London said: "China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law.

"China does not encourage, support or condone cyber attacks. At the same time, we oppose the politicisation of cyber security issues and the baseless denigration of other countries without factual evidence. We urge the relevant parties to stop spreading false information and stop their self-staged, anti-China political farce."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...3e109397&ei=56

[Jimbuna]

China hits out at US and UK over cyber hack claims

China has hit back at accusations from the US and UK that it is behind a state hacking operation targeting millions of people in Western countries.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said Washington and others should stop their own cyber attacks, accusing them of "political manipulation".

He added that Britain's evidence for alleging its electoral commission and MPs had been hacked was "inadequate".

The US and UK have blamed a Chinese state-run cyber unit for the attacks.

Two Chinese nationals and a company will face sanctions, the UK announced on Monday. The British government alleges Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd work for the China state-affiliated cyber espionage group Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT31).

The UK sanctions will freeze assets, barring UK citizens and businesses from handling their funds or resources. A travel ban will also prevent them from entering or remaining in the UK.

Later on Monday, the US said seven Chinese nationals - who allegedly worked for APT31 - had been charged with enacting a widespread cyber-attack campaign. They are accused of ties to a hacking operation that ran for 14 years.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian strenuously rejected all the allegations.

"We urge the US and UK to stop politicising cyber security issues. Stop smearing China and stop imposing unilateral sanctions on China. Stop their cyber attack against China," he told a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

"The Chinese side has already made technical clarifications and response to the APT 31-related Information submitted by the UK side, which made clear that the evidence provided by the UK was inadequate," he said, adding: "Unfortunately, we haven't heard from the UK side."

Lin Jian also told reporters that China would adopt measures to firmly safeguard its lawful rights and interests.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68655786

[Jimbuna]

China builds detailed Taiwan government district mockup for military drills

On the grounds of a military range in the Inner Mongolia region of China, a mockup representing the government district of Taiwan's capital has been constructed. Experts believe that such actions may be aimed at simulating bombings and missile attacks on Taipei.

The mockup, which was built near the city of Alxa, in the sparsely populated northern part of China, roughly 999 km west of Beijing, looks very realistic - reports PAP, citing Business Insider. The Chinese creators of the mockup tried their best to accurately replicate the topography of Taiwan's capital. The mockup features structures resembling, among others, the Taipei presidential office and other government buildings, as well as a similar street layout. Based on satellite images, it was assessed that the mockup has existed since at least December 2022, but it's not clear when exactly it was constructed - emphasizes Business Insider.

Information about this object started circulating on social media at the beginning of this week. As added, this is not the first such case. Already in 2014-15, similar objects that also replicated the government district in Taipei and were erected in Zhurihe in Inner Mongolia were reported. This time, however, the mockup seems to be more detailed and likely located at a range where bombings and missile firings are practiced.

Business Insider noted that in China, the construction of other mockups representing American aircraft carriers and other naval vessels had been previously documented.

The communist authorities of the People's Republic of China consider democratically governed Taiwan to be an "inalienable" part of its territory and strive to take control of it, not excluding the possibility of using force. In the opinion of some analysts, such an attempt could occur within the next few years.

In November 2023, the then-President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, expressed the view that Chinese leaders are currently too overwhelmed by internal problems - both economic and financial, as well as political - to consider an invasion of Taiwan.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...b3450432&ei=41

[Skybird]

I would wish the Taiwanese would understand that new tanks they develope and new ships they commission are just targets that will be taken out by the Chinese in the early stages of the conflict.

They should imo instead focus on missiles, missiles, missiles, both long range ship-sinkers and China-hitters and the small ones called shoulderpads fired by infantrymen, and equip every household on Taiwan with stockpiles of these until the populaton is literally burried under them. Taiwan will never be able to compete on a 1:1 basis with the superior number of heavy platforms the Chinese have: ships, planes, helicopters, and so forth.



The numerical superiority of the Chinese must be compensated for. Not directly rivalled with. tank for tank and ship for ship. Thats a recipe for defeat.


And drones, of course, both aerial and navel and below-surface drones. And highly mobile self-propelled howitzers than can roll into firing range to the beaches, and escape again into the jungle.

But ships...??? Waste of money.

[Jimbuna]

^ True but what strikes me is the fact that the Taiwanese must have already weighed their options up surely?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

^ True but what strikes me is the fact that the Taiwanese must have already weighed their options up surely?

It was to be red over the past years that their military is in a shabby state and that the general willingness to fight and resist and do military service had declined fundamentally, accompanied by shortening mandatory service times. This may have canged a bit in the imminent past and they may try to repair the damage they did in the years before. But I assume their military is as vulnerable as that of other nations to think that the next war will be fought by weapons and rules that proved to be successful in the last big war.


In other words, their military thinking might be as petrified as that in many other national militaries as well.



In fact I recall a TV documentary some years ago where they said that there are two camps in strict rivarly in their military, one that is smaller and ticks a bit like I described, and the other being the influential one that still propagates the old, traditional dogma.



All in all my impression is that they are still quite ill-prepared for a Chinese attack. Especially a lack of ammo and reserves seems to be worrying. The US should use the time left to fill Taiwan up to its lower lip with stockpiles of fuel, ammo, and reserves and missiles, missiles, missles.



An M1A2SEP I read costed 24 million in export 2022. A Javelin replacement missiles costs 78,000. For one tank you get almost 310 Javelin replacement missiles. I rest my case.

[Jimbuna]

China's new home prices rise at fastest pace in over 2-1/2 years, survey shows

BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - New home prices in China rose at the fastest pace in more than two and a half years in March versus a month earlier, a private survey showed on Monday, driven by a slew of supportive steps to prop up the crisis-hit property sector.
The average new home price across 100 cities rose 0.27% on month in March, the biggest rise since July 2021, showed data from real estate researcher China Index Academy. That compared with a 0.14% on-month gain in February.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/...ws-2024-04-01/

[Jimbuna]

China spreads MAGA conspiracy theories on faked social media accounts: report

Chinese accounts designed to look like they belong to American supporters of Donald Trump are taking to social media, pushing conspiracy theories and attacking President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 election, according to researchers and government officials.

Echoing disruption campaigns against the U.S. that originated in Russia, China's actions signal a more concerted push to use social media as a way to influence U.S. elections by harnessing partisan divisions, the New York Times reported.

An example of a Chinese X account provided by The Times claims to be operated by “a father, husband and son” who was “MAGA all the way!!” The account mocks Biden's age and shared fake images of him in a prison uniform, even calling him a Satanist and a pedophile.
Speaking to The Times, Institute for Strategic Dialogue senior analyst Elise Thomas said she's never seen anything like what China is doing, and that the effort has attracted user attention much more than previous Chinese disinformation campaigns.

“The worry has always been, what if one day they wake up and are effective?” Thomas said. “Potentially, this could be the beginning of them waking up and being effective.”

Previous efforts from China to push its ideology in the West were unsuccessful, but the more recent one seeks to exploit divisions already present in American politics, such as the debate over LGBTQ rights, immigration and crime.

Disinformation analyst Margot Fulde-Hardy says China is building an army of accounts to unleash across multiple platforms in November.

“This is reminiscent of Russia’s style of operations, but the difference is more the intensity of this operation,” Fulde-Hardy told The Times.

“What we’re seeing,” said Max Lesser, a senior analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “is the campaign just continues, undeterred.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...0d8b6de7&ei=17

[em2nought]

I'd love to have been able to listen to today's phone call between Biden and Xi Jinping.

[sh3rules]

Originally Posted by Skybird

The US should use the time left to fill Taiwan up to its lower lip with stockpiles of fuel, ammo, and reserves and missiles, missiles, missles.

"The time left"? IMO Taiwan still has a few years to prepare, wouldn't a Chinese buildup of forces be readily visible?