Indian and Chinese soldiers were involved in an altercation in the western Himalayas on Tuesday, Indian sources said, further raising tensions between the two countries which are already locked in a two-month stand-off in another part of the disputed border.

A source in New Delhi, who had been briefed on the military situation on the border, said soldiers foiled a bid by a group of Chinese troops to enter Indian territory in Ladakh, near the Pangong lake.
Some of the Chinese soldiers carried iron rods and stones, and in the melee there were minor injuries on both sides, the source said.
The two sides have frequently accused each other of intrusions into each other’s territories, but clashes are rare. The Indian military declined to comment on the incident.

The foreign ministries of China and the Philippines have found a ‘way to get along’ by banning new construction in the South China Sea as the two nations seek to enhance bilateral ties.
“The Chinese will not occupy new features in the South China Sea nor are they are going to build structures in Scarborough Shoal,” Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana told lawmakers on Tuesday, according to China News Asia. The waters near the shoal are frequented by Philippine fishers, but from 2012 to 2016 China blockaded the area.

Specifically, "there is a status quo now that is happening in the South China Sea brokered by the secretary of Foreign Affairs,"he said, adding "it would be a very serious thing if China will occupy any of the islands."

While the long-term consequences of Trump's first trade war salvo launched today will become obvious only in hindsight, it may have come at an opportune moment: just as China prepares to flood the world with record amounts of steel. Overnight, the National Statistics Bureau reported that even as Beijing intensified its war on smog, local steel output "paradoxically" hit a new monthly record in July, some 74.02 million tonnes, up 10% Y/Y (or 50% more than China's GDP) and higher than the previous record of 73.23 million tonnes set in June.

A flurry of threats last week had the whole region fearing a new Korean War was about to break out, but Monday gave way to at least a bit of an attempt by everyone involved to revisit the possibility of diplomacy.

That’s not to say that diplomacy is any more imminent this week than war was last week, but as North Korea put its Guam missile launches on hold, US officials against made it very clear they were at least open o a resolution that didn’t involve nuclear war.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un said that US should show itself to be committed to an alternative to the conflict, while US officials continued to reiterate how ready they were for war. Either way, both sides agree it was entirely the other side’s fault, and that it’s entirely up to the other side to stop the provocations.

The meeting of key North Korean ambassadors in Pyongyang could help temporarily defuse the increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, according to political analyst Dmitry Mosyakov.

If you want to radically change the dynamic then you have to apply extreme pressure. I feel this is what Trump and his advisors are doing. They are appearing to “have the strength to force the moment to its crisis” to quote T.S. Eliot.

And that strength or purpose is creating large movements. Trump is a bully. It’s what he does, at least publicly. The response so far from China has been to denounce the idea of regime change in Pyongyang.

The response from Russia, through Foreign Minister (and top diplomat in the world right now), Sergei Lavrov was to announce a deal brokered between it, North Korea and China to get what Trump wants; no potential for nukes in North Korea.

"Russia together with China developed a plan which proposes 'double freezing': Kim Jong-un should freeze nuclear tests and stop launching any types of ballistic missiles, while US and South Korea should freeze large-scale drills which are used as a pretext for the North’s tests."

SETTING THE STAGE

In March, at around the time of the biggest annual maneuvers between the U.S. and South Korea, the North fired four extended-range Scud missiles into waters off the Japanese coast in what was intended to be a mock attack on Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni.

Iwakuni is one of the main U.S. bases in Japan and was the staging point for F-35 stealth fighters believed to be training for precision strikes on North Korea against Kim Jong Un and his top lieutenants.

The March missile launch was not as bold as the plan for Guam — the North didn’t tell the world beforehand and deliberately sent the missiles much farther north than the base itself, an easy tweak. But the move sent a strong message that such an attack would be possible.

In an unprecedented move against North Korea, China on Monday issued an order to carry out the United Nations sanctions imposed on the rogue regime earlier this month.

China made the announcement amid not only Pyongyang's escalating war of words with the United States regarding the North Korea nuclear missile program, but also as President Trump was reportedly set to order an investigation into China's trade practice -- a probe which could lead the U.S. to levy its own sanctions on Beijing.

Trump has sought China's help in dealing with North Korea, as China has remained one of the last defenders of dictator Kim Jong Un and could apply enormous financial pressure should it turn on the North Korean leader.

As if there weren't enough geopolitical and social stress points in the world to fill a lifetime of "sleepy, vacationy" Augusts, late on Friday night President Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him that he's preparing to order an investigation into Chinese trade practices next week, according to NBC. Politico confirms that Trump is ready to launch a new trade crackdown on China next week, citing an administration official, a step that Trump delayed two weeks ago under the guidance of his new Chief of Staff Gen. Kelly, but now appears imminent. It is also an escalation which most analysts agree will launch a trade war between Washington and Beijing.

The Pentagon’s top military officer said here Sunday the focus remains on finding a diplomatic solution to the North Korea missile crisis, even as the military works up viable options in case they become necessary.

Amid heated rhetoric between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s rogue leader, Kim Jong Un, the military is quietly supporting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to use diplomatic and economic pressure to avert war.

“As a military leader, I have to make sure that the president does have viable military options in the event that the diplomatic and economic pressurization campaign fails,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford in his first public remarks since the crisis escalated with North Korea’s launch of a second intercontinental ballistic missile late last month.

As if there weren't enough geopolitical and social stress points in the world to fill a lifetime of "sleepy, vacationy" Augusts, late on Friday night President Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping and told him that he's preparing to order an investigation into Chinese trade practices next week, according to NBC. Politico confirms that Trump is ready to launch a new trade crackdown on China next week, citing an administration official, a step that Trump delayed two weeks ago under the guidance of his new Chief of Staff Gen. Kelly, but now appears imminent. It is also an escalation which most analysts agree will launch a trade war between Washington and Beijing.

The error, according to 38 North, lies in an inept English translation of a statement made by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting on July 26.

The English translation was: “We will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table. Neither shall we flinch even an inch from the road to bolstering up the nuclear forces chosen by ourselves, unless the hostile policy and nuclear threat of the US against the DPRK are fundamentally eliminated.”

38 North says the splitting of the sentences raises several questions as to what was covered under the qualifier of “unless” the hostile policy is removed. But 38 North says the answer can be found in the Korean-language version in which the formula was presented as one sentence, not two.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mattis issued an ultimatum to North Korea, saying “cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and destruction of its people.”

His warning came in response to Pyongyang suggesting plans to fire ballistic missiles to within 30 – 40 km from Guam by mid-August.

On Thursday, Trump said his “fire and fury” warning perhaps wasn’t “tough enough.” The DPRK should “get (its) act together (or it’ll) be in trouble like few nations have ever been.” Its leadership should be “very, very nervous” if it does anything harmful to America or its allies.

Kim Jong-un “disrespected our country greatly. He’s not getting away with it.”

On Friday, China warned Washington, saying if it tries to forcefully topple North Korea’s government, it’ll intervene to stop it.

It repeated calls for calm and diplomatic outreach – easing tensions, not escalating them further. China’s People’s Daily said

A bulk of the troops of the Sukna-based 33 Corps have been or are in the process of being moved to the Indo-China frontier in Sikkim even as the controversy over the Doklam plateau at the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction continues to surface from time to time.

Eastern Command army sources revealed that all three divisions under the 33 Corps, which is stationed in Sukna, near Siliguri in West Bengal, have been deployed on the Sino-Indian border.

The troop movement from Sukna began about 20-25 days ago. The most important and vital elements of the corps have moved up and taken position in designated "Op Areas".

The Movement “Has More to Do With Posturing”

The troops are at varying depths of 20 kms to 500 metres from the India-China border in north and east Sikkim. Some units were given four days' written notice to move to the upper reaches while others have been handed out as little as six hours' notice to move up.

North Korea displayed its submarine-launched ballistic missiles for the first time on Saturday ahead of a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang.

Weapons analysts said they believed some of the other missiles on display were new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

North Korea warned the United States on Saturday to end its "military hysteria" or face retaliation as a US aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region and the reclusive state marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding father.

The North Korean ceremony began with a massive parade of military personnel and hardware through Pyongyang on Saturday morning to mark the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the revered founder of the nation.

Amid the thick fog of (rhetorical) war between Washington and Pyongyang, it’s still possible to detect some fascinating writing on the (unbuilt) wall.

A case can be made that President Trump is using North Korea to kick the 24/7 Russia-gate narrative out of the US news cycle. It's certainly working. After all, in Exceptionalistan weltanschauung, the prospect of war and its possible rewards certainly trumps hazy accusations of Russian hacking and election interference.

In a glimmer of hope that a military conclusion to the North Korean crisis may yet be averted, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that "Russia does not accept a North Korea that possesses nuclear weapons", cautioned that there is an "overwhelming amount of over-the-top belligerent rhetoric on North Korea’s nuclear and rocket programs from Washington and Pyongyang", but most importantly said that there is a joint Russian-Chinese plan to defuse the North Korean crisis, according to which North Korea would freeze its missile tests, while the US and South Korea would stop large scale exercises.

"Russia together with China developed a plan which proposes 'double freezing': Kim Jong-un should freeze nuclear tests and stop launching any types of ballistic missiles, while US and South Korea should freeze large-scale drills which are used as a pretext for the North’s tests."

In a troubling repudiation of President Donald Trump’s demands that Beijing do more to rein in its bellicose neighbor, Beijing, through the state-owned media, cautioned the US president on Friday that it would intervene (militarily) on North Korea’s behalf if the US and South Korea launch a preemptive strike to “overthrow the North Korean regime,” according to a statement in the influential state-run newspaper Global Times.

"If the U.S. and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so," it said.

At the same time, the Chinese regime made it clear that its preferred outcome would be a continuation of the status quo, warning Kim Jong Un that it would "remain neutral if North Korea were to strike first."

China has warned the USA that it will only stay neutral in any conflict involving North Korea if Kim Jong-un’s regime is first to attack.

An editorial in the state-run Global Times revealed that if the US strikes first, China will side with North Korea and aim to ‘prevent’ any attack.

The relationship between India and China seemed to worsen Wednesday when the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that 53 people and an Indian bulldozer was in China's territory and advised India to pull them back. This followed a warning Tuesday when an editorial in the state-run China Daily said that the "countdown to a clash between the two forces has begun."

"India should withdraw its troops and equipment. Regardless of how many Indian troops have trespassed into and stayed in Chinese territory, they have gravely infringed on China's sovereignty," the ministry said, the Global Times reported.

The China Daily editorial said the clock was ticking and that it seemed like a clash would be “an inevitable conclusion” between the two prominent Asian countries if India did pull back its troops from the disputed Doklam region.

A new round of fighting has erupted around the southern Philippines city of Marawi, as ongoing attempts to recapture the city from the ISIS rebels had led to what is basically an open-ended siege.

Fighting over Marawi began back in May, and has been ongoing since then, though not as heavily as it was early on. This latest fighting, according to officials, left at least nine Islamists killed, including one identified as Isnilon Hapilon, wanted by the FBI.

The Philippine military is claiming that the Islamists inside the city have been trying to dig a tunnel out under a major mosque as a way to get out of the battle zone. The military is acting in a fairly broad region around the city,so tunneling that far would be a real trick.

The Government of Bhutan on Thursday refuted Chinese foreign ministry claims about Thimpu telling Beijing that the trilateral border stand-off area in Doklam in the Sikkim sector is not Bhutan's territory.+
A top Chinese diplomat Wang Wenli had claimed that Bhutan had conveyed to Beijing through diplomatic channels that the area of the standoff is not its territory.

Wang, who is the deputy director general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs in China's foreign ministry, reportedly conveyed this information to a visiting Indian media delegation on Wednesday.
She, however, did not provide any evidence to back her claim, which has been strongly denied by Bhutan.

Official sources in the Bhutanese Government told ANI over phone, "Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear. Please refer to our statement which has been published on the web site of Bhutan's foreign ministry on June 29, 2017."

Russia has urged North Korea to steer clear of using force and instead opt for “maximum restraint” as Pyongyang’s feud with neighbor South Korea simmers.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the plea, addressed to “all sides involved” in the conflict’s resolution, during a meeting with his North Korean counterpart in the Philippines Monday. Lavrov’s comments, paraphrased by Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, come as he confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss North Korea further with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting next month.

China and Russia are North Korea’s only neighbors besides South Korea. Russia has so far not taken a hard stance on the dispute. Moscow’s strategy has largely reflected that of Beijing, unquestionably North Korea’s most important trading partner.

Mark Cuban on Wednesday condemned a federal agency’s plan to give a pharmaceutical company controlled by a Chinese billionaire exclusive rights to a new liver cancer treatment developed with U.S. government researchers.

The Dallas Mavericks owner, himself a billionaire, told HuffPost the decision “ignored” the need to use taxpayer-funded research in a way that advantages Americans.

“USA inc has got to start operating in the best interests of all of us shareholders,” the “Shark Tank” host wrote in an email, after retweeting a link to a HuffPost report on the licensing plans. “Our taxes should be an investment that expects a financial and social return.”

The National Institutes of Health proposed awarding Salubris Biotherapeutics Inc. exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of patents on an antibody drug used to treat liver cancer, according to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, first reported by HuffPost.

The US navy destroyer, which sailed closed to the island claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, has violated international law and endangered China’s national security, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
“The US destroyer's actions have violated Chinese and international laws, as well as severely harmed China's sovereignty and security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement.

“China is very displeased with this and will bring up the issue with the US side,” the statement reads.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that that the so-called US “freedom of navigation” mission was carried out without authorization from Beijing, with has “indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands (Spratley) and its surrounding waters.”

“The Chinese army immediately sent warships (to the area) in accordance with the law to implement the identification of the US ship and warn it off,” the spokesperson said.

The US reportedly has a plan for a preemptive strike on North Korean missile sites with bombers stationed in Guam, should Donald Trump order it. It is apparently viewed as “the best of all bad options” amid mounting tensions between the states.

An attack by Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic heavy bombers from Andersen Air Force Base in the US territory of Guam makes up a major part of the plan, senior acting and retired military officials told NBC news.

“Of all the military options … [President Donald Trump] could consider, this would be one of the two or three that would at least have the possibility of not escalating the situation,” retired Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and an NBC News analyst, said.

A US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea on Thursday, a "provocation" that threatens another angry response from the Chinese government and further complicating President Donald Trump’s efforts to align the Communist Party in his pursuit to find a diplomatic resolution to the North Korean crisis.

As Reuters reports, the USS John McCain (yes, he the Senator has a ship named after him) passed by the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in what US military officials justified as yet anohter “freedom of navigation” operation, the third since Trump took office. Over the past six months, the US has grown increasingly bold, or provocative as Beijing calls it, by sending aircraft and ships to contested waters in the South China Sea to the anger and frustration of Beijing.

In the latest escalation between two nuclear powers (aside for the US and North Korea of course), the Indian Army has ordered the evacuation of a village close to the Doklam India-Bhutan-China tri-junction amid to a standoff between Indian and Chinese solders, India's News 18 reports. This takes place just days after, as we reported earlier this week, China turned the war threat amplifier up to '11' by threatening India (in an article published a Chinese state-controlled newspaper) that it could conduct a "small-scale military operation" to expel Indian troops from a contested region in the Himalayas.

India's diplomatic efforts to end a seven-week military standoff with China have hit a roadblock, people briefed on the talks said, prompting Chinese state-run media to trumpet rhetoric of "unavoidable countermeasures" on the unmarked border.

China has insisted that India unilaterally withdraw its troops from the remote Doklam plateau claimed by both Beijing and Indian ally Bhutan.

India's diplomatic efforts to end a seven-week military standoff with China have hit a roadblock, people briefed on the talks said, prompting Chinese state-run media to trumpet rhetoric of "unavoidable countermeasures" on the unmarked border.

China has insisted that India unilaterally withdraw its troops from the remote Doklam plateau claimed by both Beijing and Indian ally Bhutan.

(For a graphic on China-India border dispute click tmsnrt.rs/2wnxWuV)

Chinese state media is quoting officials familiar with the situation as saying the nation is preparing for a “small-scale military operation” aimed at expelling Indian troops from the Doklam region, after a protracted stand-off in the area.

China was trying to build a road in the Doklam region when Indian ground troops crossed the border to stop them. Indian forces have remained there, albeit in small numbers, ever since. India does not claim the land belongs to them, but claims that Bhutan believes it belongs to them, and that an old treaty with Bhutan obliges them to back the claim.

The territory is sparsely inhabited, and of little value to either. Still, Chinese officials warn that the row with India could have a long-term impact on their relationship, whether or not the dispute results in any sort of military exchange.

Early service for the Type 001A points to China speeding up its effort to build a navy that can secure trade routes and challenge the US in the South China Sea

As part of the People's Liberation Army's 90th anniversary celebration - it was founded on August 1, 1927 - President Xi Jinping (in military fatigues) hosted a giant parade at the Zhurihe Training Center.

Here, PLA's most elite forces demonstrated how far China has come in modern warfare. CCTV broadcast the session, which means a domestic and global audience of millions saw the army's showcase of tanks, stealth fighters, artillery, and ICBMs.

The fact that the parade took place not in Beijing, but in Inner Mongolia, was symbolic. Zhurihe hosts the PLA's annual Stride exercises. These wargames pit the resident "Blue Team" (a mechanized infantry brigade that uses NATO tactics) against visiting PLA units. These wargames are played in a variety of urban, hill, and open-area locations, often under intensive conditions, including simulated nuclear battlefields.

In the wake of the announcement of a $1 billion sanctions program targeting North Korea’s coal, lead and iron exports, Beijing is staging almost a dozen military exercises in the Yellow Sea.

The navy drills surely send a signal that the Chinese “will be effective in any conflict if war is to break out,” Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute told the South China Morning Post.

However the message isn’t intended for Pyongyang alone, Collin Koh of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University says. “States do this because they want to send a signal … it’s not just targeted at North Korea,” Koh said.

China as the main trade partner of North Korea is ready to pay high price for the new UN Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang for the sake of denuclearization and stabilization on the Korean peninsula, according to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

On Saturday, Security Council members imposed sanctions on North Korea for the seventh time since its first 2006 nuclear test.

New ones aim to deprive Pyongyang of around one-third of its export revenues, cutting them by about $1 billion.

They ban DPRK exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood. They prohibit all new joint ventures, ban new investments in current ones, and prohibit sending more workers abroad for jobs.

They tighten restrictions on technology to prevent Pyongyang from acquiring military related items. North Korean vessels caught violating SC resolutions will be banned from entering foreign ports.

Imposing sanctions is one thing, enforcing them another. North Korea is adept at exploiting loopholes in restrictions and minimizing them other ways.

Most important, China wants Pyongyang’s economy kept from imploding. It accounts for around 90% of its exports. It’s the DPRK’s key ally.

In October 1973, the world shuddered when the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an oil embargo on the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur war. At the same time, they ramped up prices.

The United States realized it was dependent on imported oil — and much of that came from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia the big swing producer. It shook the nation. How had a few foreign powers put a noose around the neck of the world’s largest economy?

Well, it could happen again and very soon. The commodity that could bring us to our knees isn’t oil, but rather a group of elements known as rare earths, falling between 21 and 71 on the periodic table.

Precise details of the exercise have not been released by Beijing, save for the fact the event will begin on Saturday, August 5, and end on Tuesday, August 8.

The drill comes amid escalating tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, with Chinese officials becoming increasingly concerned about being dragged into war.

Donald Trump has put pressure on Beijing to try and dissuade its North Korean allies from progressing its illicit missile programme.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un conducted to the country's latest weapons test late last month, when he launched an intercontinental ballistic missile believed to have been capable of hitting the US mainland.

Beijing has stepped up economic retaliation against Korean businesses despite Seoul’s efforts to ease tensions over the deployment of a U.S. missile shield here, industry sources said Friday.

The United States is preparing for all options to counter the growing threat from North Korea, including launching a “preventive war,” national security adviser H.R. McMaster said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Saturday. The comments come following North Korea carrying out two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) last month.

Related: A North Korea Attack Would Take Out Los Angeles, Chicago or New York, And Be The Deadliest In U.S. History

The statement said Beijing “favors settlement of inter-state differences through mutual respect and equal dialogue.” On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed the bill that imposes tougher sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The US Congress passed the document overwhelmingly last week. Trump said in a statement on the occasion that the document was flawed and some of its provisions were at variance with the US Constitution. Despite his opposition, Trump had no viable option but to sign the legislation, as it had passed the US Senate and House of Representatives with veto-proof margins.

China is struggling to find a foreign applicant to run the world’s largest radio telescope, which is odd considering they’re offering to pay them more than $1.2 million for their troubles.
The Five Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) needs a chief scientist from abroad to oversee operations on a daily basis in its $178 million facility in the remote mountains of southwest China, but there has been trouble locating someone willing to undertake the job’s many difficulties.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft nears the International Space Station during the CRS-8 mission to deliver experiments including two microbial investigations.
© NASA.
SpaceX Dragon to Carry Space Suit Painted by Young Cancer Patients to ISS

Beijing has declared an area the size of West Virginia off-limits to civilian vessels, ahead of extensive three-day naval exercises near the coast of North Korea. A similar drill took place in the area at the end of July.

A U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution aims to slash by a third North Korea's$3 billion annual export revenue by banning the
country's trade of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and
seafood, a council diplomat said on Friday.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there
was a "high confidence" that North Korea ally China and Russia
would support the draft resolution, which was circulated to the
15-Security Council members on Friday.

The United States is aiming for a vote on Saturday to impose
the stronger sanctions over North Korea's two intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July, though Russia and some
other council members are asking for more time, diplomats said.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor, and no vetoes by the
United States, China, Russia, France or Britain, to be adopted.

The draft resolution would also prohibit countries from

The US Navy may be sending two Nimitz-class supercarriers to the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile tests.

South Korean military officials reportedly said the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson were being considered for deployment to the region. The Pentagon did not reply to a request from Sputnik News confirming or denying the veracity of the South Korean defense officials’ comments.

USS Carl Vinson Carrier Group Enters Sea of Japan Amid Heightened Security
The carriers would be typical participants in frequently held war games near North Korea and China, however Pentagon officials are reportedly mulling whether or not to fast-track the massive ships as part of a forward deployment.

China has come out in support of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, defending the country's National Constituent Assembly election as "generally held smoothly," dismissing criticisms from the United States and its junior partners regarding alleged voting irregularities.

Diplomats familiar with the situation say that the US is likely to expand its talks on trying to get the UN Security Council to impose a new round of sanctions against North Korea for its recent ICBM test, likely to show the resolution to more on the security council members.

It is noteworthy that this behind-the-scenes resolution exists at all, as just days ago, Ambassador Nikki Haley angrily dismissed the seeking any action at the UN Security Council at all, saying that the “time for talk is over.”

But apparently the US and China had been talking about this resolution all along, with the US keeping Britain and France up to date with the situation, and diplomats saying they assume China has shown the resolution to Russia.

Authorities in China's Xinjiang region have banned China's Muslims from using their language in schools.

Last month, the Hotan government in north western China prohibited the use of the Uighur language from being used in schools including pre-school.

The new move comes after strict restrictions on Muslims in the region including a ban on fasting during Ramadan.

The White House is planning to launch new investigations into China's trade and intellectual property practices, and soon. The move underscores how talks between the United States and China have broken down over Washington's expectations that Beijing would help rein in North Korea's nuclear program.

We are witnessing the awakening of the Chinese dragon with a more assertive (or should we say spectacular?) foreign policy which is a clear demonstration of the new normal in geopolitics:

China has strongly opposed any unilateral sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea by the United States.

China is against any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country, including those recently enacted by the United States, which stipulate tougher restrictive measures against Russia, Iran and North Korea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

China's 19th National Congress of the Communist Party - the quinquennial confab where the party selects new members of the Politburo, its ruling council - is expected to begin this fall (official dates have not yet been publicly announced). And in an effort to guarantee that the leadership reshuffle goes off without a hitch, President Xi Jinping is tightening the government’s grip on the internet to help protect the official narrative that Xi's "Chinese Dream" remains intact.

According to Reuters, China held a drill on Thursday with internet service providers to practice taking down websites deemed harmful.

“Internet data centers (IDC) and cloud companies - which host website servers - were ordered to participate in a three-hour drill to hone their "emergency response" skills, according to at least four participants that included the operator of Microsoft's cloud service in China.

China has accused neighboring India of adding troops and constructing roads along its side of the border amid increasing tensions over a standoff in a remote frontier region in the Himalayas.

The standoff broke out on June 18 when New Delhi's military forces moved into Doklam, a remote plateau in the Himalayas, which is also claimed by India's ally, Bhutan.

India claims it is legally obliged to aid Bhutan against what it calls China's advances into the disputed territory, amid reports that Chinese forces are building a road there.

On Thursday, Chinese officials urged Indian troops to withdraw immediately, warning of "serious consequences” if they did not.

"It has already been more than a month since the incident, and India is still not only illegally remaining on Chinese territory, it is also repairing roads in the rear, stocking up supplies, massing a large number of armed personnel," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

China sought to stabilise the deteriorating trade relationship with the US, as the prospect of an investigation by the Trump administration on intellectual property raised the risk of tit-for-tat measures from Beijing.

US officials are gearing up to investigate China over what the administration perceives to be violations of intellectual property, said a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the probe hasn't been announced.

It's a charge Beijing rebuffs. Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said Thursday that China pays "high attention" to intellectual property and wants to maintain good cooperation with the US.

Yesterday, the WSJ reported that the Trump administration is planning to begin a probe of what the U.S. sees as violations of intellectual property by China. Against a backdrop of Trump’s frustrations with domestic policy, sliding approval ratings and disagreement with China over North Korea, the chances of protectionist action are rising, as is the probability of a "hot", retaliatory trade war. This morning ow learn when Trump is set to fire the first shot. Reuters reports, citing White House officials, that President Trump is expected to make a speech and sign a memorandum at the White House on tomorrow, Friday, that will target China's intellectual property and trade practices, effectively firing the first shot in what could escalate into a major US-China trade war.

With just one day to go until the Trump administration launches the first salvo in what could develop into a full-scale trade war between the US and China, there is the issue of a diplomatic (hopefully) resolution of escalating situation in North Korea, one which Citi today said is "increasingly likely" to involve military action. On this issue, China is becoming increasingly displeased with Trump's relentless twitter badgering, and as AFP reports, "Trump-style outbursts are no way to get China to bend to the US's will."

The animosity between D.C. and Beijing has been building up for months, as the two capitals have long traded blame over the failure to rein in the North, but last week's breakthrough in North Korean missile technology has raised the specter of a strike by Pyongyang on American cities, escalating the rhetoric.

China’s Supreme Procurator commanded battleships docked at China’s new navy base in Djibouti to “take necessary measures to stop” the encroachment of Japanese frogmen and to “exercise self-defense rights” as the divers approached, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.

Beijing has made no secret of its displeasure with South Korea’s deployment of the American-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system - and now that the deployment has resumed, China may seek to retaliate against Seoul.

Beijing has made no secret of its displeasure with South Korea’s deployment of the American-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system - and now that the deployment has resumed, China may seek to retaliate against Seoul.
When liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May, Chinese leadership likely breathed a sigh of relief, as he announced a forestalling of the THAAD deployment for up to 15 months while the South Korean government undertook an environmental impact analysis of the system. Two of the six platforms had already been rolled out and Moon lacked the authority to suspend or dismantle them — but he could stall for time on the rest.

China is not dependent on US imports. Quite the opposite. America is an import led economy with a weak industrial and manufacturing base, heavily dependent on imports from the PRC.

Imagine what would happen if China following Washington’s threats decided from one day to the next to significantly curtail its “Made in China” commodity exports to the USA.

It would be absolutely devastating, disrupting the consumer economy, an economic and financial chaos.

By seeing its ambitious trading links as an alternative rather than an implicit part of One Belt--One Road, India will only ever attain second best via-a-vis the far larger Chinese initiative.

Iran's oil exports to China may rise to the highest in 11 months in August as demand for heavier Iranian crude increased, a report said.

India should withdraw its troops from Chinese territory if it does not want war, according to a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman. His statement came amid the ongoing border standoff between Beijing and New Delhi in the region known as "Doklam" in India and "Donglang" in China.

Strange Bonhomie: India, Bhutan Attend PLA Event in Spite of China Standoff
"If you don't want war, go away from Chinese territory", Senior Colonel of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense Zhou Bo said during a China Global Television Network (CGTN) debate show on Tuesday.

His words, which were addressed to Ashok Mehta, a former Major General of the Indian Army, reflect the escalating border conflict between Beijing and New Delhi in the region known as "Doklam" in India and "Donglang" in China.

The new law imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran will bring the three countries a lot closer together and complicate the United States' ability to conclude good deals, US President Donald Trump said in a statement on Wednesday.
“By limiting the Executive’s flexibility, this bill makes it harder for the United States to strike good deals for the American people, and will drive China, Russia, and North Korea much closer together,” Trump stated after signing the bill into law.

However, the president expressed hope that Washington and Moscow will collaborate on global challenges despite the newly-signed law sanctioning Russia.

President Trump has given China six months to prove that it is committed to preventing a nuclear-armed North Korea, and it seems his tolerance for China’s dithering has finally reached its limit. Now that President Xi Jinping has established that his government is unwilling to engage in a meaningful crackdown on its neighbor, the era of using carrots like improving trade relations to coax China into helping solve the “North Korea problem” has ended. It is now time for the stick.

According to reports in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Associated Press, the Trump administration is planning to use an obscure 1970s law to launch a "broad-based" investigation into whether China’s trade-related intellectual property policies constitute “unfair trade practices.

It is now almost six weeks since Chinese troops attempted to extend a road on Bhutan’s Dolam Plateau south towards the Jampheri Ridge. Indian troops, deployed at the Indian Army post at Doka La, physically prevented the Chinese from building a road from the “Turning Point” on the Dolam Plateau to the Ridge.

Extension of the road would have endangered the security of the “Siliguri Corridor,” a narrow strip that joins the Indian mainland with India’s northeastern states.

India’s action mentioned above elicited a shrill and vitriolic reaction from China which demanded immediate pullout of Indian troops and threatened war if India did not do so.

Taking positions seemingly opposite to President Trump’s on every point, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed North Korea at a policy briefing today, saying that the US is not North Korea’s enemy, and that they seek dialogue with the North Korean government.

Tillerson also said the US does not blame China for the lack of progress so far, despite President Trump literally blaming China mere days ago, complaining that China was “doing nothing” to help the US.

Tillerson’s comments were contrary to Trump’s on several other marks, of course, as only yesterday Ambassador Haley declared the “time for talk is over,” and President Trump has repeatedly condemned the concept of diplomacy with North Korea as a failed policy of the past.

The current collapse of the unipolar world, with the inexorable emergence of a multipolar framework, has enabled a terrifying subplot to run amok – the normalization of the idea of nuclear war.

Appearing on the Today Show earlier this morning, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that President Trump has indicated to him that the administration is prepared to strike North Korea to prevent an attack against the U.S. Pushed on by Matt Lauer on whether a viable military option exists in the region, Graham responded: "They're wrong. There is a military option to destroy North Korea's program and North Korea itself."

"They're wrong. There is a military option to destroy North Korea's program and North Korea itself. If there's going to be a war to stop him [Kim Jong Un], it will be over there. If thousands die, they're going to die over there, they're not going to die here and he's [Trump] told me that to my face."

China has hit back at Donald Trump over North Korea, with a top official blaming Washington and Pyongyang for raising tensions, while state media warned the US not to “stab China in the back”.

The US president said in two angry tweets at the weekend that he was “very disappointed” with China and that he would no longer allow Beijing to “do nothing” over North Korea.

Mr Trump has long believed that China holds the key to forcing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, given that Beijing is Pyongyang’s only diplomatic backer and a key trading partner.

But Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, said: "No matter how capable China is, China's efforts will not yield practical results because it depends on the two principal parties.

One press report from an unnamed Pentagon source claimed that President Trump “is to order a military strike against North Korea within a year,” after this weekend’s North Korean test of a longer-range missile.

Iran, which along with North Korea and Russia will face new sanctions imposed by Congress and expected to be signed into law by Trump, is also in President Trump’s crosshairs. He was reportedly furious over his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s certifying that Iran was in compliance with the nuclear deal – even though Iran was in compliance – and he seems determined to push a confrontation.

So whom will Trump attack first? Let’s hope nobody, but with continuing pressure from both Democrats and Republicans over the unproven “Russiagate” allegations, it increasingly looks like he will seek relief by starting a “nice little war.” If he does so, however, his presidency will likely be over and he may end up blundering into a much bigger war in the process.

Russia has urged the international community against taking measures which could increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"We consider the attempts of the US and some other countries to shift the responsibility in what is happening [on the Korean Peninsula] onto Russia and China, and to almost blame Moscow and Beijing for 'conniving in' North Korea's nuclear missile ambitions, as baseless," said a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday.

US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed during a phone conversation to step up economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea over its ballistic missile tests, the White House said in a statement.

"President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to address North Korea’s launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The two leaders agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other countries near and far. President Trump and Prime Minister Abe committed to increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea, and to convincing other countries to follow suit," the statement said on late Sunday.

The White House added that Trump had reaffirmed the US "ironclad commitment" to defend Japan and South Korea from any possible attack

My point here is that operational plans to decapitate North Korean nuclear and ICBM capabilities exist and are constantly being revised and refined in light of new intelligence. It’s not the planners’ job to make the geopolitical or ethical calculations that inform such a drastic decision. It’s the planners’ job to make sure a strike ordered by the elected civilian leadership of the nation achieves its goal, i.e. eliminates North Korea’s nuclear and missile delivery capabilities completely.

It’s easy to say nuclear weapons should never be used, but what if conventional weapons can’t do the job, or create greater risks? Would you consider it a good ethical trade-off to wait for millions to die before killing thousands? That’s a political choice, and one that will always be second-guessed or disputed. But making such decisions is the purpose of elected civilian government.

The naval activities of the United States are already thoroughly monitored both by Russia and China and Washington will have to deal with it, a Russian military expert believes, citing the increasing assertiveness of Beijing and Moscow in the World Ocean.

Last week, Canberra said that a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship was spotted near Australia as the country’s major biennial joint military exercises with the US were wrapping up.

The Air Force is aggressively accelerating its hypersonic weapons development effort, following findings from a recent service report identifying Russian and Chinese ongoing hypersonic weapons testing.

A recent Air Force Studies Board report identified that the U.S. is not alone in its quest for this increased speed, an Air Force statement said.

The statement went on to say that China and Russia are already flight testing hypersonic weapons, and several other countries have shown interest in pursuing many of the underlying technologies for hypersonic flight.

“We must push the boundaries of technology in every area," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said in a statement. "Our adversaries aren’t standing still. They are looking for every advantage they can get.”

The United States is ready to quickly move the remaining pieces of THAAD system into South Korea, US Department of Defense spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said in a briefing on Monday.

"We are certainly ready to move additional pieces in as quickly as we can," Davis told reporters when asked about THAAD.

THAAD in Alaska
© MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
In the Shadow of Pyongyang Missiles, US Touts Success of THAAD Intercept Test
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who officially came to office on May 10, has repeatedly criticized the previous government under impeached leader Park Geun-hye for agreeing to host the THAAD system without first seeking parliamentary approval. Moon subsequently suspended the deployment in order to carry out an investigation into the environmental consequences of the move.

China hit back on Monday at Twitter posts from US President Donald Trump over trade and the North Korea crisis, saying the two issues should not be linked and that the US is to blame for Pyongyang's military buildup.

"We think the North Korea nuclear issue and China-US trade ... are in two completely different domains," Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.

Senior advisers to the President of the United States Donald trump’s “behind the scenes” develop economic sanctions against China.

The reason for this step was the inaction of Beijing in relation to the nuclear issue of North Korea, writes Politico, citing officials of the US administration.

The rivalry between India and China is heating up as the heavyweight economies face territorial tensions on both land and sea.

A fierce border standoff in Bhutan's Doklam region — triggered by a Chinese road construction project in a disputed area and a Bhutanese request for Indian help — is now entering its second month with soldiers from both sides engaged in skirmishes. But a new confrontation in the relationship is arising as New Delhi is growing concerned about a Chinese naval presence in its own backyard: the Indian Ocean.

"As the [Doklam] crisis stretches on, China is likely to seek ways to pressure India, both on the border and elsewhere, and this will compound the cycle of competition that is already well underway," Shashank Joshi, research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said in a recent note published by the Lowy Institute.

Two days after President Donald Trump tweeted he was "very disappointed" in China following Pyongyang's latest missile test adding that "we will no longer allow this to continue", Beijing has hit back at Trump on Monday, saying the problem did not arise in China and that all sides need to work for a solution, according to a statement sent to Reuters by China's Foreign Ministry.

Moscow says Russia, China worked on 'comprehensive solution' to Korean peninsula crisis

President Xi Jinping - wearing his military fatigues - inspected his troops personally just hours after the latest North Korea crisis.

The Americans were warned by Beijing after stepping up the deployment of its THAAD missile defence system in South Korea.

The move was in response to Kim Jong-un's latest ballistic missile test on Friday night.

But a stern China warned Washington: "The Chinese side is deeply concerned about the situation."

The troops are reportedly part of a newly formed military brigade that is seemingly there to control an expected mass exodus of refugees should war or some other catastrophe break out on the Korean Peninsula.

Passengers on the brand-new high-speed Fuxing train - whose name literally means renaissance - which has started running between Beijing and Shanghai took to social media to rave about their experience.

The Fuxings are the latest "China Standard" bullet trains, completely designed and manufactured in China, capable of running at 400 kilometers per hour.

CHINA launched an awesome show of its military might – just hours after warning Donald Trump about his involvement in North Korea.

Tens of thousands of Chinese troops marched alongside tanks and nuclear weapons as stealth fighters and attack helicopters roared overhead.

Less than a month after the US flew two B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula to show off "US attack capabilities", the US Air Force did it again on Sunday, when it the flew two supersonic B-1B bombers over the Korean peninsula in "a show of force" on Sunday after Pyongyang's Friday test of an ICBM that can reach the continental US. The two B-1Bs flew alongside two Japanese F-2 jet fighters within Japanese airspace before conducting an exercise over South Korea with four South Korean F-15 fighters in response to the latest North Korean missile test, as well as the previous July 4 launch of the "Hwansong-14" rocket, the USAF.

"In a demonstration of ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies, two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, fly a 10-hour mission from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, into Japanese airspace and over the Korean Peninsula" the statement by Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs said.

The calm in the South China Sea, as many had warned, was illusory. Moreover, in the summer the situation in the region has become further aggravated. To add fuel to the fire, recently Hanoi has struck back following calls from Beijing to stop oil exploration in Block 136-03 of the South China Sea. Sputnik spoke to an analyst about this issue.

A day after North Korea tested a ballistic missile that it claims can reach all of the United States, US President Donald Trump ripped China for not reining in Kim Jong Un and his missile program.

"I am very disappointed in China," Trump wrote in a pair of Twitter posts. "...they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!"

North Korea's test Friday of an intercontinental ballistic missile was its second of the long-range weapon in a month. The first on July 4 showed the missile had the range to reach Alaska.

The recent trumpist trumpeting about the plans of Chinese manufacturer Foxconn to open a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin omitted a few key details -- like the fact that Foxconn is being given a sweetheart tax-break that's topped up with 15 years' worth of guarantees of up to $200 million/year in cash subsidies at taxpayer expense -- a record-setting taxpayer subsidy that exceeds the previous Wisconsin record-holder by a factor of fifty.

The total bill for this incentive package that Wisconsin is giving the super-profitable Chinese manufacturer? Three billion dollars.

But there's more! Wisconsin cities will also have to provide incentives, including hundreds of millions more in infrastructure, and exemptions on environmental rules that will allow Foxconn to pollute watersheds, drain water habitats, and reengineer Wisconsin's freshwater sources, up to and including Lake Michigan.

Donald Trump has launched his latest Twitter assault on China, accusing its Communist party leaders of doing “NOTHING” to help the United States thwart North Korea’s quest for nuclear weapons.

“I am very disappointed in China,” Trump wrote. “Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet … they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk.

The United States has accused China and Russia of bearing “unique and special responsibility” for North Korea’s “belligerent” pursuit of nuclear weapons, after Pyongyang tested its latest ballistic missile.

North Korea conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test late on Friday in what it called a warning to the “beast-like US imperialists”. It came less than a month after its first such experiment, on 4 July.

U.S. Faces Growing Threats From China, North Korea

Over the longer term, however, Pompeo singled out China as the most serious security challenge.

While China, Russia, and Iran all are expected to pose significant problems in the future, China is a greater threat because of its robust economy and growing military power—both aimed against the United States.

"I think China has the capacity to present the greatest rivalry to America of any of those over the medium and long term," he said.

China's military is building up forces that are aimed at countering U.S. power projection around the world, he said.

"So you see that, whether it's going on in the South China or East China Sea, or the work they're doing in other parts of the world," Pompeo said.

In acquiring foreign technology, he noted: "If you look at them, they are probably trying either to steal our stuff, or make sure they can defeat it. And most often, both."

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is planning to block further takeovers of key European companies by Chinese firms. Cash-rich Chinese companies are threatening to take over firms in charge of critical European infrastructure.

Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde says the organization may move its headquarters from Washington DC to Beijing in a decade if the growth trend in China and other major emerging markets continues.

Changes in big emerging markets will be reflected in the IMF's voting structure, and the Fund will need to increase its representation in the region, according to Lagarde.

“Which might very well mean, that if we have this conversation in 10 years' time...we might not be sitting in Washington, DC We'll do it in our Beijing head office,” the Fund’s Managing Director said.

Lagarde highlighted that emerging economies are currently growing larger and more influential.

She added that the IMF's bylaws call for the institution's head office to be located in the largest member economy.

In an unusually candid talk, agency's Michael Collins said China's growing confidence and resolve – fueled by inaction against Chinese hegemony over the past several years – are a worry

The current stand-off at Doklam, or Donglang, is little more than a sideshow in the bigger picture as South Asia's tectonic plates shift in a direction that makes New Delhi's resistance to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) look increasingly futile

Despite Chinese officials reassurance that "military means shouldn’t be an option," WSJ reports that China has been bolstering defenses along its 880-mile frontier with North Korea and realigning forces in surrounding regions to prepare for a potential crisis across their border, including the possibility of a U.S. military strike.

While all eyes in America are once again distracted by "Russia"-related narratives and the dismal GOP efforts to replace, repeal, re-who-knows-what Obamacare, the threat of North Korea has not gone away... and neither has China's preparations. As President Trump stepped up the rhetoric, pressuring China to do more to 'solve' the North Korean problem, and threatening military action to halt Kim's nuclear weapons program ambitions, it is clear that China has used this crisis to not just prepare for potential problems with North Korea but to reinforce military forces elsewhere.

A Chinese naval fleet arrived on Sunday at Piraeus port for a four-day friendly visit to Greece, conveying a message of friendship and cooperation.

Missile destroyer Changchun, missile frigate Jingzhou and supply vessel Chaohu docked at Piraeus, Greece's largest port, receiving a warm welcome by Greek and Chinese officials, and more than 1,000 Chinese living in Greece, as the Philharmonic band of the Municipality of Piraeus performed.

"I want to welcome you and your ships in the port of Piraeus. The recent relationship between our countries is in a very high level due to commercial and cultural cooperation and we are looking forward to be better," Commodore Georgios Agrafiotis, Commander of the Naval Command of Aegean, said during the welcome ceremony, as the crowd was waving Greek and Chinese national flags.

The Chinese-developed underwater robot "Tansuo" conducted its maiden test dive in the South China Sea Monday.

The robot is 3.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters. It will conduct 20 hours of collaborative operations with the unmanned submersible "Faxian" in the South China Sea.

Chinese research vessel "Kexue" left the port of Xiamen in eastern China's Fujian Province Sunday to continue its scientific expedition in the South China Sea.

How India border stand-off gives China a chance to burnish its global image

Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said later in the day that Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval would be among the guests hosted by Beijing during a security officials meeting of the BRICS countries on Thursday and Friday, also involving Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who along with Doval is the special representative on the border issues, will also attend.

Lu refused to confirm whether the border issue would be discussed at the meeting.

“China hopes to maintain the peace and stability of the China-India border area, but certainly will not make any compromise on issues of territorial sovereignty,” Reuters cited Lu as saying.

Xi Jinping picks war games over military parade for Chinese army’s 90th birthday bash

Chinese authorities in the province of Xinjiang are forcing locals of the Uyghur Muslim minority to install an app on their phones that will allow the government to scan their device for "terrorist propaganda," local media reports.

In reality, the app creates MD5 hashes for the user's files and matches them against a database of known terrorist content.

The app also makes copies of the user's Weibo and WeChat databases and uploads it to a government server, along with the user's IMEI, IMSI, and WiFi login information.

Spyware app developed by local police

The app is called Jingwang (Citizen Safety) and was developed by police forces from Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital. Authorities launched the app in April, and also included the ability to report suspicious activity to the police.

At the start of July, Xinjiang officials started sending WeChat messages in Uyghur and Chinese to locals, asking them to install the app or face detainment of up to 10 days.

A Hanoi-sanctioned gas drilling operation by Spanish company Repsol has ended, reportedly following threats from China to target Vietnamese bases in the South China Sea.

RUSSIA and China are putting the world on edge as they conduct joint operations with their most advanced warships on Europe’s doorstep.

India is militarily engaging a state actor from the soil of a third country over a piece of land its partner country does not even control. Not even the mighty US does that