China meets new resistance in the Pacific, Plus first South Korean arrested under espionage law --- China Boss News 11.1.24
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What happened
On Sunday, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense identified 19 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighter jets, conducting a "combat patrol" around the island.
Reuters said that "Chinese aircraft were observed in the airspace to the north, center, southwest, and east of Taiwan" following the Pentagon's approval of a $2 billion arms sale package with an advanced air defense missile system.
The arms deal was approved last Friday and included delivering a first-of-its-kind advanced surface-to-air missile defense system to Taiwan.
CNN reported that the "package includes three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)" and "radar systems worth an estimated $828 million."
China vowed to take '"countermeasures"' in response to the deal, stating that it undermined its sovereignty and security, damaged US-China relations, and threatened peace in the region.
Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, stated, "Separatist activities seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external interference will not sway the mainland's dedication to addressing the Taiwan issue and securing national reunification."
"We strongly oppose US arms sales to the Taiwan region of China, which has always been our consistent and clear position," Zhu said.
Why it matters
Royal Navy returns to the Pacific
Further away, US-China competition near the Pacific Islands is growing.
The tiny micro countries that dot the region are geo-strategically positioned between major global powers, which see them as critical for maritime routes, ports, and communication networks.
Once free to press the boundaries of its claims to the South China Sea, China now feels hemmed in by a growing number of governments acting in cooperation with the US and more boldly defending their interests in the Western Pacific.
Last week, for example, I told you about ASPI Senior Analyst Joe Keary's findings that "military challenges" against Beijing's assertions in the South China Sea are on the rise.
In 2024, European navies from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands operated in the South China Sea, while regional players like Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia joined forces with the Philippines for joint sailings.
But there is also movement to restrain Chinese maritime activities beyond the "nine-dash-line."
Bloomberg reported last week that the UK is ramping up its naval presence in the region "after decades of ceding responsibilities to allies."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the historic pivot official in his announcements to support US efforts to counter China's maritime expansion at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting last weekend in Samoa.
At the biannual event, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Lammy unveiled various initiatives to deepen trade and investment in the Indo-Pacific.
They also announced scholarships for future leaders from small island nations, funding for a new Pacific regional invasive species program, and increased support for LGBTQ+, disabled rights, and election monitoring in Commonwealth countries.
However, more noteworthy were the UK's plans to boost naval presence in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to address illegal fishing and other security challenges posed by China's maritime growth and regional influence.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges faced by our friends and partners on the other side of the world. So my message today is clear: This is just the beginning of our commitment to the Indo-Pacific," Starmer said.
Checking China's influence
Although the UK's post-Brexit drive to deploy warships in the Pacific faces challenges - its aircraft carriers have struggled with engineering issues, and the size of today's Royal Navy is a sliver of its 20th-century fleet - the country's return to the Pacific, where it once had significant influence and still has many friends could have an outsized impact.
Last year, Britain became the first European nation to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)—a free trade agreement sealed in 2018 between 11 countries—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
The CPTPP is the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a crucial component of the Obama administration's "Pivot to Asia" strategy designed to establish an economic balance against China's regional influence.
Britain's membership negotiations concluded last year, and accession will come into force in December. The UK’s participation make it more challenging for China to sway the region's only trade network, which it still has yet to dominate.
China is not currently a CPTPP member but is eager to participate and has already submitted its application.
Not to be outdone, however, Beijing recently showed off its military reach in the southwest Pacific by docking its newest "long-range surface combatant," the Type 055 destroyer CNS Xianyang, at Port Vila, Vanuatu.
According to Newsweek, the "show of force" marks the first known presence of such a vessel in the region. The Xianyang is the eighth ship of its class in the Chinese Navy.
Meanwhile, regional players are baring their teeth at China’s intrusiveness.
Last week, I included dramatic footage of an Indonesian naval ship driving a Chinese coastguard vessel away from nearby oil exploration activities. You can read more about that by Ray Powell, Director of SeaLight and Project Lead for Project Myoushu at Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, here.
And finally, earlier this week, Damien Cave at the New York Times revealed that Vietnam has uncharacteristically condemned the "brutal behavior" of the Chinese authorities who boarded a local fisherman's boat and viciously beat its owner.
Nguyen Thanh Bien sustained broken bones and internal injuries. The Chinese “coastguard” even took his catch worth nearly $8,000, Cave said.
This Week's China News
The Big Story in China Business
CHINA ARRESTS FIRST SOUTH KOREAN UNDER REVISED ANTI-ESPIONAGE LAW: A South Korean national has been detained in China on charges of espionage, the first Korean arrested under China's revised anti-espionage law since July last year.
According to the Chosun Daily, the man was apprehended in Hefei, Anhui Province, where he worked at a semiconductor company and lived with his family.
Peter Dahlin at Safeguard Defenders said Chinese security personnel "disappeared" the South Korean national in December 2023 and held him incommunicado in a hotel serving as a Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL) - which is essentially a secret "black jail" - until May of 2024 when they released him. The man was formally arrested some time later.
Semiconductor connection: Reports say the South Korean previously worked for Samsung Electronics in China, moved there in 2016, and later worked for several semiconductor companies.
Authorities suspect he leaked information to South Korea, a claim the man denies, stating he did not have access to core technology.
Financial Times analysts say the arrest risks "escalating a brewing tech war between the East Asian neighbors over the critical semiconductor industry.
Hostage diplomacy?: Last week on LinkedIn, I wrote that South Korea had been noticeably absent from the growing military challenges to China’s claims in the South China Sea because it did not want to rock the boat in its relations with Beijing.
However, in recent months, Seoul has adopted a more assertive diplomatic stance, aligning with the US and Japan on semiconductor restrictions, a departure from its previous caution.
This incident marks the first arrest of a South Korean national under China's revamped anti-espionage laws. We don’t have a lot of information at present, but it is beginning to look more like a political case, rather than criminal.
China’s new anti-espionage law, which significantly broadened definitions of espionage and national security, entered into force July 1, 2023.
Law and International Xi
CHINA HITS OUT AT EUROPEAN LAWMAKERS FOR TAIWAN RESOLUTION:
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