It looks like a bit of push back is being planned that Xi won't like at all.

US Ally Plans Multinational Patrols to Counter China.

The chief of staff of the Philippine military has announced plans for joint maritime and air patrols with like-minded nations, against a background of escalating tensions with Chinese forces in the South China Sea.

"It's in the planning process," General Romeo Brawner Jr. told CNN Philippines' The Source Tuesday. "We are going to conduct our joint maritime and air patrols in the West Philippine Sea with the U.S.; Japan is interested, France, the U.K. and Canada."

The West Philippine Sea is Manila's name for the parts of the South China Sea falling within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. The region is the focal point of heated territorial disputes, with China asserting sovereignty over upward of 80 percent of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitral court ruling that rejected its claims.

Brawner said the proposed multinational patrols could start as early as the first half of the next year......

Doesn't Xi already have enough problems back at home without creating others outside of his borders?

It looks like Xi has the same problem as PooTin with his military heads.

Corruption Scandal in Xi's China Leads to Dozens of Arrests.

Scores of officials have been snagged in Chinese leader Xi Jinping's campaign to cleanse vulnerable sections of the military of corruption, a China-focused consulting firm says.

The ongoing reshuffling "will have extensive ramifications for the chain of command, as well as the combat readiness/ability to function normally of critical [People's Liberation Army] infrastructure," Canada-based Cercius Group said.......

A purge of:

Corruption?

Or of political leanings?

Or of the moving up of new favourites??...


All in our deadly political world...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Now that didn't go well.

Video Shows China's Falling Rocket Debris Exploding in Village.

Footage from southern China has captured the moment rocket debris from a recent satellite launch plummeted from the sky and exploded near village homes.

China launched two new satellites on Tuesday for its BeiDou navigation system, the country's officials Xinhua News Agency said.

At least two boosters of the Long March 3B multistage launch vehicle fell back to Earth in two different locations, Guangxi region bordering Vietnam and Hainan province on the South China Sea, according to separate local government notices......

Xi is still cleaning the house.

China Ousts Nine Military Lawmakers as Defense Purge Widens.

China abruptly ousted nine military figures from its national parliament without explanation, as a major purge personnel in the upper echelons of the nation’s defense universe casts its net wider.

The nation’s top legislative body revoked the lawmakers’ membership during a Friday meeting, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Their ouster adds to a series of recent removals that are raising questions about how such turmoil will affect the smooth operations of China’s military.....

Well Xi's propaganda machine got told. LOL

Taiwan voters dismiss China warnings and hand ruling party a historic third consecutive presidential win.

Xi's coast guard is at its dangerous maneuvers again.

China coastguard's 'dangerous manoeuvres' caused South China Sea collision, Philippines says.

Xi's coast guard is at its dangerous maneuvers again.

China defends its territorial waters. The problem is China's definition of a "territorial water" is unique on earth, no other country accepting it (okay, eventually Myanmar or Venezuela). Delaying the dispute or appeasement will lead to more conflicts.

Xi's coast guard is up to its usual tricks where it doesn't belong along with Xi's usual B.S.. :-(

China's coast guard confronts Japanese politicians in disputed East China Sea area.

China's coast guard has confronted Japanese lawmakers in waters claimed by both countries in the East China Sea, China's embassy in Tokyo said.

It's the latest in a series of maritime disputes involving China and its neighbours.

Chinese vessels took unspecified law enforcement measures, the embassy said in a statement on Sunday, alongside reports in Japanese media.

It had lodged solemn representations for what it called "infringement and provocation" by Japan near tiny, uninhabited islands that Beijing calls the Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.....

Xi's sky pirates have been at it yet again.

Canberra has slammed Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet engaged in a risky confrontation with an Australian naval helicopter.

The Australian Government has responded after a Chinese fighter jet engaged in a risky confrontation with an Australian naval helicopter over the Yellow Sea.

Australia has lodged a formal complaint with Beijing following the incident, which saw a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLA-AF) aircraft deploy flares across the flight path of the Royal Australian Navy’s MH-60R helicopter.

On May 4th, HMAS Hobart was conducting routine surveillance operations in international waters as part of Operation Argos, which supports the enforcement of United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

The PLA-AF jet intercepted the Australian helicopter in a manoeuvre described by Australian officials as both “unsafe and unprofessional”.

Although the incident did not result in any injuries to the crew or damage to the helicopter, it raised serious concerns about the safety of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.

The Defence Ministry warned incidents like these could jeopardise the longstanding international agreement of safety and professionalism in military conduct.

“This was an unsafe manoeuvre, which posed a risk to the aircraft and personnel,” the ADF said in a statement on Monday.

“While there were no injuries sustained by ADF personnel or damage caused to the MH-60R helicopter, the safety and wellbeing of our ADF personnel continues to be our utmost priority.

“Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a professional and safe manner.”.......

As Xi tours the E.U. trying to look for friends his authoritarian regime is bringing bad new behind him.

Allegations of cyber espionage attacks across Europe cast shadow over Xi Jinping’s tour.

Allegations of concerted cyber espionage attacks across Europe have cast a shadow over Chairman Xi Jinping’s whirlwind tour of the continent.

The UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps claimed a “malign actor” was behind a cyberattack on his military’s French-supplied payroll data system. Investigators “cannot rule out state involvement”, he added.

But UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak obliquely blamed Beijing when referencing the attack, stating he would “set out a very robust policy towards China to protect ourselves against the risks that China, and other countries, pose to us”.

The accusation came as Chairman Xi met French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Tuesday Australian time for “friendly and very frank talks”.

Espionage was likely high among them.

And while traditional spying activities have been exposed, analysts say a recent spate of espionage across Europe also appears aimed at identifying those vulnerable to coercive pressures.

That’s a hallmark of China’s Ministry of State Security, says the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Its mission is to sow doubt among - and gain leverage over - its opponents.

“At least six Australian parliamentarians from both major parties have been targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers,” its executive director, Justin Bassi, writes.

“The people targeted are primarily critics of Beijing’s repression and international belligerence, sending the clear signal that those who speak out against malicious Chinese activity and support policies to counter it can expect a sustained campaign to silence, intimidate and discredit them.”......

All long long long time sadly:


Chinese woman jailed for reporting on Covid in Wuhan to be freed after four years
wrote:

A Chinese citizen journalist who has been in prison for four years after reporting on the early days of the Covid-19 epidemic in Wuhan is due to be released on Monday...

... Her weight reportedly dropped from 11st 8lb (74.8kg) to less than 6st 4lb (40.8kg) at one point, although she is thought to have been in better health in recent months.

Zhang’s former lawyer said that her case was treated “particularly harshly”...

... “It’s a relief to know that Zhang is being released, given her very poor health in prison, but she shouldn’t have been imprisoned in the first place. Her imprisonment should remind us all that the Chinese government is yet to be held accountable for covering up the Covid-19 outbreak, or for the abuses associated with its draconian pandemic restrictions.”

Wang said that there were fears that Zhang would not fully regain her freedom after release.

Zhang’s former lawyer said that there were likely two outcomes after her release. The first is that she will be sent home. “The other is that she will be sent somewhere to have ‘soft prison’ time for one to three months … based on my experience of dealing with so-called sensitive people, there will be a period of time where they are not allowed contact with the outside world, not allowed to move somewhere.”...

Such is the very unhealthy life under a despot.

Stay healthy folks!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Xi's island building group is at it again where it doesn't belong.

Philippines accuses China of building new artificial island fortresses in South China Sea.

China’s aggressive territorial expansion appears to have restarted, with the Philippines accusing it of beginning work on two more artificial island fortresses.

And the office of Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. says it has asked Japan to provide a Coast Guard vessel “to flex more muscles” at Sabina Shoal – 120km off the home island of Palawan.

The Shoal (also called Escoda Shoal) is well within the Philippines 200 nautical mile (370km) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It’s part of the Spratly Island group, a large cluster of reefs and sandbanks at the heart of the South China Sea.......

Will this stupid theft of territory ever stop?

Was this a Xi plan to emulate PooTin's "we move our people there so that we can take over" policy?

Inside abandoned Chinese-made ghost city where hundreds of empty skyscrapers are left to rot in Malaysia.

Luxury skyscrapers in southern Malaysia developed by the Chinese were on the way to become “a dream paradise for all mankind”.

But that promise was never delivered and the multi-billion estate sits empty on the coast of the sea, surrounded by only nature.....

......The only signs of life can be found on a handful of flats that lit up at night and have their laundry hung on the balconies.

Most of the opulent apartments and villas are left to rot in the estate built by Country Garden – China’s largest property developer – under Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The ambitious project was being built in 2016 during China’s real-estate boom.

The developers blew a staggering $US100 billion ($150 billion) on the property in a bid to attract middle-class buyers who live abroad.

The idea was to construct an eco-friendly resort-like city including a water park, golf course, offices, bars, and restaurants.

The Chinese company planned for 1 million people to live in Forest City, which would spread across thousands of acres of land.......

It has certainly been a failure tripped up by his own policies. LOL

Will this stupid theft of territory ever stop?

Benji is working to make sure it doesn't!

Will this stupid theft of territory ever stop?

They don't steal territory, they create territory... 'Chinese' lands, as they claim.

Xi's policies have caused yet another problem with his population. A lot want to leave for better pastures.

Chinese nationals are trying to get from Indonesia to Australia by boat. This is why they're risking their lives.

Xi needs some anger management therapy.

Furious China launches 'punishment' drills around Taiwan denouncing new president.

A furious China has launched "punishment" drills around Taiwan in what it said was a response to "separatist acts", sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te.

The exercises, in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands that sit next to the Chinese coast, come just three days after Mr Lai, a man Beijing detests as a "separatist", took office.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, denounced Mr Lai's inauguration speech on Monday local time, when he called on China to stop its threats and said the two sides of the strait were "not subordinate to each other".

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Mr Lai "disgraceful".

Mr Lai has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. He says only Taiwan's people can decide their future and rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.......

Oh dear. :-(

A haunting new video has sent a clear warning to Taiwan following China’s two-day military operation that sent a chill across the globe.

China has made its intentions for Taiwan crystal clear, responding to pleas for de-escalation by releasing a dramatic video simulating an all-out attack on the tiny island nation.

The video, which simulated a full-scale attack with bombs raining down on Taiwan, coincided with the Chinese military’s two-day “Joint Sword-2024A” military exercises around Taiwan, which have continued to raise tensions in the region.

Fighter jets completely encircled the nation during the exercise, flooding the waters and airspace in a bold display of military might that left military officials around the world on high alert.

The drills come after Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te was sworn and immediately shot barbs at China’s ruling party in his inauguration speech.......

Xi's mob chucks a hissy fit as rare earths slip out of their hands.

Rare earths miner targeted in suspected cyber attack following removal of Chinese investors.

An Australian company that runs a strategically crucial heavy rare earth project has been targeted in a suspected cyber attack just hours after Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered Chinese investors be removed.

On Monday Mr Chalmers instructed Yuxio Fund and four other international companies linked to China to divest their shares in Northern Minerals which operates the Browns Range mine in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

The Australian company wants to become the first substantial producer of dysprosium — a key component used in electric vehicles — outside of China.........