I bet that this bit of news will put Xi's nose right out of joint.

ASEAN to hold first joint military exercise off Indonesia as South China Sea tensions simmer.

The South-East Asian bloc ASEAN will hold its first-ever joint military exercise in the South China Sea, the latest multilateral security drills at a time of rising tension and uncertainty in the region.

The decision was taken at a meeting of military commanders of the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia, which will host the exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea.

Indonesia's military chief, Admiral Yudo Margono, told state-run news agency Antara the exercise would be in September and would not include any combat operations training.

The purpose, Admiral Margono said, was strengthening "ASEAN centrality".

ASEAN's unity has for years been tested by a rivalry between the United States and China that has ben played out in the South China Sea.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have competing claims with Beijing, which asserts sovereignty over vast stretches of ocean that include parts of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Indonesia has started to move forward with its $US3 billion ($4.2 billion) offshore gas project near the Natuna Islands, which sit atop one of the largest gas fields in the world located in the waters between Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.....

It seems that China's economy is having a stumble.

China Stock Bulls Hit Reset Button After $1.5 Trillion Rout.

China's factory deflation steepens as demand wanes.

https://apnews.com/article/china-human-rights-lawyers-beijing-wang-quanzhang-1e327eb9cf0959d6e643d6101618e8c6

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A disbarred Chinese human rights lawyer has been forced to move 13 times in two months as part of a pattern of harassment against him and three other prominent rights advocates in Beijing that is further squeezing the country’s battered civil rights community.

https://apnews.com/article/china-human-rights-lawyers-beijing-wang-quanzhang-1e327eb9cf0959d6e643d6101618e8c6

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A disbarred Chinese human rights lawyer has been forced to move 13 times in two months as part of a pattern of harassment against him and three other prominent rights advocates in Beijing that is further squeezing the country’s battered civil rights community.

...within two months. Such rude harassment within such a short time. I thought China is a millennia-old high culture. Don't they know more intelligent methods? Why are they so impatient? This creates resentment, anger and even more resistance. China can still learn a lot from former Soviet KGB and East German State Security Services:
Zersetzung: (literally "biodegradation", but its meaning here is: decomposition; disruption... psychological warfare)

'Zersetzung' is a technique to subvert and undermine an opponent. [...] disrupt the target's private or family life so they are unable to continue their "hostile-negative" activities [...] use collaborators to garner details from a victim's private life. [...] "disintegrate" the target's personal circumstances—their career, their relationship with their spouse, their reputation in the community. [...] alienate them from their children. [...] After months and even years of 'Zersetzung' a victim's domestic problems grew so large, so debilitating, and so psychologically burdensome that they would lose the will to struggle against the [...] state. [...] (whose) [...] role in the victim's personal misfortunes remained tantalisingly hidden. [...] operations were carried out in complete operational secrecy. The service acted like an unseen and malevolent god, manipulating the destinies of its victims.

And we (and others) tell them to fob off.

China tells Australia to stop harbouring Hong Kong fugitives as DFAT updates travel advice.

China's Foreign Ministry has told Australia to stop sheltering fugitives, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed deep concern over Hong Kong issuing arrest warrants for eight overseas-based activists, including two living in Australia.

Australian citizen and legal scholar Kevin Yam, and former Hong Kong politician Ted Hui, who fled the island and now lives in Adelaide, were among the eight people wanted for alleged breaches under the controversial national security law.

Asked about the condemnation from Western countries, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning alleged Mr Yam and the others had engaged in "anti-China activities aimed at destabilising Hong Kong".

"We strongly deplore and firmly oppose individual countries' flagrant slandering against the national security law for Hong Kong and interference in the rule of law in Hong Kong," she said.......

Well that's certainly the end of democracy in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong slashes number of directly elected seats in local polls, further stifling democracy.

Hong Kong's legislature has unanimously voted to overhaul district-level elections by drastically reducing directly elected seats, a move critics say removes some of the last vestiges of democratic freedoms in the China-ruled city.

Under the amendment bill, only 88 seats would be directly elected by the public, down from 452 seats in an election that saw a landslide victory by the democracy camp in 2019.

The number of overall seats would also be reduced from 479 to 470.

The bill will further stifle the remaining democratic opposition in Hong Kong, with a China-imposed national security law having already led to the arrests of former politicians and district councillors and the disbandment of several democratic political parties, including the Civic Party.....

abc.net.au wrote:

For the remaining seats not contested, 40 per cent would be appointed by the city leader and 27 ex-officio seats would remain. Another 40 per cent would be elected within committees in each district encompassing issues such as crime and fire safety, with such committee members chosen by a senior Hong Kong government official.

$0% 'appointed' and 40% ' chosen'. Not good.

abc.net.au wrote:

For the remaining seats not contested, 40 per cent would be appointed by the city leader and 27 ex-officio seats would remain. Another 40 per cent would be elected within committees in each district encompassing issues such as crime and fire safety, with such committee members chosen by a senior Hong Kong government official.

$0% 'appointed' and 40% ' chosen'. Not good.

The well-known methods of the communists to seize power. Then they should name it correctly. Not committee, but soviet.

"It has to look democratic, but we must have everything in (our) hand. --- Walter Ulbricht, 1945. (East German Communist leader and Stalin's puppet in East Berlin)

Has Xi finally realised that his economic plans have failed?

Xi Gets Serious on Boosting Private Sector as Economy Slumps.

More bad news for Xi.

The West Isn't Buying Into China's Year of Diplomacy.

As his economic plans falter further.

‘Ponzi schemes of titanic proportions’ come back to bite China as economy falters.

Xi is facing a string of problems these days.

Xi Jinping’s leadership is showing signs of strain after a chain of catastrophes including a tanking economy and a major political scandal.

The ousting of a “captain’s choice” minister. A tanking economy. Increasing international isolation. A chain of climate catastrophes. All have shifted the spotlight to Chairman Xi Jinping’s leadership.

And how well he weathers the next few months depends on how effectively he has consolidated his vast power over the past decade.

“In a closed system like China, many problems can be kept from the public,” Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) China analyst Ian Johnson said.

“But Xi’s defeats are setbacks that all Chinese people can feel and see.”

And his tally of defeats is growing......

Xi looks to be having a trust problem now.

Jinping replaces leaders of China's nuclear force.

China replaced two leaders of an elite unit managing its nuclear arsenal, triggering speculation of a purge.

General Li Yuchao who headed the People's Liberation Army 's (PLA) Rocket Force unit and his deputy had "disappeared" for months.

Former deputy navy chief Wang Houbin and party central committee member Xu Xisheng were named as replacements.

This is the biggest irregular shake-up in Beijing's military leadership in almost a decade.....

Is Mother Nature trying to tell Xi something?

China's economic losses from natural disasters surge to billions, adding more pressure to struggling economy.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has struck eastern China as rain continued to pelt the north-eastern regions in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri, adding more pressure to the country's struggle to recover its economy from the COVID pandemic.

China's direct economic losses from natural disasters surged to 41.18 billion yuan ($8.72billion) in July, more than in January to June combined.

The impact of floods, while common in China in summer, has grown more pronounced this year, affecting over 7 million people nationwide in July, when Beijing was struck by the worst rains in 140 years.

Meanwhile, scorching summer heat and drought are threatening crops in other regions after the capital's hottest June on record.

August, when rainfall usually peaks and temperatures soar, is set for further economic impact from floods and heatwaves.

Rainfall in north-eastern provinces could be as much as 50 per cent higher than normal in August, China's national forecaster have warned.

Shi Heling, an economic professor at Monash University, said impact of recent natural disasters had dealt a "huge blow" to China's economy.......

Has he been washed away or he just doesn't care?

While floods ravage northern China, people are wondering — where is President Xi Jinping?

Heavy rains and floods have lashed China for two weeks, but President Xi Jinping has not toured the devastated areas.

This has left some Chinese residents angry and confused.

In response, people have started reposting videos and photos on social media comparing Mr Xi to former Chinese leaders such as Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

As Mr Xi's name has been censored heavily on China's social media, some users went on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with VPNs to express their displeasure with his absence.

"The current government has disasters everywhere, but they can't even be bothered to do their disaster relief performance anymore," one user posted.

"Every president is really worse than their predecessors," wrote another internet user.......

Has he been washed away or he just doesn't care?

A communist leader's vacation is sacred.

Xi is at it again.

China launches drills around Taiwan in angry response to Vice President William Lai's US trip.

And why Xi really wants Taiwan.

Morris Chang founded TSMC — the world's most important company. Now everyone wants control of it.

China's new map has almost all of its neighbours kicking up a stink, but PooTin is staying quiet about losing Russian land.

China lays bare its territorial ambitions in new map showing claims to neighbouring territory.

Beijing has demanded the world respond to a new map showing its claims over vast swathes of neighbouring territory in an “objective” and “responsible” way.

It’s just released a revised 2023 edition of its “Standard National Map”.

It’s gone down like a lead balloon over Central and Southeast Asia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin appeared surprised at the international response, telling a press briefing that “China hopes relevant parties” consider the map in an “objective and rational way” and not “over-interpret” its meaning.

Objectively, the map shows Beijing believes it owns parts of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Russia.

Rationally, that means these neighbouring countries are in for tough diplomatic, economic – and potentially military – times ahead.

Exactly how Beijing attempts to enforce its claims is open to interpretation......

Xi's country is now falling apart under his rule and he wants more of other people's?

Xi's economic plans are fast becoming a disaster.

China’s property boom disaster doesn’t seem to be going away and now it’s beginning to spiral into unknown territory.

And in the end it'll be the little people who get hurt the most. :-(

Economic plans made by a communist party ALWAYS end in disaster. That's in the nature of things. When Mao violently pushed this empire from a feudal agrarian society into industrialization during the "Great Leap", there was tremendous collateral damage and millions of victims. Just as quickly after 1990, government planning was replaced by Manchester-style capitalism. In the UK and US, economic theories and economic sciences were developed for one or two centuries that illuminate and explain the effects of liberal market economies that are difficult to control. But China is the "Middle Kingdom", the center of everything. The Communist Party, especially its leader, is infallible. Do they study Western theories of economics there? Or do they think China is smarter, more intelligent than the Westerners and crises in the banking sector, stock markets or confidence crises are impossible in the Chinese economy, steered by the great Xi?

steered by the great Xi?

If Kim can make nukes, then Xi can do no wrong. Let the peons starve.