Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Tension between the Western Alliance on the one hand, and China and Russia on the other has been ratcheted up as the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries issued a joint statement on June 5 warning against growing instability in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Without […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Beijing seems to have all guns blazing on the diplomatic front even as what the authorities call Uighur jihadists are wrecking more havoc in and out of Xinjiang. While it has been a Chinese diplomatic principle to avoid simultaneous confrontations in both the South China Sea and the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The Xi Jinping leadership may have overplayed its hand when it moved a deep-sea oil rig into waters near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea that are also claimed by Vietnam. This assertive act has provoked a series of anti-Chinese developments the vehemence of which has […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The latest “terrorist” attack in China — the stabbing incident at the Guangzhou Railway Station on Tuesday, May 6 — resulted only in six people injured. Yet coming hot upon the heels of bombing and stabbing mishaps in cities including Kunming and Urumqi, the Guangzhou case has made […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The People’s Liberation Army has beefed up its naval infrastructure the better to stake out China’s claim as a “maritime strong power.” Sources close to the military establishment said that President Xi Jinping, who is also commander-in-chief, recently set up a Central Leading Group on Upholding Maritime Rights […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit to Beijing will be remembered as the first time that People’s Liberation Army generals publicly lectured a top official of the United States. Responding to remarks made by Hagel earlier this week about the U.S. standing by Japan and other Asian allies against […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com President and Commander-in-chief Xi Jinping has orchestrated a large-scale loyalty campaign to ensure the success of his anti-corruption measures in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Military authorities announced early this week that Lt.-Gen. Gu Junshan will shortly appear before a military court for corruption-related charges. A former deputy […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com China-Malaysian ties appear to have become an unintended casualty of the tragedy revolving around the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Senior Chinese officials have made no secret of their dissatisfaction with the search and rescue operation handled by the Malaysian government. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Faulty work by Chinese security forces could be one factor behind the terrorist attack in Yunnan Province, western China on March 1, which resulted in the death of at least 29 people. According to a briefing by Yunnan Party Secretary Qin Guangrong to delegates attending the plenary session […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The 12.2 percent budget boost for the People’s Liberation Army has stolen the limelight at China’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which opened in Beijing on Wednesday. Also remarkable are assertive foreign policy-related remarks made by Premier Li Keqiang and the NPC spokesman Fu Ying, […]