Australian Government declares Beijing’s South China Sea claims illegal in letter to United Nations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-25/federal-government-joins-rejects-china-maritime-claims-at-un/12492070

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In a letter to the United Nations, Australia’s permanent mission rejected the Chinese Communist Party’s claim to disputed islands in the crucial trading waters, calling them “inconsistent” with international law.

“The Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in particular, maritime claims that do not adhere to its rules on baselines, maritime zones and classification of features,” the document states.

“There is no legal basis for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea, including around the ‘Four Sha’ or ‘continental’ or ‘outlying’ archipelagos.

First Arab country acquires new Chinese missile system

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/first-arab-country-acquires-new-chinese-missile-system/ BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:30 A.M.) – China has started exporting the third generation of their Red Arrow-12 anti-tank systems, also known as the HJ-12.

According to the China Defense website, Algeria has become the first Arab country to obtain the upgraded Chinese anti-tank system.

Not surprisingly, the Algerian military has long-standing relationships with the Chinese military-industrial complex. It has bought from China self-propelled howitzers, mortars, and multiple missile launch systems, as well as reconnaissance and attack drones and marine equipment.

Acting Secretary Wolf Establishes China Working Group to Address Intensifying Threat

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/07/24/acting-secretary-wolf-establishes-china-working-group-address-intensifying-threat

“The Chinese threat is intensifying at an alarming rate through CCP’s malign activity in the trade, cybersecurity, immigration, and intellectual property domains,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “Consistent with President Trump’s leadership and direction, DHS is at the forefront of combating these threats to the Homeland and our way of life. The Department’s role in curbing China’s malign activity has never been more important nor timely. DHS’s newly-established China Working Group will prioritize, coordinate, and articulate decisive near- and long-term actions commensurate with the threat we face.”

Chad Wolf - Wikipedia

Ziyuan-3 03 satellite into orbit via a Long March-4B carrier rocket

China sent a new high-resolution mapping satellite into space on Saturday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi.

The Ziyuan III 03 资源三号 satellite was launched by a Long March-4B rocket at 11:13 a.m. Beijing time, according to the center. It was the 341st flight mission by the Long March rocket series.

Also on board the rocket were two satellites used for dark matter detection and commercial data acquisition respectively. They were developed by the Shanghai ASES Spaceflight Technology Co. Ltd.

All three satellites have entered preset orbits

Beans can be used to seal the broken dam quickly

Chinese netizens debated over a district in Central China’s Wuhan purchasing 360 tons of beans to fight possible floods. The authority explained that the beans can be used to seal the broken dam quickly as it will swell after absorbing water and it is also easy to clean up.

China’s Foreign Ministry Orders US to Close Consulate in Chengdu

Closing US Chengdu consulate is a legitimate and necessary response to the US sudden closure of Chinese consulate in Houston. The Chinese move is in compliance with intl law and basic norms of intl relations, as well as diplomatic practices: Chinese FM

China has ordered the US to shut its consulate in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, in retaliation for the US asking to close China’s Consulate General in Houston, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, which analysts have called “an equivalent and reciprocal countermeasure.”

The order by the Chinese side came after the US abruptly asked China on Tuesday to close its Consulate General in Houston within 72 hours, which is a unilateral political provocation by the US side against China and a grave violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, which seriously harms bilateral ties. China would take countermeasures that will cause the US “real pain,” according to observers.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday morning informed the US Embassy in China of its decision to withdraw its consent for the establishment and operation of the US Consulate General in Chengdu. The Ministry also made specific requirements on the ceasing of all operations and events by the Consulate General, the Foreign Ministry announced..

On Tuesday, the US unilaterally provoked the incident and suddenly demanded that China close its Consulate General in Houston, which severely violated international law and the basic norms of international relations as well as the relevant provisions of the China-US consular treaty, and severely damaged China-US relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The above-mentioned measures by China are a legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable actions of the US. They are in compliance with international law and basic norms of international relations, as well as diplomatic practices.

The current situation between China and the US is something China does not want to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the US. We once again urge the US to immediately revoke the erroneous decision and create necessary conditions for the return of bilateral relations to normal, the ministry said. 

The US consulate in Chengdu, covering consular affairs in several provinces and regions including Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, had attracted public attention for several occasions. It was opened in October 1985 by former US President George Bush, and had been besieged by crowds to protest the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. The consulate in 2012 also became a scene for the incident concerning Wang Lijun, former vice mayor and police chief of Southwest China’s Chongqing, who defected and entered the consulate but later left on his own volition. 

Some speculation had earlier emerged that China might close down US Consulate General in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province, as retaliation for the closure of China’s Consulate General in Houston. However, that would be an underestimation of China’s will in taking “equivalent and reciprocal countermeasure,” according to observers. 

As staff had not returned to the Wuhan consulate, its closure would not be equivalent to the US’ bullying and extreme pressure tactics, and would be seen as a weak gesture to the US side.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times that choosing the US consulate in Chengdu is an equivalent and reciprocal countermeasure as the consulate covers the consular services among the Southwest region of China and its number of employees is almost equal to that of China’s consulate in Houston.

“The US is unlikely to make further provocations to close more Chinese diplomatic missions. Choosing the consulate in Houston could help the Trump administration distract the public’s attention of the worsening epidemic situation in Texas, a traditional ‘red state,’ which the Republican party can’t afford to lose,” he said.

But other Chinese consulates in the US are located in cities like New York and San Francisco, which are in the “blue states” that the Republican can’t win, so it would be meaningless for Trump to close more as it won’t help him win the election, Lü said.

If the US continues its crazy moves, China can play another card to retaliate; that is, expelling those so-called “diplomats” from the US who are actually CIA agents located in China, especially those in Hong Kong, Lü noted, adding that this could make the US really feel the pain as its intelligence networks in China, which it has spent decades trying to build, will be closed down. Therefore, it would be so unwise of the US to continue the fight as it will lose more than China. 

(截图来自《纽约时报》的原文)