Category Archives: China

Trump did not Trust China’s Aggression, Dispatched Special Forces to Taiwan

Posted on by

China has been an aggressor when it comes to Taiwan. The two nations have had separate governments since 1949 but under Chinese President Xi, he is determined to have full dominion over the small island nation. Major threats have been prevalent in recent years by China and President Trump took action more than a year ago.

As soon as Biden became President, conditions for Taiwan have gotten worse. In fact in January of 2021, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Taiwan’s independence is war.

In the last few days, more than 150 Chinese aircraft have challenged Taiwan airspace by flying into the Taiwan Air Defense Zone.

On October 1, China’s National Day, two waves of aircraft flew near Taiwan’s airspace; the first maneuver included 25 jets, and the second one involved an additional 13 planes. In total, the aerial flotilla included 28 Shenyang J-16 multirole fighters, six Russian-made Su-30 multirole fighters, two Xian H-6 long-range bombers, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, and one Shaanxi KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft.

And then there were more in the days following.

Yet, Taiwan did respond.

taiwan air force mirage 2000

Taiwan’s air force is trained to resist invasion, including operating from strips of highway if air bases are rendered inoperable.

Twitter/ROC Ministry of Defense
***

A map showing Taiwan, China, and the Taiwan Strait.

The Trump administration is said to be encouraging Taipei to purchase dozens of F-16s, a sale that, like other major arms deals, would require congressional approval. The last time the United States sold these fighter jets to Taiwan was 1992. If the sale goes through, it would mark another departure from the Obama administration, which declined to sell the jets to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing. But experts say a sale would be put on hold until after the United States seals a trade deal with China.

WSJ: A U.S. special-operations unit and a contingent of Marines have been secretly operating in Taiwan to train military forces there, U.S. officials said, part of efforts to shore up the island’s defenses as concern regarding potential Chinese aggression mounts.

About two dozen members of U.S. special-operations and support troops are conducting training for small units of Taiwan’s ground forces, the officials said. The U.S. Marines are working with local maritime forces on small-boat training. The American forces have been operating in Taiwan for at least a year, the officials said.

The U.S. special-operations deployment is a sign of concern within the Pentagon over Taiwan’s tactical capabilities in light of Beijing’s yearslong military buildup and recent threatening moves against the island.

The special-operations unit and the Marine contingent are a small but symbolic effort by the U.S. to increase Taipei’s confidence in building its defenses against potential Chinese aggression. Current and former U.S. government officials and military experts believe that deepening ties between U.S. and Taiwan military units is better than simply selling Taiwan military equipment.

The U.S. has sold Taiwan billions of dollars of military hardware in recent years, but current and former officials believe Taiwan must begin to invest in its defense more heavily, and smartly.

“Taiwan badly neglected its national defense for the first 15 years or so of this century, buying too much expensive equipment that will get destroyed in the first hours of a conflict, and too little in the way of cheaper but lethal systems—antiship missiles, smart sea mines and well-trained reserve and auxiliary forces—that could seriously complicate Beijing’s war plans,” said Matt Pottinger, a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University’s conservative Hoover Institution who served as a deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration.

 

 

Chinese ‘military’ Aircraft landed in Bagram Airbase

Posted on by

The Pentagon knows for sure and is not talking or doing any reporting. We have advanced technology to see the activity at Bagram including GeoSpatial systems. Anyone asking the right questions? Not so far but read on.

Ah, but the Taliban denies this story…of course they do as does the Chinese Foreign Minister.

Chinese ‘military’ aircraft landed in Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, said the Daily Mail on Sunday.

The UK newspaper’s report was based on its own sources, noting that power was restored in the airbase the US left in July.

 

The Daily Mail said unconfirmed reports suggest that the Chinese forces are the ones who “occupied the former US stronghold.”

The Daily Mail also noted that many military aircraft had been seen taking off and landing in the airbase, as images and videos circulating on social media show its floodlights in the distance amid reports of flights.

China, a country bordering Afghanistan, accused the United States of “leaving chaos” behind in Afghanistan after withdrawing from the country. This comes especially after scenes of civilians attempting to escape through the Kabul airport as the US was evacuating its nationals and embassy staff went viral.

A Chinese government spokesperson later declared that China was ready to enhance cooperation with Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country.

In July, ahead of the US withdrawal, a Taliban delegation met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the Taliban pledged that Afghan territories would not be used to undermine the security of other countries. In return, China offered economic support and investments to rebuild the country torn by the 20-year US-NATO war on it.

***

The Taliban has already begun talking up plans for cooperation with Beijing.

A Taliban spokesman told an Italian newspaper that Afghanistan’s new rulers will rely primarily on financing from China as it seeks to head off a looming humanitarian crisis and begin reconstruction.

‘China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country,’ Zabihullah Mujahid told La Repubblica in an interview.

He also praised the New Silk Road – part of the Belt and Road Initiative that China is using to open up trade routes – and said Beijing investment could help reopen copper mines.

A report suggests China’s deployment might not be coming for another two years and it would not involve them taking over the base, merely sending personnel at the Taliban’s invite.

China likely achieve its latest ambitions for Bagram through help from Pakistan, Sun says, adding, ‘I am sure they would like to cut out the middleman,’ she added. ‘If the Taliban requests Chinese assistance, I think China will be inclined to send human support. Most likely, they will frame it as technical support or logistic support.’ source

***

In late September –

Chinese Delegation Visits Bagram Airbase: As soon as America is out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and China are showing their interest in almost every matter related to this country. A few days before the announcement of the interim government of the Taliban, Faiz Hameed, the chief of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, arrived in Kabul. Now the news has come that the Chinese delegation has visited the Bagram airbase last week. This airbase was Afghanistan’s largest military base for the US during the war that lasted for two decades. It is also considered strategically very important.

According to a media report, this Chinese delegation included senior intelligence and military officials (Chinese Delegation at Bagram Airbase). It is not yet clear why they visited the airbase, but they are believed to have come here allegedly “to gather evidence and data against the US”. According to sources, it seems that China is developing a ‘facility’ here in collaboration with Taliban and Pakistan to keep an eye on Uyghur Muslims living in its Xinjiang province.

Chinese officials who came through Pakistan

The report quoted sources as saying that the most interesting thing during this period was that instead of landing at Kabul airport, Chinese officials came here via Pakistan. The arrival of Chinese officials to Bagram airbase is also a matter of concern for India (China Bagram Airfield). The report quoted senior government sources as saying, “We are confirming the news of the arrival of the Chinese group here. This is very serious… If they establish a base here with Pakistan, they will encourage terrorist activities and create instability in the region.

Earlier this month, Pakistan ISI Chief Faiz Hameed met the intelligence chiefs of Russia, China, Iran and Tajikistan. During this, Hameed informed them about the Taliban government of Afghanistan and the changes that took place there. Hameed allegedly spewed a lot of venom against India as well (Taliban Afghanistan Government). At the same time, in the internal government formed by the Taliban with the Haqqani network, terrorists have been placed in high positions. This government was announced about three days after Hameed’s visit. Talking about China, it is the first country that has established diplomatic contacts with Afghanistan after the occupation of Taliban.

Supply Chain Broken Cargo Ships Parked at Sea

Posted on by

There are several sources reporting this crisis including retailers. Big box stores are working to even send their own charter ships and aircraft to release the inventory.Large, empty spaces have returned to store shelves as consumers return to stockpiling essential items and supply chain issues slow deliveries.Shortage of container ships in service is unsustainable - ESC

Costco has reimposed limits on the purchase of toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water — limits first imposed during the early days of the pandemic when panicked consumers overstocked their pantries.

With the spread of the Delta variant, some consumers are returning to that buying pattern. However, retail analysts say some consumers never changed their behavior and continue to buy in larger quantities than before the pandemic.

Supply chain bottlenecks

Overbuying isn’t the only reason for the growing gaps on supermarket shelves. The empty spaces in the soft drink aisle are caused by nagging supply chain bottlenecks that continue to slow both production and delivery.

According to the Economic Times (ET), Vietnam is a source of persistent supply chain problems. The U.S. depends on that country for a large amount of food and consumer product manufacturing. It’s one of the Asian nations currently struggling to contain the Delta variant.

“Shipping containers are in the wrong place. Sea freight costs are up tenfold. If goods do arrive at the destined ports, there are too few truck drivers to transport them to retailers,” ET reported. “Shortages of workers to harvest and prepare foods are also adding to the pressures.”

Slowed production has also led to fewer choices in the soft drink aisle. Soft drink manufacturers are dealing with a shortage of packaging, including aluminum cans. There is also a shortage of C02, which produces carbonation. That problem has been felt the most so far in the U.K.

Other products in short supply

Other categories experiencing increased demand are coffee, school supplies, consumer electronics, and pet food. Retailers report that the shortages have been caused by both increased demand from consumers and delivery problems.

With school starting up again, demand for Kraft Heinz’s Lunchables” packaged snack/meal product has created shortages at grocery stores. The food manufacturer told KIRO-TV in Seattle that the product is seeing double-digit sales growth for the first time in five years.

Economists say shortages inevitably lead to higher prices, which are already being seen in some food and beverage categories. The Federal Reserve has acknowledged the presence of inflation but predicted it will be “transitory” in nature.

Economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics, says manufacturers are paying more to produce their products. Unfortunately, they will likely pass those costs along to consumers at some point. He says labor shortages and supply chain issues could keep prices higher for longer than expected.

BI: The Southern California ports that are responsible for almost half of all US imports hit a new record every day last week.

Over the past week, the queue of ships waiting to unload at the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach have lengthened by 10 ships. On Friday, the ports had 65 cargo ships stuck at anchor or in drift areas waiting for spots to open up to dock and unload. The ports, which are a primary thoroughfare for key imports between Asia and the US, had 147 ships in the locations, including 95 hulking cargo ships on Friday — both new records.

The average wait time for the vessels is about 8.7 days — about 2.5 days longer than the same time the month before, Los Angeles port data indicated. So far, the ports have handled about 862,000 imports in 2021.

The locations hit new records for the number of ships in the port, as well as the number of container ships waiting to undock every day last week, the Marine Exchange of Southern California said.

The ports have hit seven new records in less than four weeks as shipping delays continue to surge past early pandemic levels. When the ports hit an all-time high in late August, it was the first time since February, when the onset of pandemic shutdowns and the panic-buying frenzy wreaked havoc on global supply chains.

“The normal number of container ships at anchor is between zero and one,” Kip Louttit, the executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, told Insider in July.

Freightos told Bloomberg that the average time it takes for an ocean freight to go door-to-door has increased 43% over the past year, from 50 days to 71.5 days.

At the same time, shipping costs have skyrocketed. Last week, Judah Levine, the head of research at Freightos, told Insider that the price for transporting a 40-foot container between the US and Asia jumped 500% from this time last year to $20,586.

Ultimately, the ports are facing backlogs as a result of COVID-19 disruptions and a labor shortage paired with spikes in demand.

Executives have warned that rising transportation costs would increase shortages of goods, as well as necessitate more price hikes. Last week, Scott Price, UPS’s president, said the company anticipated that supply-chain snags would continue through 2022.

Meanwhile, many companies have already begun raising their prices to offset the transportation costs.

“When we see these massive increases in transportation costs, it’s clear somebody will have to pay for it,” Douglas Kent, the executive vice president of strategy and alliances at the Association for Supply Chain Management, told Insider.

“One more disruption could send it into complete chaos,” he said of the global supply chain.

This photo is a screen shot taken a few minutes ago that demonstrates the issue.

 

Joe and Hunter Sought Deal in Libya Email Evidence Shows

Posted on by

Mohammed al Rahbani, an Obama donor was a member of the team in the plot to recover frozen assets of Muammar Gaddafi. The email evidence was obtain outside the scope of those found on the infamous Hunter laptop. The retainer was valued at $2 million plus a percentage of what assets were successfully recovered. (remember Hillary in this plot too)

Exactly what the FBI really has in possession has to be in volumes beyond imagination.

“Per phone conversation I met with #2 son, he wants $2 per year retainer… his dad is deciding to run or not,” wrote Jauhari.

He described Hunter’s “positives” as being chairman of the UN World Food Program and being a business partner of “SOS J. Forbes K.’s son”. Forbes is the middle name of John Kerry, and Hunter has been linked to Christopher Heinz, the former Massachusetts senator’s stepson-through-marriage to ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz-Kerry.

“Hillary Clinton had Muammar Qaddafi, the head of Libya, killed for reasons nobody ever explained… and then money from the [Tripoli] treasury was impounded.”

“If Hunter Biden was actually lobbying the U.S. government while his dad was vice president to get that money, that’s a very big deal. It’s probably a crime,” he said. source

And China is bigger than what has been reported.

“He wants to hire his own people – it can be close circle of people for confidentiality. His dad is deciding to run or not.”

Jauhari continued: “His positives are he is Chairman of UN World Food Program, son of #2 who has Libya file, access to State, Treasury, business partner SofS [Secretary of State] J. [John] Forbes K [Kerry] son and since he travels with dad he is connected everywhere in Europe and Asia where M. Q. [Muammar Qaddafi] and LIA [Libya Investment Authority] had money frozen. He said he has access to highest level in PRC [China], he can help there.” He added: “His negatives are that he is alcoholic, drug addict – kicked [out] of U.S. Army for cocaine, chasing low class hookers, constantly needs money-liquidity problems and many more headaches. We should meet in Gstraad or London to decide next steps.”

It should be noted Hunter Biden was discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserve, not the Army.

The outlet cited “two people close to the negotiations” who said “$2” meant $2 million for Hunter Biden, though the report said it does not appear that a deal with Hunter was ever worked out. The report also said other documents showed Jauhari and his cohorts wanted to keep up to 5% of whatever Libyan funds they could unlock, which would have meant tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.

HUNTER HOLDS STAKE IN CHINESE FIRM SANCTIONED BY U.S.

The Chinese government was apparently a longtime obstacle to unlocking Libya’s billions in frozen assets. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, then the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council, said in 2011 that “China is obstructing the release of Libya’s frozen assets.” The Diplomat reported in 2019 that China “has not helped the Libyan government’s efforts to unfreeze financial assets.”

In his memoir, Beautiful Things, Hunter Biden wrote that in 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden asked his son’s teenage daughter to join him on Air Force Two to Japan and then to Beijing, where he was meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hunter said he tagged along.

At the time, Hunter Biden worked with Devon Archer at Rosemont Seneca, and “our deal with the biggest potential was a partnership with a Chinese private equity fund seeking to invest Chinese capital in companies outside the country,” he wrote.“While we were in Beijing, Dad met one of Devon’s Chinese partners, Jonathan Li, in the lobby of the American delegation’s hotel, just long enough to say hello and shake hands.”

When Patrick Ho, one of Chinese energy tycoon Ye Jianming’s lieutenants, was charged by the Justice Department in 2017, the first call he reportedly made after his arrest was to Joe Biden’s brother James, who said he thought the call was meant for Hunter Biden.

Ho was indicted and convicted for his role in a global money laundering and bribery scheme. Ho, likely under FISA surveillance at one point, tried reaching out to Joe Biden’s son for help because he agreed to represent Ho as part of his efforts to work out a liquefied natural gas deal worth tens of millions of dollars with CEFC China Energy leader Ye, who has since disappeared in China.

In 2017, Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of Hunter Biden’s, worked with him and others to create a business dubbed Sinohawk to establish a joint venture with CEFC. Bobulinski repeatedly expressed in 2017 messages that he expected the venture to get off the ground with $10 million in startup money from CEFC. A Senate GOP report concluded that millions of dollars were sent by CEFC to accounts linked to Hunter Biden instead.

Hunter Biden still holds a 10% equity stake in Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Company, according to Chinese business records.

The Chinese investment firm has invested in Chinese Communist Party-linked firms the United States has sanctioned, including a technology company accused of assisting in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and a nuclear company that allegedly conspired to acquire U.S. nuclear technology to benefit China’s military.

Jauhari’s LinkedIn states he is the manager of Gulf Facilities Contracting and Trading, which does business in places such as Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Libya. FEC records indicate he gave more than $80,000 to the Obama campaign in 2012, roughly $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee, tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic state parties and congressional campaigns, and $2,700 to Hillary for America in 2015.

Rahbani’s LinkedIn indicates he is the chairman at Safid, an air distribution systems company in Riyadh.

U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to federal campaigns, but prosecutors said Rahbani and a business associate gave Imaad Zuberi $850,000 to donate to President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection inauguration. Zuberi only donated $97,500 of it to Obama before pocketing the rest for himself.

Rahbani spoke in the past about his support for Obama and pulled pictures of himself with the former president and Joe Biden at a 2013 inaugural event down from his website after Zuberi pleaded guilty.

Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and campaign fundraiser who worked to gain influence with prominent Republicans and Democrats, including former President Donald Trump and now-President Joe Biden, was sentenced to a dozen years in prison for illegal donations and foreign agent lobbying schemes in early 2021.

Zuberi pleaded guilty in November 2019 to charges of tax evasion, making nearly $1 million in illegal campaign contributions through straw donations and foreign funds, and falsifying records of his extensive work as a foreign agent. For years, Zuberi donated mostly to Democrats before throwing large sums at Trump’s inaugural committee after his win in 2016.

Zuberi is seen in multiple photographs with Obama in 2014. The convicted criminal is also pictured numerous times in 2014 with then-Vice President Joe Biden in records made public by the Justice Department.

The businessman tried to work his way closer to Biden through Fran Person, who had served as Biden’s body man for eight years before leaving in 2014, after which Zuberi began to cultivate a closer relationship with him. Zuberi also worked to unfreeze up to billions in Libyan government assets, and Zuberi’s WhatsApp messages from 2015 reveal lengthy discussions with a redacted associate as they talk about setting up meetings in Washington, D.C., and Paris to try to unlock the money.

Zuberi, Person, and others met at the Four Seasons Hotel in Paris in May 2015 with the alleged Libyan deputy prime minister to try to figure out how to unfreeze the billions.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The new report from Business Insider pointed to another email from the following year — Feb. 26, 2016 — where Washington lawyer John Sandweg, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2013 and 2014 under Obama, said he had talked to Hunter and his team about the Libya effort.

“I spoke with HB’s team yesterday. They are interested in the project, but emphasized that for them to get involved, the team (lobbyists, lawyers and PR) would need to be a small group of folks they have a tight relationship with. They do not want a large group involved and they only want people with whom they have a close relationship with due to the sensitivities surrounding their involvement,” he wrote.

Sandweg, now the head of the “Cross-Border Risks team” at Nixon Peabody law firm, confirmed to the outlet that he had been speaking with a business associate of Hunter’s about the Libyan project at the time, saying, “They indicated they would consider it and I passed the message back. Jauhari wound up hiring a different law firm instead.”

The outlet said neither Jauhari nor Hunter’s attorney responded to requests for comment, and the White House declined to comment. Rahbani attorney Martin Auerbach said the businessman “has no recollection of seeing those emails contemporaneously” and “knows to a certainty that he never spoke to and has no recollection of talking about Hunter Biden.”

Concerns about Hunter Biden gained broader attention in late 2020 after he confirmed he was under federal investigation. Multiple outlets reported he is being federally investigated in connection with his taxes and possible links between his overseas business and China and other countries. Hunter Biden said in April he was “cooperating completely” with the investigation and insisted he is “100% certain” he will be cleared of wrongdoing. source

In part:

That email, which was sent to fellow Democratic donor Sheikh Mohammed al-Rahbani, also flagged the “negatives” to enlisting Hunter’s help.

“He is alcoholic, drug addict – kicked [out] of U.S. Army for cocaine, chasing low-class hookers, constantly needs money-liquidity problems and many more headaches,” the email said. Hunter was actually discharged from the US Naval Reserve in 2014, not the Army as the email suggested.

Hunter and Heinz founded Rosemont Seneca Partners, a billion-dollar private equity firm, back in 2009. Their business dealings soured when Hunter opted in 2014 to join the board of a gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.

The second email was sent to the two business contacts by Washington lawyer John Sandweg on Feb. 26, 2016, regarding the same deal.

“I spoke with HB’s team yesterday. They are interested in the project, but emphasized that for them to get involved, the team (lobbyists, lawyers and PR) would need to be a small group of folks they have a tight relationship with,” Sandweg wrote.

“They do not want a large group involved and they only want people with whom they have a close relationship with due to the sensitivities surrounding their involvement.”

Asked about the email, Sandweg told Insider that Jauhari ended up hiring a different law firm.

Neither Hunter nor the White House has commented on the newly emerged emails.

The outlet said the emails, as well as other documents it had obtained, appeared to suggest the Libya deal did not go ahead.

 

Iranian Businessman Living in China has Been Financing Hezbollah and the IRGC

Posted on by

The Treasury Department has sanctioned several Chinese entities and individuals for allegedly financing Iran-related terrorist activities.The Treasury Department said the sanctions action would involve the seizure of US-based property of the individuals and entities and prohibit all transactions with them.

The agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Friday it is imposing sanctions on members of the networks that finance the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon and Kuwait, according to the Epoch Times.

Several of the sanctioned companies are based in Hong Kong including PCA Xiang Gang Ltd.; Damineh Optic Ltd.; China 49 Group Co. Ltd.; Taiwan Be Charm Trading Co., Ltd.; and Black Drop Intl Co., Ltd., the news outlet also reports.

The companies are either directly or indirectly owned, controlled or directed by Morteza Minaye Hashemi, an Iranian businessman living in China who’s also on the sanctions list.

Hashemi is accused by the U.S. government of funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, the Epoch Times also reports.

***.US slaps new sanctions on Hezbollah over Iran's fuel ...

In part: The seven entities include PCA Xiang Gang Limited, Damineh Optic Limited, China 49 Group Co, Taiwan Be Charm Trading Co, Black Drop International Co, Victory Somo Group (HK) Limited, and Yummy Be Charm Trading (HK) Limited, according to a press release on the Treasury Department website.

The designations came as part of a broader action by the department that targeted Lebanon and Kuwait-based financial conduits that fund the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah as well as financial facilitators and front companies that support the group and Iran.

Black Drop International Co could not be found in the Hong Kong government’s company registry when the Post did a search on Saturday night. Detailed information on the other companies, such as the owners’ names and office addresses, was also not accessible.

Hashemi, Yan Su Xuan, Song Jing and the seven companies named by the Treasury department join a list of 351 entities still sanctioned under an executive order signed by former president George W Bush shortly after the terrorist attacks against the US on September 11, 2001.

The Treasury Department said international networks have laundered tens of millions of dollars through regional financial systems and conducted currency exchange operations and trades in gold and electronics for the benefit of both IRGC-QF.

Hezbollah, with the support of the IRGC-QF, uses the revenues generated by these networks to fund terrorist activities, as well as to perpetuate instability in Lebanon and throughout the region, the department said.