Amy Hawkins

In the clearest sign yet that president Joe Biden’s predicted “thaw” in US-China relations may actually come to pass, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is expected to visit Beijing on 18 June.

But after several months in which tensions between the two countries have only increased, both sides will need to overcome a mutual mistrust that has been allowed to build following a number of recent incidents.

Biden made his comments predicting a thaw at the G7 summit in Japan in May, just as the group of countries published a strongly worded statement rebuking China’s behaviour on a range of issues, including regional security and “economic coercion”.

The show of unity from the allied economies, with the US at the helm, made any unfreezing of US-China relations seem like a distant prospect. But in recent weeks there have been gradual signs of increased dialogue between the two superpowers.

Last week, two mid-level US officials met with Chinese counterparts in Beijing. Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant US secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Sarah Beran, the national security council senior director for China, travelled to Beijing to meet Ma Zhaoxu, the deputy foreign minister, and Yang Tao, the director of the North American and oceanian affairs department.

In May, William Burns, the director of the CIA, was reported to have travelled to Beijing for a series of secret meetings with intelligence officials, while the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, met China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Vienna.

These attempts have all been part of an effort to rebuild relations since the spy ballon saga earlier this year led to Blinken’s original visit to Beijing, which had been scheduled for February, being cancelled.

In February, US fighter jets shot down a large Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina. The Biden administration concluded that it was a surveillance airship that had flown over sensitive military sites. China admitted owning the balloon but said it was a civilian vessel used for meteorological research.

The incident sparked a global row about the use of Chinese spy balloons in several countries and it severely damaged the goodwill that had been established when Biden met President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Indonesia in November.

Recent trust-building exercises also suffered a new blow after the Wall Street Journal reported last week that China and Cuba had reached a multibillion-dollar agreement for China to build an eavesdropping facility on the island. The US, China and Cuba all denied the reports. Many analysts noted that the timing of the report coincided with Blinken’s second attempt to visit Beijing, raising questions about whether it had been leaked to derail the trip.

Trade friction

Part of the difficulty is that both the US and China claim to want dialogue while taking tangible actions to decouple their economies.

China has emerged from three years of zero-Covid policies with claims that it is open for business again, while also engaging in raids on foreign companies.

The US says it is not trying to contain Chinese growth, but has placed sanctions on key industries, such as semiconductors. Beijing recently instructed Chinese companies that operate in critical industries not to purchase chips from Micron, a US company, which seemed to be a retaliatory move after the Biden administration’s export controls on advanced chipmaking technology.

The US has also persuaded Japan and the Netherlands to block the sale of chip equipment, a move that is aimed at curbing China’s military and technological development.

Wang Huiyao, the president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a thinktank in Beijing, said China objected to the US’s “double standards”.

Taiwan tensions

The US claims to support the One China policy and says it does not want to stop China’s development, “but what they have done is very different”, Wang said. “That has really upset the mood for negotiations.”

The One China policy outlines the US’s acceptance of the government in Beijing as the sole ruler of China. Beijing claims that Taiwan is part of that territory.

In recent weeks the US military has accused Chinese forces of “unsafe” and “unnecessarily aggressive” manoeuvres in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, two areas where the US is especially concerned about China’s increasing presence. On Thursday Taiwan reported that 37 Chinese military aircraft flew into the island’s air defence zone.

Areas of cooperation

The Blinken visit will be a belated follow-up to the Xi-Biden meeting. In November the two presidents discussed cooperation on “transnational challenges”, such as climate change and health security. But even those goals have been frustrated in recent months.

Last week the US ambassador, Nicholas Burns, said China wasn’t doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US, emphasising that combatting the supply of the drug was high on the agenda in discussions with Beijing. The next day Chinese state broadcaster CGTN released a documentary about the US’s opioids crisis which accused the US of pointing “the finger of blame at China” for a self-inflicted problem.

“There are no non-political spheres in the US-China space,” said Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused data company. “Like it or not, Beijing insists that politics infuses and dominates all of these areas”.

(Source: The Guardian)

ALEXANDER WARD and JOE GOULD

China is in talks with Cuba to establish a foothold there to spy on the United States, two senior U.S. officials said, a provocative move that already has lawmakers warning about parallels to the Cold War.

The officials, granted anonymity to discuss an extremely sensitive intelligence matter, said that China was in direct conversations with Cuba to set up a base on the island nation just 100 miles from the United States. It would allow Beijing to collect signals intelligence on southeastern portions of America, home to many military facilities and major industries. Evidence of the negotiations came to light in recent weeks, the officials said.

Such a pact between China and Cuba could threaten to derail the Biden administration’s efforts to “thaw” its frosty relations with Beijing. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit China in the coming weeks, a trip that was postponed in February after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon after it traversed North America. Diplomacy with China continues mainly at the economic and trade level, while military-to-military discussions are practically nonexistent.

The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report on the discussions, said Beijing and Havana reached a “secret agreement” whereby China pays Cuba billions of dollars for a facility. The two officials told POLITICO they couldn’t confirm that there was a finalized deal, only that China was in discussions with Cuba about spying on the United States.

On Thursday morning, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby didn’t confirm any negotiations between China and Cuba but said the administration was watching China’s movements in the region closely. After publication, Kirby told POLITICO the reports were “not accurate” without specifying which details were wrong. He added: “We remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home and in the region.”

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a Thursday afternoon statement that they were “deeply disturbed” by the reports. “It would be unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence facility within 100 miles of Florida and the United States.”

“We urge the Biden administration to take steps to prevent this serious threat to our national security and sovereignty,” they continued.

Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio said in a statement that the WSJ story was full of “totally false and unfounded information” and that Cuba rejects the presence of a foreign military throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cuban Embassy did not respond to a question about any talks with China about a deal to spy on the United States.

The report comes as the U.S. is trying to restore more regular military contacts with Beijing. CIA Director William Burns made a secret trip to China last month to keep the lines of communication between Washington and Beijing open. President Joe Biden dispatched the spy chief in hopes of reviving higher-level conversations between the two powers.

A Defense Department official said the Pentagon was aware of China’s attempts to invest in infrastructure around the world, including in the Western hemisphere, that may have military purposes and will continue to monitor the efforts.

The CIA declined a request to comment on the talks. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the issue, saying in a statement “we are not aware of the case.”

The revelation already has members of Congress worried about the echoes of America’s last great power rivalry.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House Select China Committee, said in a statement the Biden administration should consider retaliatory actions including “ending Huawei export licenses, restricting outbound investment in crucial sectors of the PRC…and preventing Chinese Communist Party land purchases near military bases.”

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) said Blinken should not travel to China following the revelation and the recent harassment of American ships and aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The Chinese Communist Party is executing the Soviet Union’s playbook,” said Waltz, a member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees.

The Soviet Union operated its largest signals intelligence site in Lourdes, just outside of Havana, a facility that closed after 2001. “If it’s China’s intent to reopen it, this will be the largest spy base once again,” Waltz said. “If that’s not evidence enough that we’re in a new Cold War, I don’t know what is.”

In 1962, the United States discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba, leading to an infamous crisis that brought the world to the nuclear brink.

Lawmakers from both parties were alarmed at the news on Thursday.

“If true, it just goes to show where the Cuban regime is all along. They are an adversary to the United States, and to allow the Chinese to construct a signals intelligence facility in their country is a direct assault upon the United States,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). “I hope the administration will think about how they will react if it’s true.”

Some Republicans said the development was a sign that Biden’s efforts to cool tensions with China are failing.

“It is a disaster for the Biden administration. It shows that what they’re trying, their policies are not working at all, the aggression of China continues,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). “Here they’re flying over to China, maybe as we speak, to grovel to Beijing. Meanwhile, Beijing is basically giving us the middle finger.”

Hawley said it’s a sign that Congress has misplaced its priorities by supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

“I’m sure we’ll soon be voting on yet another supplemental aid package to Ukraine. Meanwhile, China is literally in our backyard now,” Hawley said. “I don’t know when people on the Hill will wake up to this, but maybe it’ll take the fall of Taiwan, which I’m sure will be next.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) demanded swift congressional action against the “grave threats” posed by a potential Chinese spy base in Cuba. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) should “set dates for security briefings and public hearings in the Senate” about those dangers, Scott said in a statement.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for president in 2024, said the news is “staggering.”

“The real threat is now staring us in the face, not just in the Eastern hemisphere, but now in the West. This is a big deal,” he continued, “and the alarm bells are blaring.”

China’s only official foreign military base is in Djibouti. But Beijing has worked for years to establish a stronger presence in the Western hemisphere.

In March, Gen. Laura Richardson, head of U.S. Southern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that China was on a “relentless march” to replace the United States as the preeminent regional power. The country, for example, has a military-run space station in Argentina.

“This is a risk we can’t ignore,” Richardson said at the hearing.

(Source: Politico)

Mackenzie Gray

A Chinese warship came within 150 yards of hitting American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, during a rare joint Canada-U.S. mission sailing through the Taiwan Strait, the latest aggressive military move from Beijing in the South China Sea.

Global News has been travelling on HMCS Montreal, the Canadian frigate participating in the mission, since May 25 in the South China Sea and witnessed the near collision from the bridge wing of the ship.

A People’s Liberation Navy ship picked up considerable speed and cut in front of the bow of the Chung-Hoon, a maneuver HMCS Montreal’s commander, Capt. Paul Mountford, called “not professional.”

When the Chinese vessel altered its course, Mountford says the crew called the American ship and told them to move or there would be a collision. The Americans responded by asking the Chinese to stay clear of the ship, but the Chung-Hoon ultimately needed to alter course and slow down to avoid a crash.

Mountford believes the incident was ”clearly instigated by the Chinese.”

“The fact this was announced over the radio prior to doing it, clearly indicated this was intentional.”

The Chung-Hoon and Montreal have been sailing together in the South China Sea for nearly a week prior to entering the Taiwan Strait. Global News has seen Chinese warships shadowing the Canadian vessel on multiple occasions during its transit.

The Chinese did not attempt a similar maneuver on HMCS Montreal but one of the two warships that were in the area did sail within 1,000 yards of the Canadian ship, a distance that Mountford believed was safe.

The Chinese told both the Canadian and American ships over radio systems that they are entering Chinese territory, despite the joint mission taking place in internationally recognized waters, according to Mountford.

“I am hoping that is an isolated incident that won’t happen again for us, because we have international law on our side,” Mountford told Global News. “This is international waters.”

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said in a statement released Saturday the Chinese warship “executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon.”

According to USINDOPACOM, the ship overtook the U.S. destroyer on its port side crossing its bow at 150 yards, prompting the Chung-Hoon to maintain course but slow its speed to 10 knots “to avoid a collision.” The Chinese ship then crossed the Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time “starboard to port at 2,000 yards” and remained off the destroyer’s port bow.

“The LY 132’s closest point of approach was 150 yards and its actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters,” the statement read.

In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Canada said the Canadian and U.S. ships had “hyped (the sailing) up publicly,” and added that Chinese naval and air forces had been tracking and monitoring both ships “lawfully and professionally.”

“Relevant countries have been deliberately stirring up troubles and risks in the Taiwan Strait, maliciously undermining regional peace and stability and sending wrong signals to the “Taiwan independence” forces,” wrote Jianwei Li, deputy director of the embassy’s cultural and press section.

Jianwei said China would take all necessary measures to “firmly respond to all threats and provocations.”

Canada’s defence minister Anita Anand had just finished participating in a security summit in Singapore when she learned of the incident in the Strait of Taiwan.

The summit was attended by both U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu.

Anand said neither Canada nor its allies would be deterred from sailing in international waters.

“Canada will continue to sail where international law allows, including the Strait, the South China Sea,” Anand said in an interview from Singapore.

“And really, our overall goal is to increase the peace and stability of this region. And that’s why we are going to continue to see more of Canada in this region as set out in our Indo-Pacific strategy. We’ve already seen unsafe intercepts and we have addressed those appropriately with China in terms of our RCAF pilots. Actors in this region must engage responsibly, and that’s the bottom line.”

— with files from David Akin and Sean Previl, Global News