World

China’s Defence Minister accuses the U.S. of being a “bully”

Published

9 months ago

June 13, 2022

Costa Haritos

China’s Defence Minister is accusing the U.S. of “hijacking” countries around the region

Wei Fenghe is China’s Defence General, who has slammed the U.S. for rallying support across the Indo-Pacific region.

Wei gave a speech comes at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, which is Asia’s premiere defence conference.

He also quashed any attempts for the self-governed island of Taiwan to break away from mainland China.

“No country should impose its will on others or bully others under the guise of multilateralism.”
CHINA’S DEFENCE CHIEF WEI FENGHE

It comes days after Wei met with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, which reportedly “went smoothly”.

The U.S. and China reportedly stood firm on their opposing views over Taiwan’s right to rule itself.

“Indo-Pacific countries shouldn’t face political intimidation, economic coercion, or harassment by maritime militias.”

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all,” Austin says.

But Wei believes the U.S.’ strategy is seeking to divide the region even further.

“The strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open Indo-Pacific to hijack countries in our region and target one specific country—it is a strategy to create conflict and confrontation to contain and encircle others,” Wei says.

The Defence Minister adds China will “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwanese independence.

It comes just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden said his nation will respond “militarily” if China attacked Taiwan.

World

Joe Biden signs bill to declassify Covid origins information

Published

3 hours ago

March 21, 2023

ticker NEWS

Sone information may be kept under wraps for national security reasons

U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a bill requiring all information relating to the origins of COVID-19 be declassified.

Biden says he shares the Congress goal of releasing as much information as possible about the virus.

But, he says his Administration will still keep national security in mind when deciding what to publish.

The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and House of Representatives before being sent to the White House.

For several months now, Washington has been debating the origins of the virus.

It follows a report by the U.S. Energy Department which says the pandemic arose from a lab leak.

World

Ron DeSantis breaks silence over Donald Trump charges

Published

3 hours ago

March 21, 2023

ticker NEWS

The Florida Governor says he won’t get involved

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has broken his silence on the Manhattan District Attorney pursuing charges against Donald Trump.

DeSantis has vowed his office will not get involved if the matter trickles into the former President’s adopted home state – that is Florida.

But the Florida governor stopped well short of offering support to Trump, instead poking fun at the situation.

A New York grand jury is in the final stages of determining whether Trump should face charges over an alleged payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

This is all related to an alleged affair.

The dismissive and tongue-in-cheek comments made by DeSantis travelled quickly.

Trump’s allies immediately started attacking the Florida governor across social media, suggesting he will face a political price for failing to rally around Trump.

This was before the former president responded himself, saying “Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about false accusations & fake stories sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known”.

The episode is just another example of the tension and rivalry between two of the GOP’s biggest stars as they battle for party supremacy.