China military budget growth slows to 6.6 percent
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DefenceTalkChina will increase its military budget by a slower 6.6 percent this year, the government announced Friday at the opening session of its annual National People’s Congress. The budget will be set at 1.268 trillion yuan ($178 billion) for the year — the second-biggest in the world after the United States — continuing a downward […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-military-budget-growth-slows-to-6-6-percent-75638/
China says virus pushing US ties to brink of ‘Cold War’
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DefenceTalkChina said Sunday that its relations with the United States were “on the brink of a new Cold War,” fuelled partly by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and pitched the global economy into a massive downturn. Fresh tensions between Beijing and Washington emerged as virus restrictions continued to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-says-virus-pushing-us-ties-to-brink-of-cold-war-75635/
Quest for ‘Super-Duper’ Missiles Pits US Against Key Rivals
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DefenceTalkThey fly at speeds of a mile a second or faster and maneuver in ways that make them extra difficult to detect and destroy in flight. President Donald Trump calls them “super-duper” missiles though they’re better known as hypersonic weapons. And they are at the heart of Trump administration worries about China and Russia. For […]https://www.defencetalk.com/quest-for-super-duper-missiles-pits-us-against-key-rivals-75619/
US approves sale of 18 torpedoes to Taiwan
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DefenceTalkThe United States approved the sale of 18 heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan for $180 million, the State Department said Wednesday, in a move that could further strain Washington’s already tense relationship with Beijing. The US framed the sale as a mutually beneficial transaction. “This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-sale-of-18-torpedoes-to-taiwan-75612/
Beijing will ‘never tolerate’ Taiwan’s separation from China
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DefenceTalkBeijing will “never tolerate” Taiwan’s separation from China, a spokesman at the mainland’s top Taiwan body said Wednesday, after President Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for a second term. China considers the democratic, self-governing island as part of its territory, and has repeatedly advocated for its eventual reunification with the mainland — using military force if […]https://www.defencetalk.com/beijing-will-never-tolerate-taiwans-separation-from-china-75601/
China Deploys AEW, ASW Aircraft on Disputed Reef in South China Sea
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DefenceTalkRecent foreign satellite images suggest that China has deployed early warning aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft on the Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea amid increased US military activities in the region, as Chinese experts said on Thursday that China has the right to deploy defensive weapons there according to military threats China is facing. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-deploys-aew-asw-aircraft-on-disputed-reef-in-south-china-sea-75556/
Trump threatens China ties, says in no mood for Xi talks
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DefenceTalkUS President Donald Trump further hardened his rhetoric towards China on Thursday, saying he no longer wishes to speak with Xi Jinping and warning darkly he might cut ties over the rival superpower’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Tensions have ratcheted up between Washington and Beijing as they trade barbs over the origin of the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/trump-threatens-china-ties-says-in-no-mood-for-xi-talks-75545/
US says Chinese hacking vaccine research: reports
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DefenceTalkThe US Federal Bureau of Investigation and cybersecurity experts believe Chinese hackers are trying to steal research on developing a vaccine against coronavirus, two newspapers reported Monday. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are planning to release a warning about the Chinese hacking as governments and private firms race to develop a vaccine for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-says-chinese-hacking-vaccine-research-reports-75524/
India, China in high-altitude fistfight at disputed border
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DefenceTalkSeveral Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a high-altitude cross-border clash involving fistfights and stone-throwing at a remote but strategically important mountain pass near Tibet, the Indian Army said Sunday. There have been long-running border tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, with a bitter war fought over India’s northeastern-most state of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/india-china-in-high-altitude-fistfight-at-disputed-border-75503/
China slams US after Trump virus ‘attack’ claim
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DefenceTalkChina accused the United States on Thursday of trying to shift blame over the coronavirus, after President Donald Trump said the pandemic was a worse “attack” than Pearl Harbor or 9/11. Tension between the world’s two biggest economies has reached fever pitch in recent days as they have exchanged barbed comments on each other’s handling […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-slams-us-after-trump-virus-attack-claim-75475/