Latest news with #Inter-ParliamentaryAllianceonChina
The Diplomat
3 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
China's Position on Russia and Ukraine Is a Warning to the West and the Pacific
Wang Yi's remarks confirm what many have long suspected: China's interests are best served not by stability, peace, or sovereignty, but by a prolonged conflict. The recent revelation that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU leaders that Beijing does not want to see Russia lose its war in Ukraine is not just a diplomatic slip; it is a moment of clarity. Behind closed doors, China has dropped the mask of neutrality and revealed a sobering truth: it views a Russian defeat not as a moral failure or geopolitical catastrophe, but as a threat to its own strategic ambitions. This quiet admission, made to the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, cuts sharply against Beijing's carefully curated public stance. China claims it is a disinterested bystander in the Ukraine conflict. However, Wang's remarks confirm what many in global diplomatic circles have long suspected: China's interests are best served not by stability, peace, or sovereignty, but by a distracted, divided, and weakened West. To understand why, we must revisit the so-called 'no limits' partnership between China and Russia, announced just weeks before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although not a formal military alliance, this strategic pact underscores a shared worldview. Both nations resent the dominance of liberal democracies and seek to reshape the global order in their own authoritarian image. Since the invasion, China has supported Russia's economy through trade, provided diplomatic cover in international forums, and participated in joint military exercises. At the same time, it continues to claim neutrality, masking its support for Russia behind the guise of plausible deniability. Wang's frank admission reveals the deeper logic behind this alignment. If Russia collapses in Ukraine, the United States and its allies will be free to pivot fully toward the Indo-Pacific and focus on deterring China's growing assertiveness, especially regarding Taiwan. In this strategic calculation, the prolongation of war, and the suffering it causes, is considered an acceptable cost if it keeps the West overextended. This is a profoundly cynical and destabilizing position. It confirms that, in the eyes of China's leadership, values such as territorial integrity, international law, and the protection of civilians are expendable. It also exposes a chilling willingness to allow or even encourage ongoing conflict if doing so creates space for China to advance its own interests. As an alumna of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), I have worked alongside legislators from democracies large and small who see this moment for what it truly is: a test. China is not simply observing how the West responds to Russia's invasion. It is studying our unity, our resilience, and our tolerance for risk. The outcome in Ukraine will directly influence Beijing's decisions regarding Taiwan and its broader conduct across the Indo-Pacific. In the Pacific, this challenge is no longer hypothetical. It is unfolding in real time. Through cyber influence operations and debt-leveraged infrastructure projects with potential military uses, Beijing is actively reshaping the region's strategic landscape. For small island developing states, whose survival depends on the integrity of international law and multilateral institutions, any erosion of those norms poses a direct threat to sovereignty and self-determination. This is why continued support for Ukraine is not solely about defending the right of a European nation to exist. It is about upholding a global order that protects all nations, especially those that are small and vulnerable. If Ukraine is forced into a territorial compromise, or if the West retreats under pressure, it will send a dangerous message to authoritarian powers everywhere: that aggression is effective, that might makes right, and that democracies lack the resolve for prolonged resistance. China's leaders are betting on that retreat. Wang Yi's comments were not an error in diplomacy. They were an intentional signal. It is now the responsibility of all of us, from Brussels to the Blue Pacific, to respond with unity, determination, and an unshakeable commitment to the values that have preserved peace for generations. If we fail to meet this moment, the next confrontation may arrive much closer to home.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
29-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
China 'plotted staged car crash' targeting Taiwan VP during Prague visit, Czech intelligence says
Taiwan's vice-president, Hsiao Bi-khim, says she won't be intimidated after Czech intelligence revealed an alleged Chinese plot to stage a car crash during her visit to Prague last year, report says. read more Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaks during a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in Taipei on July 30, 2024. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said July 30 "a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world", emphasizing to lawmakers of more than 20 countries that global democracies must unite against "authoritarian expansion". (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP) Taiwan's vice-president, Hsiao Bi-khim, visited the Czech Republic in March 2024, marking the first overseas trip by her and Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, after winning the election in January. At the time, reports emerged that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following her police-escorted car from the airport. Now, Prague intelligence officials have told local media that the incident was part of a much larger and escalating plan by Chinese diplomats and intelligence officers working out of the Chinese embassy in Prague. The plan allegedly included staging a car crash involving Hsiao's convoy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Saturday, Hsiao thanked Czech authorities for ensuring her safety during the visit. 'The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community,' she said in a social media post. Hsiao has insisted she will not be intimidated following reports from Czech intelligence that Chinese officials planned to stage a collision during her visit to Prague last year. The new details of the alleged plot were revealed on Thursday by the Czech public radio service, Irozhlas. Petr Bartovský, director of the Czech military intelligence service, told Irozhlas that the driver stopped by police was only following Hsiao. However, he said his service also discovered plans, directed from the Chinese embassy, to 'demonstratively confront Ms Hsiao.' Jan Pejšek, a spokesperson for the intelligence service, said the plan involved an 'attempt by the Chinese civil secret service to create conditions for a demonstrative kinetic action against a protected person, which, however, did not go beyond the phase of preparation.' Czech reporters said this was understood to mean staging a collision with Hsiao's car. Pejšek added that the activities of the Chinese agents 'went so far as to endanger' Hsiao. 'These activities, which flagrantly breach the obligations arising from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, were conducted, among others, by individuals holding diplomatic posts at the Chinese embassy in Prague,' he said. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on Friday condemned the alleged actions by China, saying they 'seriously threatened the personal safety of Vice-President Hsiao and her entourage,' and demanded an explanation and a public apology. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, denied any wrongdoing, saying Chinese diplomats 'always observe the laws and regulations of host countries.' Guo accused the Czech government of 'grossly interfering in China's internal affairs' by allowing Hsiao to visit and labelled her a 'diehard Taiwan independence separatist' — a designation for which China has previously threatened the death penalty.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Satellite image exposes China's use of structures in land grab efforts
China is using a series of steel structures to lay claim to a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, South Korea has claimed. Seoul is considering setting up countermeasures to three Chinese installations erected off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed 'deep concern' over what some experts have referred to as an encroachment on their territorial waters. Satellite images show that the sea rig has been installed in an area where the two nations' exclusive economic zones overlap. The structure, which is an old French oil rig with a helicopter landing pad, is located near the Chinese Shenlan-1 and Shenlan-2 platforms. They are all built in the Yellow Sea, which serves as a vital corridor for trade, fisheries and military navigation. South Korean officials said they conveyed their concerns to Chinese officials during a scheduled meeting on Wednesday. Beijing have insisted the structure is a fish farm support facility and dismissed any notion that it has to do with territorial rights. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said yesterday that the facility was 'in compliance with domestic and international law,' and 'unrelated to bilateral maritime delimitation.' 'The construction does not contravene the agreement between China and South Korea,' Guo told reporters, adding that Beijing was 'willing to work with Seoul to enhance dialogue and communication and properly address relevant issues.' 'The structure is within both Chinese and international law and does not violate the China-South Korea fisheries agreement,' the Chinese embassy in Seoul said in a statement last month. But South Korea's public broadcaster KBS have reported that Seoul's survey vessels have been prevented from approaching the strcutures by the Chinese coast guard. There are now growing worries among South Korean politicians and anti-Beijing campaigners that China is quietly infringing on foreign territory. Luke De Pulford, the Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told MailOnline: 'Beijing pretends not to be expansionist yet expends huge resources making ludicrous claims to other countries' territories and international waters. The Second Thomas Shoal, South China Sea, and now this. If we fail to deter this aggression, we will only have ourselves to blame when escalation follows.' The structures are located in the provisional measures zone, a disputed area where, under an agreement signed in 2001, fishing boats are permitted to operate. The agreement, however, expressly forbids the construction of facilities as well as searching for or developing natural resources in the area. In 2020, Beijing unilaterally declared the zone to be its 'internal waters'. Na Kyung-won (pictured), a member of parliament from South Korea's ruling People Power Party, said: 'What China is doing — installing artificial structures in disputed waters and blocking access — is a gangster-style tactic used in the South and East China Seas. It's clear they are now trying to turn the Yellow Sea into a grey zone to support their territorial claims. A firm and stern response is needed to address China's unfair attempts to change the status quo.' In 2014, China sparked similar fury after a Chinese oil platform carried out drilling within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. After a standoff between the two nations, China withdrew the platform a month earlier than originally planned. Beijing has also anchored large buoy's within Japan's exclusive economic zone, claiming they are weather and ocean monitoring devices. 'This is a clandestine tactic to claim our waters inch by inch and restrict the operations of the US-South Korea alliance,' Jaewoo Choo, head of the China Research Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Security think-tank in Seoul, told the Financial Times. Nam Sung-wook, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Korea University, added: 'We should have taken action sooner. 'If any country doesn't respond to such territorial issues immediately, it becomes a fait accompli.' Both countries agreed to continue consultations on the matter at all levels, with a mutual understanding that the issue should not hinder broader bilateral relations, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said. Last month UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'We are concerned by dangerous and destabilising activities by China in the South China Sea. The UK and world economy depends on these trade routes being safe and secure.'
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Satellite images reveal China's mysterious structures being used for territorial land grab
China is using a series of steel structures to lay claim to a disputed area of the Yellow Sea, South Korea has claimed. Seoul is considering setting up countermeasures to three Chinese installations erected off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed 'deep concern' over what some experts have referred to as an encroachment on their territorial waters. Satellite images show that the sea rig has been installed in an area where the two nations' exclusive economic zones overlap. The structure, which is an old French oil rig with a helicopter landing pad, is located near the Chinese Shenlan-1 and Shenlan-2 platforms. They are all built in the Yellow Sea, which serves as a vital corridor for trade, fisheries and military navigation. South Korean officials said they conveyed their concerns to Chinese officials during a scheduled meeting on Wednesday. Beijing have insisted the structure is a fish farm support facility and dismissed any notion that it has to do with territorial rights. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said yesterday that the facility was 'in compliance with domestic and international law,' and 'unrelated to bilateral maritime delimitation.' 'The construction does not contravene the agreement between China and South Korea,' Guo told reporters, adding that Beijing was 'willing to work with Seoul to enhance dialogue and communication and properly address relevant issues.' 'The structure is within both Chinese and international law and does not violate the China-South Korea fisheries agreement,' the Chinese embassy in Seoul said in a statement last month. But South Korea's public broadcaster KBS have reported that Seoul's survey vessels have been prevented from approaching the strcutures by the Chinese coast guard. There are now growing worries among South Korean politicians and anti-Beijing campaigners that China is quietly infringing on foreign territory. Luke De Pulford, the Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, told MailOnline: ' Beijing pretends not to be expansionist yet expends huge resources making ludicrous claims to other countries' territories and international waters. 'The Second Thomas Shoal, South China Sea, and now this. If we fail to deter this aggression, we will only have ourselves to blame when escalation follows.' The structures are located in the provisional measures zone, a disputed area where, under an agreement signed in 2001, fishing boats are permitted to operate. The agreement, however, expressly forbids the construction of facilities as well as searching for or developing natural resources in the area. In 2020, Beijing unilaterally declared the zone to be its 'internal waters'. Na Kyung-won, a member of parliament from South Korea's ruling People Power Party, said: 'What China is doing — installing artificial structures in disputed waters and blocking access — is a gangster-style tactic used in the South and East China Seas. 'It's clear they are now trying to turn the Yellow Sea into a grey zone to support their territorial claims. 'A firm and stern response is needed to address China's unfair attempts to change the status quo.' In 2014, China sparked similar fury after a Chinese oil platform carried out drilling within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. After a standoff between the two nations, China withdrew the platform a month earlier than originally planned. Beijing has also anchored large buoy's within Japan's exclusive economic zone, claiming they are weather and ocean monitoring devices. 'This is a clandestine tactic to claim our waters inch by inch and restrict the operations of the US-South Korea alliance,' Jaewoo Choo, head of the China Research Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Security think-tank in Seoul, told the Financial Times. Nam Sung-wook, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Korea University, added: 'We should have taken action sooner. 'If any country doesn't respond to such territorial issues immediately, it becomes a fait accompli.' Both countries agreed to continue consultations on the matter at all levels, with a mutual understanding that the issue should not hinder broader bilateral relations, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
South China Morning Post
18-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Denying anti-China MP entry may be bad press but perfectly justified
British politicians like Wera Hobhouse make a living by kicking up a fuss. So when Hong Kong authorities denied her entry at the airport, naturally, it presented the perfect opportunity. Advertisement Now the Liberal Democrat member of parliament has made so much noise even the Foreign Secretary David Lammy is on the case, demanding an explanation. She said it was because China wanted to shut her up. What, by giving her a perfect excuse to broadcast her 'ordeal' for the UK media to lap it up? Well, I have an explanation for Lammy and Hobhouse. The Lib Dem is a key member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), a malignant propaganda outfit filled with European and US political hacks pretending to be activists. Usually, you have activists fighting politicians but these guys like to cosplay as they are heavily funded by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, essentially an outlet for the island's independence, and the National Endowment for Democracy, a US congressional-funded body pretending to be an independent NGO – according to a 2021 investigation by Junge Welt, a German left-wing publication. The way Hobhouse told it, you would have thought Hong Kong immigration officials strip-searched and cattle-prodded her. Officials said she was questioned but refused to cooperate. She said she behaved like a perfect lady. In the event, her husband was allowed into the city but decided to join her on the flight back home. She said it was supposed to be a private visit to see their son and newborn grandchild. Advertisement I don't want to second-guess immigration officers, but I would have let her in after questioning. She would still have made a fuss just for being questioned but it would have perfectly exposed her hypocrisy and that of Ipac. Apparently her son has decided to work and raise a family in Hong Kong since 2019. But isn't Hong Kong supposed to be like George Orwell's 1984 now?
