Archive for ‘History’

19/08/2013

China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit

Reuters: “China summoned Japan’s ambassador on Thursday to lodge a strong complaint after two Japanese cabinet ministers publicly paid their respects at a controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Anti-Japan protesters carry posters depicting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as they march to the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The ministers’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine “seriously harms the feelings of the people in China and other Asian victim countries”, the ministry said in a statement.

Visits to the shrine by top Japanese politicians outrage China and South Korea because it honors 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal, along with war dead.

For Koreans, the shrine is a reminder of Japan’s brutal colonial rule from 1910-1945. China also suffered under Japanese occupation before and during World War Two.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin summoned Japanese ambassador Masato Kitera for an emergency meeting to lodge “stern representations and express strong opposition and severe condemnation”, the ministry said.

“The issue of the Yasukuni Shrine relates to whether or not Japan can correctly recognize and face up to the history of invasion of the Japanese militarists and whether or not they can respect the feelings of the people of China and the other victim nations in Asia,” the ministry said.”

via China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit | Reuters.

19/08/2013

China watches as India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier launched

India – one; China – zero!

19/08/2013

A gaffe-prone Japan is a danger to peace in Asia; China concerned

Are we inching towards a military confrontation between thes two East Asian powers?

31/07/2013

Divide Uttar Pradesh into four states, Mayawati says

As we said in our post yesterday – https://chindia-alert.org/2013/07/30/bbc-news-india-coalition-approves-new-state-of-telangana/, India now has double the states it started with after independence. And the more sub-divisions are approved, it seems that more ethnic/language groups want their own state.  Where will it all end?

Times of India: “The Bahujan Samaj Party demanded splitting of Uttar Pradesh into four smaller states on Wednesday, a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) urged the government to form a separate state of Telangana.

“We have always supported smaller states,” BSP chief Mayawati said here at a press conference.

She said Uttar Pradesh should be divided into four smaller states — Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Pashchim Pradesh.

English: Map of UP subregions. It has been bui...

English: Map of UP subregions. It has been built on the public domain work “Uttar Pradesh locator map.svg” in Wikipedia. This work is also public domain. Free for any and all use without any restrictions whatsoever. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“When this population is divided between four states, development will increase,” she said.

“Ministers in central government who hail from Uttar Pradesh should build pressure on the central government for formation of these states,” she added.”

via Divide Uttar Pradesh into four states, Mayawati says – The Times of India.

29/07/2013

China to Launch 24-Hour Live Web Broadcast of Pandas at Chengdu Research Base

WSJ: “To kittens and puppies, now add the latest species for couch potatoes to gush over: giant pandas.

China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has launched a free 24-hour live Internet broadcast of the cuddly critters, state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday.

Viewers can watch the pandas at the base in southwestern Sichuan province, part of their native domicile, via 28 cameras planted in five areas that will feed six channels: “garden for adult pandas,” “kindergarten,” “nursery for twins,” “mother-and-child playground,” “No.1 Villa” and “featured.”

In keeping with the bears’ famously laid-back characteristics, the broadcasts have an addictively soporific feel to them, based on China Real Time Report’s viewing of several clips the base posted as sneak peeks.

In one clip, two giant pandas sprawled motionless amid quivering leaves and small skittish birds on an elevated loft. About two minutes later, the angle shifted to a second camera, with the two pandas now seeking refuge from what appeared to be fairly tepid sunlight. In short order, another giant panda lay prone by a burbling stream, in the thrall of what appeared to be another pleasant nap.

The Chengdu base is home to more than 80 freely roaming giant pandas, so it’s unclear whether the subjects are different bears or the same few viewed from various angles.

A few minutes later, the panda by the stream changed his snoozing posture slightly. It’s a small maneuver, but rendered suddenly dramatic by the enervating lull of the video feed and the sheer celebrity of the monochromatic bear. So it comes as no surprise that the clips have already attracted nearly 15,000 viewers since their launch on June 24, Xinhua said.

“I’ve watched an entire morning of pandas eating bamboo, my appetite has improved!” a blogger called Janice Yi wrote on China’s Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo. “They eat, then they fight, and when they’re tired of fighting, they eat again, then they sleep, and a whole day passes.””

via China to Launch 24-Hour Live Web Broadcast of Pandas at Chengdu Research Base – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

29/07/2013

Japan’s top diplomat heads for China seeking better ties | Reuters

Reuters: “Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki will visit China on Monday and Tuesday for talks with senior officials, the latest in a series of efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve relations soured by a bitter territorial row.

Japan's chief envoy to the six-party talks Akitaka Saiki arrives at Beijing airport November 30, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The hawkish Abe, who cemented his grip on power in an upper house election last week, called on Friday for an unconditional meeting between Japanese and Chinese leaders.

On Sunday, Isao Iijima, an adviser to the premier, told reporters that Abe could soon hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Often fragile Sino-Japanese ties have been seriously strained since September, when a territorial row over tiny islands in the East China Sea flared following Japan’s nationalization of the uninhabited isles.

Concern that the conservative Japanese leader wants to recast Japan’s wartime history with a less apologetic tone has added to the tension.

“Vice Minister Saiki will visit China on July 29-30 and exchange views with Chinese officials,” a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said. He did not give further details.

China’s Foreign Ministry responded to Abe’s overture on Friday by saying its door was always open for talks but that the problem lay in Japan’s attitude.”

via Japan’s top diplomat heads for China seeking better ties | Reuters.

26/07/2013

India, China trying to develop mechanism to prevent face-off: AK Antony

Daulat Beg Oldi is in northernmost Ladakh.

Daulat Beg Oldi is in northernmost Ladakh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Times of India: “NEW DELHI: India and China are trying to develop effective mechanisms to prevent the “embarrassing” face-offs between their troops along the “disputed” points of the Line of Actual Control, defence minister AK Antony said here on Friday.

 

Terming the 21-day stand-off between the two sides in Depsang valley in Daulat Beg Oldi area as an “unusual” incident, the defence minister said the two countries will meet soon in Beijing to discuss issues and try to find a solution for such “unpleasant incidents”.

“Till the final settlement of the border issue, we are trying to find out more effective mechanisms to prevent occasional incidents. There are many points in the LAC that are disputed and they are patrolled by both sides. So, sometimes it leads to some face-off,” he told reporters on the 14th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.”

via India, China trying to develop mechanism to prevent face-off: AK Antony – The Times of India.

23/07/2013

China to expand imports from ASEAN members

Is this action based on genuine economic reasons or is it partly to diffuse China‘s tension with many ASEAN countries involved with the on–going maritime territorial disputes?

China Daily: “China pledged to increase its imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as bilateral trade started to favor China in the second half of 2012, Vice-Minister of Commerce Gao Yan told a news briefing on Tuesday.

Emblem of ASEAN

Emblem of ASEAN (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

China will enhance trade facilitation through cooperation with ASEAN members in areas including customs and quality checking while sending purchasing groups for agricultural products from ASEAN members, Gao said.

In addition, exhibitions, including the 10th CAEXPO to be held September 3-6 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, will serve as opportunities for ASEAN exporters to expand their sales to China, she added.

China is the biggest trade partner of ASEAN and bilateral trade hit $400.1 billion in 2012, with Chinese exports totaling $204.3 billion and imports of $195.8 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $8.5 billion. China previously had a trade deficit with ASEAN, Gao said.”

via China to expand imports from ASEAN members |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn.

19/07/2013

Strike Force Would Allow ‘War on Two Fronts’

WSJ: “The Indian government this week reportedly paved the way for the creation of a new military corps of 50,000 troops near its border with China. If correct, analysts say this is a sign that New Delhi, which has been largely focused on its frontier with Pakistan, is now shifting its attention to the long, disputed Sino-Indian boundary.

Government sources were quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying a new mountain strike corps costing nearly $11 billion over seven years, was approved by India’s cabinet committee on security Wednesday. The committee is headed by India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The force will be headquartered at Panagarh, in the eastern state of West Bengal, the news agency reported. Attempts to confirm these reports with India’s ministries of defense and external affairs were not successful.

The creation of a strike corps would give India thousands of war-ready soldiers, trained and equipped to respond rapidly to a military threat, stationed close to the border between India and China, known as the Line of Actual Control.

Analysts say it would take five to seven years for such a force to be formed fully, as large numbers of soldiers would need to be recruited and trained for combat at high altitudes and in mountainous terrains.

“The process will be incremental,” said Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor in Chinese studies at the New-Delhi based Jawaharlal Nehru University. “There won’t be large-scale training, because there is no immediate threat.”

For decades, relations between India and China have been characterized by mistrust. The tensions boiled over into a war between the two in 1962, which China won by gaining control over a large swathe of Indian territory known as Aksai China.

Beijing is still in control of the 38,000 square kilometers of land, but Indian maps show Aksai Chin as a part of Jammu and Kashmir, it’s northernmost state. China also claims 90,000 square kilometers of land in Arunachal Pradesh, a state in India’s northeast.

Neither nation has shown any inclination to return to armed conflict since, but India’s decision to create a strike corps – which analysts say has been in the offing for over two years – reflects New Delhi’s growing concern that Beijing is becoming increasingly assertive in its territorial claims.

via Strike Force Would Allow ‘War on Two Fronts’ – India Real Time – WSJ.

11/07/2013

China plans world’s longest sea tunnel at $42 billion

Reuters: “China will invest 260 billion yuan, or about $42 billion, to revive a long-stalled plan to build the world’s longest undersea tunnel across the Bohai Strait linking the country’s eastern and northeastern regions, state media said on Thursday.

The 123-km (76.4-mile) tunnel will run from the port city of Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province to Yantai city in eastern Shandong, the China Economic Net website said.

The report did not say when the project will be completed.

China announced plans in 1994 to build the tunnel, at a cost of $10 billion, and set to be completed before 2010. But more than 20 years on, the project remains stuck in the planning stage, the website said, without elaborating.

At the time, state media said the tunnel would shorten the travelling distance between the two regions by 620 miles.

The costs could be recouped in 12 years, said Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, who estimated annual revenues from the tunnel at around 20 billion yuan, the website said. “Freight is very profitable,” Wang said.”

via China plans world’s longest sea tunnel at $42 billion -report | Reuters.

See alsohttps://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/chinas-infrastructure/

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