Lai is objectively fucked in his own legislature. Both the KMT and TPP are opposed to the DPP (enough to set aside their own differences)… And they hold the majority in the legislature.
He’s deflecting on a fucking non-issue because he doesn’t want to admit that his policy of antagonizing China isn’t working and the opposition (KMT+TPP) have increasing power.
The facts are that Lai’s legislature is a fucking mess domestically. It’s breaking out into fistfights, people are trying to steal away bills to prevent them getting passed, and the KMT+TPP are much more unified than expected.
Lai was only elected because of FPTP and he needs to project legitimacy in the face of the KMT+TPP opposition (who, together, received something like 60% of the vote). This is him attempting to do so.
Chinese police hunting international corruption targets were allowed into Australia by the federal police and subsequently escorted a woman back to China for trial, in a major breach of Chinese-Australian police protocols....
Fraud in China has far worse consequences than fraud in Australia. Even if I were to be arrested, I’d prefer it to happen in Australia where I can get off with a slap on the wrist.
The primary purpose of Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to Hungary might be to ensure that Hungary can help China gain market share in the EU, as Beijing and Budapest prepare to sign a total of 16 bilateral agreements....
While the developed world rests on its laurels having already developed key technologies that insulate from the worst effects of climate change, the Global South is attempting to push through rapid industrialization to achieve the same effects, bringing with it public infrastructure, electricity, robust food supply, reliable transportation, healthcare…
Meanwhile, the developed world looks at the Global South and says “ah, but why aren’t you being greener about it? despicable! how dare you raise emissions?” while simultaneously restricting the free trade of essential green economy components like solar panels and batteries. The fact is, we don’t actually care about climate change. Our political entities and economies are not structured to reward innovation in that space, so we simply end up pulling teeth to push through minor advances. Germany used to be a world leader in solar panels before it stagnated due to political pressure. The US used to be a world leader in developing nuclear before it stagnated due to political pressure. Japan used to be the world leader in batteries before it stagnated due to, well, Japan.
At the invitation of H.E. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, paid a state visit to France from May 5 to 7, 2024. The two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East:...
An Australian pilot was forced to take evasive action after a Chinese military jet detonated flares close to a Navy helicopter that was operating in international waters near South Korea....
The UN panel to monitor sanctions on North Korea ended in April. Australia has no mandate to monitor North Korea at this time.
The Yellow Sea is also not a body of water for which “innocent passage” is typically needed. It’s a dead end body of water.
Moreover, if Australia was on UN business, there’s an expectation that they should report their business to Chinese authorities to avoid this exact type of incident.
I’m actually glad you asked. The area where the Australian helicopter was intercepted was in China’s EEZ, near China’s territorial sea.
Normally, there are no restrictions for aircraft’s innocent passage through another country’s EEZ. This statement holds for the Yellow Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, etc.
However, this is true specifically for innocent passage and overflight. Australia claims they were in China’s EEZ to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea. The UN panel for monitoring sanctions on North Korea was disbanded last month, so Australia lacks the UN mandate to justify their presence. Moreover, spying monitoring is very distinctly not innocent passage, and sailing an armed vehicle through is also distinctly not innocent passage. Moreover, the Yellow Sea has no real candidate places to pass to, so Australia is hardly just passing through.
Of course, Australia could have also completed the entire mission within South Korea’s EEZ (a country that’s allied with Australia),
Or, put another way: if China parked their aircraft carriers 12 nautical miles from Taipei and started flying jets and helicopters within the EEZ but outside of the territorial sea, what do you think the response would be? If China launched a balloon that skirted around Taiwanese sovereign airspace but within Taiwan’s EEZ, what do you think the response would be? “Just let it slide”?
Falls under “freedom of overflight,” which necessitates that when entering another country’s EEZ you must
shall have due regard to the rights and duties of the coastal state
shall comply with the laws and regulations adopted by the coastal state
Per these stipulations, overflight is meant to be for peaceful purposes, not for e.g. spying, military coercion, etc. These are, more or less, the same conditions granted for innocent passage. Moreover, overflight often requires clearing with the government as per local laws and regulations.
There’s an open debate in international law as to whether surveillance is considered a peaceful purpose… But if someone dropped sonar buoys (“surveillance”) 12 miles out of Honolulu Harbor, you’d probably throw a fit.
Again, as I’ll repeat, flares are literally described by the FAA as a way to intercept aircraft. The US has used them against Russian aircraft, but in fact the US also does so to intercept civilian aircraft!
Current statements are that the helicopter was in “breach of Chinese EEZ” (Peter Cronau, ABC) and “within close range of Chinese airspace” (Chinese Foreign Ministry). Notably, the Australians have ignored calls by the British to release videos or GPS data on the incident.
Motherfucker are you dumb, blind, or arguing in bad faith? Literally your own exact motherfucking source says this.
Articles 88 to 115 and other pertinent rules of international law apply to the exclusive economic zone in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part.
In exercising their rights and performing their duties under this Convention in the exclusive economic zone, States shall have due regard to the rights and duties of the coastal State and shall comply with the laws and regulations adopted by the coastal State in accordance with the provisions of this Convention and other rules of international law in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part.
UNCLOS Article 58.2 and 58.3
Jesus Christ if you’re going to argue in bad faith at least make an effort.
Australia claims they were flying there for surveillance to enforce sanctions on North Korea. UNCLOS stipulates what internationally lawful uses of the sea are (including freedom of navigation, overflight), and it’s difficult to argue that foreign surveillance falls under that definition. Notably, surveillance does not fall under overflight, as overflight stipulates that no activities are conducted over the flyover that are not related to the flyover itself.
Your claim is that military surveillance is an internationally lawful use. That’s insane. Your interpretation would allow Chinese and Russian aircraft to surveil within 12 miles of the US mainland, drop maritime survey beacons outside of key harbours (to spot submarines and map out the harbour), and do acrobatics within view of major US cities.
Again, dropping warning flares in front of an aircraft to intercept is standard policy. It’s not even worthy of mention most of the time, and it’s described in FAA rules.
China’s navy is by no means advanced enough to project power halfway across the globe. It’s not been designed to do so, either: most of China’s navy is designed to repel a naval invasion near Chinese waters.
It’s considered breaking news and a gross overstep when China flies over an arbitrary EEZ line in the Taiwan Strait to enter another EEZ for even a second. That should tell you all you need to know about China’s confidence in its own capabilities.
The US Coast Guard recently released images of a fleet of four ships of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sailing near a US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands
Friendly Father: South Korea bans TikTok hit idolising Kim Jong Un (www.bbc.com)
Norway, Ireland and Spain say they are recognizing a Palestinian state in historic move (apnews.com)
EU hit as China launches tit-for-tat anti-dumping probe (www.euronews.com)
Thermoplastics coming from the US, the EU, Taiwan and Japan are sold at prices below fair market value, says Beijing....
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Warrant Applications by the International Criminal Court (www.whitehouse.gov)
Full statement:...
'Stop threatening Taiwan', its new president William Lai tells China (www.bbc.com)
Taiwan’s newly inaugurated president William Lai has called on China to stop threatening the island and accept the existence of its democracy....
Slovakia’s populist prime minister shot multiple times in attempted assassination (apnews.com)
Chinese police were allowed into Australia to speak with a woman. They breached protocol and escorted her back to China (www.abc.net.au)
Chinese police hunting international corruption targets were allowed into Australia by the federal police and subsequently escorted a woman back to China for trial, in a major breach of Chinese-Australian police protocols....
Is China using Hungary as its bridgehead in Europe? (www.euronews.com)
The primary purpose of Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to Hungary might be to ensure that Hungary can help China gain market share in the EU, as Beijing and Budapest prepare to sign a total of 16 bilateral agreements....
77% of Top Climate Scientists Think 2.5°C of Warming Is Coming—And They're Horrified (www.commondreams.org)
“I expect a semi-dystopian future with substantial pain and suffering for the people of the Global South,” one expert said.
Neom: Forces 'told to kill’ to clear land for eco-city (www.bbc.com)
Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project....
Full text: China-France Joint Statement on the Situation in the Middle East (www.chinadaily.com.cn)
At the invitation of H.E. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, paid a state visit to France from May 5 to 7, 2024. The two heads of state had an in-depth exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East:...
Australian helicopter forced to take evasive action after Chinese fighter detonates flares (www.abc.net.au)
An Australian pilot was forced to take evasive action after a Chinese military jet detonated flares close to a Navy helicopter that was operating in international waters near South Korea....