Category: China

How cute the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea all got to cosplay that their countries defeated Imperial Japan during World War II:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stood shoulder to shoulder with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping at center stage at a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, marking the first such meeting among leaders of Pyongyang, Moscow and Beijing in 66 years.

The spectacle of Kim standing with Putin and Xi at the viewing gallery of Tiananmen Square marks a major display of their trilateral solidarity in defiance of the West, led by the United States.

Wearing a black business suit and a gold-colored tie, Kim joined Xi and Putin on the center stage at the rostrum for top-level guests as the parade kicked off with elaborate ceremonies at Tiananmen Square — a historic moment showcasing solidarity among China, Russia and North Korea.

Putin was seated on Xi’s right and Kim on his left, with Xi occasionally turning toward Kim to talk, their bodies angled toward each other.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Russia is really the only country of the three that can say it did anything to defeat Imperial Japan. They at least fought the Imperial Japanese during the last days of World War II in Manchuria and North Korea when they had already been largely defeated by the U.S. and its allies.

By the way here is what Trump had to say about the parade:

U.S. President Donald Trump described the parade as Kim, Putin and Xi conspiring against Washington, writing a message on his social media account addressed to Xi: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America.”

As long as China remains threatening to its South China Sea neighbors, the U.S. should base anti-ship and aircraft missiles throughout the Philippines:

The United States is discussing the possible deployment of more missile launchers to the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against aggression in the disputed South China Sea and other Asian security hotspots, but no final decision has been reached by both sides, Manila’s ambassador to Washington said Thursday.

The U.S. military delivered a mid-range missile system called the Typhon, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, to the northern Philippines as part of joint combat exercises in April last year. That was followed by the transport by the U.S. military of an anti-ship missile launcher in April this year to the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, just a sea border away from Taiwan.

Beijing strongly protested the installation of the U.S. missile systems, saying they were aimed at containing China’s rise and warning that these would threaten regional stability. China has asked the Philippines to withdraw the missile launchers from its territory, but officials led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had rejected the demand.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is an interesting article on how Chinese intelligence agencies are using organized crime groups in China to spy on U.S. military facilities in Palau:

Complicating that plan, however, is a Chinese-owned hotel overlooking Malakal Harbor that U.S. and Palauan officials worry could be used for surveillance.

Across Palau, Chinese businesses and developers have leased land near a half-dozen strategic locations where the United States is beefing up efforts to detect and deter China’s growing reach into the region, according to intelligence and security documents and interviews with 20 American, Palauan and Taiwanese officials.

A months-long Washington Post investigation found that Chinese businesses have leased land or built properties for tourism developments near the port, the airport, a U.S. coastal surveillance outpost and a U.S. “over the horizon” radar system. (Palauan law doesn’t allow foreigners to buy land, but they can lease it for up to 99 years.)

Washington Post

It’s a long read, but I recommend reading the rest at the link. If the Chinese are using organized crime groups to spy on Palau it makes me wonder where else are they doing this?

This case makes me wonder how much of this CAC fraud is going on that we don’t know about that is allowing Chinese access to U.S. military facilities:

A Navy reservist this week pleaded guilty to bribing a Naval Air Station Jacksonville official to provide fraudulent military identification cards to two ineligible individuals with links to China, according to the Justice Department. Raymond Zumba admitted to a federal judge that he had tried to bribe an official who is the spouse of a former shipmate he had served with previously while on active duty.

He attempted to pay $3,500 to the official in exchange for making the “real, but unauthorized” identification cards that would grant access to military bases, according to the DOJ. The IDs were for two individuals, including a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China and a Chinese national who the Justice Department accused of entering the United States without authorization and living under an assumed name. Zumba, 27, of New York City, faces up to 15 years in prison for the charge of bribery of a public official. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, officials said.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Chinese Communist Party is going to pretend they had anything to do with defeating the Imperial Japanese during World War II and they are inviting President Lee to join them in their delusion:

The South Korean government is weighing whether President Lee Jae Myung should attend China’s military parade, held in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan during World War II.

This will be another diplomatic test for the Lee administration, as the invitation, extended amid heightened regional tensions, reflects China’s efforts to reinforce its historical narratives and expand its regional influence. 

For South Korea, Lee’s potential attendance poses a delicate diplomatic balancing act — weighing the importance of its economic relationship with China against its security alliance with the United States and its deeply rooted historical tensions with Japan. Whether he accepts or declines could carry far-reaching implications for regional alignment and the evolving historical discourse in Northeast Asia.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the CCP during World War II sat back and did hardly anything against the Imperial Japanese invasion of China. Nearly all the fighting against the Japanese was from the Kuomintang that ruled China at the time.

If anything the CCP should be sending the Emperor of Japan a thank you card because the only reason the CCP took power was because World War II had so weakened the Kuomintang. The degradatoin of the Koumintang allowed the CCP to win the Chinese civil war and the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan where the civil war with the CCP continues from to this day. If anyone should be having a military parade to celebrate the defeat of the Imperial Japanese in China it is Taiwan.

With that all said President Lee should not attend a military parade for a country that is responsible for the current division of the Korean peninsula. If CCP troops had not intervened in the Korean War, Korea would be one country today and instead it is divided because of China.

Hopefully this guy receives the maximum punishment:

A former Army sergeant with an intelligence unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to sell military secrets to China, according to federal authorities. Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, faces penalties of up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each count of retention of national security information and attempt to deliver national security information, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said.

Stars & Stripes

Here is what this guy tried to do:

In his position, Schmidt had access to secret U.S. military information. He learned to speak Mandarin during his time in the Army and traveled at least once to China while off duty. After leaving the Army in early 2020, Schmidt contacted the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and visited Istanbul to interest Chinese intelligence officers in documents that he had taken from the Army. He also emailed Chinese security forces offering to turn over national defense information.

Schmidt moved to Hong Kong in March 2020 and contacted Chinese intelligence services again trying to pass classified information. He also offered to turn over a device that allows for access to secure U.S. military computer systems. In addition to the documents, Schmidt sought a position with the Chinese as an intelligence or security asset. During his time in China, he traveled to Beijing. Schmidt emailed information to news media in China affiliated with the government.

You can read more at the link.