World

Overconfident China could make miscalculations, UK spy chief says

An overconfident and assertive China under President Xi Jinping and Communist Party rule risks making miscalculations on the international stage, including underestimating the resolve of the United States, Britain’s spy chief said on Tuesday.

In his first major public speech as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) known as MI6, Richard Moore said China and Russia were racing to master technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The world’s spy masters, from Langley to Moscow, are grappling with the transformation of China into a superpower challenging the post-Cold War dominance of the United States militarily, economically and increasingly in espionage.

“Adapting to a world affected by the rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6,” Moore, 58, said in a speech in London.

Listing areas where Beijing has become more assertive, he singled out China’s desire to “resolve the Taiwan issue, by force if necessary” as “a serious challenge to global stability and peace”. China considers the democratically-ruled island to be part of its territory.

China had stripped Hong Kong citizens of rights, carried out abuses in its western Xinjiang province and was trying “to distort public discourse and political decision making across the globe”, Moore said.

“Beijing believes its own propaganda about Western frailties and underestimates Washington’s resolve,” he said. “The risk of Chinese miscalculation through over-confidence is real.”

The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moore’s remarks.

China has repeatedly hit back at Western criticism of its actions, saying that the path set by its Communist Party has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It denies abuses in Xinjiang, says former British colony Hong Kong faces a security threat from secessionists, and accuses the United States of creating tension over Taiwan.

China in 1979 had an economy that was smaller than Italy’s, but after opening to foreign investment and introducing market reforms it has become the world’s second-largest economy, a rapid rise with few parallels in history.

Moore, who joined MI6 in the 1980s and worked under diplomatic cover in Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran, said technological progress over the next decade could outstrip progress over the past century.

“Our adversaries are pouring money and ambition into mastering artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology, because they know that mastering these technologies will give them leverage,” Moore said.

Moore also lamented the dire state of relations between Britain and Russia, saying his first memories were as a child growing up in Moscow in the 1960s, as his father had been posted to the Soviet Union.

“I have a deep respect for Russia’s history and culture and people,” Moore said. “The current difficult relationship with Russia is not the one the UK wants. But we will do whatever it takes to keep our country safe and to deter and defend against the full spectrum of threats Moscow poses.”

Read more: America and its Enemy No. 1

World

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria warn they can respond to further US strikes

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement late Friday that they have a “long arm” to respond to further US strikes on their positions, after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria over the last 24 hours.

The statement, signed by the Iranian Advisory Committee in Syria, said US strikes had left several fighters dead and wounded, without specifying their nationality.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“We have the capability to respond if our centers and forces in Syria are targeted,” the statement said.

Biden vows ‘forceful’ response to Iranian attacks on US troops in Middle East

World

US warns China’s promises often empty as Honduras wavers on Taiwan

China often makes promises in exchange for recognition that remain unfulfilled, the de facto US embassy in Taipei said on Saturday as Honduras moves ahead with ending its long-standing ties with Taiwan in favor of China.

The Honduran foreign minister travelled to China this week to open relations after President Xiomara Castro said her government would move to forge ties with Beijing, Honduras being one of only 14 countries to formally recognize Taiwan.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

At stake is China’s growing footprint in Central America, once a steadfast base for Taiwan and where the United States is worried about Beijing’s expanding influence in its backyard.

China views Taiwan as one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly disputes.

The American Institute in Taiwan said that while Honduras’ possible severing of ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing was a sovereign decision, China does not always follow through on its promises.

“It is important to note the PRC often makes promises in exchange for diplomatic recognition that ultimately remain unfulfilled,” a spokesperson said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

“Regardless of Honduras’ decision, the United States will continue to deepen and expand our engagement with Taiwan in line with our longstanding one China policy,” the spokesperson added.

Taiwan is a reliable, likeminded, and democratic partner, and its partnerships globally provide “significant and sustainable benefits to the citizens of those countries”.

“We strongly encourage all countries to expand engagement with
Taiwan and to continue to stand on the side of democracy, good governance, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law.”

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has previously said its relations with Taiwan’s former diplomatic allies have brought them real benefits.

The Honduras drama is happening ahead of a high-profile visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America next week. Tsai is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles at the end of the trip.

The United States also has no official ties with Taiwan but is the island’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

Neither China nor Honduras has announced they have established diplomatic relations.

Diplomatic sources in Taipei say this is a departure from previous practice whereby an announcement on severing ties with Taiwan in favour of China normally happens very fast, with Taipei getting only maybe a few hours notice beforehand.

Honduras demanded $2.5 bln in Taiwan aid before China announcement: Source

World

Biden says China ‘hasn’t yet’ delivered arms to Russia

US President Joe Biden on Friday said he believed China has not sent arms to Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine.

“I’ve been hearing now for the past three months (that) China is going to provide significant weapons to Russia… They haven’t yet. Doesn’t mean they won’t, but they haven’t yet,” he told a news conference during a visit to Canada.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“I don’t take China lightly. I don’t take Russia lightly,” he added, while also suggesting that reports of their rapprochement had probably been “exaggerated.”

Conversely, Biden stressed the strong ties among Western democracies, saying “if anything’s happened, the West has coalesced significantly more.”

He pointed to US security alliances in the Pacific region such as the Quad which also includes Australia, India and Japan and as well as AUKUS with Australia and Britain.

During a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow this week, Russia and Beijing for their part hailed “the special nature” of their relations.

But while China’s leader pledged a trade lifeline and some moral support, more conspicuous was that he did not commit to providing arms for Russia’s depleted forces in Ukraine, a move that would have invited Western sanctions on China.

There was also no long-term Chinese commitment to buy vast quantities of Russian gas that is no longer flowing to Europe.