Beijing — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday congratulated new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his election, state media reported, the first senior leader in Beijing to do so publicly.

China is “willing to work with the new U.K. government to consolidate mutual political trust and expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” Li told Starmer, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Their call came after days of silence from top officials in Beijing, with the Chinese foreign ministry saying only that it noted the results of the U.K. election. 

By comparison, Chinese leader Xi Jinping congratulated Iran’s incoming President Masoud Pezeshkian just hours after his election Saturday.

China was Britain’s fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to the U.K. Department for Business and Trade.

But diplomatic relations between the two countries have been icy in recent years, with Beijing and London sparring over tightening communist control in former British colony Hong Kong.

The two sides have also traded accusations of espionage, with Beijing saying last month that MI6 had recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the U.K.

Xinhua reported Sunday that Li told Starmer that the “strengthening of bilateral coordination and cooperation was in the interests of both sides.”
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Washington — The NATO summit scheduled for this week will include a discussion among the allies about strengthening security ties with South Korea and Japan against deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, experts said.

The leaders of 32 NATO members will convene in Washington July 9 to 11 to discuss ways to provide continued military support to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia, which invaded more than two years ago.

Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea — sometimes referred to as the Indo-Pacific 4 or IP4 — are invited to the NATO summit. The United States, Japan and South Korea plan to meet on the sidelines of the summit.

Among the items that analysts expect NATO to discuss with Japan and South Korea is the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

“The Russian-North Korean agreement is a problem for both NATO countries and for the countries in the Northeast Asia,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation.

“I expect that it will be discussed at this meeting. It may become a critical aspect of the meeting, if, by that time, intelligence is saying that North Korea is sending many military personnel to support Russia in Ukraine,” Bennett said.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defense pact in Pyongyang last month, some speculated that North Korea could dispatch army engineers to Russian-occupied Donetsk to rebuild the war-torn region.

Pentagon press secretary Major General Patrick Ryder said at a press conference on June 25 that the U.S. is keeping an eye on a possible dispatch of troops but warned North Korea about sending military forces, saying they would be “cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine.”

North Korea on June 27 renewed its support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying, “We will always be on the side of the Russian army” in “the war of justice.”

Both Washington and Seoul have estimated that Pyongyang sent about 10,000 containers of munitions to Russia. Moscow and Pyongyang denied arms exchanges between the two.

But in the defense pact that Putin and Kim signed last month, they agreed to set up ways to bolster their defense capabilities and openly announced possible military and technical cooperation.

“NATO members will discuss the implications of closer Russia-North Korea relations and how best to respond, including in terms of risks and opportunities,” said Matthew Brummer, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo.

“Risks primarily include material outcomes, such as how North Korea involvement will come to bear on warfighting in Ukraine. But there are also opportunities to be exploited, including how to use increased North Korea involvement to drive a wedge between China and Russia,” he said.

“The reemerging axis between China, Russia and North Korea has most certainly precipitated the security link between Europe and Asia. As a result, I expect increased NATO involvement in East Asia, especially with Japan, which is the world’s greatest latent military power,” Brummer said.

Beijing said that it is keeping “a close eye” on the NATO summit and that it hopes the summit does not “target any third party.”

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Tuesday that “the Asia-Pacific lies beyond the geographical scope of the North Atlantic” and that “NATO’s attempt to make eastward inroads into the Asia-Pacific will inevitably undermine regional peace and stability.”

“The countries and people in this region are on high alert against this and firmly oppose any words or actions designed to bring military blocs into this region and stoke division and confrontation,” he said.

The U.S. State Department did not respond to an inquiry by VOA’s Korean Service seeking a response to Beijing’s comments.

Luis Simon, director of the Elcano Royal Institute in Brussels, Belgium, said he would not rule out NATO countries conducting joint military exercises with its East Asian partners “in the Korean Peninsula context rather than in a China context” because it offers “diplomatically an easier entry point.”

At the same time, he said, “It will be more with NATO allies rather than the NATO as a whole because NATO as a whole is very clear about being laser focused” on defending Ukraine.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force announced on June 25 that it will hold a series of joint drills in July with Germany, Spain and France — all NATO members.

David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, also said that bilateral arrangements between South Korea and individual NATO countries could be possible as “a number of NATO countries are member states of the United Nations Command.”

The U.N. Command is a multinational military body created during the Korean War of 1950-53 to defend against North Korean aggression.

Some analysts said there are limits to NATO’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific.

“Most of the countries in NATO are focused on the Atlantic area, and those who have projection capabilities” that can go beyond that “have rather small ones,” said Barry Posen, Ford international professor of political science at MIT.

William Ruger, a nonresident senior fellow at Defense Priorities, said U.S. “capabilities, material and policy bandwidth” are not sufficient to deal with the security of both Europe and Asia.
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DHARAMSALA, India — In a monastery beneath snow-capped mountains in northern India, the Buddhist monk entrusted with protecting the Dalai Lama and foretelling his people’s future is concerned.

The Dalai Lama turns 89 on Saturday and China insists it will choose his successor as Tibet’s chief spiritual leader.

That has the Medium of Tibet’s Chief State Oracle contemplating what might come next.

“His Holiness is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, then there will be a fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth,” the medium, known as the Nechung, said. “In countries, leaders change, and then that story is over. But in Tibet it works differently.”

Tibetan Buddhists believe that learned monastics are reincarnated after death as newborns. The Dalai Lama, who is currently recuperating in the United States from a medical procedure, has said he will clarify questions about succession – including if and where he will be reincarnated – around his ninetieth birthday. As part of a reincarnation identification process, the medium will enter a trance to consult the oracle.

The incumbent Dalai Lama is a charismatic figure who popularized Buddhism internationally and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for keeping alive the Tibetan cause in exile. Beijing sees him as a dangerous separatist, though he has embraced what he calls a “Middle Way” of peacefully seeking genuine autonomy and religious freedom within China.

Any successor will be inexperienced and unknown on the global stage. That has sparked concerns about whether the movement will lose momentum or grow more radical amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington, long a source of bipartisan support for the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, Tibet’s government-in-exile.

The CTA and its partners in the West, as well as India, which has hosted the Dalai Lama in the Himalayan foothills for more than six decades, are preparing for a future without his influential presence.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to soon sign a bill that requires the State Department to counter what it calls Chinese “disinformation” that Tibet, which was annexed by the People’s Republic of China in 1951, has been part of China since ancient times.

“China wants recognition that Tibet has been part of China … throughout history, and this bill is suggesting that it would be relatively easy for Tibet supporters to get a western government to refuse to give recognition for such an extensive claim,” said Tibet specialist Robert Barnett of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

U.S. lawmakers, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, visited the Dalai Lama in June to celebrate Congress passing the legislation, which Sikyong Penpa Tsering, who heads the CTA, called a “breakthrough.”

The bill is part of a strategic shift away from emphasizing Chinese rights violations such as forced assimilation, the Sikyong, or political leader, told Reuters. Since 2021, CTA has lobbied two dozen countries including the U.S., to publicly undermine Beijing’s narrative that Tibet has always been part of China, he said.

With U.S. weight behind this strategy, the exiles hope to push China to the negotiating table, he said. “If every country keeps saying that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, then where is the reason for China to come and talk to us?”

The Chinese foreign ministry said in response to Reuters’ questions that it would be open to discussions with the Dalai Lama about his “personal future” if he “truly gives up his position of splitting the motherland” and recognized Tibet as an unalienable part of China.

Beijing, which has not held official talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives since 2010, has also urged Biden not to sign the bill.

The office of the Dalai Lama, who has in recent years apologized for remarks he made about women and to a young child, referred an interview request to the Sikyong.

Succession questions

Most historians say Tibet was assimilated into the Mongol empire during the 13th-14th century Yuan dynasty, which also covered large parts of present day China. Beijing says that established its sovereign claim, though scholars believe the relationship varied greatly over the centuries and remote Tibet largely governed itself for much of the time.

The People’s Liberation Army marched into Tibet in 1950 and announced its “peaceful liberation.” After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, a young Dalai Lama fled into exile in India.

In 1995, atheist China and the Dalai Lama separately identified two boys as the Panchen Lama, the second-most-important Tibetan Buddhist leader. The Dalai Lama’s pick was taken away by Chinese authorities and has not been seen since.

Many Buddhists consider Beijing’s choice illegitimate, though most expect a similar parallel selection for the next Dalai Lama, given the Chinese government’s stance that he must reincarnate, and it must approve the successor.

Chinese authorities have “tried to insert themselves into the succession of the Dalai Lama but we will not let that happen,” said Michael McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during his Dharamsala visit.
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Washington — Leading U.S. technology companies reportedly have increased security screening of employees and job applicants, which experts say is necessary to counter the cyber espionage threat from China.

While the enhanced screening is being applied to employees and applicants of all races, those with family or other ties to China are thought to be particularly vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.

But at least one Chinese computer science graduate student at a U.S. university is hoping to make his ties to China an asset. Zheng, who does not want to reveal his first name for fear of retaliation from the Chinese government, says he recently changed his focus to cybersecurity in hopes of improving his job prospects in the United States.

“The goal is a bit high, but I think I know more about China as a person born and raised in China. I hope to become a force with my own characteristics in cybersecurity and a role in fighting against Chinese cyber-attacks,” said Zheng, who is seeking political asylum in the United States.

While Zheng said he is not very worried that increased security checks will affect his job prospects, he said many international students in his class worry that they will be shut out from cybersecurity jobs.

Google, OpenAI and Sequoia Capital are among a number of technology and venture capital firms that have stepped up security checks on employees and potential recruits, according to a recent report by The Financial Times.

The newspaper cited sources at those companies saying they were responding to warnings from the U.S. government about a growing threat from Chinese espionage over the past two years.

Chinese cyber espionage concerns

FBI Director Christopher Wray delivered one such message in a speech in April, saying the Chinese government has tried to steal “intellectual property, technology and research” from American industries.

In response, the U.S. government has stepped up security measures over the last two years, including updating its export control regulations to restrict China’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence. The strengthened warnings to U.S. companies are part of that response.

Ivan Kanapathy, senior vice president with Beacon Global Strategies, told VOA that Silicon Valley executives share the U.S. government’s concern. “In recent years, emerging technology companies have become more wary; they don’t want to fall victim to China’s technology absorption strategy,” he said.

“Companies can’t afford to help a competitor that will put them out of business. We’ve seen that happen across many industries already. It’s only natural for American and other allied cutting-edge companies to be concerned and take steps to mitigate the risks of PRC state-sponsored espionage,” he said.

Ray Wang, CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc., said that the theft of American intellectual property has become more rampant since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and that people with ties to China were often targeted.

“During COVID, many folks with relatives in China were put in compromising positions where they were asked to do things for the Chinese government, or one’s relatives would be put at risk,” Wang said. “China has infiltrated almost every aspect of the U.S., and the U.S. is facing systemic problems.”

Kanapathy said China might also obtain American technology through talent poaching, meaning they recruit someone with experience in a particular technology and ask the person to take the technology to start a new company in China. Although it is ethically questionable, it is sometimes legal.

“China likely also tries to place its own people, including engineers, into certain companies that have desirable technologies. It’s a multipronged strategy,” he said.

In a statement to VOA, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu acknowledged the accusations but said the U.S. government “is short on delivering solid evidence.”

“We firmly oppose to the groundless accusations and smears towards China and hope the relevant parties can view China’s development objectively and fairly,” he wrote.

Liu also pointed out that the World Intellectual Property Organization last year named China as the world’s highest ranking middle-income economy and 12th overall in terms of independently creating intellectual property rights.

“China’s scientific and technological achievements are never made through ‘stealing.’ The Chinese people, including our intellectuals, made such achievements with our talent and hard work,” he wrote.

Security screening concerns

While the enhanced security reviews usually apply to all employees, Wang said. Google and OpenAI have imposed stricter reviews for Chinese employees, and Microsoft is transferring some of its most important Chinese engineers from China to other regions of the world; NVIDIA has also been highly vigilant in screening.

Microsoft employees in China, mostly involved with cloud computing, were recently offered the opportunity to work in the United States, Australia or Ireland, among other countries, state-run outlet said in a report. The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft asked as many as 800 employees, mostly engineers with Chinese nationality working on cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating.

He said companies should exercise caution to avoid triggering xenophobia.

“So almost every new worker, not just Chinese nationals, should undergo the same vetting process. I think it’s really important. As Asian Americans, we have to be very careful about those implications,” he said.

So far, that has not been a problem for Joey Wu, a Chinese software engineer in California. Wu told VOA he has not seen stringent measures exercised against Chinese people, nor has he been treated differently due to his Chinese citizenship.

“I think the U.S. is relatively tolerant and open,” Wu said. “It is not easy for a large technology company to have so many foreign employees. Chinese companies, such as Huawei, are full of Chinese faces, with very few foreigners, and it is unlikely that Americans will be hired to play a more important role.”

Kanapathy pointed out that the founders of many technology companies are from China or India themselves, and these are the people who request security checks on Chinese citizens.

VOA contacted Google, OpenAI and Sequoia Capital for comments but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

VOA’s Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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TEL AVIV — “Thank goodness she got her hug,” was the first thought that went through my mind when news of Liora Argamani’s death was announced Tuesday morning.

Liora, born Lee Tchuin Hung in Wuhan, China, was former Israeli hostage Noa Argamani’s mother. She battled brain cancer for years and succumbed to the disease in a Tel Aviv hospital overnight Monday.

I met Liora Argamani in October, mere days after her daughter was abducted by Gaza militants from the NOVA dance party she was attending with her boyfriend Avinatan Or. A video of the younger Argamani and her boyfriend’s abduction and her mother’s plea for Noa’s life as she was forcibly driven on a motorbike toward Gaza went viral.

On the day I visited the Argamani family home in Israel’s Beer Sheba desert, dozens of family members, social workers, community members, Noa Argamani’s closest friends and clergy affiliates were moving around inside the house and on the front patio. A professional caretaker helped Liora navigate, pushing her walker with one arm while moving to a private room for our interview. Her other arm was in a sling.

A friend of the family confided: “Her brain cancer relapsed. She battled it for years and it went into remission but now it’s back and as you can see, it’s affecting her arm and she has lost a lot of weight.”

Liora was born in Wuhan and moved to Israel after meeting her future husband, Yaakov. Noa, their only child, was born and brought up in Israel.

Liora spoke to me in Mandarin because she hoped that despite her lapsed Chinese citizenship, an appeal might be seen by someone in China’s government who might be motivated to intervene on Noa’s behalf and pressure Hamas for her daughter’s release.

Liora was composed and smiled brightly throughout most of the interview as she described the “strong, bold qualities” she felt certain would guarantee her daughter’s survival in captivity. She disclosed information about Noa’s growing up and showed me pictures of a toddler and elementary-school-age Noa. Liora also shared her vision of a reunion.

“I’ve imagined that scene so many times,” she said, her face brightening with a broad smile. “First, I’ll give her a very big hug. And for sure we’ll need to give her a big party.”

As the months dragged on and the war in Gaza expanded with scant information about the fate of hundreds of Hamas-held hostages, a party, hug and hope seemed remote.

Noa was not among 105 hostages released in November 2023 as part of an Israel-Hamas deal.

In late November, Liora released a video appeal to her captors.

“I have cancer, brain cancer,” she said in a message recorded while sitting in a wheelchair in a Tel Aviv apartment near her cancer treatment clinic. Liora Argamani appeared gaunt and exhausted in the clip.

“I don’t know how much time I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa at home,” she beseeched.

At that stage, no sign of life from Noa had surfaced from Gaza. Then in mid-January, Hamas released a propaganda video showing hostages Itai Svirsky, Yossi Sharabi and Noa Argamani calling directly for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war in Gaza and save their lives.

In March, Liora Argamani released a second video appeal, this time directed at U.S. President Joe Biden. Face swollen beyond recognition and right eye squeezed shut due to seeming neurological side effects caused by the terminal cancer, Argamani struggled to speak in mixed Hebrew and English.

“I’m asking you, Joe Biden. I don’t have much time left in this world. It may be my last wish. I am really begging you. Please help me.”

Two months later, Hamas released another propaganda recording — this time of Noa’s voice — urging Tel Aviv residents to take to the streets in protest until a hostage release was secured. “Please don’t let Netanyahu and his government kill us,” she said in the recording.

Eight days later, Noa Argamani and three other hostages were rescued by the Israeli army in a dramatic raid after eight months in captivity. According to members of the unit that carried out the operation, one of Noa’s first questions after being secured was whether her mother was still alive.

Hours after being helicoptered from Gaza to freedom, Noa was flown to her mother’s bedside at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital.

Undergoing de-briefings and mental and physical recovery from eight months of Hamas captivity, Noa Argamani has remained in seclusion since the rescue.

Last Saturday night, the younger Argamani broke her silence with the release of a video message played to thousands of attendees at a Tel Aviv Hostage Release rally. Calling for a deal to secure the release of 116 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, Argamani spoke of her experience.

“As an only child to my parents — and a daughter to a mother with a terminal illness — my biggest worry in captivity was for my parents,” she shared in the video message.

Two days later, her mother succumbed to her disease. Although hospital officials declined to clarify the level of Liora’s awareness of Noa’s return, a spokesperson said she believes Liora felt her presence and the warmth of her daughter’s embrace.
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Seoul, South Korea — The United States, Japan and South Korea last week held what in some ways could be seen as their most important joint military exercise ever — and an indication of enhanced future cooperation.

The inaugural Freedom Edge drill involved a U.S. aircraft carrier and multiple Japanese and South Korean ships and planes, mirroring other recent trilateral exercises held since the three countries intensified defense cooperation.

But, importantly, this drill for the first time took place across multiple domains, including land, sea, air and cyber — a crucial step toward allowing the countries’ militaries to work together more seamlessly and in a wider range of warfighting scenarios.

The drill reflects a bigger effort by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, which are trying to advance cooperation toward a more formalized stage that will be harder for future leaders to overturn.

In recent months, the three countries have not only expanded the frequency of their engagement but also taken steps to ensure that it lasts — an attempt to solidify a partnership that could reshape northeast Asian geopolitics.

The steps include establishing a regular pattern of joint military exercises, activating a channel for sharing real-time data on North Korean missile launches, and exploring the creation of a permanent office to boost coordination.

During meetings among senior officials, the countries have also increasingly emphasized shared values for the region, such as a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” in the hopes of providing a more durable foundation for cooperation.

The moves attempt to fulfill the vision laid out in August, when U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held the first standalone summit among the leaders of the three countries.

South Korea key

A primary goal of the so-called Camp David summit was to create a framework for collaboration that could withstand domestic political fluctuations in each country.

A major concern was South Korea, where commitment to the trilateral partnership has often wavered. Those efforts appear to be yielding progress, according to a growing number of South Korea-based observers.

“Cooperation is now entering a level of institutionalization that will make it considerably more difficult for future administrations in Seoul to change,” said Jeffrey Robertson, a professor of diplomatic studies at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

The depth of trilateral ties has long hinged on whatever government is in power in South Korea.

The South Korean left opposes closer cooperation with Japan without more steps by Tokyo to atone for atrocities committed during its 1910-1945 colonization of Korea.

South Korea’s leaders also have been reluctant to sign up for any multilateral efforts that anger China, the military and economic giant that lies just beyond its border.

Changing views

South Korea’s outlook toward its neighbors, however, appears to be shifting.

Opinion polls suggest that South Korean perceptions of China have declined precipitously, as Beijing becomes more authoritarian at home and more assertive in expanding its regional influence.

Meanwhile, views on Japan appear to be improving, especially among young people.

South Korea’s national security establishment has also expressed growing fears about North Korea, which has rapidly expanded its nuclear arsenal and become much more hostile toward Seoul.

For Yoon, a conservative who took office in 2022, the solution was to align his country more closely with the United States. Yoon also mended ties with Japan, quickly accelerating trilateral cooperation.

Reasons for optimism

The big question is whether Yoon’s approach will outlast his presidency, given that his predecessor, the left-leaning Moon Jae-in, reversed many of the Japan-friendly policies of previous administrations.

Peter Lee, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a conservative research group, says he is optimistic. Although he concedes that South Korean public attitudes toward Japan remain generally unfavorable, he points to opinion polls conducted by his organization suggesting consistently strong support for South Korean participation in U.S.-led multilateral initiatives.

“This suggests that future ROK presidents will struggle to withdraw or terminate their participation in these partnerships, at least for populist purposes,” Lee said.

Another potential deterrent is that each step toward formalizing trilateral engagement adds a layer of commitment, making it politically riskier for any future South Korean administration to reverse, many observers say.

Not so fast

Others think that Yoon’s policies are on much shakier ground.

Moon Chung-in, a senior foreign affairs adviser in multiple left-leaning governments, rejected the notion of a permanent change in South Koreans’ views toward their neighbors.

“Yoon and Biden do not see this. But Japanese political leaders are well aware of the volatility, and that’s why they are not making major concessions,” Moon said.

Seoul-Tokyo ties can “easily degenerate,” Moon maintained, unless Japan takes further steps to address unresolved historical disputes.

Many in South Korea also worry that enhanced trilateral cooperation could provoke a counter-reaction from U.S. foes in the region, ultimately leading to increased instability.

As evidence, they cite last month’s decision by North Korea and Russia to restore a Cold War-era mutual defense treaty — a move both sides described as necessary to counter U.S. moves in Asia.

If the regional security dilemma worsens, some fear that China could eventually respond by enhancing its own security cooperation with North Korea and Russia.

For many South Korean liberals, the best way to avoid such a scenario with China is to take a more cautious approach to Japan and the United States.

“China is near and powerful,” Moon said. “What other options do we have but to maintain good relations? This is common sense.”
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washington — In the four years since Hong Kong enacted its national security law, the country’s press freedom record is in free fall, according to media advocates. 

More than 900 journalists have lost their jobs, several media outlets have closed or moved overseas, and some journalists, including pro-democracy Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, are in prison. 

“The Chinese and Hong Kong government’s forced closure of Apple Daily and prosecutions of its owner and editors are very chilling, and they exemplify the city’s sharp decline in press and other freedoms,” said Maya Wang, the interim China director of Human Rights Watch, also known as HRW. 

Once a mainstay of press freedom, Hong Kong’s media community has faced numerous setbacks since passage of the 2020 Beijing-backed legislation that cracks down on independent media. The most egregious example is the trial against Lai, which has lasted more than 90 days with the court currently adjourned until July 24. 

Lai, who denies charges against him filed under the national security law, has been in custody since December 2020. He and six former staff at Apple Daily — the media outlet he founded — were first arrested in the August of that year. 

Apple Daily was shuttered that same year, after authorities froze its assets. 

Prosecutors have used more than 150 videos, op-eds and other articles from Apple Daily in their case against Lai. The publisher faces life in prison if convicted. 

But rights organizations and international lawyers say the claims against the elderly publisher and his media outlet are “baseless” and that charges should be dropped. 

Hong Kong’s security bureau did not respond to VOA’s email requesting comment. Authorities have previously disputed accusations that the trial of Lai is unfair. 

The trial of the other former Apple Daily executives has been postponed for more than two years, waiting for Lai’s case to conclude, according to Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF. 

RSF and other rights organizations including HRW and Freedom House have called for the immediate release of those in custody. 

Calling the prosecutions “baseless,” Wang of HRW told VOA via email that the cases “should also remind the world what Hong Kong has become: a place where people can get life in prison for criticizing the government.” 

Wang added that Lai, who is 76, might be suffering from ill health, which adds to the urgency of his release. 

Aleksandra Bielakowska, RSF’s Pacific Asia Bureau advocacy officer, told VOA it is unclear what will happen in the coming months. But, she said, “I estimate that the sentencing will be prolonged until the start of fall.” 

Bielakowska described Lai’s case as a “sham trial” to prove what Hong Kong can do to silence the press wanting to talk about the issues that are not aligned with China. 

She noted that earlier in the year, the United Nations raised concerns about the treatment of a witness called to give testimony. 

In a letter to Chinese authorities, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture said she was “deeply concerned that evidence that is expected to be presented against Jimmy Lai imminently may have been obtained as a result of torture or other unlawful treatment,” and called for an investigation into the allegations of mistreatment and torture. 

Bielakowska has been observing Lai’s trial. But when she tried to travel to Hong Kong in April for a hearing, her entry was blocked. Bielakowska says she was detained for six hours at the airport, searched, and questioned before being deported. 

Since the national security law’s enactment, several media outlets have closed or moved some parts of their operations outside of Hong Kong, including VOA’s sister network Radio Free Asia and The Wall Street Journal. RSF says that the environment for media has prompted many journalists to leave Hong Kong.  

There is an atmosphere of fear for the journalists working on the ground, said Bielakowska, adding that Hong Kong officials have not given a lot of hope for press freedom, and that independent reporting is already deteriorating significantly in China. 

Alongside the Apple Daily case, the law has been used to arrest hundreds of pro-democracy activists. 

Beijing has dismissed concerns that the security law is affecting press freedom, saying the legislation is needed to maintain stability. 

Yaqiu Wang, research director for China and Hong Kong at Freedom House, said her organization is advocating for the U.S. and other governments to impose sanctions against Hong Kong officials involved in the prosecution of Lai and others charged under the national security law.   

In December, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China in a statement also said the U.S. “should sanction the judges and prosecutors involved in this case.”

Hong Kong ranks 135 out of 180 on the RSF World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment. In 2019, the year before the national security came in, Hong Kong ranked 73. 
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Austin, Texas — Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China fell for the 12th consecutive month in May, according to data released by China’s Ministry of Commerce.   

The ministry in a June 21 press release said in the first five months of this year, China’s economy attracted $56.8 billion (RMB 412.51 billion) in FDI, a year-on-year decrease of 28.2%. 

Analysts and foreign investors attribute the drop to political risks and China’s struggle to recover stable economic growth since the COVID pandemic.   

Jeffrey — a senior Chinese venture capitalist operating investment funds in China since 2008 — who cannot use his full name or affiliation as he was speaking without his company’s authorization, told VOA the boom in China’s venture capital industry has passed.   

“China’s economic growth rate has no room to accommodate a large amount of foreign investment,” he said.    

China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annual growth was 6 to 7% in the five years leading up to the 2020 pandemic, when the economy recorded its weakest growth in four decades. 

Exports boosted China’s GDP growth by 8% in 2021 but it then dropped to 3% in 2022 and 5.2% in 2023 as the property sector, employment, and incomes slumped. The World Bank projects growth to drop to 4.8% in 2024, 4.1% in 2025, and 4% in 2026.  

Frank Liu, a Chinese businessman living in China who works in cross-border investment between the United States and China but does not want his company to be identified due to concerns about repercussions for himself or his company, told VOA, “Foreign investors, especially Americans, have a different style from domestic Chinese investors. They like long-term investment, so they attach great importance to the stability of your (government’s) policies.” 

China has cracked down on several industries in recent years to ensure adherence to the government line on political and social issues, including tutoring, entertainment, and online games, causing financial losses to companies and discouraging foreign investment.   

Crackdowns on some foreign companies have also raised concerns. 

Chinese authorities in March 2023 detained five Chinese employees of the Beijing office of Mintz Group, a U.S. due diligence company, on suspicion of illegal operations. In August, authorities questioned employees at the Shanghai branch of Bain & Company, a U.S. management consulting company. There have also been detentions of employees at British and Japanese companies in China.   

Paul Orlando, an adjunct professor at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California School of Business, told VOA that many American technology companies and investors have withdrawn from China. 

In emailed responses to VOA, he said, “There’s an inability to ignore supply chain risks (brought to mind during COVID), and an inability to ignore political risks. These qualities were present some years ago, but the political changes and multiple examples of China’s reach to influence domestic politics elsewhere has received more attention.” 

A declassified U.S. intelligence threat assessment released in February warned of Beijing’s “higher degree of sophistication in its influence activity,” including by using generative artificial intelligence (AI). The report warned of “growing efforts to actively exploit perceived U.S. societal divisions” online. 

“Rather than a large market to enter, more people began to see China as a place where they would never get a fair shot at success or a place that was even actively working against them,” said Orlando.   

He said this mindset is also influenced by greater concerns about intellectual property protection, industrial espionage, and knowledge of worsening rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. 

“The experience of the COVID period was too extreme. Investing in China even if you did live there or travel there frequently was difficult enough. Without living there or really spending time there it’s even more difficult to know what you’re investing in,” Orlando added. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang invited American and other foreign companies to invest in China when meeting with a delegation led by Suzanne Clark, president of the American Chamber of Commerce, on February 28 and called on Washington not to adopt a policy of decoupling from China. 

China has also vigorously promoted a visa-free policy and increased international flights to boost exchanges between Western countries and the Chinese people. But investors and analysts say more and more foreigners, especially in American investment circles, are leaving China. 

William Reinsch, the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an email to VOA, “Despite China’s statements that Western investment is welcome, actions by the Ministry of State Security like raiding Western company offices and detaining employees send a more powerful signal than anything the government says.” 

Fears of a worsening trade war with China may also be keeping some investors at bay.  

The U.S. announced in May it would increase tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other products Washington says are unfairly subsidized by Beijing, and the EU and Canada followed suit. China warned it might respond with temporary anti-dumping tariffs on EU pork. 

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” on June 21 to restrict and monitor U.S. investment in China’s development of AI, computer chips and quantum computing. China responded that it reserved the right to take corresponding measures. 

While there seems to be no improvement in relations between China and Western countries, senior Chinese venture capitalist Jeffrey said he was “not as pessimistic as public opinion” about foreign investment in China. 

He believes that FDI will perk up if the Chinese economy can recover.

Adrianna Zhang  contributed to this report.
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TOKYO — The Paris Olympics open next month and the agency that oversees doping enforcement is under scrutiny following allegations it failed to pursue positive tests of Chinese swimmers who subsequently won medals — including three gold — at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

The focus on the World Anti-Doping Agency and China’s swimmers raises questions for athletes about the fairness of the competitions and the effectiveness of doping control at the Olympics.

“It’s hard going into Paris knowing that we’re going to be racing some of these athletes,” American swimmer Katie Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic champion, said in a television interview. “I think our faith in the system is at an all-time low.”

Rob Koehler, who worked as a deputy director of WADA until 2018, offered a similar tone.

“Athletes have zero confidence in the global regulator and World Aquatics,” Koehler, the director general of athletes’ advocacy body Global Athlete, told The Associated Press. “Transparency is needed more than ever. Without it, the anti-doping movement will crumble and athletes will never feel they have a level playing field.”

The background

From January 1-3, 2021, 23 elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine — a heart medication known as TMZ — while competing in the Chinese city of Shijiazhuang and staying in a local hotel.

Chinese authorities investigated but did not sanction the swimmers and said they had unwittingly ingested the banned substance. They blamed food/environmental contamination and said the drug had gotten into spice containers in the hotel kitchen.

The investigation was carried out by the Chinese Minister of Public Security, China’s national police force.

WADA accepted the explanation and argued, in part, it was not possible to send its own investigators to China during what officials said was a “local COVID outbreak.”

Several of those athletes later won medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including gold medals in three events.

Eleven of the 23 Chinese swimmers were named this month on the country’s national team to compete in Paris, including Zhang Yufei, who won gold in the 200-meter butterfly and the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay. She also won two silver medals in Tokyo.

Also on the list for Paris is 200 individual medley Olympic gold-medalist Wang Shun, and 200 breaststroke world-record holder Qin Haiyang.

The criticism of WADA

WADA has been criticized for seeming to look the other way at aspects of the Chinese anti-doping agency’s investigation and reporting. It has also not published any of the science behind its decision.

The Chinese agency, known as CHINADA, did not report the positive tests to WADA until mid-March. And in early April 2021 it told WADA it had begun an investigation. On June 15 of that year, it told WADA that environmental contamination was the cause and said it was not pursing an ADRV — an anti-doping rules violation.

Had an anti-doping rules violation been found, CHINADA should have filed a mandatory provisional suspension with a public disclosure forthcoming.

Many questions have been asked since the case became public this year, including by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Why did it take 2 1/2 months to report the findings, and why was the investigation begun even later? WADA attributes the “certain delays” to COVID restrictions.

Why was there an apparent delay in inspecting the hotel kitchen? Why was the residue still around, particularly in light of China’s tough sanitation rules during the pandemic? And where did the TMZ come from and how did it land in a spice container? Why were the national police involved in a sports doping case?

The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD broke the story in April of this year.

WADA’s defense

Basically, WADA says it had no grounds to challenge the findings of CHINADA. WADA did say, however, it did not agree with all of CHINADA’s investigation “for largely technical reasons.”

WADA says it accepted the contamination theory because: the levels of TMZ were very low; the swimmers were from different regions of China; and the swimmers were in the same place when the positive tests occurred. Also, competing swimmers stayed in another hotel. Three were tested and none tested positive.

Legally, WADA argued that it could have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but was advised not to by external lawyers. It would have been a narrow appeal that would not have kept the athletes from competing at the Tokyo Olympics.

WADA has appointed retired Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier to review the handling of the case. Fairly or not, his impartiality has been questioned.

The banned medication

Trimetazidine is listed as a “metabolic modulator” and is banned by WADA — in competition and out of competition. It is believed to help endurance and recovery time after training. One of the best-known TMZ cases involved Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who was suspended for three months in 2014 after testing positive for the substance. He also served a four-year suspension for a separate doping violation.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for TMZ weeks before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She said the substance had belonged to her grandfather and had accidentally contaminated her food. She was allowed to skate in Beijing, but was was eventually handed a four-year suspension.

WADA said Valieva’s contamination scenario “was not compatible with the analytical results.” In the case of the Chinese swimmers, WADA said “the contamination scenario was plausible and that there was no concrete scientific element to challenge it.”

Strict Liability

The principle of “Strict Liability” — athletes are responsible for what they ingest — is at the heart of the WADA code, and is there to ensure all athletes are treated equally. Some question if the principle was followed in this case.

WADA’s rules specify that a “mandatory provisional suspension” should have taken place after the positive tests, which were carried out at a WADA-approved laboratory in Beijing. The local anti-doping agency — in this case, CHINADA — should have issued the suspension.

“CHINADA’s handling of the case, and WADA’s subsequent response, did not adhere to the most essential rule in the code — the principle of Strict Liability,” Steven Teitler, the legal director of the Netherlands doping agency, wrote in a white paper examining the case.

WADA further muddied the water in a fact sheet it published. It said “even for mandatory provisional suspensions there are exceptions.” It said there were multiple precedents for the decision to exonerate the Chinese athletes, precedents that did not seem to have been widely known.

This has raised more questions about how the agency follows its own rules.

The anti-doping system relies on national agencies like CHINADA to enforce the rules, which can clash with the wishes of high-profile athletes and the prestige they might bring to a country and its government.
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NEW DELHI — Five Indian soldiers were killed when a military tank they were traveling in sank while crossing a river in the remote region of Ladakh, which borders China, officials said Saturday.

The tank sank early Saturday due to sudden increase in the water levels of Shyok River during a military training activity, according to an Indian army command center statement. It said the accident took place in Saser Brangsa near the Line of Actual Control that divides India and China in the Ladakh region.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called it an “unfortunate accident.”

“We will never forget exemplary service of our gallant soldiers to the nation. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The nation stands firm with them during this hour of grief,” Singh wrote on the social platform X.

The Indian and Chinese militaries have been locked in a standoff in Ladakh since May 2020, when they clashed along their land border in the region, with 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers killed.

The skirmish turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel. New Delhi and Beijing have held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve their worst military conflict in decades.

The border dispute between India and China dates to the 1950s, and the two sides fought a war over it in 1962.
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boston — Top Chinese leaders will gather in Beijing next month for a key political meeting that will likely reveal details of China’s attempts to boost and reform its troubled economy.

The Third Plenum, originally expected to be held last autumn, will occur July 15-18. The party conclave will “examine issues related to comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization,” according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The announcement comes as China struggles to raise economic growth back to pre-pandemic levels, with consumption remaining low and troubles in the property sector persisting.

Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics show that property investment fell 10.1% in the first five months of 2024 from a year ago. New home prices have also been dropping for almost a year.

Meanwhile, consumption in the world’s second-largest economy remains persistently weak, with retail sales increasing only 2.3% in April. Some economists predict consumer confidence in China will remain low throughout 2024.

Some analysts say the significant delay in holding the key party conclave suggests a lack of consensus over how to address the long list of domestic economic challenges that China is facing.

“My best guess is that the Third Plenum will propose measures to address the housing market, the restructuring or re-profiling of local government debt, and weak household consumption,” Michael Pettis, an expert on the Chinese economy at Peking University, wrote in a report for business consultancy Global Source Partners.

Some experts say that instead of initiating a big structural reform to the Chinese economy, Chinese authorities will focus on boosting consumer and business confidence and rolling out some fiscal reform.

“The Chinese government will try to reassure foreign investors, build up confidence in the labor market, and roll out measures to tackle the fiscal crisis at the local level,” said Dexter Roberts, director of China affairs at the University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center.

Ahead of the Third Plenum, Chinese state media have been highlighting the government’s efforts to boost domestic consumption.

Xinhua reported that a consumer goods trade-in program the government initiated in March had triggered a rise in sales of cars and home appliances, while another report talked about Beijing’s attempt to boost consumer demand in the tourism and automobile sectors.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also tried to reassure investors that China will always remain “open.”

“We will … form a more market-oriented, legal and international business environment,” he said during a speech marking the 70th anniversary of the government’s “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,” which guide China’s foreign relations.

Some analysts say Beijing aims to implement the policy agenda that Xi set out for China during the 20th Party Congress in October 2022.

“I think the key theme is likely to be trying to [roll out] structural reforms that help China to become an industrial innovation superpower and boost productivity to combat lagging growth and increase sustainability,” Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute, told VOA by phone.

Apart from the domestic challenges, China is also facing mounting economic pressure posed by foreign countries. The United States has been coordinating with some of its allies, including Japan and the Netherlands, to restrict China’s access to advanced technologies, such as semiconductor chips.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and European Union have both imposed tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, while Canada is considering following suit.

To cope with this pressure, China has begun to emphasize letting scientific and technological innovation drive the economy.

During a major science and tech conference in Beijing on June 24, Xi said China needs to “strengthen top-level design and overall planning” and “expedite high-level sci-tech self-reliance” to help China become a leading country in science and technology by 2035.

“The country must further enhance its sense of urgency and intensify its efforts in sci-tech innovation, so as to secure a leading position in sci-tech competition and future development,” he said during the conference.

Some experts say Xi’s emphasis on science and technology innovation likely suggests the Chinese government will pour more funding into research and development, offer tax incentives for tech companies, and introduce policies during the Third Plenum aimed at fostering a robust innovation ecosystem.

“This will involve creating more favorable conditions for venture capital and private equity investments and improving access to financing for startups and innovative enterprises,” Lizzi Lee, a fellow on the Chinese economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, told VOA in a written response.

Apart from doubling down on the key role of innovation, Xi said China must further centralize the power of leading scientific and technological innovation in the Chinese Communist Party.

Lee said the Chinese government needs to ensure “innovation can thrive within the parameters set by the party” while fostering an environment where “bottom-up, grassroots innovations can emerge.”

Judging from the wide range of domestic and international challenges China faces, Thomas in New York said, one of Xi’s top priorities will be to strengthen his position in the Chinese Communist Party and further enhance his leadership of the country.

“I expect there’ll be further institutional reforms to more deeply embed the party and Xi’s leadership over the Chinese economy,” he told VOA. 
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VIENTIANE, LAOS — As Beijing weaves its web of roads and railways through Southeast Asia, a massive Chinese-financed infrastructure project in Laos is quietly reshaping the region’s geopolitical landscape.

The $6 billion China-Laos railway, which opened in December 2021 and will soon provide a direct route from Kunming, China, to the Gulf of Thailand through connections with previously existing rail lines in those countries, stands as a symbol of Beijing’s ambitious regional expansion strategy.

Initially planned with 32 stations, the railway currently boasts 10 passenger stations and 10 freight stations, with further expansion in progress.

The railway is managed by the Laos-China Railway Company, a joint venture in Vientiane. Laos holds a 30% stake through the Lao National Railway State Enterprise, with Chinese state-owned enterprises, led by China State Railway Group Company Ltd., covering the remainder. Funding includes a 60% loan from Eximbank of China and 40% equity investment from each nation.

Laos’ $1.79 billion share includes $730 million in equity and $1.06 billion in debt, supplemented by a $480 million Eximbank of China loan and $250 million from the state budget.

While the project promises economic growth for Laos, it is also part of China’s strategic Belt and Road Initiative aimed at extending the country’s influence.

Daniele Carminati, a visiting lecturer at Bangkok’s Mahidol University International College, acknowledged the potential economic benefits of increased Chinese investment in Laos. He said that while there are opportunities for local employment and business growth near railway stations, there is also the risk of deepening dependence on China.

“China will still have a major role in the operations of the railways, and this can result in political influence, even if passively. Laos could hardly take a tough stance with China because there is a lot to lose,” he told VOA by email.

Given Laos’ location bordering China, a tough stance would be unlikely anyway, he said.

“It is sensible for Laos to ‘accept its status’ and try to reap the benefits accordingly,” he said.

The influx of Chinese investment may bring short-term gains, but the long-term consequences could entrench Laos in a cycle of debt and subservience.

Grace Stanhope, a research associate in the Lowy Institute’s Indo-Pacific Development Centre told VOA, “The railway was intended to increase economic activity and facilitate cross-border exports and tourism for Laos. However, reports indicate that most of the exports on the railway to China are from Chinese companies operating in Laos, rather than Laos-owned businesses.”

According to Laos-China Railway Company figures, the Laos-China Railway recorded over 10,000 trains and 8.7 million passengers from January to May, a 17.5% increase over last year.

Looking ahead, Laos and Thailand are preparing to initiate a trial run of a Vientiane-Bangkok railway link on July 13-14, with plans for it to become the first rail link between Thailand and China.

Influence at the local level

Despite regulations requiring payments in Lao kip, railway stations display prices in both kip and Chinese yuan. Vendors often accept yuan, given the high number of Chinese tourists and business travelers, said Phetsamone ‘Mone’ Vilaysack, a cashier at a small shop in the Vientiane train station.

“The train and its operation are mostly run by Chinese companies, it makes sense that we should allow them to pay in yuan,” Mone told VOA.

A train hostess, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was unaware of the currency law but was instructed by her employer to ask for payments in kip first but accept yuan.

“When customers pay, I always tell them the price in kip first. If they say they have only yuan, I allow them to use it,” she said.

She said that since she started working for the Laos-China Railway in early 2022, there has been a massive increase in Chinese visitors.

“There are so many businessmen from China traveling by train now. I can recognize some of them. I guess they must have some big businesses in Vientiane or Bokeo,” she said. “When I see them, I know they would pay in yuan.”

Bokeo is the one of the most controversial areas in the region. It is home to the biggest Chinese-run special economic zone in Laos and is well known as a drug trafficking center with allegations of human trafficking, forced labor, prostitution, and illegal scam rings and gambling.

Jeuan, who prefers to be known by his nickname, has operated a restaurant in the Bokeo zone since 2021 but lives with his family in China, close to Laos’ northernmost border.

“I often use the train to cross to Laos. It’s fast and cheap. It’s not necessary for us [his family] to move to Laos. I can just invest here,” he told VOA at the Vientiane station while waiting for his train to Bokeo.

Jeuan said he travels to Bokeo and Vientiane up to three times a month, personally handling business paperwork with local authorities.

“I can consider investing in more businesses in Bokeo, or even Thailand, if the train will go there in the future,” he said.

Regional influence, debt concerns

Meanwhile, concerns over the railway’s financial implications loom large. Financed largely through Chinese loans, the project has raised apprehensions about Laos’ mounting debt to China, estimated to be over half of Laos’ external debt, exceeding 100% of its gross domestic product, according to Stanhope.

Critics also say such projects could spur increasing alignment of Lao economic and political decisions with Chinese interests and that the project increases Beijing’s leverage over Lao infrastructure and resources, potentially compromising Laos’ sovereignty.

“The main challenges, beyond technical ones, would be for China to build a credible/persuasive narrative ensuring they will not take advantage of their role while respecting the receiving countries’ sovereignty, aware that the United States and allies will keep warning the region of such risks,” Carminati wrote in his email.

The project is part of China’s vision for the Kunming–Singapore Railway, also known as the Pan-Asia Railway, a flagship BRI project in mainland Southeast Asia. The vision includes three routes linking Kunming to Singapore via Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

Carminati cited the potential geopolitical impact of extending the line all the way south to Malaysia and Singapore.

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore would not stop defending their national interests, he wrote, “but it is hard to deny that … a softer stance is expected if these major infrastructure projects are to be completed, maintained, and ‘exploited’ in the long term.”
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pentagon — The United States and 28 partner nations have begun the world’s largest naval war exercise off the shores of Hawaii, known as the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC. 

This year’s exercise brings international cooperation on a scale like no other: 40 surface ships, more than 150 aircraft, three submarines and 25,000 people.

Nations from around the globe are practicing a wide range of missions, from natural disaster response to attack skills needed for war. While most participants are nations with Pacific coastlines, this year’s RIMPAC also includes non-Pacific nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Brazil and Israel.

“Every nation in the world that has interests in the Pacific and will adhere to the same values is more than welcome to participate,” said Chilean Navy Commodore Alberto Guerrero, RIMPAC deputy commander.

One country not invited? China.

Why? Because the warm welcome RIMPAC gave to China in 2014 and 2016 backfired, according to Markus Garlauskas, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

“There was this outreach to China, and definitely the U.S. and its allies and partners were essentially burned by the Chinese taking advantage of it … as an opportunity to essentially collect intelligence and to try and get more acceptance of what should be considered unacceptable behavior,” Garlauskas told VOA.

Since China’s last RIMPAC in 2016, he said, Beijing ramped up its aggressive behavior, building and militarizing more artificial islands in international waters, conducting aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan in recent months and pummeling Philippine ships with water cannons in recent days.

But the biennial exercise, officials say, can send a strong message to China to stop bullying its neighbors. RIMPAC nations this year will practice targeting the decommissioned assault ship USS Tarawa, in a rare chance to learn how effective their weapons are at sinking a large and protected adversary in open waters. 

“They’re not just going to be facing the United States in the country they’re targeting, but they’re potentially going to have to deal with a response from a wide range of countries that have common interests in deterring and confronting Chinese aggression as threats to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Garlauskas said.

Israel’s inclusion this year sparked calls from pro-Palestinian activists wanting countries to skip the exercise in protest. Malaysia’s prime minister addressed the protesters ahead of the exercises, saying that while his country would continue to speak out in support of the Palestinian people, Malaysia needed to act in a way that was “not driven by anger,” while also considering the practical implications of missing the major military exercise.

RIMPAC is set to end in early August.  
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This week the United States and 28 partner nations began the world’s largest naval war exercise off the shores of Hawaii. Known as Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, analysts say this year’s exercise gives partners a chance to work together while sending a strong deterrence message to China. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.
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Beijing — Former Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party, state media said Thursday, after he was sacked abruptly last year in unexplained circumstances.

“The Politburo… has decided to expel Li Shangfu from the party, terminate his credentials as a representative of the 20th National Congress, and transfer his suspected criminal issues to military procuratorial organs for review and prosecution,” state broadcaster CCTV said.

The Communist Party’s powerful Politburo of senior leaders convened on Thursday to review a report on Li’s status.

There, they ruled Li had “betrayed his original mission and lost his party spirit and principles,” according to CCTV.

He “seriously polluted the political environment and industrial ethos in the field of military equipment, and caused great damage to the party’s cause, national defense and the construction of the armed forces,” CCTV said.

Li is “suspected of bribery” having been accused of “taking advantage of his position and taking huge sums of money to seek benefits for others… and giving money to others to seek inappropriate benefits,” it said.

He also “illegally sought personnel benefits for himself and others,” it added.
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An annual U.S. government report has sounded an alarm about rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims amid the war in Gaza. It also has found that religious freedom is under assault globally and offers rare criticism of the U.S. ally India. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more.
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