China blacklists US defence companies

Beijing has announced sanctions on two US companies over arms sales to Taiwan, warning of forceful retaliation against any further US military deals with the island.

Without saying what action Beijing would take, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday that the sanctions applied to Northrop Grumman and a unit of Lockheed Martin.

Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the St Louis, Missouri, branch of Lockheed Martin was the main contractor in a US arms sale to Taipei on August 24 while Northrop Grumman, based in Falls Church, Virginia, had been involved in supplying weapons to Taiwan multiple times.

Mao said Washington was going further down the wrong and dangerous path of arming Taiwan despite Beijing’s firm opposition.

“We urge the US side … to stop selling weapons to Taiwan, to stop the US-Taiwan military collusion and to stop arming Taiwan, otherwise it will be met with resolute and forceful countermeasures of China,” she said.

The State Department announced three weeks ago that the US had approved a half billion dollar sale of advanced sensor systems built by Lockheed Martin for F-16 fighter jets to Taipei.

Lockheed Martin – along with Raytheon Missiles and Defence – was already on a Chinese Commerce Ministry blacklist over Taiwan arms sales.

Beijing later said Chinese companies were banned from doing business with the US firms and senior executives of Lockheed or RMD were not allowed to travel to or work in China.

The self-governed island has become one of the greatest sources of tension between the two powers in recent years.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought under mainland control by force if necessary and opposes any official interactions between countries it has established diplomatic relations with and the island.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognize the island as an independent state, although Washington is opposed to any attempt to take it forcibly.

In addition to the arms sale, the Biden administration notified the US Congress last month that it had approved the first-ever US military aid – amounting to US$80 million – to Taiwan under a program generally reserved for assistance to sovereign, independent states.

The US government is also reportedly planning to redirect millions of dollars of military financing for Egypt to Taiwan.

On Friday, Mao said US arms sales to Taiwan seriously violate the one-China principle and severely harm China’s sovereignty and security interests”.

“The Chinese government’s determination to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering,” she said.

Last weekend US President Joe Biden said the economic slowdown in mainland China could make it less likely to consider an invasion of Taiwan.

“I don’t think it’s going to cause China to invade Taiwan. And matter of fact, the opposite – it probably doesn’t have the – the same capacity that it had before,” he said on Sunday during a visit to Vietnam.

Beijing responded saying that resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese ourselves.

Milley rejects Trump claim on Iran attack

Mark Milley denies former President Trump's allegations that he recommended attacking Iran. Milley, in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, flat-out rejected Trump's claim on Iran.

"I can assure you that not one time have I ever recommended to attack Iran," Milley said. The nation's highest-ranking military officer was referring to comments Trump made in a 2021 audio tape at his Bedminster Club.

In the audio, Trump said he had a classified document proving his side of the story — that Milley told him to attack Iran during his administration.

He was apparently trying to refute a New Yorker article detailing how Milley moved to prevent Trump from attacking Iran in the final days of his administration.

That audio is a major part of a federal special counsel investigation, which charged the former president earlier this year with more than 30 counts related to illegally retaining classified documents.

The Milley-Trump feud has a long history.

Trump tapped the general to be the Joint Chiefs chairman in 2018. But they diverged on multiple issues, including the 2020 racial justice protests when Trump wanted to use the military to quell the rioting.

Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has backed his former boss in the Iran case, claiming Milley recommended an attack on Iran more than once.

In the CNN interview, Milley said he can speak with certainty that this chairman never recommended a wholesale attack on Iran.

"I can assure you I know what I’ve done and it’s not to recommend an attack on Iran," he said.

 

 

China refinery output rises to record level

China's oil refinery throughput in August rose to a record, as processors in the world's second-largest fossil oil consumer kept run rates high to meet summer travel demand and capitalize on strengthening export margins.

Total refinery throughput was a record 64.69 million metric tons in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, up 19.6% from a year ago.

That is the equivalent of 15.23 million barrels per day (bpd), also a record on a daily basis and up from the 12.64 million bpd processed a year earlier when extensive COVID pandemic restrictions and weak domestic fuel demand led refiners to cut runs.

August throughput was also up from July's 14.87 million bpd.

Year-to-date throughput gained 11.9% from a year earlier to 491.4 million tons, or 14.76 million bpd.

Domestic demand for gasoline and kerosene over the August vacation season was a key driver of domestic fuel consumption, with travel levels likely to be have been further boosted by revenge travel after the pandemic, analysts said ahead of the data.

Domestic airline capacity by available seats was around 77.5 million in August, up around 17% from pre-pandemic levels, according to data from aviation analytics firm OAG.

G20 decisions, what next for Pakistan?

The G20 conference has come to an end in Delhi, where a lot happened which can become a permanent topic separately.

For example, the Indian media mentioned a statement by the Prime Minister of Italy regarding BRI, the Prime Minister of Canada spoke about Khalistan while standing in the Indian capital and when the rights of Sikh in Canada holding a referendum on Khalistan.

Muhammad Mehdi, Chairman of the Institute of International Relations and Media Research has discussed the concept of the Global South that President Biden arrived in Delhi with this concept, and the leadership of the Global South will be handed over to India according to Washington’s vision. 

According to Mehdi, for Pakistan any situation that affects the region is extremely important because the country would be affected whether it likes it or not. The Global South's vision is to prepare India to compete with China's BRI project.

India does not have enough economic size to be able to do this on its own, so its economic needs will be fulfilled by the United States as much as it needs compared to China.

The next and very important question is, whether the US economy under the debt of US$7.6 trillion has enough power to meet these needs or not? In order to promote the concept of the Global South, an MoU was signed during the G20 summit in India.

This economic corridor project will connect ports and rail links to the Middle East, Israel and Europe. The project is being named as India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEEC).

It includes United States, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the European Union. The goal of this project is to connect India's ports with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia by developing a large-scale rail network and then get access to Israel and Europe from there. And apart from the Suez Canal, another route should be developed while China's BRI project should also be made a response to it.

Discussions on this project started in 2021 at a Business Forum between the United States, India, UAE and Israel, and later Saudi Arabia also joined these discussions.

When the Abraham Accords was being signed between certain Arab countries and Israel under the patronage of the United States, Mehdi had said that it should not be seen only in the context of the Arab countries and Israel, but it will have far-reaching consequences on the region where Pakistan is located and that has started happening.

Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, but it has recognized Israel's position in this agreement. Now, what does the US want to achieve by including the Arab countries in it? It is clear that through the BRI project, China's footprints are clearly visible on the Arab land.  

This is not only limited to economic matters, but by standing with Saudi Arabia and Iran, China has given a clear message that now its political position has also become strong in this region and the UAE and Saudi Arabia have also joined BRICS, which also includes India, but its souls are China and Russia.

According to Mehdi, United States cannot afford such a situation. When the Ottoman Empire disintegrated as a result of the First World War, the British shadow remained over the Arab region from that time until the end of the Second World War, and then later the United States replaced the United Kingdom and enjoyed its position solely.

But China's recent successes have put many question marks on the presence of the US supremacy in this region and its future, and the supwer is taking steps to maintain its supremacy by presenting the concept of the Global South. And in order to achieve this goal, India is being encouraged.

Narendra Modi will face polls and in order to win he needs to put his nation behind a truck light similar to what he has achieved by holding this conference and promoting this economic corridor.

This is called a political slogan because there is a very strong belief that the current US economy, which will have a debt of US7.6 trillion by the end of year 2024, is not strong enough to support this project. 

Regarding the same thing that happened to the New Silk route project announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama era, an economic route would be made from Afghanistan, but then it could never be implemented.

The real goal of the current plan seems to be to confuse the Arab world with the fact that the United States is coming down a new path and to make them think about how far they should go with China and how much should be carried forward.

If the US succeeds in getting the Arab countries into this mess, it will be a success. Because these Arab countries are concerned about their internal and international security, and they still depend on the largest suppliers of arms and military might.

Muhammad Mehdi is the Chairman of the Institute of International Relations and Media Research

 

US-Iran prisoner swap deal attracts criticism

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on a blanket waiver last week that put the final stages of the deal in motion. The waiver allows for US$6 billion of frozen Iranian funds in South Korea to move to a bank in Qatar.

In return, Iran will release five US prisoners who have already been moved to house arrest in Tehran. The US is also releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal.

The Biden administration has stressed that the unfrozen funds will only be used for humanitarian reasons and that Qatar will monitor the money.

But Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran will spend the released funds wherever we need it.

"This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” he told NBC News.

Since the prisoners in Iran were moved to house arrest last month, Republicans have raised numerous concerns about the deal.

Senator Tom Cotton said the US was paying ransom to the world's state sponsor of terrorism, calling it shameful.

On Truth Social, former President Trump called Biden a fool and said the unfrozen funds will be used for terrorism all over the Middle East, and, indeed, the World.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez also expressed concerns about encouraging adversarial nations to take more hostages in the future.

Adrienne Watson, a White House National Security council spokesperson, said the administration is working to release wrongfully held Americans and the deal remains a sensitive and ongoing process. 

 

 

Iran launches another shipping line to India

The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) has launched a direct container shipping line from Shahid Beheshti Port in southeastern Chabahar to India’s Nhava Sheva Port.

The direct container line from Chabahar Port to Nhava Sheva, with a transit time of five days and a very competitive price, is unique in its kind and is expected to have a significant impact on the development of trade and strengthening the regional and extra-regional position of Chabahar Port.

IRISL had previously launched similar container shipping lines from Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar to the main ports of China with competitive prices and a transit time of 12 days, which increased the container activity of Chabahar Port by five times.

Iran and India had previously launched shipping lines between Chabahar and the Indian ports of Mumbai, and Mundra.

The first shipping route between the two countries was put into operation in 2017 between Iran’s Chabahar port and Mumbai.

In January 2019, Iran and India inaugurated the second direct shipping route which passes through Mumbai, Mundra, Kandla, Chabahar, and finally Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

India is using the mentioned shipping routes to transit goods to Afghanistan and Persian Gulf nations as well as the countries in Central Asia.

Through Chabahar Port India can bypass Pakistan and transport goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia, while Afghanistan can get linked to India via sea.

Iran has awarded India the project for installing and operating modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.

The strategic Chabahar Port in southeastern Iran is the only ocean port on the Makran coast and it has a special place in the country's economic affairs.

Back in September 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called on Central Asian countries to benefit from Chabahar Port capacities for expanding their trade in the region.

 

Nikki Haley views China an enemy

According to Saudi Gazette, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and 2024 Republican presidential contender, said that she views China as an enemy in a potential preview of the hardline approach she would take if elected president.

“China’s been practically preparing for war with us for years,” Haley told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday. “Yes, I view China as an enemy.”

United States, the former United Nations ambassador said, needs to make sure that we’re serious about China and they know that we’re serious about them — not going and being nice to them and thinking that they’re going to change.

Her comments come while President Joe Biden is in Vietnam trying to secure stronger diplomatic, military and economic ties with a network of allies and partners in response to China’s increasingly aggressive military and economic posture.

On a separate track, the Biden administration has also pursued more stable ties and improved communication with Beijing over the last year, with a series of top Cabinet secretaries making the trip to China’s capital in just the last few months.

“How much more has to happen for Biden to realize you don’t send Cabinet members over to China to appease them; you start getting serious with China and say, We’re not going to put up with it,” Haley said Sunday.

“They keep sending different Cabinet officials over, Jake, and it’s embarrassing,” she added.

Detailing what her own approach would look like, Haley stressed the importance of cutting off China’s access to US oil, combating Chinese infiltration in American universities, and ending all normal trade relations until the flow of fentanyl to the US is stopped.

“And then we’re going to build up our military, because China now has the strongest naval fleet in the world,” Haley said.