China Angrily Denounces Joint US-India Drills Near Contested Border

Zee News: China strongly opposes Indo-US military drills, calls it violation of bilateral agreement 

India and the US will kick-start an over two-week-long mega military exercise in Uttarakhand's Auli in October amid the fast-evolving regional security scenario. The 18th edition of exercise "Yudh Abhyas" is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 31. 

Beijing: China's defence ministry on Thursday said it firmly opposes any third party meddling in the border issue and hopes India will abide by the bilateral agreements to not hold military drills near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the very pacts it has been accused of violating in eastern Ladakh leading to a prolonged standoff. 

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defence (MND), made the comments while replying to a question about reports of special forces of the US and India recently holding a joint combat exercise in the southern foothills of the Himalayas and their plans to conduct a joint military exercise code-named "War Exercise" (Yudh Abhyas) in October, close to the border.  

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WNU Editor: This is a two week military exercise that is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 31. 

China Angrily Denounces Joint US-India Drills Near Contested Border  

Citing border pacts, China objects to India-U.S. drills -- The Hindu  

China objects to US-India military drills near LAC amid border row -- Business Standard 

China now invokes border pacts it flouted, protests India-US wargames near LAC -- Deccan Herald  

China lashes out at Indo-US military drill in Oct, says it violates bilateral agreements -- Hindustan Times  

The China-Indian border issue doesn’t need third-party interference: Defense Ministry -- Global Times  

China Angrily Denounces Joint US-India Drills Near Contested 'Line of Actual Control' -- Zero Hedge

Top Admiral For U.S. Indo–Pacific Command Says He Is Seeing The Largest Military Buildup In Chinese Army's History

Admiral John C. Aquilino, left, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), looks at videos of Chinese structures and buildings on board a US P-8A Poseidon reconaissance plane flying at the Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea on Sunday March 20, 2022. A U.S. Navy plane carrying a top American military commander was threatened repeatedly by radio on Sunday to leave the airspace over Chinese-occupied island garrisons in the disputed South China Sea, but the aircraft pressed on defiantly with its reconnaissance in brief but tense standoffs witnessed by two Associated Press journalists invited onboard. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)  

Zero Hedge/Epoch Times: US Indo–Pacific Chief Sees Largest Military Buildup In Chinese Army's History 

China’s army is undergoing the largest buildup in the Chinese regime’s history since World War II, according to Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo–Pacific Command. 

Aquilino made the comment in a conversation hosted by the research institute the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on June 24 (pdf).  

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WNU Editor: Adm. John Aquilino also has an "issue" on how Congress is spending defense money .... US military chief for China shreds congressional armed services committees for junk spending  

Update #1: The priorities are elsewhere .... U.S. Navy’s Edge on China Dwindling and Lawmakers Don’t Care (Heritage Foundation).  

Update #2: Here are two good articles on the Chinese navy .... Why China’s Fujian carrier is a game-changer (Asia Times), and here .... Never mind China’s new aircraft carrier, these are the ships the US should worry about (CNN).

China Will Continue To Buy Russia's Oil

OilPrice.com: U.S. Sanctions Can’t Keep China From Buying Russian Oil 

* China has decades of experience in circumventing Western sanctions. 

* China will be able to work around sanctions and other difficulties in buying Russian crude oil. 

* Infrastructural development for oil and gas trading between China and Russia have been extremely extensive in recent years. 

China has proven with Iran that it has much practice and great skill in working around sanctions, and the U.S. has made it even easier to do so in the case of Russia in several ways, including leaving gaping loopholes in its sanctions that China and Russia can exploit. 

The current ambiguity surrounding these mechanisms suits China perfectly, as until it believes that it is militarily, technologically, and economically able to directly challenge the U.S. as the world’s number one superpower.  

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WNU Editor: I understand China is getting a discount on new oil purchases from Russia. If true, China will definitely buy its oil from Russia. Why pay top price on the world market?

Update: I am not surprised by this Bloomberg report. In the long time these investments are going to pay off .... China considers buying stakes in Russian energy, commodity firms (Bloomberg).

British And Chinese Aircraft Carriers Are In The South China Sea. China Threatening To Expel British Warships

HMS Queen Elizabeth (front pictured earlier this week) has arrived in the South China Sea as Beijing threatens to 'expel' the British warships if they sail close to islands it lays claim to  

Warzone/The Drive: British And Chinese Aircraft Carriers Both Underway In The Tense South China Sea  

The British flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, has entered the South China Sea for the first time. 

Satellite imagery has emerged that indicates that the U.K. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is underway in the South China Sea while the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy flattop Shandong is also in these waters, though the two ships look to be sailing on opposite sides of the disputed body of water, at least for now. The appearance of the British flagship in the South China Sea had been anticipated, but it still carries a significant message as the United Kingdom and its allies look to further challenge China’s expansive territorial claims in this region. 

Using satellite imagery provided by the European Space Agency and NASA/U.S. Geological Survey, Twitter user @duandang appears to have located the two aircraft carriers in the South China Sea, separated by around 580 nautical miles of water. The Shandong looks to be underway just south of Hainan Island, where it is home-ported within a huge People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) base. Meanwhile, the imagery indicates that HMS Queen Elizabeth is between the coast of Vietnam, to the east, and the island of Borneo to the west.  

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WNU Editor: Beijing is making its opposition to the presence of these British warships very clearly .... Beijing threatens to 'expel' British warships as Big Lizzie arrives in the disputed South China Sea (Daily Mail). More here .... China threatens British warships and vows hostile welcome in disputed sea (Mirror).