'Any attempt by communist China…': Pete Hegseth issues fiery warning to Xi over Panama Canal
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth issued a sharp warning to China at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accusing Beijing of 'rehearsing for the real deal' in its efforts to seize Taiwan. Hegseth urged Asian nations to ramp up military spending and deepen cooperation with the US to counter China's aggressive posture. He also pledged expanded US military presence in the Indo-Pacific and doubled down on Trump's promise to 'take back the Panama Canal.'
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The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
China slams Macron for his remarks on Taiwan, vows to oppose NATO's expansion in Asia-Pacific
In his speech which raised eyebrows in both the US and China, Macron appealed to Asian countries to build a new alliance with Europe to ensure they do not become 'collateral damage' in the struggle for power between the US and China. 'We firmly oppose relevant remarks. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory… The Taiwan question and the Ukraine crisis are not comparable at all,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing here while responding to a question on Macron's speech at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Beijing, Jun 4 (PTI) China on Wednesday sharply criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for equating the Ukraine and Taiwan conflicts and his call for Asian countries to align with Europe, saying Beijing will firmly oppose any attempts by NATO to advance into the Asia Pacific. Among the guests listening to Macron were US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as top military officials from the region. Macron pointed out that if Russia could take Ukrainian territory 'without any restrictions, without any constraints… what could happen in Taiwan? What will you do the day something happens in the Philippines?', BBC quoted him as saying. Many in Asia worry of instability in the region should China attempt to forcibly 'reunify' with Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as part of its territory, the BBC report said. China has also increasingly clashed with the Philippines over competing claims in the South China Sea. Asserting Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, Lin said China firmly opposes any remarks and moves that seek to mischaracterise or distort the nature of the Taiwan question. On the conflict in the South China Sea, Lin said the current situation in the region is generally stable. There isn't any problem with the freedom of navigation and overflight that countries enjoy in accordance with the law in the South China Sea, he said. China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims. Lin also said Beijing will oppose any attempts by NATO to expand towards Asia Pacific to oppose or contain China. 'As a regional defensive organisation, NATO has no right to reach beyond its geographical scope and mandate defined by its treaty,' he said. 'China firmly opposes NATO's attempt to advance eastward into the Asia-Pacific, stir up tensions and create confrontation in the region, and sabotage regional and even global peace and stability. Asia-Pacific countries do not welcome NATO in the Asia-Pacific and the region certainly does not need an Asia-Pacific NATO,' he said. PTI KJV ZH ZH This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Wire
3 hours ago
- The Wire
Why a Special Session of the Parliament is Critical to Discuss the Disclosure Made by CDS Chauhan
Winston churchill once said that 'in wartime truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.' The reports appearing in national and international media that India lost several fighter jets at the aftermath of the Operation Sindoor – launched by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy against Pakistan following the terrorists killing 26 tourists Pahalgam in Kashmir – were not authenticated by the Modi regime. Attack on press freedom When The Hindu published a report concerning the loss of a Rafael fighter jet by India, the day the operation began on May 7, it was removed and the publication expressed regret. Similarly, removed a news report on CNN's coverage of the loss of Rafale after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed The Wire at 9:41 pm on May 9 that its presence on their site was the reason for the government ordering to block access to it. While complying with the unreasonable demand so that its website could be unblocked, the Wire editors took a decision to pursue, among others, legal remedies against the infringement of press freedom. Revelation by CDS Chauhan Obviously the truth concerning shooting down of those aircrafts was so sensitive for Modi regime that it was not allowed to come to the public domain and, of course, bodyguards of obfuscation were deployed to hide it. Only when Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Anil Chauhan, on May 31, in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore made a startling revelation that aircrafts were brought down without specifying the numbers, rest of the world got the credible information from the authoritative source. 'What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down. Numbers are not important,' General Chauhan candidly stated. Describing the claim of Pakistan that six Indian Air Force (IAF) jets were shot down as 'completely inaccurate,' General Chauhan stated, 'Why they were down, what mistakes were made – that are important. The number is not important.' More importantly, the CDS flagged that the IAF turned the searchlight inwards quickly after 'tactical mistakes' were made by the military during the 'initial stages' and those were 'remedied, rectified' and subsequently the Indian fighter jets could achieve the desired objectives by hitting deep inside Pakistan. 'So we' asserted General Chauhan, 'rectified tactics and then went back on [May] 7th, 8th and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air de-fences with impunity, carried out precision strikes.' He proceeded to add very forcefully that the Indian air force 'flew all types of aircraft with all types of ordnance on the 10th.' Indication of loss in a combat What CDS Chauhan revealed was vaguely indicated earlier by Air Marshal Bharti on May 11, 2025. In a press conference in New Delhi while dealing with a question from the correspondent of the Hindu if the IAF had lost any fighter jets, he while saying that in a combat scenario, losses are a part of combat, he informed that our pilots returned safely. Additionally he claimed that objectives of the Operation Sindoor were achieved and comment on loss suffered would help the adversary. Demand of opposition parties In an article, 'India Breaks Silence: Confirms Fighter Jet Losses in High-Stakes Clash with Pakistan' published in Defence Security Asia on 31st May 20025 it was very strikingly noted, 'The initial air clash between the two rival air forces (of India and Pakistan) has been described by observers as 'the largest dogfight of the 21st century,' involving approximately 125 fighters from both sides and testing the limits of networked warfare, air-to-air missile envelopes, and tactical coordination.' All opposition parties including Congress supported Operation Sindoor. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wanted the Modi regime to let the country know the losses suffered by our air force after Minister for External Affairs Jaishankar told the Consultative Committee that just before the strike was conducted by our military on terrorist bases in Pakistan, India informed the Pakistani authorities about it and asked military of that country not to interfere; which they preferred to ignore. Later Jaishankar contradicted himself when he said in the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that Pakistan was informed half an hour after the operation commenced. Rahul Gandhi was accused by BJP leaders of speaking the language of Pakistan. Though there were reports in the international media that Pakistan had shot down Indian fighter planes, including the French made Rafale, but the Modi regime maintained studied silence on the issue. Claim by Subramanian Swamy On May 31, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy forcefully claimed that Pakistan shot down five of our aircrafts including Rafales using Chinese fighter jets. 'Their performance was commendable, whereas our French Rafale jets were underwhelming,' he said. He accused both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah for wilfully ignoring the calls for an inquiry into the downing of Indian jets and alleged that under Modi's leadership, there will be no accountability or debate in Parliament about what went wrong. Late defence minister Jaswant Singh's perceptive analysis The subject indicates the gravity and magnitude of the problem with huge implications for national security. Therefore, the disclosure made by the CDS assumes momentous significance. Jaswant Singh, the former defence minister of India, during the Kargil war, in his memoirs, 'A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India' very perceptively outlined the monumetal tragedy of losing a fighter plane compared to the losses suffered in the battle field. He wrote, 'The difficulty with air casualties, as against casualties on land, is principally of imagery. The sheer optical value of the Air Force is so much greater, particularly in a limited and contained conflict. That is why the loss of an aircraft becomes so instantly an issue that catches the public eye, as compared to the loss of even a platoon of infantry.' Past precedents The admission of loss of fighter aircrafts by General Chauhan has caught the public eye more intensely than the media reports that Pakistan shot down several military jets of India. It is tragic that Modi regime is maintaining deafening silence on it. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru convened the Parliament session when India was facing the Chinese invasion in 1962 and the country was caught in the midst of war. He did so after not so prominent Jan Sangh MP of that time, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, wrote to Nehru to summon the Parliament. A few days After the Kargil conflict was over Prime Minister Vajpayee appointed a Committee on July 29, 1999, headed by defence analyst K. Subrahmanyam, father of current Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, to examine the events of the war and make recommendations for the future. By January 2000 the committee submitted its report to Vajpayee. The Modi regime must come out and reveal more details about the disclosure made by CDS Chauhan. On June 3, in an open letter to Modi, a special session of the Parliament has been demanded by 16 opposition parties of the INDIA alliance to discuss the developments following the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, the military conflict with Pakistan and subsequent events. Parliament must be convened immediately. S N Sahu served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K R Narayanan. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
What are China's grey zone tactics, and why Taiwan is vary of them?
As regional security leaders gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore from May 30 to June 1, the focus once again centred on Taiwan. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, former Taiwanese defence minister Andrew Yang Nien-dzu expressed concern over the increasing 'grey zone operations' by Beijing, including frequent Chinese coastguard activity near the island. 'Although there have not been accidental conflicts (between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait), this kind of activity has placed immense pressure on us,' he said. What are grey zone tactics? Grey zone tactics refers to the ambiguous space between peace and open conflict. It is characterised by the use of non-kinetic means, such as psychological, informational, and economic tactics, which is often employed in hybrid forms including cyber, military, and diplomatic operations. Unlike regular warfare, which involves open fighting between armies, grey zone tactics are unclear and often hidden. State or non-state actors use these methods to cause trouble or gain power without officially going to war. Because the actions are hard to trace or prove, the attackers can deny they were involved. In recent years, more countries have started using these sneaky strategies instead of direct military force. For example, when Russia took over Crimea in 2014, it used soldiers without uniforms (called 'little green men'), spread false information, hacked into computer systems, and influenced local politics. This strategy helped Russia succeed without starting a traditional war. Hacking and cyberattacks are also common in grey zone warfare. These can damage important systems, steal secrets, or create political confusion. In its 2021 report, the Office of the US' Director of National Intelligence accused China of hacking Western companies and governments to gain an edge in business and politics. Another tool is economic pressure. China has sometimes used trade bans or blocked investments to punish countries that oppose its policies. One example is when South Korea installed a missile defence system in 2017, and China responded by limiting trade. Military drills, economic tools, and coercion Since the election of President Lai Ching-te in May 2024, who asserted that 'Taiwan and mainland China are not subordinate to each other", China has ramped up its campaign of intimidation. Beijing's grey zone activities include deploying the China Coast Guard in disputed waters in March 2024, conducting large-scale military drills near Taiwan, and flying warplanes around the island on a near-daily basis. These actions aim to alter the status quo without crossing the threshold of war. Broader application across the region China's grey zone tactics extends beyond Taiwan. In the South China Sea, Beijing has built artificial islands and militarised them to strengthen its territorial claims, according to a report by US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is another form of grey zone engagement, using economic tools to establish geopolitical leverage. One example is Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port, which was leased to China for 99 years after Colombo defaulted on Chinese loans—an instance of so-called 'debt-trap diplomacy'. Salami slicing and the 'String of Pearls' China's incremental 'salami slicing' strategy enables it to make small territorial or strategic gains that would be harder to achieve through a single overt act. The expansion of artificial islands in the South China Sea and increased patrol activity exemplify this. Another manifestation is the 'String of Pearls' strategy—China's effort to build a network of ports and facilities across the Indian Ocean to secure maritime routes and project influence. Global implications and US response According to Yang, grey zone tactics are not actually military operations but "carry a military message", making them difficult to counter under traditional defence protocols. A Taiwan defence ministry report in March 2024 noted an escalation in grey zone actions, with China deploying balloons, drones, and civilian vessels to 'saturate' areas around the island. In response, the US has ramped up arms sales to Taiwan. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that China's actions aim to fundamentally alter the regional security environment while avoiding open warfare. China, for its part, has cautioned the US against 'playing with fire' over Taiwan.
