Latest news with #LiuZhenli
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
China and Thailand boost strategic ties with new military cooperation plans
Senior military officials from China and Thailand reached an 'important consensus' on strategic cooperation when they met on Thursday, according to the defence ministry in Beijing. The meeting was held between China's chief of joint staff, Liu Zhenli, and Thailand's top defence official, Songwit Noonpackdee, during his visit to the Chinese capital. The two military leaders 'reached an important consensus on strengthening strategic communication and deepening cooperation in joint exercises and training', according to a statement on Thursday. They also 'exchanged views on issues of common concern, such as relations between the two countries and their militaries and the international and regional situation'. Liu is a member of the Central Military Commission, the highest decision-making body of the People's Liberation Army. In a separate meeting with Songwit, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun said ties between the two countries had endured 'the change of winds and clouds'. Songwit replied that the Thai side was willing to closely coordinate with China in multilateral affairs and 'jointly safeguard' the security and stability of the region, according to the Chinese defence ministry. The high-level meetings followed a series of diplomatic activities between China and the Southeast Asian country, which is also a traditional US ally in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Thai counterpart last month and said Thailand was a high priority for Chinese diplomacy in the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also met in February. The two countries have also deepened defence cooperation in the past decade, especially since the 2014 military coup in Thailand, with China replacing the US to become Thailand's top arms supplier. Their joint exercises have appeared to include more comprehensive combat elements since last year, as highlighted by their joint air drill, 'Falcon Strike 2024'. Most recently, the navies of the two countries concluded an exercise last month that focused on counterterrorism tactics and anti-submarine warfare. While joint exercises and arms sales between the US and Thailand have been scaled back, Washington has ramped up its strategic and defence dialogue with Bangkok in the past few years as Beijing's influence has expanded in the region. Thailand has imported a range of weapon systems from China, from armoured vehicles to air-defence systems. The two countries signed a deal in 2017 for Thailand to buy the first of three Yuan-class submarines from China for 13.5 billion baht (US$412 million). Bangkok has paid an instalment of 7 billion baht, but production has been stalled since 2022 due to China's inability to acquire a German engine because of Berlin's defence export limits. According to news site Khaosod English, Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday that he would decide by the end of this month whether to accept the submarine with Chinese engines or cancel the contract and lose '80 per cent of the costs of the submarines which has already been paid'. Citing Wechayachai, the Thai news site also reported that the Thai government had been asked several times by the Chinese ambassador to Bangkok about when it would proceed with the remaining payment for the purchase of the Chinese-made submarines. Bangkok had previously asked Berlin to reconsider the embargo of its submarine engine, but Germany has rejected the request.
The Star
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
China-Thailand meeting yields agreement on strategic cooperation and military exercises
Senior military officials from China and Thailand reached 'important consensus' on strategic cooperation when they met on Thursday, according to the defence ministry in Beijing. The meeting was held between China's chief of joint staff, Liu Zhenli, and Thailand's top defence official, Songwit Noonpackdee, during his visit to the Chinese capital. The two military leaders 'reached important consensus on strengthening strategic communication and deepening cooperation in joint exercises and training', according to a readout on Thursday. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. They also 'exchanged views on issues of common concern, such as relations between the two countries and their militaries and the international and regional situation'. Liu is a member of the Chinese Central Military Commission, the highest decision-making body of the People's Liberation Army. The high-level meeting followed a series of diplomatic activities between China and the Southeast Asian country, which is also a traditional US ally in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Thai counterpart last month and said Thailand was a high priority for Chinese diplomacy in the region, following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in February. The two countries have also deepened defence cooperation in the past decade, especially since the 2014 military coup in Thailand, with China replacing the US to become Thailand's top arms supplier. Their joint exercises have appeared to include more comprehensive combat elements since last year, as highlighted by their joint air drill, 'Falcon Strike 2024'. Last month, the navies of the two countries concluded their most recent exercise which focused on counterterrorism tactics and anti-submarine warfare. While joint exercises and arms sales between the US and Thailand have been scaled back, Washington has ramped up its strategic and defence dialogue with Bangkok in the past few years as China's influence expands in the region. Thailand has imported a range of weapon systems from China, from armoured vehicles to air-defence systems. The two countries signed a deal in 2017 for Thailand to buy the first of three Yuan-class submarines from China for 13.5 billion baht (US$412 million). Bangkok has paid an instalment of 7 billion baht, but production has been stalled since 2022 due to China's inability to acquire a German engine because of Berlin's defence export limits. On Tuesday, Thailand's defence minister Phumtham Wechaychai said he would decide whether to accept the submarine with Chinese engines or cancel the contract and lose 80 per cent of the costs paid by the end of this month, according to Khaosod English. The Thai news site also reported that the Thai government had been asked by the Chinese ambassador to Thailand several times about when it would proceed with the remaining payment for the purchase of Chinese-made submarines, citing Wechayachai. Bangkok had previously asked Berlin to reconsider the embargo of its submarine engine, but Germany has rejected the requests. More from South China Morning Post: For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2025.
South China Morning Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China-Thailand meeting yields agreement on strategic cooperation and military exercises
Senior military officials from China and Thailand reached 'important consensus' on strategic cooperation when they met on Thursday, according to the defence ministry in Beijing. The meeting was held between China's chief of joint staff, Liu Zhenli, and Thailand's top defence official, Songwit Noonpackdee, during his visit to the Chinese capital. The two military leaders 'reached important consensus on strengthening strategic communication and deepening cooperation in joint exercises and training', according to a readout on Thursday. They also 'exchanged views on issues of common concern, such as relations between the two countries and their militaries and the international and regional situation'. 03:57 'We won't survive': Thai rice farmers brace for impact of US tariffs 'We won't survive': Thai rice farmers brace for impact of US tariffs Liu is a member of the Chinese Central Military Commission, the highest decision-making body of the People's Liberation Army. The high-level meeting followed a series of diplomatic activities between China and the Southeast Asian country, which is also a traditional US ally in the region.
Telegraph
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Armed Forces head under fire over China visit
The head of the British military has been criticised for visiting China earlier this week. Adml Sir Tony Radakin's trip marked the first time in 10 years that a UK official of his rank had travelled to Beijing for talks. Sir Tony and members of China's central military commission discussed 'issues of common concern' during the visit on Wednesday, according to the country's defence ministry. However, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, described the Chief of the Defence Staff's trip as 'terrible' and an act of 'appeasement'. He told The Telegraph: 'China is a brutal state, guilty of genocide in Xinjiang. It has seized the South China Sea and is militarising it, is threatening to invade Taiwan, carries out cyber attacks on UK installations at home and abroad, and supports Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine by buying sanctioned oil and gas from Russia.' Sir Iain added that China was also 'an ally of Iran and brokered the North Korean-Russian defence pact, within which Russia is giving North Korea sub-launch ballistic missile technology, increasing the threat to Western states'. He described the meeting as a 'ghastly game of appeasement' and added that the visit had been made by a Labour Government 'that is kowtowing to China'. Trip 'based on weakness' Bob Seely, a former Tory MP and China hawk, said the visit represented Labour's desire to ' reset relations with China ', but was 'based on weakness, not strength, and increasing supply chain dependency'. Gen Liu Zhenli, a member of China's central military commission, was among those who held talks with Sir Tony during his visit. An official readout of their meeting said: 'The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on China-UK relations and mil-to-mil relations, international and regional situations and issues of common concern, and had communication on strengthening exchanges and co-operation between the two militaries.' The Telegraph understands that Sir Tony's visit was seen as a natural continuation of the Government's desire to 'reset' relations with China after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, visited Beijing in January. Her trip followed a similar visit by David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, to the country at the end of last year. Sir Keir Starmer has yet to visit Beijing as Prime Minister, although it is understood a trip is being planned. The Telegraph understands that while Sir Tony's visit aimed to establish cordial relations, there are no plans to begin joint military exercises between the two nations. On Thursday night, he posted on X that he had visited China to discuss 'a range of security issues'. On Wednesday I met with Gen Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, in Beijing and held talks on a range of security issues. (1/2) — Chief of the Defence Staff 🇬🇧 (@AdmTonyRadakin_) April 10, 2025 Sir Tony added: 'We agreed that, in an unstable world, we must play our part as responsible nations with global interests, and we reflected on the importance of military-to-military communications.' He also gave a speech to future Chinese military commanders at the People's Liberation Army National Defence University in Beijing, according to The Times. The Ministry of Defence did not appear to publicise the visit, which comes just days after Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said his forces had captured two Chinese citizens who had been fighting on behalf of Russia. The last time a chief of the defence staff visited China was in 2015, when Gen Sir Nicholas Houghton travelled to the country during a period of good relations.
The Independent
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Head of the British armed forces visits China for first time in 10 years
The head of the British armed forces has visited China for the first time in a decade. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin discussed 'issues of common concern' with China's military leadership when he visited Beijing, according to China's defence ministry. General Liu Zhenli, a member of China's central military commission, was among those who held talks with Sir Tony on Wednesday. 'The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on China-UK relations and mil-to-mil relations, international and regional situations and issues of common concern, and had communication on strengthening exchanges and co-operation between the two militaries,' a readout of their meeting said. The Chief of the Defence Staff also gave a speech to future Chinese military commanders, at the People's Liberation Army National Defence University in Beijing, according to the Times newspaper. The Ministry of Defence did not appear to publicise the visit, which comes just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces had captured Chinese citizens who had been fighting on behalf of Russia. Posting on X, Sir Tony said: 'On Wednesday I met with Gen Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, in Beijing and held talks on a range of security issues. 'We agreed that in an unstable world we must play our part as responsible nations with global interests, and we reflected on the importance of military-to-military communications.' The last time a chief of the defence staff visited China was in 2015, when General Sir Nicholas Houghton travelled there during a period of good relations. The UK-China relationship has since become more tense, amid concerns about Beijing's human rights record and growing influence, but ministers have taken steps to deepen ties since Labour came to power. Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Shanghai and Beijing in October, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves engaged in trade talks during a visit to China in January. Sir Tony has returned to Europe since visiting Beijing. He was in Brussels on Thursday with Defence Secretary John Healey for talks to further the so-called coalition of the willing, aimed at policing a future peace deal in Ukraine.
