Geo-Strategic Trend - 154. page

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that Australian police officially announced the outcome of a six-month secret investigation of a methamphetamine (also known as Meth) drug smuggling case. The case involved 1.2 tons of Meth drugs, worth around $1.04 billion Australian Dollars (around US$813 million). The drug dealers were caught red-handed upon delivery. This new case replaced a similar one they cracked at the beginning of 2017 to become the largest in Australia’s history. According to the police, this batch of drugs was sourced from China. The drug dealer group still has their “mother ship” near the seas of West Australia. The recent police move only halted the smaller shuttle boats. The police refused to release more information about the “mother ship” in order to protect the Interpol surveillance mission.

Source: Liberty Times Network, December 22, 2017
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2290921

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, at a press conference not long ago, the German Ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, described a series of issues that Germany had with China. One issue that the Ambassador discussed specifically was the agreement between the two governments to establish a mechanism to facilitate on-going dialogues on Internet security. Clauss said the original discussion started in June. However, because of the lack of good faith in such a dialogue on the Chinese side, there has been no activity since then. The spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, later responded that the comments that Ambassador Clauss made were almost “flipping right and wrong,” because, after multiple invitations from China, the German government kept delaying sending the delegation. She thought Mr. Clauss should be more constructive and should make more positive contributions to the China-Germany relationship.

Source: Sina, December 27, 2017
http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/chn/chnpolitics/phoenixtv/20171227/01048190592.html

Duowei cited a Japanese media report that North Korea has recently been mass producing counterfeit Chinese currency renminbi and bringing the counterfeit money into China.

According to South Korean media reports, the North Korean source responsible for the original manufacture of the counterfeit currency is the Pingcheng mint factories under the North Korean Workers’ Party “Room 39.” Its counterfeit money is very sophisticated. Even the bank staff that deals with cash every day cannot tell the difference unless they check very carefully.

The forgery and circulation of other countries’ currencies is called “economic terror” and could have become a big diplomatic issue. However, the response of the Chinese government is quite puzzling. To date, only a handful of police stations have placed a note, “The occurrence of a large amount of counterfeit money made in North Korea,” on the front page of their official websites to remind the public. The official media have been silent. The Chinese government also has not issued a protest to North Korea.

Source: Duowei, December 19, 2017
http://news.dwnews.com/global/news/2017-12-19/60030683.html

China News, a state owned and internationally oriented Chinese news agency, recently published a commentary on the latest Middle East situation. The article started with the Trump Administration’s official acknowledgement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The author described the reaction from the Arabic world, saying, “unusually low-key,” and that’s “expected.” The reason is that Saudi Arabia has, publicly, been getting closer and closer to Israel. The two nations have been aligning their actions recently on the world stage, such as aiming against Iran and working together in the UN against Syria. For many years Saudi Arabia has been providing much needed funds to support the Palestinian authority. However, Iran was the one leading a tougher movement against Israel, which is challenging Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia’s influence was damaged in dealing with the Yemen rebels and Qatar. The commentator suggested that when Saudi Arabia’s money and resources are combined with Israel’s military power and intelligence, the cooperation between these two nations should be quite effective and decisive. The biggest losers in this new era are the Palestinians.

Source: China News, December 19, 2017
http://www.chinanews.com/gj/2017/12-19/8404041.shtml

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emphasized the “Chinese Threat” again when he visited a local community. Turnbull said he was by no means against China since he had been doing business in China for 25 years. However, as the nation’s leader, he asked the Australian people to “stand up.” Turnbull also told the media that the Australian national security services confirmed that, in the past elections, a total of 10 candidates were “closely associated” with Chinese intelligence agencies. At least one of these candidates has already won an election. This is part of a wider Chinese plan to penetrate the Australian parliament. As soon as Turnbull made these comments, the Labor Party immediately accused the current administration of “intentionally leaking national security information,” in order to make the Labor party look bad. The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the China-Australia relationship is being “poisoned.”

Source: Sina, December 11, 2017
http://www.sina.com.cn/midpage/mobile/index.d.html?docID=fypnqvn2723508&url=news.sina.cn/gj/2017-12-11/detail-ifypnqvn2723508.d.html