Geo-Strategic Trend - 172. page

BBC Chinese recently reported that Australian Senator Sam Dastyari resigned from his post because he had accepted donations from foreign countries. This scandal involved some companies with a Mainland China background. In 2014, Dastyari was criticized for allowing a Chinese company to pay his legal fees. This time, he acknowledged that he asked some Chinese companies to reimburse him for some of his travel costs (around US$1,280). The Australian news company Fairfax Media was the first one to break the story. Dastyari is currently under investigation to see if he violated federal and local laws. He admitted wrong-doing at a press conference, saying he made a mistake. Labour leader Bill Shorten said he would like to give Dastyari a second chance.

Source: BBC Chinese, September 7, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/09/160907_australia_senator_scandal

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that India announced a US$500 million loan to Vietnam for defense purposes. The announcement was released after the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Modi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Ruanchun Fu in Hanoi. The two prime ministers also confirmed that they positioned the relationship between the two nations as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two sides both recognized the necessity of the cooperation among partners to face regional emergency challenges. The Times of India also reported that India is in talks with Vietnam on selling Vietnam the BrahMos cruise missiles, which was jointly developed between India and Russia. In the past decade, the relationship between India and Vietnam saw significant developments. Vietnam has been providing logistics services in its ports to Indian warships. Analysts expressed their belief that these moves are seen as aimed at China.

Source: Sina, September 3, 2016
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/news/int/cna/20160903/02347503033.html

Well-known Taiwanese Newspaper Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently summarized a number of reports from multiple sources on the surprising move that the pro-mainland Hong Kong newspaper Sing Pao Daily News made, suggesting that the sitting Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is the true “Father of Hong Kong Independence.” Leung Chun-ying is widely considered to be a “puppet” of the Communist mainland, and Sing Pao Daily News is traditionally a typical pro-mainland newspaper. The shocking finger-pointing from Sing Pao happened right before the Hong Kong Legislative Council Election. Sing Pao accused Leung of exaggerating the seriousness of the Hong Kong Independence Movement to prove his own importance. Sing Pao also called for an investigation of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, which is the office representing the Beijing central government.

Source: Liberty Times Network, September 2, 2016
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/1813583

BBC Chinese recently reported on an agreement that the United States and India signed, and also on a deal settled between China and Pakistan. The U.S. and Indian military reached an agreement on August 30 to allow the military bases of both sides to provide logistical support to each other. The agreement was designed to ease the mission of protecting freedom of navigation in international waters. On August 31, it was widely reported across Pakistan that the Pakistan Navy reported to the Pakistan’s National Assembly Defense Committee that it will acquire eight advanced submarines from China before 2028. This arms deal is worth around US$4 billion to US$5 billion. The construction of four of the submarines will take place in Karachi and China will transfer the technological know-how to Pakistan. Pakistan currently has eight submarines, which are all outdated.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 31, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/08/160831_pakistan_china_submarines
Source: BBC Chinese, August 30, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/08/160830_indai_usa_military_agreement

BBC Chinese recently reported that the new British administration decided to delay the decision on whether or not to approve the Hinkley C Nuclear Power Plant Project which had heavy Chinese investments. Given the importance of the project to Britain’s future energy security, the British government explained that it needed more time to review the entire project. The China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGN) released an announcement to express its understanding and respect for that decision. Hinkley C is Britain’s first new nuclear power plant in 20 years. Once in place, it is expected to supply seven percent of all of Britain’s electricity. China committed six billion British pounds to its investment in the project, which is one third of the total amount.