Free Republic

Australian authorities coordinating the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said Thursday that lab tests have shown an oil slick found in the search area last Sunday is not aircraft engine fuel or hydraulic fluid. Searchers are now using a robotic submarine, the Bluefin-21, to look for wreckage on the floor of the Indian Ocean more than 1,000 miles northwest of Perth, Australia. The Bluefin-21 has a rated depth of 4,500 meters, or 2.8 miles, and shortly after it was deployed on its first run this week, it returned to the surface several hours later because it reached that depth...

Chinese group claims responsibility for flight MH370 Staff Reporter 2014-03-10 11:56 (GMT+8) A group that calls itself the Chinese Martyrs' Brigade has claimed responsibility for crashing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has remained missing after losing contact with ground control at 1:20am on Saturday. The previously unheard-of group sent a PDF statement to various journalists in China on March 9, saying, "You kill one of our clan, we will kill 100 of you as pay back." The majority of Chinese media outlets have expressed skepticism over the statement or dismissed it outright, suggesting it is likely a hoax made up...

he US Navy reconnaissance jet flies at 21,500 feet over the South China Sea, 30 miles from the contested Paracel Islands, a group of about 130 small atolls, the biggest of which are home to Chinese military bases. A voice, saying it’s coming from a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) airport, crackles over the radio of the US Navy P-8 Poseidon as a CNN crew, given rare access aboard the US flight, listens in. "American aircraft. Chinese airspace is 12 nautical miles. Not approaching any more or you bear all responsibility,” it says. In a few minutes, a Chinese fighter jet...

The Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon The US Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting "integrated expeditionary strike force operations" in the South China Sea...

The United States and the Philippines have agreed to restart joint patrols in the South China Sea as the longtime allies seek to counter China's military rise, a US Defense Department statement said. The two countries had suspended maritime patrols in the hotly contested area under the rule of former president Rodrigo Duterte. During a visit to Manila by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he and Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez "agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea to help address (security) challenges", the statement said on Thursday (Feb 2).

Want to see what China's island bases in the South China Sea look like? Take a look at some of the startling images taken by Getty Images photographer Ezra Acayan in October. They show airfields, radar installations, and military aircraft and warships stationed in the Spratly Islands, which are about 400 miles from the Chinese coast. Beijing has used both natural and artificial islands to build up its military capabilities in the area....

Chinese police kicked and beat a BBC journalist while detaining him for covering the biggest uprising there since the Tiananmen Square protests more than three decades ago. The British national broadcaster said it was “extremely concerned about the treatment” of Ed Lawrence, whose violent arrest in Shanghai was captured in disturbing videos shared online. “During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police,” the BBC said of Lawrence, adding he was then “held for several hours before being released.” Lawrence himself noted a Swiss journalist was briefly detained and “at least one local national was arrested after trying...

The Biden administration is giving so much military assistance to Ukraine to combat Russian forces that it's risking not having enough weapons to help defend Taiwan should China invade, according to experts and former top national security officials."Our weapons stockpiles are low, in large part because of the war in Ukraine, which means if there's another war, or if we need to provide weapons to Taiwan, those weapons aren't going to be there because these weapons are complicated to make — they're expensive," former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Friday."My...

President Xi Jinping declared in November last year: “China resolutely opposes hegemonism and power politics.” “(It) wishes to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours and jointly nurture lasting peace in the region and absolutely will not seek hegemony or even less, bully the small,” the Chinese leader added. He was speaking during a special summit to commemorate the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China.

The silent ceramic objects that survive from medieval Indian Ocean trade carry incredible stories of a time when South Asia had the upper hand over China...In the 830s CE, a ship tried to make a daring crossing. Navigating treacherous reefs and shoals, it was attempting to move from the South China Sea to the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. After a brief stop there, it intended to catch the monsoon winds to India. This attempt failed, and the ship’s contents — ranging from marvellously carved golden plates to glazed ceramics, from a diplomat’s ink-stone to a small toy dog...

Over the past ten years, China’s Communist Party (CCP) has strategically relied on its $4 trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to boost its image and influence with at least 149 countries to date. But success has eluded its efforts, and the BRI strategy may be doomed as a result. Consider for example the CCP’s stalled attempts at pushing the BRI strategy across countries in Europe. Not anticipated were the barriers and delays created by sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Before the sanctions, China used Russia as a convenient transit point for the shipment of BRI...

<p>An image and multiple videos of a Lockheed Martin F-35C stealth fighter jet that crashed-landed on an aircraft carrier transiting an undisclosed location in the South China Sea were leaked onto the internet in early February. After an investigation, the US Navy charged a handful of sailors for leaking internal video footage of the incident.</p>

Leaked video captured the harrowing moment a fighter jet crashed onto the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson before plunging into the South China Sea last month. The pilot was recovered after ejecting from the F-35C Lightning II, which was seen bobbing in the water without its canopy. Seven sailors were wounded in the Jan. 24 incident. The footage captured the aircraft’s final moments from the Pilot’s Landing Aid Television, or PLAT, camera as well as from the ship’s so-called “island,” the command center for flight-deck operations. The F-35C is seen banking as it descends rapidly toward the...

An F-35C Joint Strike Fighter was involved in a mishap today while landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which is currently operating in the South China Sea. The pilot ejected from the aircraft and is in a stable condition, while seven other sailors aboard the ship were injured as a result of the accident. The fate of the aircraft is uncertain.USNI News was the first to report on this incident, citing a U.S. Navy release. That release also said that of the seven injured sailors, four received treatment aboard the Carl Vinson, while three were evacuated to a...

A fighter jet has crashed while attempting to land on the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea, injuring at least seven crew members, the U.S. Navy says. The pilot safely ejected. The accident happened on Monday when the F-35C Lightning II aircraft was attempting to land on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson, which is carrying out routine flight operations in the South China Sea. A statement from the U.S. Navy said the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was later recovered by a U.S. military helicopter, but 7 service members were injured, including 4 sailors...

A German warship entered the South China Sea on Wednesday for the first time in almost 20 years in yet another example of the Western push to stoke tensions with China in the region. Germany’s Defense Ministry said the frigate Bayern began a transit through the disputed waters on the way to Singapore, a trip that should take a few days. The last time a German warship sailed through the South China Sea was in 2002. Via Reuters Germany is the latest Western ally of the US to send a warship into sensitive waters near China in a move that...

Vladimir Putin boasted yesterday that Russia had the power to launch an 'unpreventable strike' against its enemies in a show of strength following the confrontation with Britain in the Black Sea. The Russian president told a navy day parade in St Petersburg: 'We are capable of detecting any underwater, above-water, airborne enemy and, if required, carry out an unpreventable strike.' It comes as military officials announced tests of advanced new weapons – some of which come from an arsenal Mr Putin has described as 'invincible'. He added: 'The Russian navy today has everything it needs to guarantee the protection of...

A RUSSIAN vessel fired warning shots British warships while a fighter jet dropped "warning bombs", Vladimir Putin's defence ministry has claimed. Moscow has alleged the Russian ship and aircraft were scrambled after HMS Defender allegedly crossed into its territorial waters in the Black Sea. HMS Defender was reportedly sailing in the Black Sea Russian state media reports the Royal Navy Type-45 destroyer crossed the border near Cape Fiolent at 11.52am local time and was warned to stand down. The destroyer is alleged to have kept its course and a Russian border patrol vessel opened fire at 12.06pm and 12.08pm. And...

A British warship transited the Taiwan Strait as China continues its military pressure upon Taiwan.The Royal Navy’s HMS Richmond announced on Twitter its latest whereabouts on Sept. 27. “After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea,” it said, “we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Navy.”The brief post drew a rebuke from the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command the same day.The spokesperson for the command, Shi Yi, criticized the passage on its official WeChat account as a “public hype-up,” saying the UK “just validated its...

China has warned Britain is 'a bi*ch... asking for a beating' if British warships challenge Beijing's claim to the South China Sea. The HMS Queen Elizabeth and her carrier group arrived in the disputed waters on Thursday and are set to sail through Beijing's backyard alongside eight other vessels in a show of strength to Chinese President Xi Jingping. But Chinese state media has warned any move seen as a challenge to islands which Beijing lays claim to would mean Britain 'is being a bi*ch' and 'asking for a beating'.... ....'To say it precisely, if the UK wants to play...