Symbolic imageTaipei condemns planned Chinese-Indonesian drill east of Taiwan
China and Indonesia will hold a joint naval exercise east of Taiwan in mid-August. Taipei calls the first such drill a dangerous provocation.
China's defence ministry said on Tuesday, 11 August that a Chinese warship will hold a joint navigation exercise with an Indonesian navy ship east of the island, focused on communication drills and at-sea replenishment. Reuters calls the plan highly unusual, as China does not generally exercise with foreign militaries near Taiwan, where its coast guard began patrols off the east coast in June. Late on Tuesday Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council demanded Beijing stop behaviour meant to create the false impression that it controls those waters.
Beijing rejects missile-test statement
Global Times reported on Wednesday that Beijing rejected a US-led joint statement on missile-test notification, saying Washington is in no position to criticise Chinese testing and warning against 'political manipulation'.
Hypersonic weapons steered by starlight
The Guangdong Aerospace Research Academy has built a prototype star sensor so hypersonic weapons flying at Mach 5 and above can navigate by starlight if GPS or BeiDou is jammed, the South China Morning Post reports; the project passed its final expert review on Monday, 10 August.
Other opinions
Global Times calls the exercise a first of 'great significance'; Nikkei Asia and The Hindu stress the sensitivity of the waters and Taipei's protest.