Asia
China responds to US complaint over plane intercept with demand for end to surveillance flights
Beijing responded Wednesday to complaints from the United States about a Chinese fighter jet's dangerous interception of an American Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the South China Sea by demanding an end to such flights.
The incident adds to military, diplomatic and economic tensions between the sides over U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, China's refusal to engage in dialogue between their armed forces and Beijing's flying of a suspected spy balloon over the U.S.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing Wednesday that China would keep taking measures it deems necessary to safeguard its sovereignty.
"The U.S. should immediately stop these dangerous provocations," Mao said.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command called the Chinese plane's actions an "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver," adding to complaints that China's military has become significantly more aggressive over the past five years, intercepting U.S. aircraft and ships in the region.
China says it owns the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, a claim not recognized internationally and directly challenged by nations along its coast including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
In a statement Tuesday, the U.S. military said the pilot of the Chinese J-16 fighter jet flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135 conducting routine operations in international airspace last Friday.
Military-to-military contacts between the sides have all but evaporated in recent years amid a historic decline in governmental relations, even as trade and personal exchanges remain strong.
Further dampening prospects for a reduction in tensions, China said its defense chief will not meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when the two men attend a security conference in Singapore over the weekend.
Austin is scheduled to address the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, while Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu will speak at the gathering on Sunday.
China has said the U.S. is entirely responsible for the breakdown in communications, but has not publicly given a reason.
With its People's Liberation Army as the world's largest standing military, which answers directly to the ruling Communist Party, China frequently challenges military aircraft from the U.S. and its allies in the South and East China Seas, and the Taiwan Strait connecting the two.
Such behavior led to a 2001 in-air collision between a Chinese fighter and U.S. Navy surveillance plane in which the Chinese plane was lost and pilot killed.
In Tuesday's statement, the Indo-Pacific Command said America will continue to "fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international law allows," and expects all other countries to do the same.
China warns of artificial intelligence risks, calls for beefed-up national security measures
China's ruling Communist Party has warned of the risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence while calling for heightened national security measures.
The statement issued after a meeting Tuesday chaired by party leader and President Xi Jinping underscores the tension between the government's determination to seize global leadership in cutting-edge technology and concerns about the possible social and political harms of such technologies.
It also followed a warning by scientists and tech industry leaders in the U.S., including high-level executives at Microsoft and Google, about the perils that artificial intelligence poses to humankind.
The meeting in Beijing discussed the need for "dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence," the official Xinhua News Agency said.
"It was stressed at the meeting that the complexity and severity of national security problems faced by our country have increased dramatically. The national security front must build up strategic self-confidence, have enough confidence to secure victory, and be keenly aware of its own strengths and advantages," Xinhua said.
"We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters and even dangerous storms," it said.
Xi, who is China's head of state, commander of the military and chair of the party's National Security Commission, called at the meeting for "staying keenly aware of the complicated and challenging circumstances facing national security."
China needs a "new pattern of development with a new security architecture," Xinhua reported Xi as saying.
China already dedicates vast resources to suppressing any perceived political threats to the party's dominance, with spending on the police and security personnel exceeding that devoted to the military.
While it relentlessly censors in-person protests and online criticism, citizens have continued to express dissatisfaction with policies, most recently the draconian lockdown measures enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19.
China has been cracking down on its tech sector in an effort to reassert party control, but like other countries it is scrambling to find ways to regulate fast-developing AI technology.
The most recent party meeting reinforced the need to "assess the potential risks, take precautions, safeguard the people's interests and national security, and ensure the safety, reliability and ability to control AI," the official newspaper Beijing Youth Daily reported Tuesday.
Worries about artificial intelligence systems outsmarting humans and slipping out of control have intensified with the rise of a new generation of highly capable AI chatbots such as ChatGPT.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, and Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the godfather of artificial intelligence, were among the hundreds of leading figures who signed the statement on Tuesday that was posted on the Center for AI Safety's website.
"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," the statement said.
More than 1,000 researchers and technologists, including Elon Musk, who is currently on a visit to China, had signed a much longer letter earlier this year calling for a six-month pause on AI development.
The missive said AI poses "profound risks to society and humanity," and some involved in the topic have proposed a United Nations treaty to regulate the technology.
China warned as far back as 2018 of the need to regulate AI, but has nonetheless funded a vast expansion in the field as part of efforts to seize the high ground on cutting-edge technologies.
A lack of privacy protections and strict party control over the legal system have also resulted in near-blanket use of facial, voice and even walking-gait recognition technology to identify and detain those seen as threatening, particularly political dissenters and religious minorities, especially Muslims.
Members of the Uyghur and other mainly Muslim ethnic groups have been singled out for mass electronic monitoring and more than 1 million people have been detained in prison-like political re-education camps that China calls deradicalization and job training centers.
AI's risks are seen mainly in its ability to control robotic, self-governing weaponry, financial tools and computers governing power grids, health centers, transportation networks and other key infrastructure.
China's unbridled enthusiasm for new technology and willingness to tinker with imported or stolen research and to stifle inquiries into major events such as the COVID-19 outbreak heighten concerns over its use of AI.
"China's blithe attitude toward technological risk, the government's reckless ambition, and Beijing's crisis mismanagement are all on a collision course with the escalating dangers of AI," technology and national security scholars Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley wrote in an article published this week in the journal Foreign Affairs.
“There are people in India who think they know more than God and PM Modi is "one such specimen," says Rahul during US tour
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, now on a six-day tour in the United States, criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying there are people in India who think they know more than God and PM Modi is "one such specimen."Speaking at an event in San Francisco organised by the Indian Overseas Congress USA, he took a dig at PM Modi, suggesting that Modi "would start explaining to God how the universe works” as “Some people believe they know everything,” insinuating that the Premier falls into this category, reports NDTV.Union Minister Anurag Thakur swiftly responded to Gandhi's comments, accusing the Congress leader of being unable to accept the praise and appreciation PM Modi received during his recent foreign visits. Thakur claimed that Gandhi's remarks were an attempt to undermine India's progress on the international stage.During his first speech on his three-city visit, Rahul Gandhi shed light on the launch of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. “Some months ago, we started a walk from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. While walking we realised that normal instruments for doing politics (connecting with people) were not working anymore. They were controlled by the BJP and RSS. People are threatened and agencies are used against them. In some way, it had become quite difficult to act politically. That is why we decided to walk from the southernmost tip of India to Srinagar," the Congress leader said at an event titled 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' on Wednesday.In an apparent jab at PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi remarked, “Some groups in India are under the impression that they know everything. In India, we grew up with people of different languages, different religions. And that is what is being attacked. The tradition in India, of people like Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji, has been that you should not be under the impression of knowing everything. It is a 'disease' that some groups of India think that they know everything. Even if they have a conversation with God, they might explain to him.”"And of course, the Prime Minister is one of them. If you make him sit with God, he would start explaining to him (God) how the universe works...and God would get confused about what I had created. They (BJP) can speak to scientists and explain science to them. They can explain history to historians, warfare to the army and flying to the air force. But at the heart of it, they don't know anything,” he added. The ruling BJP responded strongly to Gandhi's remarks. Union Minister Anurag Thakur accused the Congress leader of insulting India while on his visits abroad.“During his foreign visits, Rahul Gandhi insults India, which is unacceptable. He wants to insult PM Modi but ends up insulting India, questioning India's progress. He is trying to tarnish India at a time the world is acknowledging our growing stature," he said.“PM Modi met almost 24 PMs and Presidents of the world and held over 50 meetings during his foreign visit recently. Several world leaders say Modi is the most popular leader. When the Australian PM said 'PM Modi is the Boss', Rahul Gandhi could not digest this,” added the Union Minister.
Manipur situation will take time to settle down: Indian Chief of Defence Staff
Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said the situation in Manipur will take some time to settle down, reports NDTV.
"We've done an excellent job and saved a large number of lives. The challenges in Manipur have not disappeared and it will take some time but hopefully, they should settle down," he said.
General Chauhan also said the violence in Manipur is a result of a clash between two ethnicities and has nothing to do with counter-insurgency, said the report.
Also read: 54 people killed in street clashes in India’s Manipur
"The situation in Manipur has nothing to do with counter-insurgency and is primarily a clash between two ethnicities. It's a law and order kind of situation and we are helping the state government," he said.
Since the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, the northeastern state has been plagued by ethnic conflict for over a month. As tensions over land and political representation have erupted, the conflict has spawned a series of lesser disturbances, it added.
Meanwhile, Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the Governor of Manipur Anusuiya Uikey and Chief Minister N Biren Singh's council of ministers on Monday after he touched down in the state for a four-day visit.
Shah met with top army officials, civil society organizations, and influential community leaders to finalise a strategy to curb ethnic violence in the state.
Clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 following a solidarity march by tribal groups to protest against the Meiteis, who comprise 64 percent of the state's population, and their demand for a Scheduled Tribe status, the report also mentioned.
Over 80 people have died, properties worth crores torched, and thousands forced to evacuate due to the violence that has gripped the state since the march.
Imran Khan to be tried in military court for executing May 9 attacks: Pakistan Interior Minister
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan will be tried in a military court for the events of May 9 when violence erupted following his arrest and military installations came under attack, reports DAWN.
During an appearance on the Dawn News show, the Pakistani minister accused the former prime minister of personally orchestrating the attacks on military installations prior to his arrest on the day in question, adding that there was evidence to support this claim, it said.
Also read: Pro-Imran Khan Pakistani TV journalist returns home after being freed
When asked if Imran would be tried in the military court, Sanaullah said: “Absolutely, why shouldn’t it. The program that he made to target the military installations and then had it executed, in my understanding it absolutely is a case of military court.”
The interior minister accused the PTI chief of personally orchestrating the May 9 riots.
Also read: Imran Khan warns of ‘East Pakistan-like situation’ in his country
“They (PTI supporters) chanted a slogan that ‘Imran Khan is our red line’, and the planning and preparation were done on Imran Khan’s initiative and instigation.”
“He carried it all out. He is the architect of all this discord,” he said.
When asked how Imran was able to communicate with his party leaders even from jail, the interior minister replied: “All this [planning] was decided before he went [to jail] that ’who will do what and where. And when he is arrested, what would be the strategy and duties. All of this was decided.”
At least eight people were killed, up to 290 were hurt, and over 1,900 protesters were arrested on May 9, when a court in Islamabad handed Imran over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Al Qadir Trust case. The court’s decision sparked protests all over the country, the report said.
Also read: Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan says police are surrounding his home
The protestors also overran the residence of the corps commander in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House, and destroyed a GHQ gate in Rawalpindi, it added.
The government and military vowed strictest measures against the perpetrators in response to the riot, resulting in an ongoing crackdown against those involved.
16-year-old girl in India stabbed to death in public
A 16-year-old girl was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in a crowded public passageway in India's capital, igniting renewed concern about women's safety in the nation and violence perpetrated by men.
Multiple individuals can be seen strolling close by as the assailant repeatedly hits the victim in the video, which lasted more than a minute and was recorded on surveillance camera, reports CNN.
Also read: India gangrape: Thousands protest rising crimes against women
Only one man is seen intervening, attempting to pull the attacker off the victim before immediately retreating, it said.
The victim's body was discovered Sunday evening in the Shahbad Dairy area of the northern Delhi city of Rohini, where the incident had occurred.
Indian police said on Monday afternoon that they had arrested a male suspect called Sahil in connection with the murder.
Also read: As India’s population soars above all, fewer women have jobs
Sahil, a mechanic, was arrested in the adjacent state of Uttar Pradesh, according to Ravi Kumar Singh, deputy police commissioner for Outer Delhi.
Deependra Pathak, special commissioner of Police in Delhi, told the Indian news station Times Now that the first probe indicated to a "crime of passion."
“I saw my daughter was lying on the ground, with her face to the ground,” the girl’s father, Janak Raj, told CNN. “Her organs had come out and her head had been smashed in. She lay there lifeless. There was no point in taking her to hospital.”
“It angers me to know that no one helped my daughter,” he added. If they had helped her, she would have been alive today. I also heard that the bystanders were busy filming videos of the incident. Even if they had screamed, it would have helped my daughter.”
Also read: In India, another alleged rape victim dies after burn attack
Raj said his daughter assisted the family's finances through tutoring. “I don’t feel alive today,” he said through tears. “I miss her so much. She was such a good child. What do I do?”
The death is the latest in a long line of rapes and killings in India, raising concerns about whether enough is being done to protect women and punish attackers, the report added.
“A minor girl is brutally murdered openly in Delhi,” Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on Twitter. “This is very sad and unfortunate. The criminals have become fearless, and there is no fear of the police.”
“The safety of the people of Delhi is of paramount importance,” he added.
Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, told ANI that she had never seen anything like it.
“Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls,” she added.
For a long time, India has struggled to confront gender violence. According to a 2018 study of women's issues specialists, the country is the most hazardous location in the world to be a woman.
The frequency of crimes against women appears to be on the rise in India as well. Crimes against women were 20% higher in 2020 than in 2013, according to statistics from India's National Crime Records Bureau, said the report.
Crowd in China clashes with police over plans to demolish mosque
China's government is calling on protesters to turn themselves in after a crowd clashed with police over plans to demolish a mosque in the country's southwest as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over religion and society.
Protesters threw water bottles at officers with helmets and shields outside the blue-domed Najiaying Mosque in Yuxi, a city in Yunnan province, according to videos on social media. One punched a police officer’s helmet but little other violence was shown. The Associated Press confirmed the location of the protest. Videos showing the protests were removed from Chinese social media.
Police called on “criminal suspects” to turn themselves in following Saturday’s incident and said those who do might receive lighter punishment. A police statement vowed “zero tolerance” toward “criminal activities that impede social management.”
People who answered the phone Tuesday at the police headquarters referred questions to the local government propaganda office. An employee who answered the phone there said the office had no information.
A court in 2020 ordered the Najiaying Mosque demolished after ruling it was built without official permission, according to a document on the court website.
The protesters were Hui, whose ancestors were members of China’s majority Han ethnic group and adopted Islam, according to the videos.
A man in a ripped T-shirt was shown wearing handcuffs but it was unclear whether he was in police custody. A caption said some 30 people were detained but the public dragged some away from police.
Elsewhere, Xi’s government has demolished mosques or removed domes, minarets and other distinctive Muslim features to transform them into nondescript, Chinese-style buildings.
In the northwest, some 1 million members of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority have been confined to detention centers, according to foreign researchers. The government says they are for job training and to combat radicalism.
That has prompted complaints Xi’s government is trying to erase the cultural identity of Muslim minorities.
Two female spectators in Yuxi wore Muslim headscarves. Protesters and other spectators were men in T-shirts and trousers or shorts.
Tesla's Musk meets Chinese foreign minister, who calls for 'mutual respect' in US-China relations
China's foreign minister met Tesla Ltd. CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday and said strained U.S.-Chinese relations require "mutual respect," while delivering a message of reassurance that foreign companies are welcome.
U.S.-Chinese relations are especially tense after Washington shot down a Chinese balloon believed to be gathering intelligence and warned Beijing against supplying arms to Russia for its war against Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported China has rejected a request for its defense minister to meet the U.S. defense secretary when both are in Singapore this weekend.
"We need to keep the steering wheel in the right direction of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation," Qin Gang told Musk, according to a ministry statement.
The two sides should "avoid 'dangerous driving,' " Qin said. He gave no details of steps to improve relations.
Musk's visit comes at a time when the ruling Communist Party is trying to revive investor interest in China's slowing economy. Foreign companies are uneasy following raids on consulting firms and given the strained Chinese relations with Washington.
Qin said China will "unswervingly promote high-level opening up" and create a "market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment," according to the statement. "China's development is an opportunity for the world."
China's electric vehicle market "has broad prospects for development," the ministry quoted Qin as saying. China accounts for half of global electric vehicle sales and is the site of Tesla's first factory outside the United States.
Tesla opened the first wholly foreign-owned auto factory in China in 2019 after Beijing eased ownership restrictions to increase competition and speed up industry development.
The Chinese statement cited Musk as saying Tesla was willing to expand its business in China and "opposes decoupling," a reference to fears the world may split into multiple markets with incompatible products.
Tesla didn't respond to requests by email for information about Musk's visit to China.
Jinnah House attack case: Imran called for quizzing
Pakistan's former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been summoned by a joint investigation team (JIT) over the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House (Jinnah House) on May 9.
The JIT has called Khan to appear before them at the Qilla Gujjar police headquarters on Tuesday at 4 pm, reports Dawn.
The summons is in connection with a case registered against the attack at the Sarwar Road police station.
Imran Khan has been accused of abetting the attackers who vandalized and set fire to the Jinnah House while he was in prison.
“Imran Khan is required to attend the office of the DIG Investigation to join the investigation proceedings entrusted to the JTI formed by the Punjab government, reads the summon notice, issued by Lahore DIG (investigation) Kamran Adil.
Lahore police chief Bilal Siddique Kamyana has confirmed the summoning of the PTI chief for questioning.
The former prime minister will be interrogated to determine the extent of his involvement in the attack.
Several other senior PTI leaders and activists have also been named in the FIR.
The decision to summon Imran Khan came after Lahore SSP (investigation) Dr Anoosh Masood visited Kot Lakhpat jail where PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid and fashion designer Khadija Shah, who was arrested in connection with the attack, are being held.
This visit followed Imran Khan's accusations against the caretaker Punjab government of mistreating PTI's imprisoned women supporters.
Imran Khan had made unverified claims of the rape of PTI women political prisoners. “I have heard about the rape of PTI women political prisoners,” he said.
Pro-Imran Khan Pakistani TV journalist returns home after being freed
A prominent Pakistani television journalist who went missing last week, apparently because of his public support to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, returned home early Tuesday after being released by his captors, his family and his employer said.
Sami Abrahim's brother, Ali Raza, took to Twitter to confirm his release. BOL TV confirmed his release in a news announcement.
Abrahim went missing Thursday when eight people in four vehicles intercepted his car on his way back home from work in the capital, Islamabad, and took him away, according to his family and BOL TV where Abrahim works.
No one had claimed responsibility for Abrahim's abduction, but it is widely believed that he was being held by the country's security agencies, which are notorious for abducting, harassing and torturing journalists.
Abrahim has long publicly opposed the government of Khan's successor, Premier Shahbaz Sharif. Khan, a former cricket star who became an Islamist politician, was in office in 2018-2022 and was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last year.
Another pro-Khan TV journalist, Imran Riaz, went missing earlier this month and was yet to be freed.