March 17:
President Xi Jinping will head up a new cyber warfare task force, which “may signal China’s intent to use further cyber operations against its neighbors,” The Jerusalem Post reports. “If China wants to increase the cost for Japan and for the West of resisting its [sovereignty claims over the Diaoyu Islands], cyber operations are an obvious method.” Given the close relationship between Beijing and Tehran and their history of sharing military technology, Tel Aviv is concerned that its systems could come under increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
March 18:
People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops have made another attempt to cross the disputed border with India into Chumar, Ladakh and retreated only after Indian soldiers formed a human wall to block their advance. The first nine PLA soldiers to reach the border were stopped by Indian troops. Soon another 10 PLA arrived on horseback to press ahead, but Indian troops were also reinforced and the Chinese side retreated. Chinese troops made repeated assertions to Indian counterparts that the area was China’s territory, Times of India reports.
March 21:
China is seeking to become the first country to test an anti-satellite weapon capable of reaching satellites in medium earth orbit, Want China Times reports. Beijing is developing the new weapon based on its SC-19 system and incorporating a road-mobile ballistic missile. Satellite images show a mobile missile launcher, aka a “transporter-erector-launcher” at the Xichang launch site in Sichuan. Last May, the PLA tested a kinetic interceptor that could reach geostationary orbit about 36,000 km above the earth. In 2007, China created more than 3,000 pieces of space debris when it first tested the SC-19 to destroy a crippled weather satellite.
March 24:
The UN has barred a representative from a Chinese Communist Party front group, the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, from attending Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva after he photographed a witness who gave testimony about her father who is serving a life sentence in China for his political activities. The UN called the photo “intimidation” and forced the man to delete the images, reports the New York Times. The incident drew attention to Chinese groups that are listed at the UN as nongovernmental organizations, but are actually working to promote Beijing’s political agenda. “A decision was taken given the gravity of the situation to take his pass away,” said a UN spokesman, also noting that the Chinese organization had itself not been barred. The man had first openly photographed the witness then, after being asked to stop, continued to photograph her surreptitiously with a camera partially hidden behind his jacket. He was observed again and removed by security. China was elected in November to the Human Rights Council, where it is supposed to uphold the highest human rights standards.
[Editor’s Note: According to its website, senior leaders of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture include Du Qinglin, a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the former head of the United Front Work Department; Zhang Yijiong, a Central Committee member and former deputy party secretary of Tibet; and Zhu Weiqun, a former deputy head of the United Front Work Department.]
March 27:
China has lost a dispute at the World Trade Organization over restrictions on rare earth metals exports, including tungsten and molybdenum, Radio Australia reports. The WTO will publish its ruling this week and China can appeal within 60 days. In 2013, Beijing began claiming rampant over-mining has caused ecological damage and capped rare earth production at 93,800 metric tons. In response, the U.S., European Union and Japan jointly filed a complaint with the WTO claiming the restrictions amounted to protectionism. China produces more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earth elements, which are used in sectors including renewable energy, telecommunications and defense.