July 18:
Togolese authorities and officials of China Radio International and CCTV [China Central Television] have agreed to a broadcast content agreement whereby Chinese state media will broadcast some of their programs on the airwaves of Radio Lome and TVT [Togolese Television]. Zhou Weihua, the head of the Chinese delegation, explained that the partnership "will help to strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation between Togo and China." Besides broadcasting its content, the agreement also provides technical and material assistance for the modernization of the studios and administration of state-owned radio and TV stations. According to the republicoftogo.com, CCTV “based in Beijing is like Radio Canada International, a tool for selling the country abroad.”
[Editor’s Note: China Radio International broadcasts its programs in French on shortwave and on the Internet focused on Chinese and international news. Created three years ago, CCTV-F is the French channel of China Central Television. The station's programs are devoted to news in China, the economy, Chinese culture and international relations. Using satellites, CCTV-F is received directly or via cable packages around the world. In addition to the French channel, CCTV broadcasts in English, Spanish, Arabic, and of course in Chinese, with about ten channels devoted to the economy, sports, culture and opera.]
July 20:
This month China has conducted a series of military training exercises in the Yellow Sea giving what the Ta Kung Pao is calling “a strong signal that upgrading of national strength cannot be contained; coming close is also not permissible; peaceful radius must be maintained.” The PLA Navy held an air and sea real-troop and live-ammunition drill from June 30 to July 5; on 15 July new missile speedboats practiced a sudden attack on “the enemy's large and medium-sized surface ships.” Most recently on July 17 and 18 China carried out its first ever wartime emergency drill in the Yellow Sea. The drill, codenamed "at War – 2010,” was carried out at “a railway train ferry loading cabin in a dock of Yantai, Shandong Province.” It was intended “to ensure support for troop dispatches and weapons transport at sea” and that information was “shared by the military and local authorities in order to meet the need of war readiness.”
July 23:
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen says China is taking a "much more aggressive approach" in its policy toward international waters near its coastline and continues to refuse to hold talks with the U.S. military. Mullen told an audience in New Delhi that he was "concerned" about China's military buildup. "They seem to be taking a much more aggressive approach. Recent public statements about the U.S. Navy not operating in the Yellow Sea, which is an international body of water, that's just not something that we're going to adhere to," Admiral Mullen said. “We're going to continue to operate in international waters, as we have historically." Beijing claims control of a 300 km exclusive economic zone, while Washington considers anything beyond about 20 km to be international waters, the Voice of America reports.
July 24:
Five Republican Senators, John Cornyn, John McCain, James Risch, Pat Roberts and James Inhofe have sent a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates regarding China's extensive and alarming military build-up. The Senators cite the Pentagon’s failure to submit a report to the Congress on China’s military power as mandated by the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. “With the Chinese military power report now almost five months overdue, we ask that you submit it to Congress immediately and provide an explanation as to the significant delay. Continued delay would further hinder Congress' ability to fully and accurately understand the potential threat that China's rapidly expanding military poses to U.S. national security,” the letter reads, according to India’s The Statesman.
[Editor’s Note: Previous reports claimed that China has the most active land-based ballistic and cruise missile program in the world and is testing offensive missiles, raising new missile units, upgrading existing missiles and trying to develop an anti-missile system. Beijing’s attempts to acquire an aircraft carrier and Su-33 carrier-borne fighters from Russia have also been noted. In addition, the PLA is also testing an anti-ship ballistic missile intended to allow it to attack aircraft carriers at sea.]
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