World
US admiral says China fully militarized isles in South China Sea
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China has totally militarized a minimum of three of a number of islands it constructed within the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile techniques, laser and jamming gear and fighter jets in an more and more aggressive transfer that threatens all nations working close by, a high U.S. navy commander mentioned Sunday.
U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino mentioned the hostile actions had been in stark distinction to Chinese language President Xi Jinping’s previous assurances that Beijing wouldn’t rework the unreal islands in contested waters into navy bases. The efforts had been a part of China’s flexing its navy muscle, he mentioned.
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“I believe over the previous 20 years we’ve witnessed the most important navy buildup since World Conflict II by the PRC,” Aquilino instructed The Related Press in an interview, utilizing the initials of China’s formal identify. “They’ve superior all their capabilities, and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the area.”
There have been no rapid feedback from Chinese language officers. Beijing maintains its navy profile is solely defensive, organized to guard what it says are its sovereign rights. However after years of elevated navy spending, China now boasts the world’s second-largest protection finances after the U.S. and is quickly modernizing its drive with weapons techniques together with the J-20 stealth fighter, hypersonic missiles and two plane carriers, with a 3rd underneath building.
Admiral John C. Aquilino, left, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), seems at movies of Chinese language buildings and buildings on board a U.S. P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance airplane flying on the Spratly group of islands within the South China Sea Sunday, March 20, 2022.
(AP Picture/Aaron Favila)
Aquilino spoke with the AP onboard a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane that flew close to Chinese language-held outposts within the South China Sea’s Spratly archipelago, one of the vital hotly contested areas on the planet. Throughout the patrol, the P-8A Poseidon airplane was repeatedly warned by Chinese language callers that it illegally entered what they mentioned was China’s territory and ordered the airplane to maneuver away.
“China has sovereignty over the Spratly islands, in addition to surrounding maritime areas. Keep away instantly to keep away from misjudgment,” one of many stern radio messages mentioned in a veiled risk.
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However the U.S. Navy airplane dismissed the a number of warnings and pressed on defiantly with its reconnaissance briefly however tense moments witnessed by two AP journalists invited onboard.
“I’m a sovereign immune United States naval plane conducting lawful navy actions past the nationwide airspace of any coastal state,” a U.S. pilot radioed again to the Chinese language.
“Exercising these rights is assured by worldwide regulation, and I’m working with due regard to the rights and duties of all states.”
Navy commanding officer Joel Martinez, who led the P-8A Poseidon’s crew, mentioned there was an incident when a Chinese language jet flew near a U.S. plane in a harmful maneuver within the disputed area. The U.S. flight crew calmly reminded the Chinese language to adjust to aviation security laws, he mentioned.
Because the P-8A Poseidon flew as little as 15,000 ft (4,500 meters) close to the Chinese language-occupied reefs, some gave the impression to be like small cities on display screens, with multi-story buildings, warehouses, hangars, seaports, runways and white spherical buildings Aquilino mentioned had been radars. Close to Fiery Cross, greater than 40 unspecified vessels could possibly be seen apparently anchored.
Aquilino mentioned the development of missile arsenals, plane hangars, radar techniques and different navy amenities on Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross appeared to have been accomplished, nevertheless it stays to be seen if China will pursue the development of navy infrastructure in different areas.
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“The operate of these islands is to develop the offensive functionality of the PRC past their continental shores,” he mentioned. “They’ll fly fighters, bombers plus all these offensive capabilities of missile techniques.”
He mentioned any navy and civilian airplane flying over the disputed waterway might simply get inside vary of the Chinese language islands’ missile system.
“In order that’s the risk that exists, that’s why it’s so regarding for the militarization of those islands,” he mentioned. “They threaten all nations who function within the neighborhood and all of the worldwide sea and airspace.”
Chinese language buildings and buildings on the man-made island on Mischief Reef on the Spratly group of islands within the South China Sea seen Sunday, March 20, 2022.
(AP Picture/Aaron Favila)
China sought to shore up its huge territorial claims over nearly your entire South China Sea by constructing island bases on coral atolls almost a decade in the past. The U.S. responded by sending its warships by means of the area in what it calls freedom of operation missions. The US has no claims itself however has deployed Navy ships and plane for many years to patrol and promote free navigation in worldwide waterway and airspace.
China routinely objects to any motion by the U.S. navy within the area. The opposite events — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei — declare all or a part of the ocean, by means of which roughly $5 trillion in items are shipped yearly.
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Regardless of China’s aggression, the long-simmering territorial conflicts ought to solely be resolved peacefully, Aquilino mentioned, citing the Philippine authorities’s profitable transfer to convey its disputes with China to worldwide arbitration in 2013 as a superb template.
A U.N.-backed arbitration tribunal that dealt with the case invalidated China’s sweeping historic claims within the South China Sea underneath the U.N. Conference on the Legislation of the Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling as sham and continues to defy it.
Admiral John C. Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), exits a U.S. P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance airplane at Clark Air Base, Pampanga province, northern Philippines Sunday, March 20, 2022.
(AP Picture/Aaron Favila)
Washington’s essential goal within the disputed area is “to forestall warfare” by means of deterrence and promote peace and stability, together with by participating American allies and companions in initiatives with that goal, Aquilino mentioned.
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“Ought to deterrence fail, my second mission is to be ready to struggle and win,” mentioned Aquilino, who leads the most important U.S. combatant command with 380,000 navy and civilian personnel protecting 36 nations and territories.
World
New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC
In the first Lonely Island song of the 50th season of “SNL,” the beloved trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer debuted “Sushi Glory Hole,” a humorous take on a fictional app where you can find sushi in a hole in a bathroom around New York.
“SNL” alumna Maya Rudolph, who has been portraying presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris during the new season, was on hand for the video. “Gentleman, what do you have for us today?” she asked in the video opener.
“Sushi glory hole,” rapped Samberg. “Imagine that. Instead of getting strange [expletive] you’ll be getting a snack.” A long refrain of “Hear us out, hear us out, hear us out,” played on loop as the trio tried to get others on board with their idea.
Dressed as 1980s businessmen, the Lonely Island members, and Bowen Yang, rapped about sushi in bathrooms, with suggestive lyrics, singing, “So drop to your knees and get ready for some fish.” The digital short featured funny evocative imagery of slices of sushi being presented through holes in bathroom walls. The trio rapped, “Hit the bathroom stall, and find a sushi-sized hole in the bathroom wall.”
“Hit the map,” they said, showing a phone with a lit-up map with “SGH” locations all around Manhattan, where one could find a sushi glory hole. They rapped on, defending the unorthodox food-related business idea, saying, “You got nothing to fear. It’s not weird. It’s sushi being through a hole in the wall.”
They rapped about the different ideal circumstances for a “SGH.” Samberg sang about sushi glory holes in nightclubs and how it’s better than eating in the middle of a street. “Make a wish and prepare for some shockingly high-grade fish.”
“Don’t leave, hear us out. No substitutions or special requests,” they said.
Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze was this episode’s guest and musical group Coldplay was the musical guest.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was “legal and legitimate” and that the “resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.”
The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.
Khamenei said Iran will not “procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty” in going after Israel, Reuters reports.
The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.”
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday Prayers and a commemoration ceremony of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 4. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech.
The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon.
“Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000,” the IDF wrote on X. “Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units.”
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Iran’s missile attack on Israel this week was “legal and legitimate,” Reuters reports. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.
“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said during a briefing.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets during the missile attack, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
The war in Gaza, which started on 7 October last year, has seen more than 41,000 Palestinians killed and decimated the Strip. Almost 100 Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive.
Thousands of people have staged protests in capitals across Europe in support of Palestine in the run-up to the first anniversary of the war on 7 October.
Huge rallies took place in several major European cities, with rallies expected to continue over the weekend and peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.
Italy
In Rome, several thousand demonstrated peacefully until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the centre of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests, citing security concerns.
Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd.
At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported.
The rally in Rome had been calm earlier, with people chanting “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.
United Kingdom
In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence.
The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counterdemonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another.
Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon.
At least 17 people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, supporting a proscribed organisation and assault, the Metropolitan Police said.
Spain
Thousands also took to the streets of Madrid to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
The protests were peaceful and there were no reported incidents of altercations with police.
“Outrage at this situation, thousands and thousands of people killed in Gaza, now in Lebanon, there are already more than 2,000, more than 10,000 people missing. This has to be stopped one way or another,” said Enrique Quintanilla from the ‘Disarm Madrid’ group.
Germany
In the northern of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags and chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police.
Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.
ADVERTISEMENTSerbia
A smaller protest of around 200 people happened in Belgrade with protesters chanting “Free Palestine” and expressing their anger at their government’s support for Israel.
“The main message is that we, citizens of Serbia and Belgrade, are against arms exports to Israel. The Republic of Serbia is exporting arms to Israel. Since October 7 last year, the value of weapons exported to Israel from Serbia is at least 20 million euros. We are against that,” said protest organiser, Mihajlo Nikolic.
Rallies were also planned in several other countries across Europe including Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland.
Increased security
Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.
ADVERTISEMENTPro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate cease-fire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.
A bloody year
On 7 October last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive.
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