Newsweek:

Taiwan says it’s determined to defend itself against China’s “military expansion” after the Biden administration approved another round of arms sales to the island to bolster its missile deterrent.

The State Department notified Congress of a $95 million equipment and maintenance package for Taiwan’s Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on April 5, according to a press released issued by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the Biden administration’s third foreign military sale to Taiwan. It was the second such deal to be green-lighted this year, after the DSCA notified Congress in February of a $100 million Patriot package for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington.

See also:
–China Decries US Arms Sale To Taiwan
–AUKUS Plans Hypersonic Weapons To Confront China As US Speeds Up NATO, Asian Allies’ Coordination
–China Accuses US, UK And Australia Of Trying To Build Asia-Pacific NATO
–Top General Warns About China’s Military. Here’s The Context
–Biden Wrote College Recommendation Letters For Kids Of Chinese Exec tied To Hunter

Reuters:

China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun warned on Tuesday against measures that could fuel a crisis like the Ukraine conflict in other parts of the world when asked about a deal between Britain, the United States and Australia to cooperate on hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare capabilities.

“Anyone who do not want to see the Ukrainian crisis should refrain from doing things which may lead the other parts of the world into a crisis like this,” Zhang told reporters. “As the Chinese saying goes: if you do not like it, do not impose it against the others.”

See also: Australia Steps Up Missile Upgrade Due To Growing Threats From China And Russia

Bloomberg:

China’s “breathtaking expansion” of its strategic and nuclear arsenal is a quickly escalating risk for the U.S., the head of U.S. Strategic Command plans to tell lawmakers at a closed-door hearing on Tuesday.

The Seattle Times:

With assault weapons ready, U.S. and Filipino marines sprang from amphibious vehicles and transport helicopters to defend an island from potential aggressors in a war exercise and show of American firepower staged on Thursday in the northern Philippines.

The exercise — held in far-flung Claveria town across the sea from China and Taiwan — fits into a strategy unveiled in February by the Biden administration to considerably broaden U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region by strengthening a web of security alliances and partnerships, with an emphasis on addressing China’s growing influence and ambitions.

Watched by invited journalists, the mock combat ended with the allied forces successfully securing the island before it could be seized by invaders in a clear warning to would-be aggressors in a region with multiple trouble spots.

See also:
–China Signs Deal With Cambodia Army, Rebuffing U.S. Warnings
–Updated Pentagon Maps Reveal The Chinese Military’s Growing Reach

Reuters:

China’s diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan represents a threat to all democracies and the United States is committed to helping the island defend itself, the top U.S. diplomat in Taipei said.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan event late on Wednesday, Sandra Oudkirk, director of the American Institute in Taiwan which handles relations in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said managing U.S. differences with China faces “distinct challenges”.

Defense One:

China is the No. 1 priority in the new National Defense Strategy, according to an unclassified fact sheet released Monday evening by the Defense Department.  

The fact sheet lists the Pentagon’s top four defense priorities, but makes clear that China is “our most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the department.”

“Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the [People’s Republic of China],” is the top defense priority. The third priority is also aimed at China, saying that the department will focus on “deterring aggression, while being prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary,” with an emphasis placed on the potential for conflict with Beijing.

Though Russia “poses acute threats,” as evidenced by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, hostilities with Moscow are a secondary priority for the Pentagon, according to the fact sheet. The Pentagon must also remain ready to counter other “persistent threats,” such as those posed by North Korea, Iran and violent extremist groups. 

Other priorities on the fact sheet are deterring strategic attacks against the United States and its allies, and “building a resilient joint force.”

The full strategy, which the department sent to Congress on Monday, is classified. 

See also:
–US Congress Moves Closer To Passing Major China Legislation
–Solomon Islands Close To Security Deal With China, Alarming Neighbors

Nikkei Asia:

U.S. and Philippine troops on Monday began large-scale military drills, in show of strength as China grows increasingly assertive in the disputed South China Sea and Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on.

Reuters:

The United States on Tuesday named former senior diplomat Joseph Yun to lead languishing talks with three tiny but strategically important Pacific Island countries, a signal that countering China remains a U.S. priority despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The State Department confirmed the appointment of Yun, who served as U.S. special envoy for North Korea under former U.S. presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, in response to queries from Reuters.

See also:
–China Warns U.S. Against Forming ‘Indo-Pacific NATO’
–NATO Eyes Warning To China Against Aiding Moscow
–U.S. Threat To Sanction China Is Spooking Other Nations In Asia
–U.S. Sanctions Officials In China Over Persecution Of Uyghurs And Other Minorities

The New York Times:

During a two-hour video call today, President Biden told Xi Jinping, China’s leader, that there would be “consequences” if China provided aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

U.S. intelligence agencies have said that Russia has already requested military and economic aid from Beijing.

Biden “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians,” a White House statement said. A U.S. official declined to give details on the warnings delivered by Biden, but the implication was that the U.S. could impose sanctions on China.

See also: Chinese Carrier Sails Through Taiwan Strait Hours Before Biden-Xi Call

Reuters:

The Biden administration made a carefully orchestrated gamble this week, issuing a series of public and private threats to Beijing that it will face consequences if it supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The strategy was capped by a tense, seven-hour meeting in Rome on Monday between U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi.

Having fired loud diplomatic salvos at Beijing, Biden administration officials are still debating the next steps to take to ensure China does not help Russia evade Western sanctions or supply weapons to Moscow as casualties mount in Ukraine.

See also: General Says China Is Seeking A Naval Base In West Africa

CNBC:

Officials from the United States and China met on Monday to discuss a range of challenges facing their bilateral relationship, including Russia’s war in Ukraine.

A senior administration official described the talks, which were held in Rome, as “intense” and spanning at least seven hours.

See also:
–US Warns China Against Coming To Russia’s Aid In Ukraine
–Taiwan Again Warns Chinese Aircraft In Its Air Defence Zone

Sunday Guardian Live:

China is serious about capturing Taiwan as they need it to break the first island chain. At the same time, Beijing is using political warfare to try to burrow into the second and third island chains.

See also: China Warns Of ‘Worst Consequences’ For Any Country That Supports Taiwan Militarily

Military News:

In several congressional hearings this week, lawmakers pressed U.S. military leaders and intelligence officials to dissect how the war in Ukraine might be affecting China’s thinking on invading Taiwan.

The takeaway: Beijing appears unnerved by both the strength of the world’s condemnation of Moscow and the Russian military’s struggles in the first two weeks of the war, but it’s unclear whether that’s enough to prevent Chinese President Xi Jinping from using force to accomplish his No. 1 priority of reunifying China and Taiwan.

See also:
–Taiwan Official: China War A Disaster For All
–Is China Using Snap Military Drills To Conceal An Aircraft Recovery Effort?