‘Hard to fathom’: China rapidly outpacing U.S. in shipbuilding in push for maritime dominance

February 14, 2024 — Daily Caller News Foundation reports: “China’s shipmaking capabilities are far outpacing that of the U.S. and its Western allies, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

China currently represents over half of the world’s shipbuilding output for both commercial and military vessels, according to the WSJ. Meanwhile, the U.S. represents just a small fraction of the globe’s total shipbuilding output, and its Navy struggles to expand amid maintenance delays, worker shortages and a lack of supplies.

‘The scale [of China’s shipbuilding] is just almost hard to fathom,’ Thomas Shugart, adjunct senior fellow on maritime competition at the Center for a New American Security, told the WSJ. ‘The degree to which it dwarfs American shipbuilding is just unbelievable.’

In 2002, China represented roughly 8% of the world’s total shipbuilding output; that number had more than quadrupled by 2012 and hit 51% by 2023, according to the WSJ. China’s ship-making powerhouse underscores a larger goal by Beijing and Chinese President Xi Jinping to assert full control over the maritime stage militarily and economically, as the country’s shipbuilding docks often build both naval and commercial vessels…”  (China is prophesied to be a top contender and bloody warrior during the battle of Armageddon – Revelation 16:16. Revelation 16:12 pictures Kings coming to the Middle East, primarily China, to slay a third-part of mankind in atomic warfare. Revelation 9:14 – 18 the Oriental nations from the East join with Russia – the leader from the North – Daniel 11:44 – for the most horrendous war in history.  See the next report.)

Beijing’s top diplomat says China will be a ‘force for stability’

February 19, 2024 — SpaceWar.com reports: “Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi said China will be a ‘force for stability’ in the world during a speech on Saturday at a major security conference in Germany.

‘No matter the changes in the international situation, China as a responsible major country will always maintain the continuity and stability of its major policies and resolutely stay a force for stability in a turbulent world,’ Wang said.

Foreign minister Wang’s address at the Munich Security Conference, a gathering of 180 leaders and defence chiefs, followed a fresh appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for more help in his country’s fight against Russian troops.

China says it is a neutral party in the conflict but has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine…”

Philippines accuses China of attempting to block another vessel

February 26, 2024 — SpaceWar.com reports: “The Philippines on Sunday accused the Chinese coast guard of attempting to block a Filipino government vessel delivering supplies to fishermen, the second such alleged incident near a disputed reef in two weeks.

The BRP Datu Sanday was supplying fuel to fishermen near the Scarborough Shoal when it was harassed by a China Coast Guard vessel and three other Chinese ships on February 22, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

Three of the four Chinese vessels came within 100 metres (328 feet) of Datu Sanday’s bow, it said in an incident report that also listed shadowing, vessel transponder jamming and other ‘dangerous manoeuvres’.

‘Despite these manoeuvres, the skipper of BRP Datu Sanday exhibited excellent seamanship skills and managed to evade the blocking attempts,’ said Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Filipino coast guard spokesman on South China Sea issues.

A week earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Datu Tamblot had a similar encounter in the area…”  (A March 19, 2021 article in The New York Times – Tense Talks With China Left U.S. ‘Cleareyed’ About Beijing’s Intentions, Officials Say https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/world/asia/china-us-alaska.html states: “Just as Washington’s views on China have shifted after years of encouraging the country’s economic integration, so have Beijing’s perceptions of the United States and the privileged place in the world that it has long held. The Americans, in their view, no longer have an overwhelming reservoir of global influence, nor the power to wield it against China.

That has made China more confident in pursuing its aims openly and unabashedly — from human rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang to territorial disputes with India and Japan and others in the South China Sea to, most contentiously of all, the fate of Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that China claims as its own.

While China still faces enormous challenges at home and around the world, its leaders now act as if history is on their side.”  See the next report.)

China plans record 100 space launches in 2024, including lunar and station missions

February 27, 2024 — SpaceWar.com reports: “Underscoring China’s escalating ambitions in outer space, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the state-owned backbone of the nation’s space endeavors, has unveiled plans to execute over 100 launches throughout 2024. This schedule, announced at a recent news conference in Beijing, will set a new high in the volume of space launches conducted by China in a single year.

CASC is tasked with conducting nearly 70 of these missions, which include the deployment of over 290 spacecraft into various orbits. Among the missions outlined by Ma Tao, deputy head of CASC’s space program planning department, are two crewed flights and two cargo missions to the Tiangong space station, the Chang’e 6 mission aimed at retrieving samples from the moon’s far side, and the inaugural launches of the Long March 6C and Long March 12 carrier rockets.

The Chang’e 6 mission will collect the first-ever samples from the moon’s lesser-known far side that will enhance our understanding of the moon’s composition and geological history. This endeavor is especially notable given the far side’s unexplored terrain and the technical challenges involved in such a mission.

CASC’s 2024 launch lineup will predominantly feature the Long March rocket family, a series that has become synonymous with China’s space missions. Additional launches are planned using the Smart Dragon secondary rocket series, the Kuaizhou fleet from China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, and several rockets from private sector entities. This diversified launch strategy not only demonstrates CASC’s comprehensive capabilities but also underscores the collaborative efforts within China’s space sector to achieve these ambitious goals…”

Kim Jong Un threatens to ‘put an end’ to South Korea if attacked

February 9, 2024 — SpaceWar.com reports: “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called South Korea Pyongyang’s ‘primary enemy’ and warned that his military would ‘put an end’ to the South if attacked, state-run media reported on Friday.

Kim made the remarks Thursday during an address at the Ministry of National Defense to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the country’s military, Korean Central News Agency reported.

‘If our enemies dare to use force against our country, we will make a bold decision that will change history and will not hesitate to mobilize all the superpowers at our disposal to put an end to them,’ Kim said, referring to South Korea.

The belligerent tone comes as relations between the two Koreas are at their lowest in years. North Korea publicly rejected its long-held goal of unification with the South last month, with Kim calling for a constitutional change to define South Korea as its ‘primary enemy state and invariable principal enemy.’

In his speech Thursday, Kim praised the decision to name South Korea as the ‘most harmful and primary enemy of our country’ and said the North would ‘take over and stabilize their territory in the event of an emergency.’

He added that the move to reclassify South Korea as a hostile country establishes the ‘legality to attack and destroy at any time.’…”  (North Korea marches with Russia and China for the war of the latter years and latter days – Ezekiel 38:8, 16.  Atomic bombs will produce global incineration – Psalms 97:3; Isaiah 66:15; Joel 2:3, 30; Zephaniah 1:18; Malachi 4:1; Revelation 8:7 and 9:18.)