Entry into South Korea has gotten a little bit easier for Chinese travelers:
The South Korean government on Wednesday lifted the post-entry PCR test requirement for travelers from China.
Health authorities had initially disclosed that quarantine measures for arrivals from China will be eased further amid a decline in the infection rate among arrivals from that country.
The latest move comes after the government had required travelers from China to take a PCR test for COVID-19 upon arrival and suspended short-term visa issuance as of January 2, following a resurgence of the pandemic in the neighboring country.
Well if the U.S. is supposedly flying these balloons over China why didn’t they shoot them down and show the world the evidence?:
In this image made from video, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gestures as he speaks during a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. (Liu Zheng/AP)
China on Monday said more than 10 U.S. high-altitude balloons have flown in its airspace during the past year without its permission, following Washington’s accusation that Beijing operates a fleet of surveillance balloons around the world. The United States denied that it operates any surveillance balloons over China.
The Chinese allegation came after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had crossed from Alaska to South Carolina, sparking a new crisis in bilateral relations that have spiraled to their lowest level in decades.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave no details about the alleged U.S. balloons, how they had been dealt with or whether they had government or military links.
You can read more at the link, but this sounds like more Chinese lies that is intended for their domestic audience that can’t get any other information other than from the government.
Here are what Korea experts are saying about the China spy balloon controversy:
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sunday. AP-Yonhap
Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said an intensifying U.S.-Sino rivalry is not favorable to the security situation on the peninsula, adding, “We would see China’s role regarding North Korea’s nuclear issue diminishing following the balloon saga.”
Cho said it is noteworthy that South Korea and the U.S. staged combined air drills involving strategic bombers and stealth fighters over the West Sea, which is right under China’s nose.
“South Korea and the U.S. conducted combined air drills, involving B-1B strategic bombers, and F-22, F-35A and F-35B stealth jets, over the West Sea on Feb. 1. Two days later, another drill with the stealth fighters occurred, which is unprecedented,” he said.
“Given that the U.S. first detected the balloon on Jan. 28, the drills served as a U.S. warning to China in response to the spy balloon.”
Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said China has always been part of the North Korean problem rather than part of the solution.
“Beijing would occasionally allow incremental stronger U.N. resolutions in response to egregious North Korean provocations only to subsequently turn a blind eye to violations of those resolutions by Chinese entities,” he said.
You can read more at the link, but Bruce Klingner is right, China has no intentions of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. They are more than happy to pretend to be trying to solve the issue from time to time without actually doing anything.
I think North Korea knows that China will more publicly have its back at the UN making it more likely they will go ahead with more provocative ICBM and nuclear tests in the future.
General Minihan does offer a plausible scenario on why 2025 would be a good time for China to attack Taiwan:
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael A. Minihan, speaks in Suwon, Korea, on Dec. 13, 2018. Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command oversees the service’s fleet of transport and refueling aircraft, warned personnel to speed their preparations for a potential conflict. (Michael Roach/U.S. Army)
China could be at war with the United States two years from now, a top Air Force general predicted in a bombastic and unusual memo to troops under his command, asserting a significantly shorter timeline before potential conflict than any other senior U.S. defense official to date.
Gen. Michael A. Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command oversees the service’s fleet of transport and refueling aircraft, warned personnel to speed their preparations for a potential conflict, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aspirations and the possibility that Americans will not be paying attention until it is too late.
“I hope I am wrong,” Minihan wrote. “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
