In a rare move, a Chinese fighter jet launched flares in front of a Canadian helicopter flying over the South China Sea, the Department of National Defence is reporting. The Oct. 29 incident involved a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter embarked on the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa. DND says the helicopter was conducting routine manoeuvres over international airspace when it was intercepted by two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) J-11 fighter jets. The initial encounters were safe but two subsequent ones were not, said the department. One pass of the Cyclone was conducted with little separation and the pilot had to take action to respond to the turbulence. Later that day during a second sortie, the helicopter was again intercepted. This time a J-11 fighter launched flares directly in front of the helicopter. DND says the pilot had to manoeuvre to avoid the flares....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/chinese-warplane-fires-flares-close-to-canadian-helicopter-in-south-china-sea-5522560
Senior officials from the United States and China met in Beijing on Friday for what the State Department described as “substantive” and “candid” talks on maritime issues, including on the contested South China Sea. The talks were held in Beijing between Mark Lambert, the department’s China Coordinator and deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, and China’s director-general for boundary and ocean affairs, Hong Liang. The department said the meeting was part of the Biden administration’s “ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication” with Beijing and “responsibly manage the U.S.-China relationship.” “The United States reiterated the need to resume military-military channels, including between operators, to avoid miscommunication and miscalculation,” it said in a statement on Friday.... 
Hundreds of U.S. schools are now under the control of one Chinese company. Its chairman is allegedly a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Rounds of new action are making their way through Congress. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing through one legislation after another with a goal in mind: countering the CCP’s influence. An alleged million-dollar bribe to China was revealed in testimony for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. An ex-executive said the sum sought to help recover a billion dollars in frozen company capital. And an expert weighs on the UK’s decision to invite China to an AI summit....
The European Union (EU) expressed its concerns about the human rights situation in China and called for “the immediate and unconditional release” of 39 Chinese citizens, including Falun Gong adherent Xu Na, who are being persecuted by the communist regime. During the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council that took place from Sept. 11 to Oct. 13, the EU delegation presented a statement urging the Chinese regime to “abide by its obligations under national law, including its own Constitution, and international law, to respect, protect and fulfill human rights for all.” According to the statement, “Uyghurs, Tibetans and persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities continue to be subjected to human rights violations.”...