CCP Has No Right to Stick Their Nose Into Australian Diplomatic Trips to TaiwanCommentary Delegations of Australian parliamentarians have been visiting Taiwan for decades. Apart from the COVID years, the visits have been regular and frequent, involving Members of Parliament (MPs) from the major political parties. State parliamentarians have also visited the country from time to time. I was privileged to journey to Taiwan a year after being elected in 1991. I returned, on a semi-regular basis, over the next three decades, observing the progress of the country and meeting with its leadership. Most recently, I travelled to Taipei to address a regional security dialogue last year. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also visited, as will former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in October....

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House GOP Seeks DOD, FBI Answers on Chinese Efforts to Infiltrate US Military BasesHouse Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced a new investigation on Monday into the apparent efforts of Chinese operatives to infiltrate the U.S. military. Mr. Comer and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.)—who chairs the Oversight subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs—sent a letter (pdf) to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and FBI Director Chris Wray on Monday, raising alarm about repeated instances of Chinese nationals rushing through the security gates at U.S. military bases. The Republican lawmakers called on Mr. Austin and Mr. Wray to brief Congress about these security incidents by Oct. 16. Last month, The Wall Street Journal first reported that a joint review by the Department of Defense (DOD), FBI, and other U.S. agencies found more than a hundred instances of Chinese nationals attempting to force their way onto U.S. military bases and other sensitive facilities in recent years. The multi-agency review reportedly found that in many cases, these Chinese nationals came dressed as tourists, and sped through security gates before being detained, criminally cited, and escorted off base. The review allegedly dubbed these Chinese nationals “gate crashers.”...

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China Using Military to Illegally ‘Push’ Nations Out of International Waters: Rep. WittmanCommunist China is illegally using its military to expand its territory and force neighboring nations away from natural resources, according to one congressman. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), who serves on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said that the regime is using military facilities to dominate the nations of Southeast Asia and to undermine American influence. “China’s intent is to impede and weaken the United States,” Mr. Wittman said during a Sept. 28 interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. “They are almost over the top in their aggressiveness.” Mr. Wittman’s comments follow several high-profile incidents involving China in the South China Sea last month....

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The World Bank has cut China’s growth forecast as the world’s second-largest economy faces multiple issues, ranging from ongoing property crisis to weakening domestic demand and deflation, which is dragging down the economy. The report, released on Oct. 1, lowered China’s gross domestic product growth forecast for 2024 to 4.4 percent, down from 4.8 percent in its April forecast. The World Bank expects China’s GDP growth in 2023 to stand at 5.1 percent, slightly aligning with other surveys of 5 percent for the year. It also cut the 2024 growth forecast for developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific, including China, to 4.5 percent, compared with 4.8 percent in April....

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