Mastercard Inc wants Congress to recognise Biden as president, but remains silent on 1MDB issues going back to 2015

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

CNN has reported:

More than 170 prominent business leaders signed a letter urging Congress to accept the Electoral College results that declared Joe Biden as the next President of the United States.
"This presidential election has been decided and it is time for the country to move forward," the letter reads. "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have won ... There should be no further delay in the orderly transfer of power."

The signatories include Mastercard President Ajay Banga, a Guardian Of Capitalism. Mastercard and he have yet to comment on the 1MDB matter, which concerns them given how former Mastercard Chairman Richard Haythornthwaite involved himself in the 1MDB theft. 

Haythornthwaite resigned as chairman on 31 December 2020.Banga has assumed his position, and is now designated Executive Chairman. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Monday, December 14, 2020

Pope's partner in reforming capitalism Mastercard has unanswered 1MDB questions : The Pope has welcomed Mastercard as a "Guardian for Inclusive Capitalism "

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The Pope has displayed questionable  judgement in a number of issues, including the Vatican's relations with China



Pope Francis has decided to back something called The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican. In its press statement the Council said:

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican ("the Council"), a historic new partnership between some of the world's largest investment and business leaders and the Vatican, launched today. It signifies the urgency of joining moral and market imperatives to reform capitalism into a powerful force for the good of humanity. Under the moral guidance of His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, who leads the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican, and inspired by the moral imperative of all faiths, the Council invites companies of all sizes to harness the potential of the private sector to build a fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable economic foundation for the world.The Council is led by a core group of global leaders, known as Guardians for Inclusive Capitalism, who meet annually with Pope Francis and Cardinal Turkson.

Ajay Banga, President and CEO of Mastercard is among the The Guardians. Banga has refused to respond to issues in the public domain which concern the. conduct of his chairman, Richard Haythornthwaite. It is important to remember that it is Mastercard, and not Ajay in his personal capacity, that is part of the Pope's initiative.

In 2015 the investigative website Sarawak Report produced evidence of Richard Haythornthwaite's involvement in Malaysia's 1MDB scandal. Correspondence from Haythornthwaite to Sarawak Report's Clare Rewcastle is far from what one would expect from a Guardian: 

If I knew I wouldn’t tell Sarawak Report

Given the mounds of evidence uncovered about the collusion of PetroSaudi in the 1MDB heist masterminded by Jho Low and now this latest proof from Good Star’s own incorporation records, Sarawak Report wrote last week to the company’s President, the prominent British businessman Rick Haythornthwaite.

Haythornthwaite – perturbed over “campaigning” journalism, but not about his company’s activities

Haythornthwaite is, among other things, also the Chairman of the UK energy giant Centrica and MasterCard Worldwide.  We asked if he knew of PetroSaudi’s letter claiming that it owns Good Star and if he had authorised the company to make such a claim?

Replying personally, Haythornthwaite expressed “considerable concern” about “questionable” activities.

However, it turned out that it was not the irregularities connected to his own company which were causing his concerns, but rather his opinion that Sarawak Report is a “blogger” “rather than an objective journalist with a desire to understand the full facts behind the matter”.

It was Sarawak Report’s activities which he chose to describe as questionable, rather than PetroSaudi’s:

“Therefore, even if I were to be in possession of information relevant to your query, I would be unwilling to assist you in your questionable activities” Mr Haythornthwaite concluded.

The above and related issues were brought to Banga's attention by this writer. There was no response, and Haythornthwaite remains 1MDB's chairman. 

END 

TO BE READ WITH 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Mastercard's chairman and PetroSaudi-Two letters complicate matters,as do disclosures in Mastercard SEC announcements

by Ganesh Sahathevan


It was reported earlier this week on this blog and the TerrorFinance Blog that Richard Haythornthwaite, the chairman of Mastercard, has been implicated in the money laundering scheme involving Prince Turki Al-Saud's Petrosaudi. As reported on the Terror Finance Blog, UK regulators are trying hard to look away, in what appears to be an attempt to save Prince Turki.

Meanwhile, Haythornthwaite's Petrosaudi appears to have further implicated itself in the matter by issuing a letter explicitly confirming its ownership of a company named Good Star Ltd,which is an integral part of the theft and money laundering allegations.




Click to Enlarge 


Clare Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report has provided evidence to show that in this letter Haythornthwaite's Petrosaudi has made a claim that is false, and designed to conceal the involvement of the Malaysian businessman Jho Low.
The letter is also contradicted by this commission agreement between Good Star and Tarek Obaid, PetroSaudi's CEO ,published by Sarawak Report, where Obaid is promised a commission for directing investments to Malaysia.


Clearly, Petrosaudi has no interest in paying its CEO a commission for directing investment into Malaysia.
As reported earlier (see story below), Haythornthwaite has denied if not attempted to distance himself from Petrosaudi, at least to Sarawak Report. As shown, that attempt was curious given that his PetroSaudi involvement is disclosed in theNetwork Rail Infrastructure Limited 2012 Annual Report. Now it can be shown that it is also disclosed in a Mastercard SEC disclosure.
The acronym PSI UK Ltd has been used instead of the full form , PetroSaudi International (UK) Ltd, as is the case in the Network Rail annual report.








Mr. Haythornthwaite is Non-Executive Chairman of Centrica PLC, a position he has held since January 2014. He is Chairman of the Operating Businesses of PSI UK Ltd and Chair of the World Wide Web Foundation. From 2006 until 2008, Mr. Haythornthwaite was a partner of Star Capital Partners Limited. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Haythornthwaite served as Chief Executive Officer and Director for Invensys plc and, from 1997 to 2001, he served as Chief Executive, Europe and Asia and then as Group Chief Executive for Blue Circle Industries plc (acquired by Lafarge SA in 2001). His prior positions included serving as a Director of Premier Oil plc, President of BP Venezuela, and General Manager, Magnus Oilfield, BP Exploration. Mr. Haythornthwaite is Chairman of Southbank Centre Board. Within the last five years, he also served as Non-Executive Chairman of Network Rail and as a director of Land Securities Group plc



The 1 MDB issue has now spread toa number of jurisdictions, given that there have been 
questionable transactions involving 1 MDB and PetroSaudi in the UK, Malaysia , the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Subsequently there are investigations under way in a number of jurisdictions, which directly or indirectly concern these transactions.
In the latest of these the Federal Court Of Australia has ordered the winding up of fund manager reported to have been entrusted with some USD 2 billion of 1 MDB money,being the proceeds of some business dealings with PetroSaudi.

This cannot be a good look for any company in the business of providing transaction services, let alone one with the worldwide reach of Mastercard. The company needs to provide shareholders and the public an explanation ,quickly.

END

First published at Terror Finance Blog

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Richard Haythornthwaite, the chairman of Mastercard,  has been implicated in the money
laundering scheme involving Prince Turki Al-Saud previously reported here. As reported,
that scheme has involved the apparent theft of billions of dollars from
the Malaysian sovereign fund,1 MDB Bhd.

The investigate news site Sarawak Report in its latest edition of an ongoing investigation
into Turki's Petrosaudi has reported:

If I knew I wouldn’t tell Sarawak Report

Given the mounds of evidence now apparent about the collusion of PetroSaudi in the 
1MDB heist masterminded by Jho Low and this latest proof from Good Star’s own incorporation 
records, Sarawak Report wrote last week to the company’s President, the prominent British 
businessman Rick Haythornthwaite.

Haythornthwaite is also the Chairman of the UK energy giant Centrica.  We asked if he knew of 
PetroSaudi’s letter claiming that it owns Good Star and if he had authorised the company to make 
such a claim?

In his response to Sarawak Report 's editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown Haythornthwaite said among
other things:

Dear Mrs Rewcastle

Having now done some research into your background, it is clear that you are an active
campaigning blogger rather than an objective journalist with a desire to understand the true
facts behind this matter.
That your email to me contains fundamental factual errors – not least suggesting 
that I am, or have ever been, chairman of PetroSaudi International – reinforces my 
concerns about your credibility.

Therefore, even if I were to be in possession of information relevant to your query, 
I would be unwilling to assist you in your questionable activities.

Haythornthwaite's apparent denial is interesting  given this disclosure of his CV in  the
 Network Rail Infrastructure Limited  2012 Annual Report :

Rick Haythornthwaite Chairman

 Rick Haythornthwaite, 55, has been the Company’s Non-Executive Chairman since July 2009
 having joined the Board in March 2009 as a Non-Executive Director. He was Chief Executive of
Invensys plc, from 2001 to 2005. He was also previously Group Chief Executive of Blue Circle
Industries and spent 18 years with BP in various senior roles. He is currently
Non-Executive Chairman of MasterCard Inc, a Senior Advisor to STAR Capital Partners and 
President of PetroSaudi International (UK) Ltd. His previous non-executive roles
included Board membership of ICI, Land Securities and Lafarge. In the voluntary sector,
he is Chairman of the Southbank Centre and Chairman of the World Wide Web Foundation.
Rick will retire from the Board at the Company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 19 July 2012.
Appointed 23 March 2009

While Haythornthwaite might get away with saying "  even if I were to be in 
possession of information relevant to your query, I would be unwilling to assist you
 in your questionable activities" to Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report, it is not a 
position he can maintain with regards Mastercard, its shareholders, and the relevant 
authorities, in the US, UK and other jurisdictions that are investigating the 1 MDB matter.

END 

See also « Malaysia's Deputy PM Implicates Wells Fargo In a Money Dirtying Scheme | Main

Posted by Ganesh Sahathevan at 9:14 PM 

Haha Liu's Australian Emergency Assistance Association Incorporated (AEAAI) is a nationwide HUMINT network -Where are the others, and why are they being allowed to flourish

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

As reported by the ABC: 

Haha Liu's " Australian Emergency Assistance Association Incorporated (AEAAI), acts as a middleman in police incidents and legal cases involving Chinese speakers.

The association has promoted itself as a grassroots community platform to its more than 55,000 members from the Chinese diaspora in Australia on the Chinese social media platform WeChat.

It has more than 1,000 volunteers who promise to race to the scene of incidents across Australia in a matter of minutes.

According to confidential documents obtained by the ABC, the AEAAI was promised funding from the consulate and agreed to report back on criminal incidents, emergencies, accidents and "security risks" involving Chinese citizens deemed to require consular assistance.

The AEAAI was promoted publicly by Gladys Liu (no relation), who has close links to Mr Liu.

Ms Liu helped the 52-year-old develop a relationship with Victoria Police and, by Haha Liu's account, translated for him at events with MPs and business leaders.

Quite apart from the obvious task of providing the Chinese Consulate  with Human Intelligence (HUMINT) these types of networks can be activated to assist automated command, control and attack networks that the Chinese Government is developing for warfare against Australia and other targets. These networks need to be disbanded immediately, and their leaders interrogated. 

TO BE READ WITH 

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Chinese UUVs near Australia suggest presence of a Chinese Human Intel network in Australia: Law firm Corrs did say that Darwin Port will provide Chinese naval vessels access to Australia, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, Indonesia and PNG

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

       The drone was discovered in a key maritime route linking the South China Sea and Darwin

The ABC and others have reported that Chinese Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (UUVs) have been discovered near Australia.  As reported, the UUVs gather intelligence which can be used against Australian merchant and defence maritime assets. 

As with any form of remotely sensed data ground truthing, or verification by human agents on or near site is essential. There is nothing to suggest that China has developed technology that does not require ground truthing. 

The presence of the UUVs near Australia suggests therefore a vast network of Chinese human intelligence (HUMINT) agents on and near the Australian mainland. For this reason alone the management of Darwin Port must be scrutinised as a matter of urgency. 

Readers will recall that law firm Corrs said on its website:

 The recent Darwin Port deal will provide Chinese shipping and naval vessels with facilitated access to Australia, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, as well as to Indonesia and PNG over the coming century.

To BE READ WITH 

Friday, September 29, 2017

Corrs CEO John W.H. Denton has made himself ,and Corrs a matter of national security ;it is in the national interest that Corrs China deals be open to public scrutiny

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Anyone, let alone a major law firm and a very senior lawyer, who says these things and buttresses it with photos of the type above, invites public scrutiny.
In fact, statements of this type, proudly published on the Corrs website, invite not only Australian public scrutiny, but attention from intelligence agencies of all affected countries:


In a recent visit to Xinjiang in China's far west, the Corrs China Business Group met with numerous officials who enthusiastically shared their role in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).This initiative (one of a number of initiatives encompassed by OBOR) is intended to promote connectivity across Pakistan with a network of highways, railways and pipelines accompanied by energy, industrial and other infrastructure development projects to address critical energy shortages needed to boost Pakistan’s economic growth. Eventually, CPEC will also facilitate trade along an overland route that connects China to the Indian Ocean, linking the Chinese city of Kashgar to the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
In a world that is increasingly interconnected and as a trading nation, Australia has a significant role to play in the policy thinking on global maritime economic issues. Australia is working with Chinese officials as they develop the country’s maritime economy strategy. As a maritime trading nation, these strategic issues of vital importance to us, including their political dimensions. Attracting capital to Northern Australia as part of OBOR will be a key focus. Darwin is intended to be a crucial link in China's new 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The recent Darwin Port deal will provide Chinese shipping and naval vessels with facilitated access to Australia, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, as well as to Indonesia and PNG over the coming century.

n

China's 65:35, not 50:50 formula for economic cooperation: Singapore's Suzhou Industrial Park losses an example of what awaits Australian business if the naive, simplistic Rudd-SMH recommendations are adapted.

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                                           Does not includes dialects,so no instructions on how 

                                           to say sorchai 

                                           

The SMH reported on 31 December 2020:

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that the deterioration in China's relationship with Australia is not something Beijing wanted to see and that he would like the relationship back on the right track "as early as possible".

However, Wang also said that the ball was in Australia's court, despite the Australian government repeatedly complaining that calls to Beijing to mend the relationship had gone unanswered.

The comments made during a conversation with former prime minister Kevin Rudd at a private event livestreamed two weeks ago offered hope of reconciliation even as the relationship between the two nations reached a new nadir.

Wang said Australia and China could again be partners, not enemies, on Saturday, December 19 (AEDT), just days after Australia asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to investigate the tariffs China had imposed on Australian barley in May.

The SMH followed up with an editorial on the same day which declared:

Australia must reopen lines of communication with China

The Herald is very aware of all that separates Australia from China but it believes that Australia should not view China primarily as a threat. We should take Mr Wang sceptically but seriously and look for creative diplomatic solutions to our stand-off with China. Mr Wang’s remarks suggest that detente is possible.

We should stop worrying about Chinese provocations, such as the tweet by a Chinese diplomat about allegations of SAS war crimes in Afghanistan, and play the long game.

China may be more willing to compromise next year because its aggressive policies under President Xi Jinping have, over the past year, antagonised countries such as Japan, India and Vietnam.

Mr Wang himself said in London that he hoped the arrival of the Biden administration in the White House creates an opportunity for a reset in relations.

It is too soon to say how the two sides can find a way out of the dead ends in which they find themselves but opening lines of communication will be crucial.

All of the above, as usual, ignores history. Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew's experience resolving an investment dispute with China remain instructive. While the Singapore and Chinese governments today hail Suzhou as an example of a win-win solution, it ignores the fact that Singapore lost a lot. What was meant to be a 50:50 partnership between China and Singapore, a showcase of the Asian way of doing things, turned into a debacle that ended with Singapore ceding control of the project to China, and reducing its stake to just 35%.  

The story of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park deserves study. The SCMP told the story in 1999. The report below is one of very many.

Sino-Singapore bid fails test.

1205 words

30 June 1999

South China Morning Post

SCMP

English

(c) 1999

Suzhou teaches a hard lesson as Foo Choy Peng and Barry Porter report.

Important lessons have been learnt from the acrimony between Singapore and Beijing over Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), their ill-fated US$20 billion joint venture.

Problems may have started from the time the project was conceived five years ago, but the hard learning came this week as Singapore ceded control of the Jiangsu province investment project which was intended as a symbol of Sino-Singapore economic relations.

After two years of futile complaining, the Singaporeans this week formally signed an agreement to wind down their interest in what had been envisaged as a 20-year partnership and a litmus test for future investment.

The first lesson to be drawn from Singapore's decision to swap its controlling stake is that central government-to-central government deals are meaningless in the mainland if they lack the unequivocal support of local authorities charged with implementing them.

As a Chinese saying goes: "Shan gao huang di yuan - The mountain is high and the emperor is far away."

Second, it is apparent that in the mainland being ethnically Chinese counts for little as a foreign investor.

President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji may have repeatedly given Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong their personal assurances the project would be given special priority status.

But Beijing is a long way from Suzhou and was incapable of wielding influence over the park's day-to-day development.

Instead of pushing the prestigious 70 square kilometre SIP project, the Suzhou municipal government tested Singapore's patience by embarking on a rival cut-price industrial park of its own, called Suzhou New District.

"It was too much a top-to-top agreement. I would have spent at least one year cultivating the ground in Suzhou before I go in and build the project," said a Singaporean manager, who has spent about 10 years on the mainland negotiating business contracts for his foreign employer.

"China is a complicated place in which to do business and you really have to contend with the local authorities more than the central government," he said.

After initially being diplomatic and keeping quiet, Mr Lee went on CNN a fortnight ago to let the world know Singapore was "not happy".

It will now cede control of the project back to the mainland in 18 months having completed just its first eight square kilometres.

Singapore's government-backed consortium will reduce its shareholding from 65 per cent to 35 per cent in January 2001 and leave the mainland to its own devices - presumedly to develop the remaining land itself.

DBS Bank chief economist Friedich Wu said: "By divesting, the Singapore Government is effectively washing its hands of the project."

At a post-mortem this week in Singapore as to what went wrong, Suzhou mayor Chen Deming alluded to "cultural differences" between the two countries.

Mr Chen also cited "different understandings" over the contents of the original 1994 memorandum of understanding between Vice-Premier Li Lanqing and Singapore's senior minister.

To pull back from the project is a huge embarrassment all round.

SIP had been Mr Lee's pet project, a litmus test for future Singaporean investment in the mainland.

Mr Lee had envisaged building a clean, hi-tech modern industrial city within the mainland based on Singapore, which could serve as a role model for other cities across the country.

It would create 360,000 jobs and provide housing for 600,000 people when completed in 20 years.

"In some ways, ironically it was a clash of two business cultures: the Singapore side is not willing to compromise on the ideas of what made Singapore work, and the Chinese side viewing the ideas in a cavalier way," a foreign investor said.

In the early years of the mainland's economic opening to the outside world, Singapore tried selling itself as an investment springboard to the mainland, citing cultural and linguistic advantages for Western investors unfamiliar with the terrain.

In hindsight, Singaporeans who spoke the language did not necessarily understand the local lingo and business ethics - or the lack of them.

Observers said many Singaporeans trained in Western business ideas of transparency, accountability and efficiency did not know how to cope in an environment where such concepts were alien.

This was underlined by recent ground-breaking research by Wang Pien, deputy director of the National University of Singapore's International Business Institute, which showed Singaporeans' understanding of mainland culture, mentality and business practices was worse than Americans' or Europeans'.

"There appeared to be some discrepancies in how the Singaporean investors perceived themselves and how the Chinese perceived them," declared Mr Wang, after conducting a comprehensive survey of what Singaporean and mainland businessmen thought of one another.

"This proves that being able to speak the same language and having an ethnic affinity with the Chinese does not necessarily mean that Singaporean investors have an advantage over Western investors operating in China in the areas of communicating with and understanding their Chinese counterparts," Mr Wang said.

Mainland critics have described Singaporeans as inflexible in adjusting to the vastly different business environment in the mainland, while Singaporean critics felt the Suzhou authorities were not even-handed in their dealings, reneging on promises which attracted the island's government to invest in the city in the first place.

Singapore Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo last week declared any hope of replicating Singapore within the mainland a lost cause.

"To achieve clean government and social cohesion across races, between rich and poor, between the well-educated and less-educated, to do a 15 per cent wage cut across the board and not have Singaporeans rioting, demonstrating or going on strike, that's something uniquely Singaporean, and not easily replicated anywhere in the world," Mr Yeo said.

The SIP episode has also highlighted an arrogance detected by foreign investors among mainland business partners - that they know it all once they have learned the hardware skills.

"The Suzhou authorities built a whole row of flatted factories similar to those we have in Singapore, and thought they knew how to run it; but they do not realise the software involved in running the factories is just as important," a Singaporean familiar with the Suzhou industrial park said.

A Suzhou government official said it was inevitable for the two sides to have disagreements on how the park should be run but the important thing was to sit down and sort out the differences.

"Like any joint venture in China, the partners have to get used to each other's operating style," the Suzhou official said.

"Suzhou is different from Singapore, and so it is inevitable differences arise."

Suzhou mayor Mr Chen assured Singaporean investors during a visit to the republic this week: "After this consultation, the understanding between the two has been enhanced."

However, Singaporean investors have drawn lessons from the saga and are more worldly wise.

Credit Suisse First Boston chief economist Dong Tao said: "This is a setback. The project was way too ambitious.

"From now on, Singaporean investors will be more cautious and draw a lesson from their past experience."

The PLA should protect national and personal wealth overseas : China's 2013 Defence White Paper provides further justification for treating private Chinese investors as proxies for the Chinese Govt or Communist Party China

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The report below from China.org.cn details the role intended for the PLA in China's 2013 Defence White Paper.  The section on the protection of maritime resources and sea lanes has already being implemented; that ought to be obvious to anyone with even a passing interest in news about the South China Sea.

It follows that Australians would be foolish in the extreme to ignore this section: 

The army should also act as a deterrent against those who attempt to harm Chinese people. We will not allow any repeat of such tragedies as the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, in which some 1,200 ethnic Chinese were killed.

Second, the PLA should protect national and personal wealth overseas. So far, China's total investment abroad has reached US$50 billion and by 2020, the figure will surpass US$1 trillion. In addition, the total value of all overseas real estate owned by Chinese people stands at around US$3 trillion. The economic interests China has in other countries are crucial to the sustainable development of Chinese economy.

TO BE READ WITH 

PLA must protect China's overseas interests

By Yue Gang
China.org.cn, April 24, 2013

China's latest national defense White Paper spelled out the duty of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to protect the country's overseas interests, as security issues involving marine energy and resources, strategic sea lines of communication, and Chinese nationals overseas are becoming increasingly prominent.







Yun-20 military transport aircraft. [File photo]






First, the PLA should protect Chinese people overseas. It should participate in international peacekeeping operations to provide a safe environment for overseas Chinese workers. When there is a war, riot or political disturbance, the army should be able to evacuate Chinese people swiftly. The PLA is also responsible for rescuing Chinese hostages in the event of such crises, and this is especially pertinent at a time when pirates, terrorists and armed kidnappers are operating on a greater scale in many parts of the world. The army should also act as a deterrent against those who attempt to harm Chinese people. We will not allow any repeat of such tragedies as the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, in which some 1,200 ethnic Chinese were killed.

Second, the PLA should protect national and personal wealth overseas. So far, China's total investment abroad has reached US$50 billion and by 2020, the figure will surpass US$1 trillion. In addition, the total value of all overseas real estate owned by Chinese people stands at around US$3 trillion. The economic interests China has in other countries are crucial to the sustainable development of Chinese economy.

Third, the PLA should ensure the security of marine energy and resources. The oceans are abundant with energy and resources. China currently has 1,628 deep-sea fishing boats operating in the exclusive economic zones of 37 countries, as well as the open seas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, and the waters near the South Pole. However, the oceans and coastal regions are susceptible to attacks by pirates, terrorists, illegal armed forces and political disturbances. This makes it hard for the PLA to maintain maritime security.

Fourth, the PLA should ensure the security of strategic sea lines of communication. China relies heavily on foreign trade and more than 90 percent of China's exported cargos are freighted by sea.

Maritime vessel protection, the evacuation of Chinese nationals overseas and emergency rescue have become important ways and means for the PLA to safeguard national interests and fulfill China's international obligations. Despite its growth, however, the PLA is unable to fully protect the needs of China's overseas economic development.

First, the PLA's transportation capacity is insufficient. China has an urgent need for large amphibious assault ships and military transport aircraft. Existing craft are ill-suited to carrying out large-scale evacuations. When riots broke out in Libya, the Chinese government had to use merchant ships and rent foreign ships in order to evacuate Chinese nationals. China currently has 10 Ilyushin Il-76 aircrafts at most, each of which has a payload of 40 tons -- roughly one-third of the capacity of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, which is the largest military transport aircraft available to the U.S. military. The Yun-20 military transport aircraft, wholly developed by China, can carry a load of 65 tons. Hundreds of Yun-20 aircraft would be required in order to undertake a strategic airlifting task.

Second, China's forward military presence is weak. The U.S. Navy is deployed worldwide and is therefore capable of engaging in peacekeeping missions or wars in coastal regions. Military presence is important to the U.S. government's diplomatic and national defense policies.

Third, the PLA needs to deepen international cooperation. In the White Paper, China made its first reference to cooperation with foreign military forces, indicating that the issue has caught the attention of the authorities. There is no question that China is seeking genuine partnerships to promote cooperation with regard to joint defense.

Fourth, China needs to build up its military capacity to show its will and determination. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Colonel-General Alexander Zelin said, waving your fist 100 times is not as powerful as flapping a bomber's wings once.

According to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, deterrence is based on three main factors: military strength, willingness to employ it, and effective information transmission. China's 2013 national defense White Paper declared that the scope of China's national interests is within the framework of international laws, the PLA remains resolute in protecting the country's overseas interests and China's determination to develop its military strength to cope with its economic development is absolute. The White Paper also clearly identified potential threats to China and showed the PLA's confidence and competence to better deter and, if necessary, prevail in any conflict, however large.

The author used to serve as a colonel with the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

This post was first published in Chinese and translated by Chen Xia.

Opinion articles reflect the views of the authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

Public entitled to Atlassian or other modelling behind Berejiklian's mandatory mask order

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Atlassian at heart of tech hub_: Gladys is required
to be transparent in her dealings with Atlassian

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has made the wearing of masks compulsory and subject to enforcement by a $200 penalty.  Berejiklian insists that all her decisions are based on health advice, but it has become apparent over the past year that she has sought advice privately from her friends at Atlassian.

The Atlassian advice and modelling informed her backing for the failed COVID APP. The public are entitled to all details about Berejikilan and her government's dealing with Atlassian. Information about modelling from any other entity should also be made public given these increasingly invasive policies. 

TO BE READ IWTH 

Monday, July 13, 2020

WuhanCovid: Berejiklian says she will fight community contagion in NSW, will not say how & why her April-June lockdown failed to prevent community contagion in the first place ; Berejiklian's failure is also a failure of Atlassian data & modelling

by Ganesh Sahathevan



NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, like her Victorian counterpart Dan Andrews, has warned of new and continuing lockdowns.She has told 2GB's Ben Fordham:

“If we need to go further we will.

“We cannot have people mingling, we cannot have people letting their guard down.

“I can’t guarantee that we won’t need to go further across the board in curtailing existing ability for people to do what they’re doing.”

Meanwhile she has has not told us why her lockdown failed to in its purpose, ie to prevent the community contagion which Berejiklian says is a new and evolving development. Gladys and Scott Fraquhar, and his Atlassian, owe us an explanation for the massively expensive 3 month lockdown that the Berejiklian government imposed on this state.

TO BE READ WITH

WuhanCovid virus: Taxpayers entitled to Atlassian data, modelling and advice relied on by Gladys Berejiklian ; NSW, Vic & Commonwealth relying on "advice" to circumvent limits on Government spending

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Atlassian at heart of tech hub_: Gladys is required

to be transparent in her dealings with Atlassian 

The Premier of NSW,Gladys Berejiklian has declared this week that the WuhanCovid virus outbreak in Victoria is the first instance of community contagion of the virus in Australia.

The same premier imposed a strict statewide lockdown from late March to early July on the basis that she was working to "flatten the curve".


Berejiklian relied on data and modelling from Atlassian's Scott Farquhar, which she has refused to place in the public domain. Farquhar and Atliassian were also reported to have devised if not proposed the COVID App, which seems to have done nothing.

While Berejiklian does not seem as hapless as her Victorian counterpart Dan Andrews it is clear that there are major gaps in what we are being told. Meanwhile Commonwealth and state governments continue to rely on a formulation of words ie "on advice of chief health officers and experts" to justify circumvention of policies that limit government spending.The Australian taxpayer is entitled to the data, modelling and advice from Atlassian and Scott Farquhar that Berejiklian and Scott Morrison relied on. 

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Coronavirus: Atlassian boss Scott Farquhar’s insight handed Gladys Berejiklian a lead

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian gets her morning coffee from her local cafe in Sydney’s Northbride on Friday as restrictions eased slightly. Picture: Nikki Short
EXCLUSIVE

YONI BASHAN
NSW POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
@yoni_bashanMAY 2, 2020




NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian turned to tech billionaire Scott Farquhar during the darkest hours of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing­ that his data and modelling expertise put the state on an early war footing that helped prevent­ the horrific death tolls occurrin­g elsewhere.

In an interview with The Weekend Australian, the Premier also outlined how she planned to reposition NSW as a global manufacturing leader to hedge against inevitable budget deficits caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As NSW eased its first social restriction­s on Friday, Ms Berejiklian spoke of how her personal relationsh­ip with Mr Farquhar and other leading industry figures had been key to moving early with social restrictions that flattened the infection curve and secured the state against disaster.

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She said Mr Farquhar, co-chief executive of Atlassia­n, had stepped in at a time when the ­extent and severity of the virus was still unclear.

He assisted with establishing the initial modelling that informed Ms Berejiklian’s “war cabinet’’ to move quickly against the virus; it was also Mr Farquhar who urged the Premier to publicise as much data as possible, so the community would heed the message of self-isolation.

“Scott Farquhar is a legend,” Ms Berejiklian told The Weekend Australian. “You don’t just need to be a health expert to manage a pandemic, you need to be a data expert and know what modelling shows you — and he is amazing. He helped me in the early days of the pandemic with data and managing data.”
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Mr Farquhar and Ms Berejik­lian are understood to speak often, but he took a central role in identifying the severity of the pandemic during late February, when most countries were still moving cautiously against the virus. At that stage, in Australia, the likelihood of mass infections was, to some, a possibility rather than a certainty.

NSW subsequently became one of the strongest advocates in national cabinet meetings of stronger lockdown measures and school closures.

Asked to confirm his role, the 40-year-old told The Weekend Australian that Atlassian, which assisted with building the COVIDSafe app, was always “willing and able” to assist the government. The company also assisted the federal government with its Whats­App messaging service bot.

“COVID-19 is one of the biggest issues that government and business have ever had to face, so we’re proud to work together and help out however we can,” he said.

On Friday, NSW eased the first of its social restrictions implemented on March 30, allowing for up to two adults to visit another household to provide “care and support”, regardless of the distance required to travel.

Additional restrictions, such as those around schools and retail trade, have also been earmarked for relaxation, with the government moving to take its first cautious steps out of its crisis phase and into a longer-term effort ­focused on recovery.

With tourism, education and other sources of revenue flattened by the pandemic, Ms Berejiklian has now turned her eye to the dorman­t manufacturing sector. She says it could provide a lifeline for the state against the dreaded and deepening budget deficits being forecast. She wants NSW to position itself during and after the crisis to become a manufacturing leader through the use of artificial intelligence and 3D printing, which would make production cheaper. There is no reason, she says, why the sector should not form the backbone of the state’s economic recovery.

“Out of these hours of darkness there are green shoots in terms of establishing new supply chains, establ­ishing new industry, and that … gives me hope about NSW.”

YONI BASHAN

STATE POLITICAL REPORTER
Yoni Bashan is The Australian's NSW political correspondent. He began his career at The Sunday Telegraph and has won multiple awards for crime writing and specialist investigations. In 2014 he was seconded on a... Read more

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