Putin plays with f ire in his new doctrine
Of late Vladimir Putin has shifted Russia’s nuclear doctrine to a more directly and openly retaliatory posture in response to any attack by Ukraine or any NATO country using longer-range US missiles.
The absence of Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who hasn’t been spotted in public for more than two weeks, is reportedly being investigated, according to the US government.
According to the US, Shangfu has also lost his position as defense minister, as was reported by the Financial Times.
Taking to X, Rahm Emanuel, the US envoy to Japan, wrote, “President Xi’s cabinet lineup is now resembling Agatha Christie’s novel ‘And Then There Were None’.”
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Defence Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks, he said, following the disappearances of the rocket force commanders and foreign minister Qin Gang.
Who will triumph in the race against unemployment? Youth in China or Xi’s cabinet? stated Emanuel.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet was another quotation he used, along with the statement “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” First, Li Shangfu, the defence minister, hasn’t been seen or heard from in three weeks. Second: He didn’t show up for his flight to Vietnam. He was put under house arrest, and now he’s missing his appointment with the Singaporean Chief of Navy? There might be too many people inside. Good news is I heard he’s paid off his mortgage with the Country Garden real estate.”
After Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang went missing in July, Shangfu is said to have vanished.
Nearly two months ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping removed two top generals from the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, an elite force overseeing the country’s conventional and nuclear missiles.
Vietnamese officials reportedly claimed on Thursday that Li unexpectedly canceled a meeting last week due to a “health condition,” according to a report by news agency Reuters.
In 2018, when Li was in charge of the PLA’s main division for purchasing and producing weapons, the Trump administration placed penalties on him in relation to China’s acquisition of Russian weapons.
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