Conflict – Michmutters

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Australia

Live updates: China’s ambassador to Australia to address National Press Club

Live updates: China's ambassador to Australia to address National Press Club

Here’s Will Jackson with the details.

The relationship between Australia and China has been battered by a series of acrimonious disputes over the last two years. But since Work won the election in May both countries have taken tentative steps towards stabilizing the relationship.

Both the Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the Defense Minister Richard Marles have held a one-on-one meetings with their Chinese counterparts, ending a two-year high level diplomatic freeze between Canberra and beijing.

But there are still structural barriers to serious improvement.

(ABCNews)

Australia remains deeply concerned about a raft of issues from China’s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang regionto the imprisonment of Australian journalist ChengLeirepression of rights and free speech in Hong Kong and Beijing’s moves to increase its influence in the Pacific.

And the recent taiwan crises have you seen China once again step up its verbal attacks on Australia, after the federal government raised concerns about Beijing’s military drills in the wake of the Nancy Pelosi visit to the island.

All of which should make for an interesting Q&A session at the end of Mr Xiao’s talk.

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Categories
Australia

Peter Dutton urges the Albanese Government to acquire military ‘deterrent’ as he warns of conflict amid China-Taiwan tensions

Peter Dutton urges the Albanese Government to acquire military 'deterrent' as he warns of conflict amid China-Taiwan tensions

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has lashed China for its “completely over the top” reaction to Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip and has urged the Australian government to “provide a deterrent” for potential regional conflict.

China has ramped up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea following the US Speaker of the House’s visit to Taipei.

The People’s Liberation Army launched five high-powered missiles across the strait with one entering Japan’s exclusive economic zone over the weekend.

Mr Dutton said China’s recent ratcheting up of aggression could result in “conflict or war” and labeled Beijing’s actions as “quite phenomenal”.

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In the wake of the military build-up, Mr Dutton also welcomed the Albanese Government’s openness to purchasing nuclear-powered submarines to fill a potentially decades long capability gap.

“It’s absolutely essential that we acquire the capability to provide a deterrent,” Mr Dutton said.

“We’re an island nation in the middle of the pacific and we have a particular responsibility not just to our own country but to keep peace within our region as well.”

Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government would prioritize “strategic need” over local manufacturing after Labor launched a major defense capability review last week.

Mr Marles told the Nine newspapers that acquiring the nuclear submarines early was an option, but the extent of the capability gap needed to be determined first.

“To the extent a capability gap exists when we determine how quickly we can get the nuclear-powered submarines, we need to be looking at every option about how we plug that gap,” he said.

“The point is that we must have an evolving and improving submarine capability in this country from this day forth. And that necessitates plugging the gap. And there are lots of ways one can do that.”

China launched its military drills on Thursday following Ms Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier in the week.

Beijing also sanctioned the US Speaker in response to what the government described as a “egregious provocation”.

Mr Dutton praised Ms Pelosi’s visit and said it exposed China’s “disproportionate” reaction.

“Yes, she should have (gone) and I’m pleased that she did because the reaction from China is completely over the top,” Mr Dutton said at a press conference in Brisbane on Monday.

“And it’s disproportionate to the visit by a Speaker of the House of Representatives in the world’s biggest democracy to visit an independent country.”

While supporting the speaker’s decision, Mr Dutton said he would not partake in a similar “political stunt” but warned that China’s military build-up was reminiscent of 1930s Europe.

“Nobody’s arguing for there to be a breaking of the current arrangement, but at the same time the Chinese government’s reaction under President Xi has been wildly disproportionate,” he said.

“This has been entirely predictable, China is amassing nuclear weapons and when we say that we’re in a period similar to the 1930s that is not made up, it’s not exaggerated.”

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Categories
Australia

Penny Wong defends push for China to ‘de-escalate’ tensions in Taiwan Strait and says region is concerned of ‘risk of conflict’

Penny Wong defends push for China to 'de-escalate' tensions in Taiwan Strait and says region is concerned of 'risk of conflict'

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has hit back at China for singling out Australia over calls to restore stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Senator Wong joined her counterparts from the United States and Japan on Saturday to condemn Chinese military escalation which saw high-powered missiles launched towards Taiwan and Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The reaction drew the ire of the Chinese government which accused Senator Wong of “finger-pointing” while claiming it was the “victim” of “political provocation”.

But the Foreign Minister doubled down on her concerns on Monday and said Australia and regional partners would continue to “urge restraint”.

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“What is most critical at the moment is that the temperature is lowered and calm is restored when it comes to cross-strait tensions,” Senator Wong said in a press conference in Canberra.

“Australia continues to urge restraint, Australia continues to urge de-escalation and this is not something that solely Australia is calling for.

“The whole region is concerned about the current situation, the whole region is calling for stability to be restored.”

Over the weekend, the Taiwanese government accused Beijing of simulating an attack after the first trip to the island from a US House Speaker in a quarter of a century.

The Defense Ministry said China used 66 plans and 14 warships in the exercise on Sunday and had launched 11 ballistic missiles during live-fire drills on Thursday.

The US, Japan and Australia responded on Saturday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Senator Wong calling for China to “immediately cease” its military exercises.

The trio also expressed concerns that China’s actions would “gravely affect international peace and stability”.

“They condemned the PRC’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government reported landed in its exclusive economic zones, raising tension and destabilizing the region,” a joint statement said.

The Chinese Embassy in Canberra on Sunday defended the central government’s military exercises, describing them as actions to “safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

But the statement singled out Australia and said Canberra had “condemned the victim”.

Senator Wong hit back and said Australia was “not the only country concerned about escalation” and raised concerns of potential conflict in the Pacific.

“The region is concerned about the risk of conflict,” she said on Monday.

“We will continue, in a calm and considered way, to articulate our national interests.”

“Our interests are the interest of the region and that is restraint and de-escalation.”

Taipei was forced to scramble fighter jets and put shore-based missiles on stand-by with the Chinese Defense Ministry saying it was “testing the capabilities” of assault systems.

China has never ruled Taiwan but considers the island its territory.

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Categories
Technology

Symphony Of War Is A Steam Hit Perfect For Fire Emblem Fans

Symphony Of War Is A Steam Hit Perfect For Fire Emblem Fans

Warriors prepare to fight in one of Symphony of War's tactical battles.

screenshot: Dancing Dragon Games

There’s been a raft of intriguing strategy RPGs this yearbut one of my favorites so far is Symphony of War. It’s been climbing the charts on Steam in recent months, and for good reason. From a distance it looks like another Fire Emblem knockoff. Up close it’s doing enough interesting things to stand on its own, and I really recommend you give it a shot.

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga quietly came out on Steam in June and has been rack up positive reviews ever since. Developed by an indie team called Dancing Dragon Games with a history of RPG Maker projects, it’s a trope-filled military drama about civil war and demonic threats. But you can pretty much ignore all that. Beneath the predictable plot and airbrushed character portraits is a deep strategy game that’s hard to put down. Personally, I think it’s even better in the strategy department than Triangle Strategy.

Make no mistake: Symphony of War is old-school. While newer entries in the Fire Emblem series have delved deeper into visual novel elements and relationship mechanics, it’s focused almost exclusively on renewing the nuts and bolts of classic grid-based battles. What works so well is that Symphony of War nails the basics and also adds plenty of new wrinkles for fans to dig into (especially those who also dug last year’s Dark Deity).

gif: Dancing Dragon Games / Kotaku

The biggest one is that each individual unit represents an entire squad made up multiple types of fighters. Maybe there are some knights in front flanked by pikemen while wizards and archers rain down death from the back. When two units move next to each other and throw down, a mini-turn-based skirmish ensues. Mages in the back cast fireballs and healing spells while knights in the front dish out melee damage. Combat unfolds across two rounds, with attackers getting the first turn and the defending side going second. Some fighters can only attack on the first or second turn, while others will occasionally luck into a bonus turn. The action is easy to follow and yet also opens up plenty of room for customization.

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Vertagear has a number of gaming chairs on sale right now. One in particular that caught our eye is the PL4500 which is embroidered with Swarovski crystals down to $500. You can also get one of their RGB kits to add a set of lights to either the top cutout sections around the headrest or a bottom LED kit for $200 to light up underneath like your chair is in Need for Speed: Underground 2.

Adding more subtle layers of complexity are unique fighter bonuses and an extensive research tree. Horseback fighters get to attack first without retribution. Infantry provide defensive bonuses to nearby units. And archers can naturally attack from a distance without facing counter-attacks. These and other stats can then be augmented and magnified by researching new tech. Rather than leveling up specific units, you’re growing the overall capabilities of your army.

A map shows where grid-based combat takes place in Symphony of War.

screenshot: Dancing Dragon Games

in this way Symphony of War forces you to sometimes think like a 4X strategist while playing like a traditional JRPG enthusiast. Instead of customizing one single party and fighting through a dungeon, you’re building up a small army of them and taking on a whole battlefield. Completing missions faster and capturing enemy units and buildings along the way nets you extra money and points that can then be poured back into outfitting your various crews. Just a few novel tweaks and the decades-old tactical JRPG formula feels fresh and modern again in 2022.

A few other games have also taken hybrid approaches to tactical RPGs recently. The Iron Oath and Songs of Conquest both come to mind. The former is a roguelike with battles that take place on a hexagonal grid. The latter also sports a hexagonal battlefield in service of map exploration and city-building closer to a 4X game. They’re really promising games in their own right (and still in Early Access), yet neither is as focused on plumbing the depths of leveraging small advantages so one group of animated sprites can wipe the floor with another.

Symphony of War is far from a perfect package, but it offers one of the more meaty and innovative takes on the tactics RPG formula I’ve come across in years.

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