The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force considers China's domestically developed J-16D electronic warfare aircraft "irreplaceable," a top designer recently revealed.

Wang Yongqing, chief expert of the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, made the remarks, cctv.com reported on Saturday.

The J-16D is a dedicated electronic warfare aircraft developed from a fighter jet platform. Citing the assessment from the military, Wang said it is an indispensable and irreplaceable asset in the PLA Air Force's arsenal.

The J-16D was first unveiled at the Airshow China 2021 held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province. The aircraft was put on static ground display, showing four jamming pods beneath its wings and air inlets, as well as two missiles under its belly, in addition to the two electronic warfare pods on the wingtips.

According to information provided at the exhibition, the J-16D is a new electronic warfare variant developed from the J-16 fighter jet. It integrates reconnaissance, offensive and defensive capabilities, and is designed to effectively counter advanced air defense systems, including early warning and detection, communication, interception, and strike components.

The J-16D is designed to enhance the PLA Air Force's electronic attack capabilities and strengthen its overall systematic combat capacity, reads the description.

In November 2021, shortly after the Airshow China, the military channel of China Central Television reported that the J-16D had begun conducting combat exercises.

The report noted that the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft and the J-20 stealth fighter can operate in tandem, forming a comprehensive aviation electronic warfare system.

Wang Ya'nan, editor-in-chief of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times that the J-16D can fly in formation with other fighter jets. It is capable of conducting electronic suppression and deception missions, and can also launch missiles to destroy hostile radar installations or early warning aircraft. 

He added that the J-16D can further enhance the J-20's stealth capabilities. By jamming enemy radar, it can even enable non-stealth aircraft to achieve a degree of de facto stealth.

Future warfare is expected to take place in highly contested electronic environments, and the competition over theelectromagnetic domain could be fierce, Wang Ya'nan said, emphasizing the importance of the J-16D.

Iran's military said it carried out a "devastating and powerful" missile attack on the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar following Tehran's threat to retaliate for US airstrikes, Reuters reported on its official X account.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had begun a missile campaign dubbed the "Annunciation of Victory," targeting US bases in both Iraq and Qatar, Xinhua News Agency reported early Tuesday morning.

Bahrain has temporarily closed its airspace, state news media said, citing the country's transportation and telecommunications ministry, New York Times reported.
Earlier on Monday, the Chinese Embassy in Qatar has once again called on Chinese nationals in the country to remain highly vigilant, closely monitor security risks, and continuously improve their personal safety measures, according to a statement released on Monday via the embassy's official WeChat account.

Chinese nationals are advised to minimize unnecessary outings based on their individual circumstances and avoid visiting sensitive areas such as the Al Udeid Air Base to ensure personal safety, said the statement.

Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the largest US base in the Middle East, CBS News reported.

Mark Schwartz, a former lieutenant general in the US Army and a defense researcher at the Rand Corporation, said the personnel, aircraft and installations at Udeid would be "extremely vulnerable" given its "close proximity" to Iran, AFP reported.

The US Embassy in Qatar warned American citizens on Monday to shelter in place, and a few hours later, Qatar's foreign ministry announced the country would be closing its air space temporarily, CBS News reported.

Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, met with Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime A. FlorCruz on Tuesday to lodge a stern representation over a series of recent negative actions by the Philippine side concerning Taiwan-related issues and regional security.

On the same day, when asked to comment on the claims by Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent Trinidad that the Philippine military and the Taiwan region are discussing the so-called "international cooperation," and are now just one step away from joint exercises, the spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in Philippines said China firmly opposes any form of official contacts between countries that have established diplomatic relations with China with the Taiwan region.

Taiwan is a province of China and an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests. The one-China principle is the general consensus of the international community and the political foundation of China-Philippines relations, the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday. 

"We urge the Philippine side to abide by the one-China principle, stop any form of official contacts with the Taiwan authorities and stop sending wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," the spokesperson said. 

"We advise the relevant people on the Philippine side to refrain from provocations on the Taiwan question, as those playing with fire will get burnt," the spokesperson added.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Kyung-wha Kang, president of the Asia Society, here on Tuesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that recently, progress has been made in the high-level economic and trade meeting between China and the United States, which proves that equal dialogue, mutual respect, and properly handling each other's legitimate concerns align with the common interests of both countries.

Meanwhile, the United States has continued to suppress China's legitimate development rights, and China strongly opposes the unilateral bullying, Wang said.

He called on both countries to achieve positive interactions in the Asia-Pacific region first, thereby establishing a correct way for them to get along with each other and finding effective channels for win-win cooperation.

Noting that the Asia Society has a deep understanding of China's thousands of years of cultural heritage, Kang expressed the willingness to continue sharing fact-based and objective insights about China, and build a dialogue platform to eliminate misunderstandings and promote mutual understanding, together with people with vision in the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday agreed to maintain a free trade regime in the face of tariffs imposed by the US, while also establishing a "two-plus-two" framework to enhance security cooperation, according to media reports. 

Ishiba is also expected to visit the Philippines and discuss intelligence sharing and coast guard cooperation during his trip, media reported. 

Analysts said Japan is reaching out to ASEAN countries to alleviate tariff pressures from the US. However, they warned that Tokyo's security cooperation in the region should not "target any third party."

Ishiba arrived in Vietnam on April 27. According to the Japanese news outlet Asahi, both Ishiba and Chinh affirmed their commitment to cooperate in the international community by contributing to the maintenance and strengthening of a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

In the area of security, Ishiba and Chinh agreed to establish a "two-plus-two" framework, with the first meeting of foreign and defense vice ministers to be held in Japan by the end of this year, Japanese media said. 

Lü Chao, an expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that against the backdrop of the US waging a global tariff war, Japan is reaching out to ASEAN countries to strengthen ties and consolidate new markets.

Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said Japan's trade negotiations with the US have not gone smoothly due to Washington's tariff policies, fueling strong domestic calls in Japan to improve relations with other Asia countries. In countering the US tariff war, seeking cooperation with other countries is crucial for Japan - both to expand markets and to offset economic losses, Da said.

Ishiba is scheduled to fly to the Philippines on April 29. Some Japanese media said Ishida aims to deepen Japan's economic and security ties with Southeast Asian nations during his tour as the US administration's involvement in the region "grows increasingly uncertain."

During his stay in Manila starting Tuesday, Ishiba will hold talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and is expected to agree to begin discussions on an intelligence-sharing pact and hold joint drills between the two countries' coast guards, according to Kyodo News.

Ishiba claimed before departing Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Sunday, that China "unilaterally attempts to change the status quo by force" in the East and South China seas, according to Kyodo News on Sunday.

"Japan's engagement with ASEAN members should not target any third party. While dispatching senior ruling-party figures to visit China recently, Tokyo is simultaneously courting other countries to counter China, which reveals its ambivalence," Lü said. 

Da said that Japan's attempts to deepen security and military cooperation with Southeast Asian countries will be a destabilizing factor in the region.  

The US Senate on Tuesday (local time) confirmed David Perdue as the new US Ambassador to China with a vote of 67 in favor and 29 against, CCTV news reported on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump had previously announced on social media on December 5, 2024 (local time) his nomination of David Perdue for the position.

A Republican, Perdue served as a US Senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021.

The Chinese Embassy in Chile on Thursday firmly opposed the recent actions and statements by the US over a China-Chile astronomical cooperation project, condemning them as "outright Neo-Monroe Doctrine behavior." 

During a recent US Senate hearing, ambassador nominee  Brandon Judd disregarded Chile's sovereignty and its right to choose its partners, claiming that he would seek to "restrict China's access to Chile's resources." At the same event, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen criticized China-Chile astronomical cooperation. 

Additionally, former US ambassador to Chile Bernadette Meehan pressured the Chilean government to cancel the China-Chile astronomical cooperationTransient Objects Monitoring（TOM）project before leaving office. 

In its statement, the Chinese Embassy detailed the TOM project, short for Transient Objects Monitoring, which focuses on time-domain astronomy and aims to observe phenomena such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, gravitational wave counterparts and solar system objects using survey telescopes.

This project is of great significance, aiming to uncover fundamental questions such as the origin and evolution of stars, the nature of black holes, the state of neutron stars and the origin of superheavy elements in the universe, the embassy said. 

Many survey instruments like TOM are around the world, the embassy said in a statement. In Chile, there is the large synoptic survey telescope (LSST) at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which was installed in January this year with investment from the US government, as well as the next generation transit survey at the Paranal Observatory, a collaboration between Chile and European countries. 

Additionally, there are important projects such as the Pan-STARRS in the US, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Catalina Sky Survey, and China's Mozi Wide Field Survey Telescope, all of which are key roles in cosmic exploration, it said. 

The US side deliberately ignores that its LSST telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is completely consistent with the scientific nature of the TOM project and covers all the scientific research objectives, the embassy said. 

By spreading disinformation about TOM and obstructing normal China-Chile scientific cooperation, it is engaging in outright Neo-Monroe Doctrine behavior.

The TOM project is a collaborative initiative between the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Catholic University of the North, based on mutual interests and conducted under the principles of equality, mutual benefit, openness, and transparency, the embassy introduced.  

In line with Chilean laws and regulations, the project will be jointly built.  Once completed, both parties will not only conduct joint observations but will also publicly solicit observation applications from international astronomical institutions, share observation time and engage in collaborative research. 

Additionally, the project will support science outreach and astronomy education in Chile and Latin America by organizing scientific seminars and conducting educational activities for young people, according to embassy. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his state visit to Cambodia on Friday, with both nations agreeing on jointly building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

On Thursday, Xi met with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Cambodian People's Party President and Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, respectively.

The two sides exchanged more than 30 bilateral cooperation documents covering such fields as production and supply chain cooperation, artificial intelligence, development assistance, customs inspection and quarantine, as well as health and media.

ALL-WEATHER COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE

"We must work together to promote the steady and sustained progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era," Xi wrote in his signed article published on Thursday in Cambodian media outlets.

During their talks, Xi and the Cambodian prime minister agreed to build an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

Xi called on both sides to build on the momentum, strengthen unity and cooperation, and speed up the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

During his meeting with the Cambodian King, Xi expressed confidence in writing a splendid chapter of building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

China and Cambodia have always been at the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind, said Xi.

For his part, King Sihamoni said that with the joint efforts of both sides, cooperation in various fields has become increasingly close and the building of a community with a shared future has been continuously deepened.

While meeting with the Cambodian People's Party president and Senate president, Xi said that building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future is a choice of history and the people.

He said that the two sides should keep in mind the well-being of their people and the progress of humanity, strive to set an example for building a community with a shared future for mankind in the course of advancing their respective modernization endeavors, and join hands to become forces for peace, stability and progress in a world undergoing profound transformations unseen in a century.

UNBREAKABLE IRONCLAD FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is a term frequently emphasized by Xi during his trip to the country.

In the signed article, Xi said this visit "feels like going to the home of a good friend."

He fondly recalled the historic legacy of the good-neighborly relations between the two nations and the friendly exchange that spans two millennia of their shared history.

"The great Chinese and Khmer civilizations have flourished together, inspiring each other through centuries," he wrote.

Xi also highlighted the two countries' mutual commitment to friendship and righteousness, emphasizing that the friendship was forged by Cambodia's King Father Norodom Sihanouk and Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, among the elder generations of Chinese leaders.

In 2020, Xi presented Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk with the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China. This medal, Xi said, embodies "the profound friendship of the Chinese people toward the people of Cambodia."

When meeting with the Queen Mother on Thursday at the Royal Palace, Xi said she is a witness and promoter of the China-Cambodia friendship and has special friendly feelings towards the Chinese people, while Cambodia's King Father Norodom Sihanouk was a banner of this friendship.

Under the new circumstances, China and Cambodia should cherish and carry forward this ironclad friendship, endow the China-Cambodia community with a shared future with new connotations of the time, serve the development of their respective countries and the well-being of their people, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said when meeting with King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday.

King Norodom Sihamoni presented Xi with the National Order of Independence - Grand Collar.

Xi said that this medal fully demonstrates Cambodia's high regard for developing China-Cambodia relations and carries the deep friendship of the Cambodian people towards the Chinese people.

This honor, he said, belongs not only to him personally, but also to all the friendly people who have cultivated and contributed to the friendship between China and Cambodia.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin has said in a written interview with Xinhua that as history and reality have both proven, China and Cambodia are good neighbors, good brothers, good friends and good partners who share weal and woe and stand together through thick and thin.

The friendship between the two countries is not a transactional relationship, nor a stopgap measure, still less a bloc confrontation. It is rooted in the practical needs of the respective national development and rejuvenation, serves the common interests of both nations and peoples, and aligns with the historical trend of solidarity, self-strengthening and shared development among Global South countries, Wang said.

STRIVE TOGETHER, THRIVE TOGETHER

In his signed article, Xi said that as important members of the big Asian family, China and Cambodia must ride the tide of history and heed the two peoples' aspirations, and must strive together and thrive together.

Noting that this is his second visit to Cambodia in nine years, Xi expressed hope that the visit will spearhead progress in building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future.

For many years, China has been Cambodia's largest trading partner and top source of investment, and industrial and supply chain cooperation between the two countries has continued to deepen. The entry into force of both the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement has further strengthened the foundation for bilateral trade and investment.

Thanks to such free trade agreements, premium agricultural products from Cambodia, including banana, mango and longan, are finding their way into Chinese households.

"China is a trustworthy partner for Cambodia," said the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat. "Looking forward, our two-way trade volume will continue to rise, undoubtedly."

During talks with Hun Manet, Xi urged the two sides to expand mutually beneficial cooperation of higher quality and voiced China's readiness to share opportunities and seek common development with Cambodia.

He called on both sides to vigorously promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and continuously enrich the "Diamond Hexagon" cooperation framework, so as to inject new impetus into their respective modernization efforts.

China encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest in Cambodia, Xi said, adding that it will open its mega-market to Cambodia and import more high-quality agricultural products from the country.

In his meeting with Hun Sen, the Chinese president said the two sides should deepen practical cooperation across various fields, advance the construction of Cambodia's Industrial and Technological Corridor and Fish and Rice Corridor, and strengthen collaboration in energy, transportation and other key sectors.

In view of the headwinds on the international landscape, Xi said unilateralism and hegemonism receive no support of the people, adding that history has shown the unstoppable trend toward a multipolar world, economic globalization, and cultural diversity.

In response to media inquiries regarding US Vice President JD Vance's comments in a media interview about the Trump administration's trade policy toward China — in which he claimed, "We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that we have made very clear China's position on China-US economic and trade relations has been consistently clear. Lin noted that it was both surprising and saddening to hear the Vice President made such ignorant and disrespectful remarks.

The Ministry of National Defense will hold the 3rd International Security Cooperation Seminar for Foreign Military Attachés to China at the International College of Defense Studies of the National Defense University from April 10 to 11. Foreign defense attachés and the representatives of some international organizations will attend. During the event, civilian and military experts will be invited to deliver themed presentations, discussions and exchanges will be conducted on topics including strengthening international military cooperation and addressing regional security challenges, and a visit to model new rural communities will be organized. The seminar is to help foreign  military attachés better understand China and the Chinese military and further enhance friendship and mutual trust.