The D Brief: Sullivan in China; SecNav’s spicy message to industry; Ukrainian F-16 crash?; Fire on the Red Sea; And a bit more.

President Biden’s nationwide safety advisor met with China’s chief in Beijing Thursday as the ultimate portion of Jake Sullivan’s 14 hours of talks with prime Chinese language officers on their dwelling subject, because it have been, over the previous three days. 

Sullivan and Xi Jinping mentioned “counternarcotics, military-to-military communications, and AI security and threat,” in addition to “cross-Strait points [read: Taiwan], Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine, and the South China Sea,” in accordance with the White Home. 

From Beijing’s POV, Xi is alleged to have emphasised “that on this altering and turbulent world, nations want solidarity and coordination, not division or confrontation.”

After the assembly, Xi’s navy mentioned in an announcement, “China urges the US aspect to cease navy collusion with Taiwan, cease arming Taiwan, and cease spreading false narratives on Taiwan.” It’s unclear what the protection ministry meant with the final allegation about false narratives, and Chinese language officers didn’t publicly elaborate. 

Beijing’s navy additionally mentioned its “mission and obligation” is “to resolutely oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ and promote reunification,” vowing to “positively take countermeasures” in opposition to Taiwan independence. These pushing for independence in Taiwan, the protection ministry mentioned, “are as incompatible with peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait as fireplace with water.” 

One takeaway from three days of talks: “U.S. Indo-Pacific command leaders would quickly converse by telephone to their counterparts in China’s southern theatre command, which covers its southern seas,” Reuters reviews. Nonetheless, the 2 sides reached “no new agreements on the South China Sea,” Reuters writes, and “We did not talk about the American election,” Sullivan advised reporters. 

Replace: China nonetheless has not cleaned up its abusive act within the western Xinjiang area, the UN says. “Particularly,” a spokesman for the UN’s human rights chief mentioned this week, “we perceive that many problematic legal guidelines and insurance policies stay in place [in Xinjiang], and we now have known as once more on the authorities to undertake a full overview, from the human rights perspective, of the authorized framework governing nationwide safety and counter-terrorism and to strengthen the safety of minorities in opposition to discrimination.”

“Allegations of human rights violations, together with torture, must be totally investigated,” the spokesperson mentioned in an announcement Tuesday, two years after their most up-to-date evaluation of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Area—the place 1000’s of Muslim Uyghur folks have been subjected to discrimination, torture and worse by the hands of Chinese language authorities. 

Across the Pacific: 

Welcome to this Thursday version of The D Transient, delivered to you by Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. Share your e-newsletter suggestions, studying suggestions, or suggestions right here. And in the event you’re not already subscribed, you are able to do that right here. On today in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made its second and most devastating landfall within the U.S. when it crossed from the Gulf of Mexico and over Mississippi and southeast Louisiana.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro points an invite—and a warning—to business. In an op-ed for Protection One, Del Toro mentioned Division of Navy contracts are being written to ensure entry to program knowledge, and that officers would use all authorized means to make distributors adhere to them.

Extra steps: He added that Navy Division acquisition officers would pay nearer consideration to distributors’ report of residing as much as their contracts normally. He introduced a brand new initiative, dubbed PINACL, that might go after particular person workers of contractors who have interaction in fraud or poor efficiency in reference to DON contracts.

And echoing a recurring concern, he mentioned the Navy would “query the knowledge of prioritizing shareholder dividends and inventory buybacks over vital investments in underfunded shipyards and delayed shipbuilding packages.” Learn all that, right here.

Growing: A U.S.-made F-16 has reportedly crashed inside Ukraine, with the result possible the results of pilot error, the Wall Avenue Journal reported Thursday, citing a U.S. official. Nonetheless, “The Ukrainian Air Power wouldn’t affirm the crash or the standing of the pilot.” 

Catch a glimpse of Ukraine’s selfmade picket drones, a few of which have a variety of greater than 450 miles, in a brand new BBC report printed Thursday. “We assemble [the drones] like Ikea,” mentioned a co-founder who’s a former engineer within the Australian military. The drones are “principally flying furnishings,” he mentioned. Learn on, right here. 

New: As much as $1B for Switchblades. AeroVironment, maker of Switchblade loitering munitions, introduced on Wednesday that the Military has issued a 5-year contract to purchase as much as $1 billion price of the weapons underneath its Directed Requirement for Deadly Unmanned Methods. The press launch didn’t specify which Switchblade variant is at situation, nor their price. 

And Booz Allen Hamilton was simply awarded a three-year contract with the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Safety Company for about $421 million. It issues CISA’s Steady Diagnostics and Mitigation program, which reaches “13 authorities businesses, together with NASA, IRS, and the Division of Well being and Human Providers,” BAH mentioned in a information launch Thursday. Extra information, right here. 

Hearth on the Crimson Sea: After a Houthi assault final week, the oil tanker M/V Sounion has been alight now for seven consecutive days, the European Union’s naval mission to the Crimson Sea mentioned Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Pentagon advised reporters the vessel seems to be leaking a few of the a million barrels of crude oil it was carrying when attacked on August 21 touring from Iraq to Greece.

“These are merely reckless acts of terrorism which proceed to destabilize international and regional commerce, put the lives of harmless civilian mariners in danger, and imperil the colourful maritime ecosystem within the Crimson Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis personal yard,” mentioned Pentagon Press Secretary Air Power Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. 

In response to the EU on Wednesday, “There’s no oil spill, and the ship continues to be anchored and never drifting.” Nonetheless, “All passing vessels within the neighborhood are required to proceed with utmost warning” because the anchored tanker “poses each a navigational threat and a severe and imminent risk of regional air pollution.” 

Skilled reax: “The environmental impression is probably enormous, multiples of what occurred with Exxon Valdez,” mentioned former NATO commander retired Navy Adm. Jim Stavridis. 

Lastly: “The price of insurance coverage for ships crusing via the Crimson Sea has practically doubled” since that Houthi assault on the M/V Sounion, Reuters reported Wednesday from Aden. 

By the numbers: “Further struggle threat premiums, paid when vessels sail via the Crimson Sea, have been quoted as much as 0.75% of the vessel from 0.4% earlier than the assault, though they have been increased at 1% in February.” Learn extra, right here.