Friday, September 08, 2023

Russian Research Vessel Intercepts U.S. Icebreaker in the Arctic

In a pattern reminiscent of the Cold War, a Russian research vessel is shadowing the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Healy in the Arctic, AIS data shows.

Healy got under way from the U.S. Coast Guard base at Kodiak Island on August 26 and headed up through the Bering Strait, data provided by Pole Star shows. She entered the Chukchi Sea on August 30 and kept heading north, well into the Arctic Ocean, before turning westwards into waters north of the Russian Arctic coastline.

On September 2, the Russian research vessel Akademik Nemchinov diverted from a voyage along Russia's Northern Sea Route and made way on an intercept course to meet Healy. The two ships approached to within a few kilometers of each other in the East Siberian Sea, according to AIS data provided by Pole Star, before Healy made a sharp course change to the northeast. As of Wednesday, Nemchinov was holding position on a racetrack course north of Wrangel Island while Healy took up a position several hundred kilometers to the northeast.

The tracklines for Healy (blue) and Nemchinov (red) (Chart courtesy Pole Star)

Healy's course took her through international waters, well north of the Russian coastline. Russia jealously guards control over the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through its near-coastal waters, and Russian regulations require foreign vessels to obtain prior permission to navigate this route and to take on Russian pilots. The requirement is not consistent with the right of innocent passage established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but there are few publicized challenges to Russian restrictions on transits.

Healy's stated mission on this Arctic voyage is to service the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS). The objective is to recover, service, and deploy nine long-term subsurface mooring arrays on a line stretching from the Eurasian Basin to the East Siberian Sea. These arrays are primarily located north of Russia, and they are designed to collect climate-related data on the circulation of Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean. The cruise plan calls for regular conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) sampling stops throughout the voyage.

NABOS / University of Alaska Fairbanks

Russia might have an additional reason to monitor U.S. government-sponsored research activity in Arctic waters, where the Russian Navy often hides its ballistic-missile submarine fleet. U.S. oceanographic research has a long history of dual-purpose use supporting U.S. Navy operations, particularly in submarine warfare, and CTD data is essential to sonar operations. The U.S. is far from alone in this practice: Russian and Chinese research vessels have long been accused of collecting militarily-useful information in the course of their operations.

Healy's previous Arctic mission deployed sea surface and weather sensors for the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research's Arctic Mobile Observing System (AMOS), as well as CTD data collection for O

Oligarch's Daughter Disrupts Auction of Seized Russian Yacht

When the government of Antigua seized the ultra-luxury superyacht Alfa Nero last year, local officials may not have realized how difficult it would be to get rid of. The vessel's upkeep is costing Antigua nearly $30,000 per week, and is creating an insurance risk and tying up marina space that would otherwise be used for revenue - generating purposes. It has been auctioned off - but a legal dispute has prevented Antigua from completing the deal and transferring the vessel to a new owner.

Alfa Nero has been linked to the secretive Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government in early 2022. When Alfa Nero appeared in Falmouth Harbor last year, the FBI arranged with local authorities to raid it and question the crew for evidence of its ownership. Guryev denied that he owns the vessel, so Antigua seized it as abandoned property and took legislative steps to auction it off.

In June, the U.S. Department of the Treasury lifted sanctions on the vessel to clear the way for a sale. An auction was held on June 16, and the highest bidder was former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The winning bid came in just shy of $68 million, far less than the estimated value.

There is a wrinkle, however. Guryev's daughter, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, has filed a suit claiming that she is the vessel's true owner and that the yacht's seizure and sale violated procedure. (Unlike Guryev, Guryeva-Motlokhov is not sanctioned by the United States or the EU.) The ongoing lawsuit means that Antigua can't issue a free title to Schmidt, the high bidder; without a free title, Schmidt has declined to pay, Information Minister Melford Nicholas told the Antigua Observer on Friday.

According to Nicholas, the legal dispute may force Antigua to turn to the next-highest bidder. This unnamed party submitted a runner-up bid of $66 million, which is above Antigua's reserve price of $60 million.

As for Port of Falmouth's CEO, he is primarily interested in seeing the last of Alfa Nero.

“I just want to see it gone,” Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority CEO Darwin Telemaque told the London Times in June. “This whole . . . thing has been like a Tom Clancy novel. And I'm stuck in the middle."

Royal Navy Carrier Lands Autonomous Cargo Plane for the First Time

Royal Navy heavy cargo drone — Image courtesy Royal Navy

The Royal Navy has landed a fixed-wing autonomous cargo plane on the deck of the carrier HMS Prince of Wales, marking a first for the service and a novel step forward for naval aviation.

Cargo flights are a routine part of an aircraft carrier's operations, and they are needed all the time for delivery of spare parts, personnel and supplies. But making cargo flights with a manned, full-size aircraft is costly, and the price per pound is steep when the cargo is small - for example, one critical component for an aircraft on board. That is where a small, unmanned, autonomous cargo plane could prove its worth, and the Royal Navy's new HCMC prototype delivered in a new test.

For the first-of-its-kind trial, the autonomous plane took off from an airfield on the Lizard Peninsula and flew out to meet Prince of Wales off the coast of Cornwall. After a 20-minute flight, the small cargo aircraft made a safe landing and the ship's crew unloaded a commemorative, symbolic cargo. For the backhaul flight, the crew packaged and loaded a bottled oil sample aboard the HCMC and sent it back off into the air.

The HCMC is a twin-engined, prop-driven aluminum aircraft designed for short takeoff and landing. It needs less than 500 feet of runway, and HMS Prince of Wales has about 900 feet to offer. With a payload capacity of 220 pounds and a range of more than 500 nautical miles, HCMC has the capability to deliver meaningful amounts of stores, mail, and other goods to a carrier far off the coastline.

"Operating autonomous drones like this will become the norm across future Royal Navy Carrier Strike Groups in our 50-year lifespan," said Capt. Richard Hewitt, the carrier's commanding officer. "We are all proud here in HMS Prince of Wales to achieve this – a fantastic milestone for all involved and the first of many firsts on this deployment."

HMS Prince of Wales will soon get under way for the U.S. East Coast, where she will work with the U.S. Navy on testing the boundaries of launch and recovery operations with the F-35 fighter.

Greenpeace Protests LNG Terminal Construction at Mukran

Greenpeace protests pipe delivery — Image courtesy Greenpeace / Gregor Fischer

On Thursday, a group of Greenpeace activists blockaded an OSV laden with gas pipeline sections at the port of Mukran, Germany. The pipe is destined to become part of a 25-nm gas line from a new LNG receiving terminal at Mukran to the port of Lubmin, where it will interconnect with the distribution grid.

The project is a high priority for the German government, which has worked hard to assure continuity of energy supplies for consumers and businesses in spite of a Russian gas shutdown. The administration of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has committed to installing seven LNG receiving terminals in Germany, initially centered on floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs). The Mukran terminal is one of them.

Greenpeace believes that the scale of of Germany's LNG terminal plans do not align with national climate goals, given the amount of the resulting emissions and the market lock-in that the infrastructure will create. “With oversized LNG projects like here on Rügen, Germany is cementing its dependency on fossil fuels for decades to come. In order to meet the climate targets, gas consumption and thus the volume of LNG imports must fall drastically in the coming years," said Karsten Smid, a Greenpeace spokesman, in a statement Thursday.

Image courtesy Greenpeace / Gregor Fischer

German environmental organization NABU has also called for a halt to the Mukran-Lubmin pipeline, arguing that it would damage protected marine reserves along the route. "The planned lines run continuously through Natura 2000 areas and legally protected biomes, which will be destroyed or damaged by the construction. The mining authority assessed this environmental destruction in the approval process completely inadequately and incorrectly," NABU state manager Rica Munchberger told NDR.

The pipelayer Castoro 10 is already in place and prepared to begin work shortly.

Anger Builds in Greece After Man is Pushed to His Death by Ferry's Crew

Blue Horizon ferry protestors — Protestors blocked the departure of the ferry yelling "murder" at the crew (Pame/Facebook)

Outrage has continued to grow across Greece after the reports that crewmembers from an inter-island ferry pushed a late-arriving passenger to his death Tuesday night and did nothing to help the man when he fell into the harbor. The repercussions from the incident are mounting both within the government and the shipping industry while four members of the ship’s crew were officially brought up on charges stemming from the altercation with the 36-year-old man.

Greece’s Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis responded to public pressure and the media offering further details while promising a full investigation. He confirmed earlier reports that the passenger had purchased a ticket and for unknown reasons had left the ship and then ran back as it was starting to depart and jumped onto the car ramp which was still down. He was pushed back by a crewmember, attempted to get aboard for a second time, and was pushed falling into the water as the Blue Horizon ferry moved away from the dock. The coroner said he drowned although reports are also saying there was a small contusion on his head possibly from hitting the dock or the ramp. Some passengers contend he was hit by the propellers.

Under pressure from the public, the government reportedly has been pressuring the shipping company to take greater responsibility. Attica Group, which owns Blue Star Ferries, made two statements apologizing to the family and friends while calling it an “unjust loss” and saying it happened in an “unimaginable way.”

Wednesday, protestors in the Iraklion port in Crete gathered with the newspapers saying the crowd was blocking the ship’s departure and yelling “murders” at the crew of the ferry. The vessel’s departure was delayed according to the report by five hours.

Today, Attica Group issued a further statement announcing that the board had accepted the resignation of its CEO Spyridon Paschalis. The CFO was named as his interim replacement while the board is promising an “in-depth investigation with the assistance of independent external advisors.” They said they were working to ensure procedures and protocols were never violated again.

The port authority has already cited the ship for a violation involving departing the dock with its ramp not secured. In addition, media reports are saying that the bridge camera showed a person going overboard but that the captain did not stop the departure. For its part, the shipping company told the media that there was no altercation when the captain ordered the departure and the incident only began after the ropes had been cast off and they were starting the engines.

Dissatisfied by the response, public indignation has centered on the Shipping Ministry and the Coast Guard. The Ministry said it would be investigating the Coast Guard’s role and why no officer was at the ship as required by law.

The captain of the ship and three crewmembers appeared before a Greek prosecutor on Wednesday. The media is reporting that the captain is being charged with a felony for dangerous navigation. The crewmember who pushed the man is charged with manslaughter while two other crewmembers who witnessed the incident are being charged with complicity to manslaughter.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his personal “disgust and horror,” promising to take all necessary measures to establish accountability and justice.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Surfside condo collapse investigators say pool deck construction 'deviated' from design requirements

LAURA ROMERO
Thu, September 7, 2023

Federal investigators looking into the Surfside, Florida, condo building collapse that killed 98 people in June 2021 revealed new findings in the probe on Thursday.

The report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's investigation into the cause of the disaster at the Champlain Towers South building says, "the construction of the pool deck deviated from design requirements" and that the "number of slab reinforcing bars centered over vertical columns was inadequate."

"These deviations weakened the slab-column connections," the report said.

PHOTO: Police tape blocks access to a partially collapsed building, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Researchers have been studying subsurface conditions of the site to "determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have contributed to the collapse," according to the report.

The preliminary evaluation did not reveal evidence of sinkholes, the new findings show.

MORE: Emails suggest slow response to repair plans in the weeks before Surfside condo collapsed

Documents released by Surfside town officials in July 2021 revealed that the pool deck of the condo building and the ceiling of the underground parking garage beneath it had needed repairs as early as 1996.

PHOTO: Rescuers search for survivors at Champlain Towers South, June 29, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

ABC News previously reported that a 2018 Structural Field Survey report released by the city of Surfside found "major structural damage" to concrete structural slabs on the pool deck and failed waterproofing in parts of the tower.

NIST investigators expect their technical work to be completed in late June 2024 and a report with final findings and recommendations is expected by June 2025.

In battle over border barriers, judge calls out Texas' contradictory arguments

SASHA PEZENIK
Thu, September 7, 2023

The Justice Department is likely to succeed on its claim that floating barriers Texas deployed in the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from crossing were illegally installed, a federal judge in Austin ruled -- adding the arguments used to justify the buoys are “unconvincing” and, in at least one instance, unconstitutional.

Judge David Alan Ezra ordered the Lonestar state to move its buoys on Wednesday and said the Justice Department is likely to prevail on its claim that Texas lacked proper authority to install them in the first place and that the state had employed "unconvincing" and conflicting rationale in doing so.

The ruling grants a preliminary injunction to the Department of Justice, which sued Texas for placing the buoys in the Rio Grande in July.

"Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier," Ezra wrote. "Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters."

PHOTO: In this Aug. 1, 2023, file photo, buoys are placed in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Adam Davis/EPA via Shutterstock, FILE)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said the state will appeal the ruling, calling it "incorrect."

Judge Ezra's order gave the state until Sept. 15 to coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers to move the buoys -- but Thursday, a U.S. Appeals Court granted a temporary stay allowing Texas to keep the buoys in place -- at least for now.

"We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," Abbott said in a statement Wednesday. "Our battle to defend Texas' sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies has only begun."

In court filings, Texas has said the buoy system was deployed as part of that strategy to protect against a surge of "[t]housands of aliens ... including members of cartels that traffic in people, weapons, and vast quantities of drugs like fentanyl."

"By any account, this amounts to 'ent[ry] in a hostile manner.' And the State has the constitutional power to repel that invasion," the state said.

But the judge ruled Texas' "'invasion' defense" is a political question -- not a legal one -- and that even if there were an "invasion" at the Southern border, as they've claimed, then protecting American shores would be the province of the federal government, not Texas.

Ezra, appointed by President Ronald Reagan and serving since 1988, said there are "several constitutional provisions" which "assign the federal government—not states—the authority to recognize and respond to invasions," and "the political question doctrine bars consideration of Texas's 'invasion' defense."

"Texas's self defense argument is unconvincing," the judge wrote.

In this July 16, 2023, file photo, migrants walk by a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico, in Eagle Pass, Texas.

IN THE FOREGROUND IS RAZOR WIRE

(Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

MORE: 2 bodies found in Rio Grande near US-Mexico border: Officials

Though the Lonestar State has repeatedly asserted its sovereignty to defend the border, federal "power to prevent unauthorized obstacles in the nation's navigable waters trumps state policy preferences," the judge said.

The judge rejected not only Texas' claims of authority to install the 1,000-foot-long, four-foot-wide chain of interconnected buoys in the Rio Grande -- but also the way they attempted to characterize that buoy system.

Texas takes the "confusing stance" that the buoys can't be a "structure" (which, in navigable U.S. water, would require an Army Corps of Engineers permit) because buoys "aid navigation," the judge wrote, quoting the state's arguments.

But this is a "convenient" claim from Texas that "contradicts its own description," the judge wrote -- since the state had said the buoys were designed as a "physical barrier" created "to deter illegal crossing in hotspots along the Rio Grande."

"Texas strains credulity with its argument that the floating barrier is not permanent enough to constitute a structure," the judge wrote.

Questions also remain as to how the vast majority of Texas' buoy barriers wound up on Mexico's side of the river, the judge said.

In August, the Justice Department submitted a binational topographic survey, conducted in late July, which found that nearly 80 percent of the barrier was positioned in Mexican waters. A few days later, Texas was "observed seemingly 'repositioning the Floating Barrier' closer to the United States bank," a footnote in the judge's ruling says.

At a hearing, "testimony was elicited that the buoys were moved back into Texas waters. Testimony was also elicited that the buoys could not have drifted," the judge wrote. "But in a statement on August 21, 2023, Governor Abbott indicated that they had drifted."

"There is still some ambiguity as to whether 80% of the buoys ended up in Mexican waters by drifting or by being originally, incorrectly installed there," the judge wrote.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Kroger, Albertsons plan to sell over 400 stores to C&S Wholesale for nearly $2 billion: Report

Francisco Guzman and Alexander Coolidge, USA TODAY NETWORK

Thu, September 7, 2023

Kroger and Albertsons supermarkets are in talks to sell more than 400 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for nearly $2 billion as part of their proposed $25 billion merger, according to a report from Reuters.

The divestiture, which was first reported to be in the works on Tuesday by Bloomberg, is part of a move to mollify antitrust regulators at the Federal Trade Commission.

Kroger and Albertsons plan to sell stores that are in the Pacific Northwest, the Mountain states and in California, Texas, Illinois, and the East Coast, Reuters reported. A deal could be announced as early as this week.

Kroger and Albertsons outlined the potential sale of 100 to 375 stores when they first announced their proposal in 2022. They have since disclosed they would cap divested stores at 650 locations.

Kroger and Albertsons declined to comment Wednesday and officials with C&S did not respond to emails from the USA TODAY Network seeking comment on the potential deal.

Kroger: Kroger aims to be America's grocery store. The Biden administration may have other ideas

Kroger-Albertsons merger

The proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger would be one of the largest retail takeovers in history. The deal would give Kroger almost 5,000 stores and more than 700,000 workers before an undetermined number of store divestitures.

The two companies have vowed not to close stores or layoff workers, but the unions and other critics are skeptical.

Consumer and union groups have opposed the deal, claiming it would hurt competition and ultimately raise prices and harm workers. Regulators have declined to comment as they decide whether to block it. Kroger executives have vowed to fight for the deal in court.

Data: Grocers like Kroger, Walmart collect shopping data. What I found when requesting mine.

C&S Wholesale Grocers

The deal would give C&S Wholesale, which supplies more than 7,500 supermarkets across the country, a much bigger footprint in the grocery store business.

The private company currently operates a few dozen supermarkets, including 11 Grand Union stores in New York and Vermont as well and an unspecified number of Piggly Wiggly stores in Wisconsin and the Southeast.

SoftBank Group Corp, a Japanese investment group, is talking to C&S Wholesale about helping finance a small portion of the deal, Reuters reported.

Aldi to buy 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket grocery stores

The potential deal comes after Aldi announced last month it was buying about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores across the Southeast in an agreement with parent company Southeastern Grocers.

Aldi: Aldi to buy 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket grocery stores across the Southeast

"The time was right to build on our growth momentum and help residents in the Southeast save on their grocery bills,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in a news release.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kroger, Albertsons to sell over 400 stores to C&S Wholesale: Report

Archaeologists discover 1,000-year-old mummy in Peru

EMMA OGAO

ABC NEWS
Thu, September 7, 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old mummy -- believed to be of an adult individual -- in Peru's capital, Lima.

The mummy, which was discovered at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood, was found alongside two ceramic vessels and textiles.

The discovery becomes the latest in a string of ancient discoveries made in Peru this year.

PHOTO: A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

"I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site is still preserved," said lead archaeologist Mirella Ganoza.

Ganoza noted the mummy had long hair and was found seated with bent legs. The remains of the ancient figure were also found with its jaw and long hair still preserved.

PHOTO: A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

The mummy is thought to date back to 1,000 A.D, belonging to the Yschsma culture, inhabitants of whom lived south of Lima.

"This discovery helps to complement the information we know about the Ychsma culture so far," said Ganoza.

The discovery is the latest in string of century-old discoveries of mummies and pre-Hispanic remains made in Lima, including the discovery in June on a hilltop of a mummy found surrounded by cocoa leaves.

PHOTO: A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

In March, a Peruvian man was arrested and charged for illegal possession of historical patrimony after he was found in a possession of a mummy believed to be 600 to 800 years old in his cooler delivery bag.

The Huaca Pucllana site is viewed as a Pandora's Box and archaeologists anticipate that many more artifacts could be found.

PHOTO: A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023. (

Photos Sebastian Castaneda/Reuters

CRY ME A RIVER

U.S. lawmakers raise alarm over new Huawei phone
Morgan Chalfant

SEMAFOR
Thu, September 7, 2023 at 1:54 PM MDT·3 min read

The News

A new Huawei smartphone is drawing intensifying U.S. scrutiny, with some lawmakers suggesting the Chinese chipmaker SMIC may have run afoul of U.S. rules in supplying chips to Huawei for the new product.

“I am very concerned because the industry perception was that China had not been able to get down to a 7-nanometer chip,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va. told Semafor, questioning whether SMIC may have used “sanctioned Western technology or materials” to produce the chips now powering the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. SMIC and Huawei both continue to license some technology from U.S. companies, though they face substantial restrictions.

“This is an area that I think might need additional sanctions,” he added.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who chairs the House select committee on China, said in a statement that SMIC may have violated the Commerce Department’s Foreign Direct Product Rule. He called for ending “all U.S. technology exports to both Huawei and SMIC to make clear any firm that flouts U.S. law and undermines our national security will be cut off from our technology.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who suggested Wednesday that SMIC may have violated existing U.S. sanctions, told Semafor in a statement that his committee would be requesting a briefing from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, including those on cutting-edge chips and technology used to make them.

Warner, too, said he was in touch with the administration and expected to receive a briefing on the development.

The White House said this week it is also seeking more information on the “character and composition” of the chip powering the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, which was released last week.

State-backed Chinese outlets have heralded the new chip design as a sign of the semiconductor industry’s resilience amid U.S. sanctions.

Neither Huawei nor SMIC returned requests for comment.

Know More

Recent analysis indicated that the phone was made with a 7-nanometer processor produced by SMIC, which has been on the Commerce Department’s Entity List and as a result subject to U.S. sanctions since the end of the Trump administration. The sanctions on SMIC limit the company’s ability to acquire U.S. technology, while existing sanctions on Huawei restrict the company from obtaining goods made with American technology.

The phone development has raised doubts about the effectiveness of the U.S. effort to curb China’s access to advanced chips used in weapons, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technology.

“This shouldn’t have been a surprise. The Chinese were just faster than in the past,” Jim Lewis, a technology expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Semafor. “It happened with satellites, it happened with computers, it happened with encryption, it happened with machine tools back in the Reagan administration. You put on tight export controls, the other guys don’t give up and go home.”

At the same time, Lewis said it was worth the U.S. looking into potential violations of its own rules, given that SMIC may have used U.S. equipment to produce the chips. Equipment used to manufacture the more advanced chips is made in the U.S., Japan, and the Netherlands, all of which have placed restrictions on exports of chipmaking equipment to China.

Lewis said officials could reverse engineer the phone to examine how the chip was made and potentially determine where SMIC procured the equipment from.

“It’s difficult to believe they did this entirely on their own,” he said. “But it’s also not impossible.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment