Former Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles joined'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the surge of COVID cases in China and Kim Jong Un vowing to bolster North Korea's nuclear weapons. Chinese drones were operating near Japan this week, prompting Japanese defense officials to dispatch aircraft and naval ships to monitor the situation, according to media reports. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been transiting the Miyako Strait from the East China Sea into the Pacific and returning the same way, USNI News reported. The Miyako Strait is a waterway between Miyako Island and Okinawa. Meanwhile, Chinese warships were also seen in the East China Sea after two weeks near the Philippines.

The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) had to scramble fighter jets three times over the week to monitor Chinese drones that flew over the East China Sea and the strategic Miyako Strait that opens to the Philippine Sea and the broader Western Pacific Ocean. A People's Liberation Army Tengoen TB-001 Scorpion medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone flew into the East China Sea northwest of Okinawa Tuesday, prompting JASDF to send fighters to investigate its activities, reported The Drive. A PLA Harbin BZK-005 MALE drone then flew a sortie back and forth through the Miyako Strait Wednesday, followed by another TB-001 through Miyako Strait, which lies southwest of the island of Okinawa, on Thursday. According to the Japanese officials, one Shaanxi Y-8Q maritime patrol plane and one Shaanxi Y-9JB electronic intelligence aircraft accompanied the drones on their flights the last two days. This comes as a testament to PLA's growing unmanned aircraft capabilities and its focus on deploying increasingly sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles.

Threat of AI taking over humankind could be one step closer to reality, as China is building a range of killer cruise missiles. The missiles, dubbed'death drones, will be equipped with artificial intelligence to guide them in flight and potentially even choose new targets. The country is leading the world in the development of AI weapons, a senior designer said today. China is building a range of killer cruise missiles which will be equipped with AI. President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernisation programme, including developing stealth fighters and building aircraft carriers.