China started a military exercise near the Taiwan Strait on Friday, in a new warning to the United States and pro-independence forces in Taiwan to coincide with a visit to the self-ruled island of a senior US diplomat.

A top Air Force leader in the Pacific refused to confirm or deny recent reports that a U.S. aircraft disguised itself as a Malaysian plane, allegedly “spoofing” a transponder signal to spy on Chinese military activities. But he said the U.S. didn’t break any rules.

New accords among Israel, Bahrain and the UAE challenge a long-standing paradigm for peacemaking. The diplomatic agreements being signed this week among the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel present formidable challenges to the long-standing paradigm for peacemaking in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are yet to provide a viable substitute.