US attempt to play Taiwan card in containing China will only be self-defeating: ambassador Coronavirus is surging in South Korea thanks to an eye-poking sect. That's bad news for Kim Jong Un India, Israel aim to boost ties through defense tech and trade China expands African reach as Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau join belt and road ahead of key regional forum Omicron variant detected in more countries as scientists race to find answers Drone views of nearly empty roads, burnt cars in Martinique after unrest Call it Chinese power projection, the country’s state-controlled CGTN news channel posted a 60-second video showing the Y-8Q anti- submarine warfare aircraft. This development comes in the wake of deepening engagement between Taiwan and the US, and China’s enhanced belligerence against the self-governed island state.
The video of PLA Navy’s Y-8Q aircraft, also known as KQ-200, surfaced even as Taiwan claimed that at least 5 Chinese warplanes had entered its Air Defense Identification Zone (AIDZ) on November 24 This was the 23rd intrusion in November alone, as reported by Taiwan News. Since September 2020 when the PLA Air Force started regular intrusions into Taiwan’s airspace, the KQ-200 or the Y-8Q ASW aircraft has been involved in 70% of all sorties, according to an article written by Olli Pekka Suorsa, an assistant professor at Rabdan Academy in the UAE. The aircraft has filled an important capability gap for the PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF) since entering service with the Eastern Theater Command in 2018 and the Southern Theater Command later. It allows the PLANAF to continuously monitor foreign submarine and surface ship activity at or near critical maritime chokepoints and sea lanes of communication along the First Island Chain.
With US warships sailing through the Taiwan Strait including the recent USS Milius to keep up with what it calls ‘Freedom of Navigation in the Indo-Pacific, China’s Y-8Q video could be seen as a signal to the US Navy as well as its allies in the region. USS Milius understood to have crossed the Taiwan Strait 11 times this year, much to China’s disenchantment. A rare joint opinion article by the ambassadors of China and Russia has sharply assailed President Joe Biden's plans for a virtual summit of democratic countries -- from which they were pointedly excluded. Calling the US plan "an evident product of its Cold-War mentality," ambassadors Anatoly Antonov of Russia and Qin Gang of China said the December 9-10 event would "stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world, creating new 'dividing lines.'" The summit is meant to fulfill a campaign pledge by Biden to advance the cause of global democracy at a time when autocratic governments have been on the rise. But when the State Department on Tuesday published a list of about 110 invited countries -- without including Russia or China -- their reaction was furious.
Writing on the website of conservative journal National Journal, the two ambassadors to the United States said democracy "can be realized in multiple ways, and no model can fit all countries." "No country has the right to judge the world's vast and varied political landscape by a single yardstick," the ambassadors added. Without naming the United States, the envoys said that wars and conflicts launched in the name of spreading democracy, "severely undermine regional and international peace, security, and stability." Among countries invited to the virtual summit are some where democracy appears fragile, has suffered setbacks, or where autocratic trends have emerged.
The assumptions heard in the United States that Russia is likely to be frightened with NATO capabilities in Ukraine and the Black Sea are dangerous delusions, Russia’s Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on the YouTube channel Soloviev Live on Saturday. "NATO states are taking over the Black Sea, Ukrainian territory. There are assumptions, which are voiced here, that certain daredevils or a group of combatants may turn up in Ukraine, who will try to test the strength of Russian defenses, expecting that we will not respond fearing the NATO potential. I would like to say and emphasize unequivocally that it is a very dangerous delusion," the diplomat said. Antonov pointed out that Washington is increasingly expanding the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine.
"Militarily speaking, this range of weapons funneled to Ukraine [from the United States] is expanding more and more. The Stinger [man- portable air-defense systems], Javelin [anti-tank weapons] and even our Mi-17 [helicopters] got there," he said. Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was aware of the information campaign unleashed by Western countries to portray Moscow as a threat to the settlement process in Ukraine. He did not rule out that the campaign was a disguise to cover up "aggressive intentions that may take place in Kiev.". Coronavirus has presented opportunities and potential threats to Kim Jong Un's power. Experts say the North Korean ruler has long believed his country is too reliant on its neighbour China. With their shared border closed, he has been able to push a campaign of self-reliance.
"He's a smart man and he realises that it's not a sustainable model to be overly reliant on one country," Ms Lee said. His recent dramatic weight loss led some analysts to wonder if he was in ill health. But Ms Less suspects he is trying to consolidate his power and stave off concerns about his longevity. But other analysts aren't so certain Kim Jong Un is doing enough to maintain his grip on power. "There have been rumours Kim Jong Un's leadership could be re- evaluated in the next two years," said national security analyst Yun Ji- won from Sangmyung University.
She said there are even whispers of a potential coup by his little sister, Kim Yo Jong. "But the fact the rumours even exist might indicate he could potentially face a problem." India and Israel are pushing to strengthen ties by deepening cooperation in the fields of defense and information technology, as well as resuming long-stalled negotiations over a free trade agreement.
That comes as New Delhi looks to access Israel's advanced military technology and to indirectly reinforce its relationship with Washington, a close ally to Israel. In turn, Israel hopes to unlock huge new markets for its companies. The Defense Research and Development Organization of India and Israel's Directorate of Defense Research and Development signed a bilateral agreement earlier this month to promote the development of technologies for both military and commercial use. Under the move, Indian and Israeli startups will work together on tech such as small unmanned aircraft and artificial intelligence. That follows an October agreement between Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid aiming to complete a bilateral FTA by June 2022 Negotiations originally started in 2010, but hav long been suspended. Now, for the first time, the two governments have specified a target date for concluding the deal. The bilateral FTA would enable the two countries to promote the development of IT- based technological innovations on top of India's access to Israel's advanced weaponry, said Somdeep Sen, associate professor in international development studies at Roskilde University in Denmark. "Israel has proven itself as a reliable supplier of high-quality military hardware and is willing to do so without any political preconditions," Sen added.
Israel is India's fourth-largest arms supplier, having exported arms worth $2.7 billion to the country between 2011 and 2020, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. India is already a large importer of weapons from Israel. But beyond the defense industry, Israel hopes India will be a big market for its companies in sectors such as health care and agricultural technology. India has concluded FTAs mainly with Asian countries including Japan. Starting in May, however, it announced the launch of negotiations with the U.K., the European Union and Australia. The crisis in Afghanistan has been a key factor in prodding India to begin full-fledged efforts to diversify its diplomacy and approach the Middle East. Worries over terrorism
have been looming over India's border areas since Afghanistan fell back under the control of the Taliban in August. And the Islamic militant group appears to have been getting in step with Pakistan and China's often hostile stances toward India. Israel is known for formidable anti-terrorism measures, making it a potentially appealing partner for India. Israel also maintains close ties with the U.S. and exerts a considerable amount of influence on Washington. India thus hopes to deepen its relationship with the U.S. by strengthening its ties with Israel. Israel normalized its diplomatic relations with the U.A.E. in 2020 through the mediation of the U.S. India's participation in the new framework is expected to enhance the new ties between the U.A.E. and Israel. China expands African reach as Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau join belt and road ahead of key regional forum Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the two-day forum via video link and deliver a keynote speech while Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao will attend in person.
China’s foreign ministry said the forum was “another time that President Xi Jinping and African leaders will jointly chart the course for China-Africa relations, following the Johannesburg Summit of FOCAC in 2015, the Beijing Summit in 2018 and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 in 2020”. Eritrea’s cooperation is expected to cement China’s foothold in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, where Beijing has vast interests, ranging from a military base to mega infrastructure projects such as ports and railways. With Guinea-Bissau joining, Beijing would be able to expand its maritime interests along the West African coastline, observers said. On Thursday, the Chinese ambassador to Eritrea, Cai Ge, and Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh signed a belt and road memorandum of understanding on behalf of their governments. A day earlier, Guinea-Bissau also joined the initiative, a move that “will not only promote exchanges in various fields but also mark a new chapter in relations between the two countries”, according to Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s African affairs department. Under the belt and road strategy, China has funded the construction of highways, railways and power plants across Africa.
In the Horn of Africa, it funded and built a railway line running from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to the Port of Djibouti on the Red Sea. It set its first overseas military base in Djibouti and also funded mega ports and port terminals in the country. China has also funded several other projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan but the worsening security situation in the Horn of Africa, especially in Ethiopia, has worried Beijing. John Calabrese, director of the Middle East-Asia Project at the American University in Washington, said the Chinese had banked on stability in Ethiopia under Abiy Ahmed – much as many others had. In many ways, Ethiopia seemed to be Beijing’s prime candidate to serve as the cornerstone to advance its commercial and geopolitical aims in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
“As things have unravelled in Ethiopia, Beijing might have decided to further diversify its relations in the Horn by cementing ties with Eritrea,” Calabrese said. As for Eritrea, the recent imposition of US sanctions over its role in the year- long civil war in neighbouring northern Ethiopia, had made it useful, if not necessary for the country to reach out to other willing partners, Calabrese said. “Beijing is, as ever, opportunistic, perhaps even more so with US-China strategic rivalry having heated up,” he said. On Guinea-Bissau, Calabrese said the Chinese had been very active in the logging sector and deepwater fisheries, and were interested in exploring for oil as well. The country has also been a beneficiary of Beijing’s “vaccine diplomacy”. “[The Chinese] have engaged in a few high-profile infrastructure projects, notably a highway construction project. However, the Guinea-Bissau
government had hoped to receive a far greater infusion of investment than was immediately forthcoming after Xi’s 2018 FOCAC pledge.” “China will selectively pick projects that will serve China’s goal without wasteful lending or commercially questionable deals”. The United States and its partners are likely to exert pressure on Iran if it uses talks scheduled to resume in Vienna on Monday as pretext to accelerate its nuclear programme, the U.S. special envoy to Iran said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. "If Iran thinks it can use this time to build more leverage and then come back and say they want something better it simply won't work. We and our partners won't go for it," envoy Robert Malley told BBC Sounds. Monday’s indirect talks between the United States and Iran, with the participation of major powers, resume after a five-month hiatus.
If that's Iran's approach, which is to try to use the negotiations as cover for an accelerated nuclear programme, and as I say, drag its feet at the nuclear table, we will have to respond in a way that is not our preference," said Malley, who heads up the U.S. negotiating team. Two Myanmar-China border crossings have reopened for trade after the movement of goods was suspended for almost seven months due to Covid-19 restrictions, officials said. Five shipping containers of produce were exchanged on Friday (Nov 26) at the Kyin San Kyawt border gate, around 11km from the northern Myanmar city of Muse.
Mr Min Thein, vice-chair of the Muse Rice Wholesale Centre, said an estimated 800,000 bags of rice had been in limbo since the border was shut in April. Elsewhere in Myanmar's Shan state, the Chinshwehaw border gate also reopened for commerce Friday, the Chinese embassy in Yangon said. The border shutdowns came as a huge blow to Myanmar's agricultural export sector with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue lost. The country's economy has tanked since February's military coup sparked widespread protests, bloodshed and international sanctions.
Myanmar typically exports seafood, fruit and rice to China via land routes while it receives electronics, medicine and construction materials in return. The trade disruptions increased the cost of living for families living in Myanmar border towns. The new Omicron coronavirus variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday, with two cases detected in Australia, even as more countries tried to seal themselves off by imposing travel restrictions. Health officials in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, said two passengers who arrived in Sydney from southern Africa on Saturday evening had tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Both people were asymptomatic, fully vaccinated and in quarantine, NSW Health said. Another 12 passengers from southern Africa were also in 14 days of hotel quarantine, while around 260 other passengers and aircrew have been directed to isolate. The Australian cases were the latest indication that the variant may prove hard to contain. First discovered in South Africa, it has since been detected in Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong. Countries have imposed a wave of travel bans or curbs on southern Africa. Financial markets dived on Friday as investors worried that the variant could stall a global recovery. Oil prices tumbled by about $10 a barrel. In the most far-reaching effort to keep the variant at bay, Israel announced late on Saturday it would ban the entry of all foreigners and reintroduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology to contain the spread of the variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Officials hope that within that period there will be more information on how effective vaccines are against Omicron. Immunologist Leif Erik Sander of the Charite hospital in Berlin said on Saturday (November 27) that current vaccines would probably offer at least some protection against the Omicron variant.
"This vaccine is also effective against the new virus variants like the new one we are now learning about," he said. Earlier on Saturday, a minister in the western state of Hesse said The Omicron variant of the coronavirus had probably arrived in Germany after mutations were found in a passenger arriving from South Africa. Germany recorded 67,125 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said. More than 100,000 people have died with COVID-19. Most Germans are braced for tighter restrictions as intensive care units, especially in eastern and southern Germany, reach their limits and COVID-19 patients are transferred from hospitals that are overwhelmed. "Yesterday the air force transferred patients from Bavaria to my home, Muensterland. That is something we hadn't done in the 18 months that we are dealing with this pandemic, to transfer patients between regions," he said.
That shows how much pressure the health system is under, including the clinics," he added, urging people to reduce contact with other people. Germany has said it will classify South Africa as a virus-variant area from Sunday. This stops short of a ban on flights but means airlines can fly only Germans to Germany from South Africa and even those who are vaccinated must spend 14 days in quarantine. Burnt cars and traffic blocks were seen in the French territory of Martinique as protests against COVID-19 restrictions intensified, in a situation that is "very strained," a according to a state official on Friday (November 26). Some have called the vaccination mandate a throwback to France's slavery era, insisting that they should be allowed to make their own choices about health treatment. Protesters are also calling for salary hikes and lower energy prices. The French health ministry announced later on Friday that it was postponing a deadline for mandatory vaccination of health workers in the French Caribbean until the end of the year.
Spain's Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma appeared to be more active Saturday (November 27) ejecting powerful jets of lava and clouds of smoke high into the sky. Authorities on Thursday (November 25) reported another vent had emerged as volcanic activity showed no sign of abating since the volcano first erupted on September 19 La Palma airport remained shut after closing over the weekend due to the accumulation of ash and the regional government warned residents rain on Friday could cause mudslides. Until Wednesday, the lava stream had engulfed 1,073 hectares of land, according to the EU satellite monitoring system Copernicus, and the eruption has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,700 buildings, forcing the evacuation of thousands from their homes on the island.
2021-12-01