Thailand has announced that the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, will attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia on 24 April 2021.
Read more
All posts
What America’s vaccination campaign proves to the world
Vaccine nationalism is small-minded, self-centered, and ultimately self-defeating, because COVID-19 will not cease to be a problem until no one has it. This is the moment to think big, the moment for generosity and big ideas. When a majority of American adults will have had their first dose of a vaccine, what if the US then begins to pivot from mass-vaccinating its own citizens to mass-vaccinating the rest of the world?
Read more
France 24 Debate: Trouble ahead? Russia, US in Black Sea showdown over Ukraine
France24’s nightly show, The Debate, hosted by François Picard and with guests Julian Nundy, Lyudmyla Tautiyeva, Brian Taylor, Mark Sleboda, tackles the issues around the tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border, in a program that went to air on 14 April 2021.
Read more
The US has the power to tamp down coronavirus variants, if it’s willing to use it
With vaccine manufacturers not able to meet the urgent health needs of the global pandemic, it is argued that the US should transfer technological know-how and facilitate the setting up of mRNA vaccine production lines around the world. This, it is suggested, would save lives, revive economies, protect Americans from both the risk of variants and new threats, and restore the U.S. position as a reliable and trustworthy partner while advancing global health security and diplomacy.
Read more
US imposes sanctions on Russia for ‘malign’ actions
The US has imposed a range of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for allegedly interfering in last year’s U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions. Russia denies the allegations, and considers the sanctions hostile steps.
Read more
US moves to reinforce its position on Taiwan, hoping for Japan’s support
The US is said to be pushing for Japan to sign off on a joint statement of support for Taiwan, to be issued after the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House on Friday, 16 April 2021. It would be the first time that Taiwan is mentioned in a joint US-Japan statement since 1969.
Read more
Why South Korea is balking at ‘the Quad’
This article explores the reasons why South Korea has been unwilling to join ‘the Quad’, suggesting that here the issue is not just about balancing diverging economic and security interests, but the reality that progressing South Korea’s key security priority – North Korea – requires a more accommodating approach to China.
Read more
US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021
United States President Joe Biden will leave US troops in Afghanistan past the current May 1 deadline agreed with the Taliban but will withdraw them by September 11, US officials said on Tuesday [13 April 2021]. President Biden is expected to lay out his plan during a speech on Wednesday, 14 April 2021.
Read more
International tensions over Russian military deployment on Ukraine’s borders
The US and others have expressed concern about the buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders. Russia has downplayed the military presence as part of readiness drills, a response to NATO “military activities threatening Russia”.
Read more
Australia is at a crossroads in the global hydrogen race – and one path looks risky
Analysis in new report from the Australian National University’s Centre for Climate & Energy Policy shows that producing hydrogen from fossil fuels carries significant risks, and is likely to be incompatible with decarbonisation objectives. These findings have big implications as Australia looks to become a ‘hydrogen superpower’.
Read more
A Minneapolis community and systematic racism
George Floyd’s death has had an international impact and the vision of him dying shocked people everywhere. For outsiders this trial is an small insight into the reality of systemic racism. It not only occasionally kills. It is a constant presence. It puts whole communities in a state of perpetual preparedness, where the worst is always to be anticipated.
Read more
Even after Trump, it’s still hard to be America’s ally
In ‘It’s still hard to be America’s ally’, Richard Fontaine writes about the post-Trump challenges for US allies. Biden’s welcome celebration of US alliances, he writes, raises its own set of ambiguities and contradictions which pose new dilemmas for long-term allies.
Read more
Shifting national interests put Biden’s alliance strategy in doubt
The enormous military power of America will continue to make alliances with it attractive. But the Europeans and East Asians will strive to balance their alliances with their economic entanglement with China. America might find diplomatic support against China, but will in all likelihood find itself alone in a war with China in East Asia.
Read more
Biden proposes $2 trillion infrastructure capital investment ‘to win the future’
On Wednesday 31 March 2021, US President Joe Biden announced a plan described as “the largest American jobs investment since World War Two” – intended to “create millions of jobs”, “grow the economy”, “make [America] more competitive”, “promote [US] national security interests, and put [the ¨US] in a position to win the global competition with China”.
Read more
Australia’s intervention at the IEA Net-Zero Summit
On 1 April 2021, Australia’s Emissions Reduction Minister said at the International Energy Agency’s ‘COP26 Net-Zero Summit’ that “removing the price difference between current technologies and low or zero carbon solutions is the key to widespread global adoption” of low emissions technology – and that Australia was focusing on reducing the cost of ‘clean’ hydrogen.
Read more
Dealing with a China that’s not like us: benign or malign competition?
The Biden administration’s approach to China is shaping up as a continuation of the Trump administration’s “strategic competition”. But will strategic competition with China under Biden mean a shift from the malign competition – where each country seeks to undermine rather than outperform the other – that was typical under Trump towards a more benign competition?
Read more
Beijing and Moscow are filling a vaccine gap that wealthy countries helped create
Author: Yasmeen Serhan | Published 30 March 2021 | The Atlantic The view is frequently expressed that Russia and China are engaging in ‘vaccine diplomacy’ and a ‘vaccine war of influence’; that their capacity to supply Covid-19 vaccines is “being leveraged as a form of soft power to bolster the countries’ global standing”. In this article Yasmeen Serhan suggests that while “U.S. and European leaders might not like it, they are effectively complaining about a
Read more
Iran and China sign 25-year cooperation agreement
Iran and China have signed a 25-year wide-ranging cooperation agreement referred to as the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. The agreement has long been under development, but the signing comes as both countries remain under US sanctions.
Read more
US President Biden invites 40 world leaders to Leaders Summit on Climate
US President Biden has today [26 March 2021] invited 40 world leaders to the ‘Leaders Summit on Climate’ he intends to host on 22 and 23 April 2021.
Read more
New study shows vast majority of Australian voters support climate action, up to a point
A new peer-reviewed study has found that the vast majority of Australian voters support climate action, but also highlights that more will need to be done to counter the fact that support for strong climate policy action may be limited by voters’ preparedness to incur personal costs, especially among older and conservative voters.
Read more