In remarks to Defense personnel on Wednesday, 10 February 2021, US President Biden said that a Pentagon ‘China task force’ will, within the next few months, review the US’s “[defense] strategy and operational concepts, technology, and force posture, and so much more”. Recommendations on key priorities and decision points are expected to enable the US to “chart a strong path forward on China-related matters”.
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The United States today [Monday, 8 February 2021] announced plans to reengage with the U.N. Human Rights Council. The US withdrew from the UNHRC three years ago, citing concerns about the Council’s focus on Israel. “The Biden administration has recommitted the United States to a foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality,” Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement. “Effective use of multilateral tools is an important element of that vision.” The
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A well-told lie is worth a thousand facts. And the debt-trap narrative is just that: a lie, and a powerful one. The Sri Lankan port of Hambantota is not an example of China’s strategic use of debt. With a new administration in Washington, the truth about the widely, perhaps willfully, misunderstood case of Hambantota Port is long overdue.
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Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is poised to become the first African and first woman to lead the embattled World Trade Organization, after South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee withdrew her name,and the United States reversed its previous opposition.
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he International Criminal Court on Friday [5 February 2021] found the court has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, paving the way for a possible criminal investigation, despite Israeli objections.
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On Thursday 4 February 2021, US President Biden gave his first speech dealing with foreign policy issues at the Department of State in Washington. Amongst other things, he took a strong position on China and Russia, and called for the release of Alexei Navalny and Aung San Suu Kyi, and an end to the war in Yemen.
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On 3 February 2021, the 15-member United Nations Security Council issued a statement agreed by consensus that called for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by Myanmar’s military, and stressed the need to uphold democracy.
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President Biden’s recognition of climate change, and determination to shift science to the centre of climate policy is important, and welcome. But a program that “achieves a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and puts the US on an irreversible path to a net-zero economy by 2050” will not be enough. Adaptation to a 3.0°C temperature rise this century must now be a focus for governments.
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Reuters reports that after days of tension between the civilian government and the military in the aftermath of the most recent election, in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of the vote, the military has seized power, imposed a state of emergency for a year, and detained Suu Kyi and others.
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COVID-19 has drawn a clear line between Asia and the rest of the world. What’s particularly striking about this latest divergence is the lack of significance in types of governance. The countries that have been successful in Asia have very different forms of government, as well as different histories, religious backgrounds, and relationships with the countries of the West. How can this be explained?
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For Australia, the question of Taiwan remains a ‘wicked’ strategic problem. The Taiwanese have over time established strong claims for their autonomy. The US has a huge investment in Taiwan’s security, while not denying it is part of China. And defence of Taiwan could see the island devastated, the ANZUS alliance become irrelevant, and Australia’s security lost. Why would Australia go to war over Taiwan?
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US President Biden and Russia’s President Putin spoke by telephone on 26 January 2021 and agreed to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for five years. It is the last remaining nonproliferation agreement between the US and Russia.
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The Biden administration is reviewing pending arms sales, including controversial arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorised by former President Donald Trump. The review includes the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, and F-35 fighters and armed drones to the UAE.
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Following US President Biden’s new orders that establish “climate considerations as an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security,” the Secretary of Defense released a Statement confirming that “[Climate change] is a national security issue, and we must treat it as such”.
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In the dying days of the most chaotically dysfunctional presidency in living memory, outgoing officials in Washington declassified the Trump administration’s Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. At issue is not only the contents of this document, but the manner and timing of its release and further, what its reception in Australia says about Australia’s relationship with the United States, and whether it shapes expectations for the new Biden presidency.
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On 12 January 2021, the outgoing Trump administration released a declassified document titled em>United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. The document was declassified some thirty years ahead of schedule to enable its early public release. This unusual step by an outgoing US administration has seen the emergence of a range of views on the merits of the document, and the intention behind its early release.
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On 12 January 2021, the then US National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien, released a declassified document titled the United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. The document was declassified for release on 5 January 2021, thirty years before this was due, in the last days of the outgoing Trump Administration. What should an Australian analyst make of this document?
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Ironically, Christian nationalist opposition to religious liberty has plagued American democracy since before the Revolution, and a strong authoritarian strain still runs through American religious thinking. The Trump Administration provided disturbing evidence of how Christian nationalists have penetrated key political institutions, with eclipse of constitutional liberal democracy by a competing virtual theocracy as their aim.
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Trump’s 1776 Commission Report, released on 18 January 2021, puts forward ideas that are designed to give shape and logic to the notions of extremists. It is a dangerous document that provides the façade of a coherent political philosophy to hide, and to disguise, the rising illiberalism in America. The final conclusion is chilling, comparing the contemporary situation in America with previous crises that were resolved by violence and insurrection.
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If President Biden produces a National Security Strategy in 2021, Australia should hope for a major shift away from that of President Trump. But not an uncritical return to the 2015 version of President Obama. If stability and a workable international system are the outcomes the Biden Administration seeks, then three deeply interwoven issues need to be given serious attention: leadership, democracy, and sovereignty.
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