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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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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.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed NATO members in Brussels on Wednesday 24 March 2021 calling on them to work with the US to counter China. However in a shift of tone from that of recent weeks, he also said that the US “won’t force allies into an ‘us-or-them’ choice with China,” and acknowledged that the US knows “that our allies have complex relationships with China that won’t always align perfectly”.
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Two-day talks between the US and China, the first under the Biden administration, concluded on 19 March 2021. The unusual exchanges between the delegations were showcased the nature of the tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
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Russia is to host on Thursday [18 March 2021] the first of three international conferences aimed at jump-starting a stalled Afghanistan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country.
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Has an enduring predisposition to authoritarianism been activated in the US that will continue to destabilise its domestic politics? If so, the US could become an unreliable ally. Should Australia be imagining a post-alliance future?
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In the first military action authorised by US President Joe Biden, the United States carried out air strikes against facilities used by “Iranian-backed militia” in eastern Syria on Thursday, 25 February 2021 (early on Friday Middle Eastern time).
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The United States officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement on 19 February 2021. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, issued a Statement in which he called the rejoining “momentous”, but noted that “what we do in the coming weeks, months, and years is even more important”. You have seen and will continue to see us weaving climate change into our most important bilateral and multilateral conversations at all levels. In these conversations, we’re asking
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The Biden administration faces a host of difficult problems, but in foreign policy its thorniest will be its relations with the People’s Republic of China. How the new administration handles issues of trade, security, and human rights will either allow both countries to hammer out a working relationship or pull the U.S. into an expensive — and unwinnable — cold war. But there are a number of moves both countries could make to avoid this.
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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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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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