Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 06 September - 12 September 2021

Economic

Global Economic Warfare Intensifies as Military Conflict Recedes

The last American soldier had barely left Afghanistan when President Biden pledged that pressure on the Taliban would continue through other means, in particular what he described as economic tools. He has since maintained sanctions on the Taliban, though the action imperils Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy. It is the latest step in the U.S.’s and the world’s shifting preference from military to economic warfare. Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. on average sanctioned more than 1,000 people or entities a year, often by barring their access to the U.S. financial system. That was more than double the average of the prior 16 years, according to the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Though Mr. Biden has promised to review the use of sanctions, he is now on track to match Mr. Trump’s pace. He has hit 13 different countries for human rights violations, election interference, narcotics trafficking and more, according to Castellum.AI, which uses technology to track global sanctions activity. Sanctions owe their popularity today not just to the aversion to military conflict, especially among the nuclear-armed, but to globalization, which increases potential pressure points, and the rise of China, whose challenge to the U.S. is primarily economic, not military.
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China’s factory and consumer prices continue to diverge, ramping up concern of an economic slowdown

China is unlikely to make changes to its monetary policy even as factory-gate prices continue to rise and consumer inflation remains low, further exacerbating concerns of an economic slowdown, analysts say. The producer price index (PPI), which reflects the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, rose by 9.5 per cent in August from a year earlier, up slightly from 9 per cent in July, making it the third highest reading since records began, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sept 09. Coal prices hit new highs this week adding pressure to Chinese firms already struggling with other high raw material costs. The widening gap between factory gate inflation and consumer inflation is driving concern because it means manufacturers are suffering from high raw material prices – forcing some to begin curbing production – while soft CPI growth means producer costs are not being passed onto consumers, whose spending is weak and still crimped by the pandemic.
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Beijing lobbies Canberra for help to join CPTPP regional trade pact despite spat

China is lobbying the Australian government for its support to join a multilateral regional trade pact – despite the two nations being in a worsening geopolitical dispute that’s spilled over into economic reprisals. “China’s accession to the CPTPP would yield large economic benefits,” Beijing’s embassy in Canberra wrote in a submission to an Australian parliamentary inquiry into broadening the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). “China is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind and stands ready to work together with all the other parties to promote globalisation and regional economic integration.” China has this year reached out to Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and possibly other nations for technical talks on details of the CPTPP, which was formed in 2018 despite the withdrawal of the United States under then-president Donald Trump, who described it as a “potential disaster.” The pact was originally conceived by his predecessor Barack Obama as an economic bloc to balance Beijing’s growing power.
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Beijing to break up Ant's Alipay and force creation of separate loans app

Beijing wants to break up Alipay, the 1bn-plus-user superapp owned by Jack Ma's Ant Group and create a separate app for the company's highly profitable loans business, in the most visible restructuring yet of the fintech giant. Chinese regulators have already ordered Ant to separate the back end of its two lending businesses, Huabei, which is similar to a traditional credit card, and Jiebei, which makes small unsecured loans, from the rest of its financial offerings and bring in outside shareholders. Now officials want the two businesses to be split into an independent app as well. The plan would also require Ant to turn over the user data that underpins its lending decisions to a new credit scoring joint venture which would be partly state-owned, according to two people familiar with the process. "The government believes big tech's monopoly power comes from their control of data," said one person close to financial regulators in Beijing. "It wants to end that."
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Discontent Simmers Over How to Police EU Privacy Rules

The European Union’s recent $270 million fine against WhatsApp was held up for months by disagreements among national authorities, ratcheting up tensions over how to enforce the bloc’s privacy rules. The varied approaches to policing the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation are fueling calls to redesign how national authorities from the 27 EU countries can intervene in each other’s cases and to explore creating a broader EU-wide regulatory system. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook Inc., was fined for failing to tell EU residents enough about what it does with their data, including sharing their information with other Facebook units. The fine was made public in early September by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which had jurisdiction over the case because WhatsApp’s and Facebook’s European headquarters is in Ireland. Eight other regulators said the Irish authority’s proposed fine of up to 50 million euros, equivalent to roughly $59 million, was too low and disagreed with the Irish regulator’s analysis of the company’s data practices. The regulators used a GDPR resolution process to settle their disagreements, and the Irish authority said it followed the other regulators’ recommendations, including raising the fine. But regulators and privacy experts say the process of sharing enforcement among national authorities has led to bottlenecks.
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Political uncertainty clouds China Inc.'s Afghanistan ambitions

Foreign companies active in Afghanistan face prolonged uncertainty as the new Taliban caretaker government grapples with a financial crisis and international reluctance to offer help. Since the Taliban seized power last month, at least 10 publicly listed companies in China have expressed hope that they will be able to participate in mining or infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, but they linked doing business to political and diplomatic developments. Businesses that had traded with Afghanistan or worked in the country under the previous U.S.-backed government are racing to assess the changing financial and security situations, or to build ties with Taliban officials. The Beijing-based Metallurgical Corporation of China, which has a license to the Aynak Copper Mine 40 km southeast of Kabul, said it remained committed to the long-stalled development. MMC was given a 30-year contract to develop the world's second-largest copper deposit in 2008 but has suffered repeated delays.
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China promises to raise imports from ASEAN ahead of new rail link

Chinese officials have vowed to increase imports from Southeast Asian countries ahead of the opening of a new rail link to the bloc. Addressing the 18th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, Vice President Wang Qishan said that both partners need to foster new development drivers to accelerate economic recovery. "We will treat ASEAN as a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy," Wang told the gathering of diplomats, businesspersons and officials who tuned in via video link. "China will import more distinctive products from ASEAN, expand mutual investment, deepen the industrial supply chain and promote Lancang-Mekong cooperation," he said, referring to an economic corridor with Indochina. Chinese trade with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grew 38% to $410.7 billion in the first six month of 2021 from a year before, with exports to the bloc rising to $225.8 billion and imports reaching $184.9 billion. Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh said on Sept 10 that the country will open its first rail link with China on Dec 02. To the south, the line is to later extend across the Mekong from Vientiane to Thailand, reaching through to Bangkok. China has two rail links with Vietnam.
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Bangladesh tightens grip on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms

The Bangladeshi government is turning its focus to Facebook, Twitter and other global social media platforms as it broadens efforts to quell critical reports. The latest moves to keep an eye on public statements come three years after the government came down hard on TV stations and publications to stymie critical reporting. The government says its intentions are to "make social media platforms accountable," Zunaid Ahmed Palak, junior minister for Information and Communication Technology Division, told Nikkei Asia. It is planning a law that would require social media platforms to store domestically generated user data on servers within the country. The law would also force the tech companies to provide information about social media accounts that the government deems to be spreading propaganda or false information. It is the next salvo in a series of endeavors to rein in Big Tech. In 2019, Dhaka introduced the amended Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, compelling international technology companies to make VAT payments. The value-added tax is a 15% charge on all sales proceeds.
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Power industry to discuss need of nuclear power with next Japan prime minister

Japan needs nuclear power, the head of an electricity sector federation said on Sept 10, adding that the industry would have a serious debate on energy policy with whoever becomes the next prime minister. Japan's popular coronavirus vaccination minister, Taro Kono, previously known as a strong critic of nuclear energy, on Sept 10 announced his candidacy to lead the ruling party and, by extension, become the next prime minister. "We believe Japan needs nuclear power on the basis of current science and technology," Kazuhiro Ikebe, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, told reporters. "It is no use for us to be wary," Ikebe said when asked if the industry was cautious about Kono becoming prime minister. "We will have a thorough and serious discussion with him and try to make him understand our stance," Ikebe said, referring to what would happen if Kono were to become leader. Kono sounded more cautious on his stance on nuclear power at a Sept 10 news conference, declining to be labelled "anti-nuclear." He said nuclear power plants dormant since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, that are deemed safe, could be restarted to help achieve a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
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Lebanon's Mikati faces tricky path to safe economic ground

Lebanon's new government has vowed to tackle one of the worst economic meltdowns in history. The path it must take includes reforms mapped out by donor states and institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which have repeatedly said they will unlock funds once they see change. In exchange, Lebanon stands to gain billions of dollars of assistance. The alternative is to sink deeper into a depression that marks the biggest threat to Lebanon's stability since its 1975-90 civil war. Successive governments have failed to implement changes due to Lebanon's sectarian political system, so what kinds of reforms must its new Prime Minister Najib Mikati carry out and can he succeed where others have not? "IMF talks won't be a walk in the park," a former Lebanese negotiator in the IMF talks said. "It will be very difficult to meet the pre-conditions.” Many of the reforms concern the financial and banking system, the epicentre of the meltdown that took hold in late 2019, largely paralysing Lebanon's banks.
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Strategic

Beijing warns Washington not to allow Taiwan to rename de facto embassy

Beijing has protested about the possibility of Washington allowing Taipei’s US office to be renamed and warned the United States not to challenge the one-China principle. Washington is considering a request from Taipei to change the name of its mission in the US capital from Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Tecro) to Taiwan Representative Office, the Financial Times reported, citing multiple people briefed on internal US discussions. A final decision had not been made and would require President Joe Biden to sign an executive order, according to Sep 11’s report. Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday held their second telephone call of the former’s presidency, during which Biden said, “the US has never intended to change the one-China policy”, according to Beijing’s statement. A statement by the US government made no mention of the issue. Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be brought into its fold by force if necessary. Observers said Beijing would view a name change as breaking the one-China principle and fear a domino effect in other countries.
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Climate crisis: China’s all-or-nothing stand on talks leaves John Kerry cornered

Tackling the climate crisis is a “core national security priority” for US President Joe Biden. But saving a dangerously warming world may not always be compatible with his other highest priorities, such as confronting China. Look no further than his climate envoy John Kerry’s China visit last week. On the surface, Kerry was accorded the rare honour of a series of virtual meetings with Chinese leaders, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice-Premier Han Zheng, aside from talks with climate counterpart Xie Zhenhua. But the former US secretary of state in fact hit a stone wall when the Chinese hosts basically rolled their eyes at his suggestion that both sides rise above politics and treat climate cooperation as a “stand-alone issue”. Foreign Minister Wang firmly rejected that proposal, telling Kerry that climate cooperation could not be divorced from overall bilateral ties and the US first must “cease containing and suppressing China all over the world”. “The US side wants the climate change cooperation to be an ‘oasis’ of China-US relations. However, if the oasis is all surrounded by deserts, then sooner or later, the ‘oasis’ will be desertified,” Wang said.
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Turkey, Iran and Pakistan raise entry bars for Afghan refugees

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has triggered tough measures from countries in the region and beyond to stem an expected refugee inflow. Governments from Islamabad to Ankara and Tehran have bolstered border restrictions in anticipation of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the new regime in Kabul. Those actions and similar curbs signaled by Western countries have highlighted an emerging tension between claims of international sympathy for Afghan refugees and the reality on the ground. Governments are worried that refugees could start to pour out and exacerbate political and social problems created by previous influxes. Caught in the middle of this conundrum are Afghans who have escaped to Iran, in the hope of bringing their family over the border and possibly further afield. Ankara is fortifying a three-meter-high wall along part of its 560-km border with Iran that it started building in 2017. Iran has closed its border with Afghanistan and returned refugees, according to a Tehran newspaper. Pakistan's army claims to have sealed all irregular crossings from Afghanistan, though domestic media have reported increased human trafficking across the border.
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As Taliban Seek International Acceptance, Countries Seek to Engage—but Stop Short of Recognition

With a new government in place and uncontested control over the country, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are clamoring for international recognition of their reinstated Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Nearly a month after the fall of the Afghan republic, no nation has granted such recognition so far. Yet, governments world-wide, as well as the United Nations, are eager to open high-level contacts with the Taliban, especially as the country faces a humanitarian crisis. Some Western governments say that such dialogue with the Taliban is possible—and desirable—without de jure recognition of their administration. “Before recognition they should have some sort of mandate by the political will of the people,” a senior Western diplomat said. “But apart from the question of recognition we can interact with them, we can engage with them.” Before the reopening of Western embassies, all closed since the Aug. 15 fall of Kabul, that engagement can take the form of diplomats making short-term visits to Kabul, security conditions on the ground permitting, the diplomat added. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Sept 12 became the first foreign government minister to visit Kabul since the Taliban takeover.
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Afghan Kabul airport to be ready for int'l flights soon: official

Kabul International Airport will soon be ready for international flights as efforts are underway to remove technical problems, airport director Abdul Hadi Hamadani said Sept 13. "The domestic flights have already begun and the international flights would begin soon and efforts are underway to remove the remaining 10 to 15 percent technical problems at the airport," Hamadani said in a video clip as quoted by local media. He made the remarks after the landing of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane at the Kabul airport and its taking off on Sept 13. The Kabul airport were damaged with its many facilities destroyed during the withdrawal of the last U.S.-led forces and American nationals on Aug. 31, according to him. Hamadani also confirmed that the airport has received planes carrying humanitarian assistances from Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan, adding that similar flights from Russia and Turkey are expected to arrive in the coming days.
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Taliban announces formation of new government, including some ministers sanctioned and WANTED by US

The Taliban has begun to fill government positions following its successful conquest of Afghanistan. Among the names are people still on the UN Security Council sanction list and a minister with a $5-million US bounty on his head. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a co-founder and head of the Taliban’s leadership council, was named acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan on Sept 07, with other senior Taliban leaders approving his nomination. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, considered the militant group’s de-facto leader, was named Deputy Prime Minister, according to a Taliban spokesman. Akhund is considered a terrorist by the UN, EU and UK, and has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council, along with every member of the Taliban government named on Sept 07. The US considers some Taliban factions to be Foreign Terrorist Organizations and sanctions the entire Taliban as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ organization. Baradar was once hunted by the US, before being captured and jailed by Pakistani authorities. Sirajuddin Haqqani was named Acting Interior Minister, with his appointment standing out for one reason: Haqqani is considered an international terrorist by US authorities, with the FBI offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
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Drone attack targets Erbil International Airport hosting US-led coalition forces, multiple explosions reported

Footage from witnesses has captured multiple explosions at the Erbil International Airport in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The blasts were apparently from a drone strike targeting the airport, which is used by the US-led coalition. Local media reported, citing Kurdistan Region’s Directorate of Counter Terrorism (CTD), that “explosive-laden drones” targeted the air hub, which is hosting US forces that are part of the multinational coalition against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Iraq. At least six blasts were heard in the vicinity of the airport, Reuters reported, citing witnesses. Lawk Ghafuri, head of Kurdistan’s foreign media relations, confirmed the airport was attacked “with a drone,” dismissing reports of casualties or damage as false. Ghafuri said the explosion was “away from Erbil International Airport’s terminals and territories.” Missile defense systems were deployed to repel the attack, a source with the coalition forces told the media. It is unclear if the drones targeting the airport made an impact, the source said, noting that an investigation into the incident is still underway. The air hub has faced multiple attacks this year, and US officials have chalked up the aggression to militia groups targeting the US service members still remaining in the country.
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Iran hails ‘historic’ naval mission in Atlantic Ocean, the waters of the ‘arrogant powers’

The Iranian military has hailed the end of a successful mission in which its 77th strategic naval fleet ventured into the Atlantic for the first time, before returning to Iran, traveling some 45,000km (28,000 nautical miles). On Sept 07, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani praised his country’s seamen for their successful voyage. He called it the “largest historical military event in the sea field” and said the fleet had comprised the Sahand destroyer and the intelligence-gathering Makran logistics-support ship, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. Irani said the fleet had travelled across three oceans – the Indian, South Atlantic and North Atlantic – covering around 45,000km (28,000 nautical miles). The admiral claimed the mission had demonstrated Iran’s self-confidence on the global stage but stressed that his nation invited all regional partners to come together in “peace and friendship." The locally manufactured Sahand destroyer illustrated the nation’s scientific achievements, he said. He added that the mission had demonstrated the country’s “capability and authority” in waters where “the arrogant powers are present.” United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the mission was of “great concern.”
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IAEA-Iran agreement raises hopes for new nuclear talks with US

The UN atomic watchdog reached an agreement with Iran to solve “the most urgent issue” between them, the overdue servicing of monitoring equipment to keep it running, raising hopes of fresh talks on a wider deal with the West. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi obtained the agreement Sept 12 in a last-minute trip to Tehran he called “constructive” before a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors this week at which Western powers were threatening to seek a resolution criticising Iran for stonewalling the IAEA. A resolution risked an escalation with Tehran that could kill the prospect of resuming wider, indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, aimed at keeping Iran at arm’s length from being able to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to. It denies ever wanting to do so. Those talks stopped in June, and Iran’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, took office in August. Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as its nuclear programme is advancing well beyond the limits set by the deal, which Washington abandoned in 2018.
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Myanmar parallel government calls for revolt against regime

The head of Myanmar's anti-coup parallel government has declared a "defensive war" against the military regime in a sign of escalating conflict in the Southeast Asian country. Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG) formed by politicians elected in last November's general election and activists opposing the Feb. 1 military takeover, on Sept 07 used Facebook to urge citizens "in every corner of the country" to rebel against the military regime led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. He also called on armed ethnic groups to take collective action. Duwa Lashi La also said the People's Defense Forces (PDF) -- the shadow government's military arm launched in May -- will "protect the lives and properties of the people." Special envoy Erywan Yus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who is second foreign minister of Brunei, had earlier called for a four-month cease-fire. But the NUG president called for bureaucrats currently working under the military regime to leave their posts. "All the civil servants under the military council, we warn and forbid you from going to the office from today onward."
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Malaysia politics reflects growing influence of King Abdullah

The ceremony commemorating Malaysian independence from Britain on Aug. 31 fully revealed the Southeast Asian nation's political turmoil. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah called for an end to political bickering to shield the country from the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysians confirmed with COVID-19 infections have continued to tally as high as 20,000 each day, and the country was bottom of Bloomberg's COVID Resilience Ranking of 53 economies in August. This rolling crisis has highlighted political dysfunction but also raised the profile of the royal family. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin rocked Malaysian politics on Aug. 16 by resigning after he lost majority support in parliament amid fractiousness in the fragile ruling coalition. Yassin's departure created the risk of a political vacuum while governing and opposition parties counted numbers to find a successor, but the king quickly moved to stabilize the situation. King Abdullah has become much more noticeable in recent years. Malaysia's constitution stipulates that the king appoints an elected member of parliament as prime minister if he is deemed to have the backing of the majority of lower house members. That apparently simple calculation can stoke heated controversy, however.
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South Korea becomes first nation without nuclear weapons to develop submarine-launched ballistic missile capability – media

South Korea has successfully test-fired a domestically developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), becoming the first nation without nuclear weapons to develop the technology, according to media reports on Sept 07. The tests, which were conducted by South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development, saw the nation stage successful SLBM underwater ejection tests from a Dosan Ahn Changho submarine, the country’s Yonhap News Agency claimed, citing military sources. The military drill, which follows a previous successful test conducted from an underwater barge in August, is the first in a serious of exercises that will be held before the SLBM enters mass production within South Korea, ahead of its deployment. The South Korean SLBM is believed to be a variant of the existing Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, which would be able to travel up to 500 kilometers, providing the nation with the ability to strike any target in North Korea from its submarines. SLBMs have a tactical advantage over land-based ballistic missiles, as they are harder to detect in advance and can often be launched quickly, allowing swift surprise attacks to be conducted, bolstering South Korea’s deterrence capability amid ongoing threats from North Korea.
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China calls for restraint as North Korea tests cruise missile able to reach Japan

North Korea’s cruise missile tests over the weekend may have caught the world off guard, and prompted “concern” in neighbouring Japan, but indicate only a limited increase in the country’s military strength, according to analysts. However, Pyongyang’s latest move was certain to disappoint North Korea doves and make the hawks harden their stance, they said, as China called for restraint in the region. The missiles are “a strategic weapon of great significance” and flew 1,500km (930 miles) before hitting their targets and falling into the country’s territorial waters during the tests on Sep 11-12, KCNA said. They travelled for 126 minutes along “oval and pattern-8 flight orbits”, it reported on Sept 13. The missile tests, which appear to be the country’s first since late March, came days after North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its founding with a military parade in Pyongyang. They also came just a day before senior officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan were due to meet in Tokyo to discuss North Korean issues, including denuclearisation. Also, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to visit Seoul this week for talks with his counterpart Chung Eui-yong, on the final stop of a week-long four-nation regional tour.
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Quad partners India and Australia eye closer security ties

India and Australia vowed on Sept 11 to deepen their security cooperation, especially following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, as the world marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. India and Australia, along with the United States and Japan, are members of the Quad, an informal grouping of the four large democracies in the Indo-Pacific region formed primarily to address the challenge of an increasingly powerful China. Developments in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have seized power following the departure of U.S. and other foreign troops after two decades, were the main topic of talks between Indian and Australian ministers in New Delhi. "We have a geopolitical environment which is in rapid flux and we must, bilaterally and with other like-minded partners, respond adequately to safeguard our national interests as well as ensure a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," Jaishankar said. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the two countries had decided to expand military engagement and he invited Australia to participate in the production and development of defense equipment in India.
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Suga considers U.S. visit in September to attend 'Quad' meeting

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is considering visiting the United States in late September as Washington seeks to hold a quadrilateral summit also involving Australia and India to strengthen ties amid China's growing clout in the Indo-Pacific region, government sources said Sept 09. Last week, Suga expressed his intention not to seek a second term, saying he will not run in the upcoming presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party but will serve out his term through Sept. 30. The Sept. 29 election effectively decides the next prime minister as the LDP controls the powerful House of Representatives. "Whoever is chosen as the next prime minister will strive for (maintaining) the Japan-U.S. alliance, so it is important to deliver the message that we are focused on the alliance through the prime minister's U.S. visit," said a source. Suga is also considering holding separate talks with Biden, according to the source. "No specific schedule has been set," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference Sept 09. On whether the prime minister should take a trip abroad although he will soon step down, the top government spokesman said only, "That will be decided by the United States, the host of the Quad summit."
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Japan says suspected Chinese submarine seen near territorial waters

Japan's defense ministry said on Sept 12 that a submarine believed to be from China was spotted in waters near its southern islands, as maritime tensions persist in the Pacific. Japan's navy on Sept 10 morning identified a submerged vessel sailing northwest just outside territorial waters near Amami Oshima island, part of Kagoshima prefecture, the ministry said in a statement. A Chinese destroyer was also spotted in the vicinity. Tokyo has complained of numerous intrusions by Chinese vessels of its territorial waters and near disputed islands in recent years. China has often reacted angrily to U.S. ships sailing through disputed areas of the South China Sea in what Washington calls displays of freedom of navigation. Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, visiting Vietnam during a Southeast Asia trip, said those two countries should refrain from unilateral actions regarding the South China Sea that could complicate and magnify disputes. Sept 12's announcement said Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force identified the vessels in a contiguous zone, which is outside territorial waters where vessels are required to identify themselves. The submarine continued underwater westward in the ocean near Yokoate Island, the ministry said.
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Israeli prime minister visits Egypt in first official trip for a decade

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sept 13 for talks on Israeli-Palestinian relations and bilateral issues, Egypt's presidency said, in the first official trip by an Israeli head of government to Egypt for a decade. Bennett, the head of a far-right party who took office in June, was invited to visit by Sisi last month and the two were due to meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The discussions were expected to address "ways and efforts to revive the peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians, Egypt's presidency said in a statement, as well as bilateral and regional matters. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014 and analysts say there is little prospect of reviving them. Bennett, a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition, opposes Palestinian statehood. One focus of Sept 13's talks will be the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Egypt helped broker a ceasefire after 11 days of conflict in May between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the enclave, diplomatic and security sources said.
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Singapore submits bill to fight 'foreign interference'

Singapore's government introduced a bill in parliament on Sept 13 to prevent what it called foreign interference in domestic politics, which proposes empowering authorities to issue take-down orders against "hostile information campaigns". The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill targets content that "can cause immediate and significant harm in Singapore, such as inciting violence or causing hostility between groups", the home ministry said. If social media companies failed to comply with requests, Internet service providers may be ordered to block harmful content locally. The bill also proposes blocking downloads of applications used to spread such content. "We have also seen many instances in recent years where social media and communications technologies were used by entities to mount HICs against other countries," the ministry said, referring to hostile information campaigns. It described those as "covert, coordinated and sophisticated" activities with aims like manipulating public opinion, subverting democratic institutions, polarising society, or influencing election outcomes. The ministry said the law would not apply to Singaporeans expressing political views, unless they were agents of a foreign entity. Neither would it apply to foreign individuals or foreign publications "reporting or commenting on Singapore politics, in an open, transparent and attributable way", even if critical of Singapore or its government.
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Medical

Rich states should stop hoarding Covid vaccines for boosters not yet backed by science, redirect jabs to Africa – African Union

Wealthy states should send their Covid jabs to under-vaccinated Africa rather than stashing doses away for booster shots which are not yet proven to be necessary, the African Union’s (AU) top health official has said. Speaking at a news conference on Sept 09, John Nkengasong, the director for the continent’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) blasted high-income nations for their eagerness to administer a third shot. “The problem we have with the third doses is we have not seen enough science behind them,” the African CDC chief stated, adding that countries rushing to offer a booster shot will “surely be gambling” without data supporting its use. Nkengasong warned that states offering third shots would make it harder for Africa to reach its goal of inoculating 60-70% of its population. According to statistics from the Africa CDC, only 3% of the continent is fully jabbed, while just over 5% have received one dose. The remarks come after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for an “extension of the [booster] moratorium until at least the end of the year, to enable every country to vaccinate at least 40% of its population” at a briefing on Sept 08.
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Coronavirus: Southeast Asian countries choose to reopen, balancing virus with economy

Even as they struggle with one of the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks, nations across Southeast Asia are slowly realising that they can no longer afford the economy-crippling restrictions needed to squash it. On the factory floors of Vietnam and Malaysia, in the barbershops of Manila or office towers of Singapore, regulators are pushing forward with plans to reopen, seeking to balance containing the virus with keeping people and money moving. That is leading to a range of experiments including military-delivered food, sequestered workers, micro-lockdowns and vaccinated-only access to restaurants and offices. In contrast to Europe and the US, which have already moved down the reopening path, the region’s low vaccination rates leave it among the world’s most vulnerable to the Delta variant. But with state finances stretched by previous rounds of stimulus and dwindling monetary policy firepower, lockdowns are becoming less tenable by the day. “It’s a tricky balance between lives and livelihoods,” said Krystal Tan, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group economist, noting that even Singapore has struggled with infection spikes despite having a world-leading vaccination rate.
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