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Ministry of Defense: Renting Taiping Island to the U.S. Is a Dangerous Idea

Global Times recently reported that the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Wu Qian, commented at a press conference that the idea that the Taiwanese military could rent Taiping Island to the U.S. military was a very dangerous one. The comment was based on some media reports indicating such a possibility. Taiping Island is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Taiwan currently controls the island. However, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam all have claimed sovereignty. Earlier reports suggested that some Taiwanese military think-tank provided the idea. The rental to the U.S. military would be under the name of humanitarian rescue missions. Wu Qian said the Chinese government is strongly against this idea and has the determination as well as the capability to defend China’s sovereignty. Taiping Island is the size of 70 soccer fields and is 860 nautical miles from Southern Taiwan. Currently Taiwan has around 200 troops guarding the island. The Taiwanese government later clarified that there was no such official plan.

Source: Global Times, June 28, 2018
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2018-06/12368593.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Duowei News: Australian Parliament Passed New Laws Aimed at Preventing Foreign Interference

Duowei News quoted a news article that the BBC had published. On June 28, the Australian Parliament passed new laws aimed at preventing foreign interference in Australia. According to the BBC report, the laws were first passed in the Senate on the 28th. They target espionage, as well as foreign interference in politics and other domestic affairs. The laws specified that industrial espionage for a foreign country will be categorized as a criminal offense. They also require that lobbyists for foreign governments must register their identity. In December 2017, Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia, first announced his plan to introduce a new foreign espionage law while he criticized China for interfering in Australia’s politics. The Duowei article stated that, even though Turnbull denied that the new laws target China, the timing of the laws has intensified the foreign relations between the two. An ABC report suggested that the laws are the explanation for the development of the recent diplomatic conflict between Australia and China.

Sources:

1. Duowei News, June 28, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/global/news/2018-06-28/60067420.html
2. BBC, June 28, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44624270

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: The U.S. Has Become the Number One Destination for Asylum Applications

Xinhua recently reported, based on OECD (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) data that, among OECD member countries, the United States has become the number one destination for asylum applications. The OECD has 35 members, including the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, Australia and Turkey. In the year 2017, OECD countries received 1.2 million more asylum applications than in 2016. Between 2013 and 2016, Germany was the top destination. However, in 2017, the U.S. surpassed Germany to receive the largest number of applications. Germany is now the second largest, followed by Italy, Turkey, and France. Most of the asylum applicants for EU countries came from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. Most applicants for the U.S. came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela. According to the OECD, with massive numbers of refugees pouring into OECD countries, residents in the member countries have started to question the benefits of accepting these immigrants. This has already changed the political landscape in Germany.

Source: Xinhua, June 22, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2018-06/22/c_129898274.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Pakistan Announced Anti-Dumping Tariff against China

Shanghai-based industrial news media SMM (Shanghai Metals Market), which specializes in reporting news regarding non-ferrous metals, recently reported that the Pakistani National Tariff Commission announced an anti-dumping tariff on color-coated steel coils and sheets made in China and South Africa (Announcement ADC51). The Pakistani government made the final judgment call and determined the products in scope did established tangible damage to Pakistani domestic products. The anti-dumping tariff will remain in effective for the next five years. The tax rate for Chinese manufacturers will be in the range of 5.36 percent to 10.88 percent, depending on the specific product tax code. This announcement was made at nearly the same time that the U.S. Trump administration instated its 301 tariffs on China. Also, the Pakistani government approved the initial conclusion of its anti-dumping findings for pencils made in China. A four-month temporary pencil anti-dumping tariff will also apply.

Source: SMM, June 19, 2018
https://news.smm.cn/news/100809623

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

LTN: Chinese Diplomat Threatened Australian Media to Get It to Cancel a Program

Taiwan Liberty Times reported that Kirsty Thomson, the producer of 60 Minutes on Australian Channel 9 received a phone call from Cao Saixian, the head of the Media Affairs Department at the Chinese Embassy in Canberra. Cao claimed that 60 minutes illegally filmed footage and threatened that it could not air one segment that covered China’s expansion in the South Pacific Ocean. “Take this down and take it to your leaders! … You will listen! There must be no more misconduct in the future!” Cao yelled over the phone. Thomson countered that the footage was taken in the public region using a drone and stated that the program would still be aired on June 18 and 19 as planned. According to the article, 60 Minutes has produced a number of programs that covered China’s “debt trap diplomacy” in the Pacific region and how it was expanding its influence through offering assistance in the areas of infrastructure and agriculture in countries such as Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu. The program focused mainly on China’s plans in Vanuatu, including attempts to build a military base in Vanuatu. The program previously revealed that China’s satellite monitoring ship, disguised as a fishing boat, tried to approach the Australian Adelaide warship in the port of Suva in Fiji. The article reported that the way that Cai approached the mainstream English media was done in a very unusual way. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs must have given the direction in order to warn other media not to offend China.

Source: Taiwan Liberty Times, June 22, 2018
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/business/paper/1210818

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

LTN: Chinese Official Media Downplayed the Singapore Summit

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Chinese media heavily downplayed the global focal point – the Singapore Summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The official Chinese newspaper People’s Daily did not even publish a photo on its official website. There was no report of the news on the front page other than a link on the right side that led to a short report. The historic event of the Singapore Summit attracted over 2,000 journalists from around the world to spread the news. The paper version of the People’s Daily also had only a short article with no photo. The short report provided a brief idea of the agreement between the U.S. and North Korea, but there was no mention of the responses from different countries in the world. People’s Daily is the biggest newspaper group in China. It is the primary official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party and provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the Party. It is very obvious the Chinese leadership had no interest in giving Trump or Kim much credit for improving the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Source: Liberty Times Network, June 13, 2018
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2456528

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

RFI: North Korean Media Described Kim Jong-un as a Supreme World Leader

Radio France International (RFI) Chinese recently reported that North Korean media swiftly and massively covered the story of the historic Singapore Summit immediately after its completion. The media described North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a supreme world leader who even U.S. President Donald Trump admires greatly. When Kim was walking along the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, the streets were filled with people praising him. The 40-minute North Korean Central Television program suggested that President Trump showed Kim the presidential ride (nick-named the Beast) to express his “infinite admiration” towards Kim. The general tone that the North Korean media pushed hard was that Kim has successfully led the advancement of the global political forces with his extraordinary political wisdom. Some international political critics expressed their belief that President Trump was a bit too generous to the North Korean dictatorship, which has a long-standing record of human rights abuse.

Source: RFI Chinese, June 15, 2018
https://bit.ly/2HRLYur

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Sinchew: Myanmar Worried about Losing Port of Kyaukpyu to China

Major Singapore newspaper Sinchew recently reported that the Myanmar government is in the middle of re-evaluating a Chinese investment project to develop a deep-water port at the Port of Kyaukpyu. The project is part of China’s One Belt One Road initiative; the total investment was estimated to be US$9 billion. The Myanmar government is deeply concerned about the high cost and what a potential debt default could lead to. Based on what has happened elsewhere, Myanmar may lose control of Kyaukpyu. Sources inside the Myanmar government reported that negotiations are going on with China to reduce the cost of the project. Kyaukpyu is located in west Myanmar’s Rakhine Province. That port offers China a direct path to the Indian Ocean from Southwest China, bypassing the Strait of Malacca. If started, the Port of Kyaukpyu development project will be the largest infrastructure project in Myanmar’s history. The project is also located at the starting point of an oil and gas pipeline station leading to China’s Yunnan Province.

Source: Sinchew, June 4, 2018
http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/1762033

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend