Month: June 2023

Japan looks to expand diplomatic corps in overseas charm offensive

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Receive free Japanese politics & policy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Japanese politics & policy news every morning. The Japanese government has ambitions to strengthen its diplomatic service with a huge hiring spree, part of an overseas charm offensive intended to counter the global rise of economic nationalism and respond to a more assertive China in the region. The plan, which was laid out in a paper by the ruling Liberal Democratic party in April and formally adopted as foreign ministry policy…

As Beijing swelters, activists hope the heat will prompt climate action

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As temperatures in the Chinese capital are forecast to creep back up to record-breaking heights this weekend, activists are hoping that overheated Beijingers will start thinking about the causes of, as well as the solutions to, such intense heatwaves. Last weekend the mercury soared past 40C (104F) for three consecutive days, the first time that the city has endured such prolonged heat since its weather station started recording temperatures in 1951. Surrounding areas also issued “red” weather warnings, indicating that the temperature could surpass 40C within 24 hours. While social…

US special envoy for Iran on leave amid security clearance review

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Receive free US-Iran tensions updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest US-Iran tensions news every morning. The US state department’s Iran envoy Rob Malley is on leave while his security clearance is under review in a potential setback to the resumption of indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme. “I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favourably and soon,” Malley, who was appointed special envoy…

Chinese, Russian Firms to Build Lithium Plants in Bolivia

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LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – Chinese and Russian companies will invest more than $1.4 billion in the extraction of lithium in Bolivia, one of the countries with the largest reserves of the mineral used in electric car batteries, the government in La Paz said Friday. China’s Citic Guoan and Russia’s Uranium One Group — both with a major government stake — will partner with Bolivia’s state-owned YLB to build two lithium carbonate processing plants, Bolivian President Luis Arce said at a public event. Lithium is often described as the “white gold”…

Meta’s oversight board orders removal of Hun Sen’s Facebook video

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UPDATED AT 09:15 p.m. ET on 2023-06-30 Meta’s oversight board on Thursday ordered the removal of a video posted on Facebook by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in which he threatened violence against his political opponents and called for an immediate suspension of his accounts. The ruling, reversing a previous decision, marks the first time the oversight board has instructed Meta to shut down an account run by a government leader, and suggests that the company may be shifting its stance on how it deals with content posted by users…

Unmasking suspected North Korean hackers’ tricks

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Suspected North Korean hackers are impersonating journalists in emails to target experts on North Korea issues in phishing attacks, a collection of emails obtained by Radio Free Asia showed. The 12 suspicious emails were forwarded to RFA’s Korean Service by the experts who received them. RFA was not able to confirm the identity of any of the senders of the emails, nor their connection with the North Korean government.  However, they all exhibit signs that strongly suggest that they were phishing attempts by agents working for Pyongyang in order to…

EU seeks to project united approach towards China ahead of high-level Brussels meetings

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However, divisions persist within the bloc over how to deal with China owing to each nation’s varying national interests concerning de-risking and national security, according to some senior EU diplomats. Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a road map for de-risking economic ties with China. But diplomats from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands were among those expressing concern about “national security” and seeking a watering down of the plan’s conditions. Advertisement While there is broad support for reducing Europe’s dependencies on China and finding alternative suppliers…

US says Chinese spy balloon downed in February did not collect information

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A Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States earlier this year before being shot down did not collect information as it went across the country, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “We assess that it did not collect while it was flying over the US,” Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder told reporters. The balloon spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before the US military shot it down off the Atlantic coast on Biden’s orders. More soon … The Guardian

India and Philippines vow stronger cooperation as both eye China’s regional claims with unease

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Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea centre on a nine-dash line surrounding several islands and waters of disputed sovereignty. The 2016 ruling in the Hague case rejected the legality of the nine-dash line. Beijing refused to accept the non-binding verdict. For years India maintained a neutral stance on the issue. However, after deadly clashes along its own disputed border with China in 2020, it called the South China Sea a “part of global commons”. Advertisement Manalo on Wednesday described the Philippines’s territorial disputes with China as a “major challenge”…

Chinese balloon was using US surveillance technology, finds FBI

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Receive free US-China relations updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest US-China relations news every morning. The suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down in the US earlier this year was using some American technology, according to a preliminary analysis by the FBI. The finding that the spy balloon was carrying some US surveillance technology was shared by the FBI with some US lawmakers in March, according to one person familiar with the situation. The incident caused a diplomatic stand-off and derailed efforts…