Tag: International Relations

U.S.-Japan-South Korea Security Pact Likely to Deepen China’s Dismay

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Ever since members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization sprang into action to help Ukraine try to thwart Russia’s invasion last year, China has warned about a similar U.S.-led security alliance forming in Asia that would seek to hobble Beijing’s ambitions and provoke a confrontation. President Biden’s Camp David summit on Friday with the leaders of Japan and South Korea most likely reinforces Beijing’s perception. The talks saw Japan and South Korea put aside their historical animosities to forge a defense pact with the United States aimed at deterring Chinese…

China to Stage Military Exercises Around Taiwan

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China’s military said it would stage “joint combat readiness” patrols around Taiwan on Saturday, sending a warning gesture to the island democracy soon after a leading candidate in Taiwan’s presidential election finished an overseas trip that Beijing had denounced. Vice President Lai Ching-te, the candidate, had flown to Paraguay — one of 13 states that keeps diplomatic relations with Taipei, and not Beijing — making stops in the United States on his way there and back. The Chinese government is trying to curtail the international activities of Taiwan, which it…

How Geopolitics Is Complicating the Move to Clean Energy

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He is known as the Minister for Everything. From the government offices of Indonesia’s capital to dusty mines on remote islands, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan commands authority as the nation’s essential power broker. A four-star general turned business magnate turned cabinet officer, Mr. Luhut’s paramount aspiration is transforming Indonesia into a hub for the production of electric vehicles. But as he pursues that goal, he and his country are increasingly vulnerable to geopolitical forces beyond their control. Though this archipelago nation has long sidestepped entanglements in ideological rivalries, it is increasingly…

China’s Nickel Plants in Indonesia Created Needed Jobs, Plus Pollution

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For most of his 57 years on the island of Sulawesi, Jamal was accustomed to scarcity, modest expectations and a grim shortage of jobs. People mined sand, caught fish and coaxed crops from the soil. Chickens frequently disappeared from front yards, stolen by hungry neighbors. Mr. Jamal, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, regularly rode his motorbike to construction jobs in the city of Kendari, a half-hour away. Then, six years ago, a towering smelter rose next to his home. The factory was built by a company called…

Intel Acquisition of Tower Semiconductor Is Scuttled by China

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China has effectively scuttled a $5.4 billion deal by Intel, the Silicon Valley semiconductor giant, in the latest sign of the frayed business ties between China and the United States. Intel, which has long had operations in China, said Wednesday that it had “mutually agreed” to terminate a planned merger with Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli chip manufacturer. The announcement came after China’s antitrust regulators failed to rule on the transaction before a deadline set by the companies. The failure of Intel to complete the acquisition of Tower could send a…

China’s Woes Loom Large Over the Global Markets

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What’s behind the August sell-off? Goldman Sachs economists see an end to the Fed’s hawkish policy on interest rates, predicting that the central bank will cut its prime lending rate in the second quarter of next year. But that bullish prediction is doing little to restore investors’ optimism, as concerns mount about consumer confidence and the health of global economy. China’s woes are reverberating. The country, a major engine of growth, has been rocked by a decline in trade, a slowdown in consumer spending, a crackdown on the private sector…

China’s Military, ‘Chasing the Dream,’ Probes Taiwan’s Defenses

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China has been steadily intensifying military pressure on Taiwan over the past year, sending jets, drones, bombers and other planes farther and in greater numbers to extend an intimidating presence all around the island. Chinese naval ships and air force planes have been edging closer to Taiwan’s territorial seas and skies, probing the island’s vigilance and trying to wear down its military planes and ships. Chinese forces have also been operating more frequently in skies and waters off the island’s eastern coast, facing the West Pacific. China’s increasing presence there…

Deflation Becomes a Threat to China’s Economy

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The United States has spent much of the past 18 months struggling to control inflation. China is experiencing the opposite problem: People and businesses are not spending, pushing the economy to the verge of a pernicious condition called deflation. Consumer prices in China, after barely rising for the past several months, fell in July for the first time in more than two years, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday. For 10 straight months, the wholesale prices generally paid by businesses to factories and other producers have been…

UAE, a US Ally, Looks to China and Russia for Deeper Ties

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The ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is a key American ally who counts on the United States to defend his country. But he has traveled twice to Russia over the past year to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin, and in June, his country was celebrated as the guest of honor at the Russian leader’s flagship investment forum. Later this month, the Emirati and Chinese air forces plan to train together for the first time, a notable shift for an oil-rich Gulf nation that has…

Video Shows China Blasting Water Cannon at Philippines Coast Guard Boat

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By The New York Times The Philippine Coast Guard has released a video that shows a Chinese Coast Guard vessel firing a water cannon at one of its ships, going public with a new complaint of aggressive behavior from China. Two vessels of the Philippines Coast Guard were on what was supposed to be a normal resupply mission 120 miles off the coast of Palawan, when they ran into a Chinese blockade. After a Chinese vessel fired its water cannon at one Philippine ship, it then moved to block it…