By MARI YAMAGUCHI today AP

FILE – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during an interview with foreign media members at the Prime Minister’s official residence Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Tokyo. Leaders of seven of the world’s most powerful democracies will gather this weekend for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the location of the world’s first atomic attack at the end of World War II. The leaders are expected to strongly condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine while pledging their continuing support for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

TOKYO (AP) — Leaders of seven of the world’s most powerful democracies will gather this weekend for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the location of the world’s first atomic attack at the end of World War II.

From the emergence of crucial developing countries to security worries, including growing aggression from China, North Korea and Russia, here’s a look at the G-7, who will attend and some of the key issues:

Continue reading G-7 Hiroshima summit: Who’s attending, what will be discussed? →

In an interview, Petr Pavel — a former general with NATO — argued China is benefiting too much from the war to play peacemaker.

BY LILI BAYER AND KETRIN JOCHECOVÁ

APRIL 25, 2023 4:03 AM CET, Politico.eu

China cannot be trusted to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel is warning, telling POLITICO that Beijing benefits from prolonging the war. 

His comments come as China is trying to position itself as a peacemaker in Ukraine, recently floating a vague roadmap to ending the conflict. And while most Western allies have been skeptical of the overtures, some countries like France insist China could play a major role in peace talks.

Continue reading China doesn’t want peace in Ukraine, Czech president warns →

SÁNG ÁNH – 07/05/2023 06:03 GMT+7

TTCT – Xung đột đang nổ ra tại Sudan là kết quả của không chỉ tranh đoạt quyền lợi phe phái hiện tại. Mâu thuẫn ở vùng đất này cũng lâu đời như chính nó vậy.

Tiếng súng vang lên từ ngày 15-4. Tại thủ đô Khartoum của Sudan, Lực lượng Yểm trợ nhanh chóng (RSF) do tướng Mohamed Dagalo cầm đầu dàn quân tại các khu vực nhiều dân lao động. RSF là lực lượng dân quân võ trang hùng hậu tới 100.000 tay súng. Họ chốt ở các trại lính và căn cứ của quân đội quốc gia, vốn dưới quyền tướng Abdel al-Burhan.

Xung đột vũ trang nhiều hình thức đã dai dẳng ở Sudan suốt một thời gian dài từ khi độc lập. Ảnh: AFP

Continue reading Sudan: Hồi kết còn xa →

Reuters – May 3, 20239:55 PM

TOKYO, May 3 (Reuters) – NATO is planning to open a liaison office in Japan, its first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region, the Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday, citing Japanese and NATO officials.

The liaison office will enable discussions with NATO’s security partners, such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, with geopolitical challenges from China and Russia in mind, the media outlet reported.

Asked about the report, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the alliance would not go into details of NATO allies’ ongoing deliberations.

Continue reading NATO to open Japan office to enable Indo-Pacific consultation, Nikkei Asia reports →

In an interview, Petr Pavel — a former general with NATO — argued China is benefiting too much from the war to play peacemaker.

BY LILI BAYER AND KETRIN JOCHECOVÁ

APRIL 25, 2023 4:03 AM CET, Politico.eu

China cannot be trusted to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel is warning, telling POLITICO that Beijing benefits from prolonging the war. 

His comments come as China is trying to position itself as a peacemaker in Ukraine, recently floating a vague roadmap to ending the conflict. And while most Western allies have been skeptical of the overtures, some countries like France insist China could play a major role in peace talks.

Continue reading China doesn’t want peace in Ukraine, Czech president warns →

By Matthew Knott ,

April 24, 2023 — 3.55pm, The Sydney Morning Herald

Angus Houston and Stephen Smith have delivered a blaring wake-up call to any Australians who think they still live in a sanctuary of safety at the southern edge of the Earth: you’re living in the past.

To those inside and outside the Australian Defence Force who think business-as-usual will cut it in the future: you’re delusional.

Their message to anyone confused about the biggest threat to Australia’s national security is similarly blunt: it is our largest trading partner, China.

Like a pair of doctors delivering confronting news to an ill patient, the two men tasked with reshaping Australia’s military for the 21st century have opted for admirable candour in their defence strategic review.

Rejecting vague language about rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the former defence chief and defence minister call out just one nation – China – for threatening Australia’s core interests.

Continue reading Defence review pulls no punches: China the biggest threat we face →

The alliance is bolstering its military deterrent in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expanded to include Finland.

WRITTEN BY Jonathan Masters, CFR

UPDATED

Last updated April 4, 2023 7:00 am (EST)

Summary

• Established during the Cold War, NATO is a transatlantic security alliance composed of thirty-one member countries, including the United States.
• NATO has focused on deterring Russian aggression in recent years, but it has also conducted security operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia. 
• Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many NATO allies are providing Kyiv with extraordinary quantities of military supplies, and the alliance has expanded to include Finland.

Introduction

Founded in 1949 as a bulwark against Soviet aggression, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) remains the pillar of U.S.-Europe military cooperation. An expanding bloc of NATO allies has taken on a broad range of missions since the close of the Cold War, many well beyond the Euro-Atlantic region, in countries such as Afghanistan and Libya.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a nonmember, in early 2022 has shaken Europe’s security architecture and prompted a major reevaluation of NATO members’ foreign policies and defense commitments. The threat from Russia has generated the greatest tensions with the alliance in the post-Cold War era. It is driving up defense spending and has pushed some longtime NATO partners, namely Finland and Sweden, to seek full membership. Finland acceded to the alliance in April 2023.

Continue reading What Is NATO? →

yesterday, April7, 2023 AP

Muslim worshippers perform Friday prayers outside the Dome of Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

JERUSALEM (AP) — It’s become something of a grim, springtime tradition in the Holy Land.

Israeli police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians stockpiling rocks and fireworks inside one of the most bitterly disputed holy sites on Earth. The violence ripples across Israel and the occupied West Bank, and militants from as far away as Gaza and Lebanon respond with rockets.

Continue reading Why do Jerusalem tensions fuel regionwide unrest? →

By Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow, CFR

March 30, 2023 1:20 pm (EST)

Russia’s threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus has raised the specter of a new nuclear standoff with the United States and its allies in Europe. It also draws new attention to how such arms are deployed in NATO states.

What’s behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus?

The move that Putin announced in late March would be the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union that Russia has stationed nuclear weapons beyond its own borders, and it raises the prospects for a renewed, destabilizing nuclear arms rivalry with the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.

Continue reading Nuclear weapons in Europe: Mapping U.S. and Russian deployments →

The first international agreement to protect the world’s oceans aims to create “international parks” in the high seas.

By Jackie Gu, Reuters

PUBLISHED MARCH 30, 2023

After almost 20 years of negotiations, United Nations member countries have agreed upon an international treaty to protect oceans of the world that lie outside national borders.

These waters, known as “high seas,” occupy nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans. Because they are considered international waters, they lie outside the jurisdiction of any state and have until now never been legally protected, meaning that the marine life in these areas has been under threat from a free-for-all of unregulated exploitation – including overfishing, pollution from ships and human-induced climate change.

Continue reading Changing Tides →

Daily News BriefApril 3, 2023

Top of the Agenda OPEC+ Announces Surprise Cuts to Global Oil Output International oil prices rose today (Bloomberg) after Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting nations announced plans to reduce output (AP) by 1.15 million barrels per day between May and the end of the year. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, collectively known as OPEC+, had not previously signaled plans to slash output. Additionally, OPEC+ member Russia extended its ongoing cut of five hundred thousand barrels per day through the end of the year. The White House called the cuts ill-advised and pledged to work with producers and consumers to bring oil prices down.  The oil producers’ announcement comes as Australia, the European Union, and Group of Seven (G7) countries try to enforce a global price cap on Russian oil. However, Japan negotiated an exemption from the cap due to its energy needs, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Continue reading CFR – Daily News Brief April 3, 2023 →

The World This WeekMarch 31, 2023

The Putin-Xi Summit Reinforces Anti-U.S. Partnership Thomas Graham Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony at the Kremlin on March 21, 2023. (Alexey Maishev/Sputnik)The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow helped both give the impression of a united front, but underlying tensions were also discernible. Get the quick take

Continue reading CFR – The World This Week March 31, 2023 →

Daily News Brief March 30, 2023

Top of the Agenda EU Chief Calls for Europe to ‘De-Risk’ From China During a speech in Brussels today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the European Union (EU) to take a “bolder” stance (Politico) toward Beijing in response to China becoming “more repressive at home and more assertive abroad.” She said this would help Europe “de-risk” itself (Reuters) economically and diplomatically, but that economic decoupling from China is not possible. She also referred to the close relationship between China’s and Russia’s leaders and said China is responsible for advancing a “just peace” in Ukraine that includes the withdrawal of Russian forces. Von der Leyen will visit Beijing next week.  European leaders have diverged in recent months (FT) over their views on China. While the United States has hardened its own China policy through controls on tech exports, trade officials at the European Commission have studied the possibility of controls on outbound European investment.

Continue reading CFR – Daily News Brief, March 30, 2023 →

Daily News Brief March 28, 2023

Top of the Agenda British, German Tanks Reach Kyiv as Ukraine Prepares for Spring Offensive The first deliveries of British Challenger tanks and German Leopard 2 tanks reached the Ukrainian capital (FT), German and Ukrainian officials confirmed. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces completed training (The Guardian) in the United Kingdom on how to use the Challenger tanks. Poland sent tanks to Ukraine late last month, and Spain is expected to do so by the end of the week. Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive against invading Russian forces will depend (BBC) on continued weapons support from the West, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. He will give a virtual address today (AFP) to kick off U.S. President Joe Biden’s second annual Summit for Democracy.

Continue reading CFR: Daily News Brief, March 28, 2023 →