Taiwan is keen to share its experience in healthcare best practices and innovation with the world post-pandemic. Taiwan effectively controlled the spread of Covid by utilising its national healthcare system and well-trained anti-pandemic personnel. The country established a universal healthcare insurance system in 1995 and continued to provide disease prevention and healthcare services to people of all ages to allow Taiwan to provide innovative healthcare services such as telehealth consultations and digitisation in healthcare. Taiwan has been advocating for its inclusion in the World Health Assembly to share its knowledge and expertise.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is poised to issue a third round of endorsements in the state’s legislative races, backing a further 19 Republican candidates. Youngkin is hoping to strengthen his grip on the General Assembly, with all 140 seats up for election this fall, in what is seen as a critical vote to determine control of the legislature for the remainder of his term. The governor’s backing of candidates including experienced legislators, business executives, small business leaders, and law enforcement officials, is a significant boost for their election prospects as they seek the GOP nomination in contested primaries.
Youngkin’s agenda, which focuses on tax cuts and greater restrictions on abortion access, has been hampered by the General Assembly’s divided political stance, though he has managed to secure bipartisan support for certain parts of it. The governor is expected to use the upcoming election as an opportunity to push through his agenda. There are concerns that his backing for candidates who espouse this agenda may further polarise the legislature, potentially making it more difficult to secure support from across the aisle. There are also lingering doubts that Youngkin intends to run for President this year, which he has vehemently denied.
China is concerned about the potential impact the SpaceX-run Starlink could have on its geopolitical ambitions. Starlink, a mega-constellation of satellites, provides off-grid high-bandwidth internet access, and has been vital to Ukraine’s war effort, allowing soldiers to communicate, identify targets and upload videos. With the system hard to jam, China fears it could put Russia at a disadvantage and make a Chinese invasion of Taiwan more difficult. However, Beijing also has ambitions of becoming a space power and is working on its own satellite internet systems. Concerns over crowded crowded skies and satellite collision have also been raised. In 2021, two of Starlink’s satellites were on a collision course with a Chinese space station, forcing it to move, while China fears the increasing number of satellites could place pressure on a limited low-Earth orbit space.
Global chip companies from the US, Europe, South Korea, and Taiwan are investing more than ¥2tn ($14bn) in Japan in 2021 across a range of projects. The investment comes in the wake of the Japanese government’s efforts to establish chip supply chains built around shared values, while minimising reliance on Chinese business partners. The aim is to establish more stable and secure supply chains for critical components, and to help strengthen the economic position of the region as a whole.
World Leaders Land in Hiroshima for G7 Meeting, With Ukraine War High on Agenda
Diplomat
23-05-18 16:50
Leaders from the G7 countries have arrived in Hiroshima for a meeting where Russia's war in Ukraine is expected to be high on the agenda. Ahead of talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Thursday, US President Joe Biden remarked: "When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do.” Discussions regarding the battlefield in Ukraine and the state of play on sanctions are expected. Meanwhile, G7 leaders and guests from countries are also expected to discuss how to deal with the military buildup and growing assertiveness of China.
Ukraine's use of an advanced version of the US-made Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system to intercept Russian hypersonic rockets is being closely watched by Taiwanese officials. However, there is debate as to whether the PAC-3 system would be effective in the event of an attack launched by China. Ukraine meanwhile has not confirmed that it used PAC-3 to shoot down Russian missiles, though the US military said the system had been used. China is known to have deployed at least 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, including missiles equipped with hypersonic glide vehicles.
The leaders of the G7 industrialised nations have gathered in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for their annual summit. The meeting is expected to focus on the West's relationship with China, as well as Russia's war in Ukraine and the ongoing global economic uncertainties. To avoid possible “economic blackmail”, G7 leaders are expected to diversify their supply chains and markets, but are not aiming to “decouple” from China. In terms of military activity, discussions will include China’s behaviour in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, yet Robert Ward, director of geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, believes that the G7 nations are unlikely to agree on specific measures to counteract China's power in the Indo-Pacific.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has signed an agreement with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, aimed at boosting defence, security, and cyber ties between the two countries. Key provisions include deploying a naval fleet to the Indo-Pacific, increasing UK troops in joint exercises, and partnering on semiconductors to reduce reliance on Beijing. The agreement reportedly signals understanding of the “systemic challenge China poses to our collective economic security and regional stability”. At a dinner at Mr Kishida’s favourite restaurant, Mr Sunak became the first British Prime Minister to visit Hiroshima, where he laid a wreath for those killed in the nuclear attack of 1945.
The United States and Taiwan have reached a modest trade agreement as part of Washington's support for Taiwan and its demands from China. The deal is the first under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade and is expected to set the stage for a more significant agreement. The agreement aims to cut red tape at customs, reduce waiting times for US businesses in Taiwan and commits to adopting measures to combat bribery and encourage more trade with small to medium-sized enterprises. There is widespread bipartisan support for Taiwan in Washington, and the island country remains a prosperous democracy that split from China in 1949.
Global chipmakers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, Intel and US chipmaker Micron, have agreed to invest billions of dollars in Japan as countries seek to reduce their dependence on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, which is under threat of invasion by China. Rising tensions between the west and China have spurred on this shift towards reducing reliance on Taiwan. Semiconductors are an essential component to modern-day technology & electronic equipment, and Taiwan is home to 65% of the world’s semiconductors and almost 90% of the most advanced chips.
The US and Taiwan have reached a trade agreement which will cut red tape and waiting times for US businesses seeking to export to Taiwan, while also committing to measures to combat corruption, and boost small and medium enterprises. The deal does not require the approval of Congress. The agreement is being viewed as a modest first step towards "a robust and high-standard trade agreement".
The US and Taiwan have agreed on the first part of their "21st century" trade initiative, which covers customs and trade facilitation, regulatory practices, and small businesses, according to the US Trade Representative's office. Negotiations will commence on other trade areas, including agriculture, digital trade, labour and environmental standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, after the initial agreement is signed. US and Taiwan officials have hailed the deal as strengthening US-Taiwan relations and paving the way for a high-standard trade agreement tackling "21st century economic challenges".
Chinese comedian Li Haoshi has been fined $2.6m, and his employer has been fined $1.3m, after Li made a statement, deemed by authorities to be offensive to the Chinese military, in a live broadcast. Li was performing in Shanghai, where he quipped, in reference to two dogs that he adopted, that they "were able to win battles, with a first-rate style". The phrase Li was using alluded to propaganda descriptions of the People’s Liberation Army’s strength, and became associated with President Xi Jinping after he first used it. Critics argue that China's sensitivity to even the smallest slight against the military is symptomatic of increasing nationalism and authoritarianism in the country.
South Korea's finance minister, Choo Kyung-ho, has discussed economic co-operation with China's ambassador to South Korea, as diplomatic tensions – stemming mostly from China's policies towards Taiwan – cast a pall over South Korea's economy. South Korea's sluggish economy and its export industry, which accounts for nearly 40% of its economy, have already been hit by low global demand for Korean technology products. South Korea's ambassador to Washington announced earlier this month that Seoul would soon open senior-level dialogues with Beijing.
Xanana Gusmao, revered for leading the resistance to Indonesia’s quarter-century occupation and creating a permanent sea boundary with Australia that awarded the young country the majority of future oil and gas in the Timor Sea, is pursuing the prime ministership in Sunday’s parliamentary election, hoping to finally realise an ambition to pipe liquefied natural gas from the $71 billion offshore Greater Sunrise fields to the country’s south coast. Under the terms of Timor-Leste’s maritime border agreement with Australia, it would see 70 per cent of the royalties from Sunrise if the gas was piped to its shores, or 80 per cent if the processing took place instead in Darwin, as has been the preference of Woodside, which holds a 33.44 per cent stake in the project alongside Timor-Leste itself (56.56 per cent) and Japan’s Osaka Gas (10 per cent). Amid local enthusiasm, there have been major doubts raised about the flow-on effects from this project and the viability of piping gas to Timor-Leste, since most jobs and contracts would go to foreign workers and companies.
US President Joe Biden's cancellation of his trip to Australia, and the Quad leaders meeting in Sydney, has drawn accusations that the US is unreliable and lacking commitment in the Indo-Pacific. Diplomatically, Beijing might try to make allegations against Biden’s decision to cancel the trip. However, if international relations and strategic policy was based primarily on whether heads of state attend foreign summits, then China would really be in trouble. The Quad will go from strength to strength because there is a strategic need and appetite for it, and Xi Jinping will not be breathing a sigh of relief. Beyond Beijing’s increasing belligerence, China’s aims present a comprehensive challenge to the US-led liberal order in everything from diplomacy, trade, technology, military power to the promotion of authoritarian values and ways of doing business.
Leaders of the world's seven most powerful democracies will attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima to discuss issues including economic policy, security, climate change, energy and gender. The G7 leaders will also host discussions with leaders outside the G7, such as Vietnamese Prime Minister Tan Dung, to address the rise of developing nations. Chinese military aggression from North Korea and Russia will be among the topics to be covered. Pledges of continuing support for Ukraine will see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky join the session via the internet, and there will also be a focus on Beijing's increasing threats against Taiwan.
Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies (G7) have discussed how to build support for a “strong response to economic coercion” by China. Ahead of a summit in Hiroshima, US officials predicted a joint response from all countries, which will involve protecting technologies in areas of national security. The EU has also been seeking to create support for a strategy against economic coercion, to “derisk” rather than disconnect from, China. However, all seven members of the G7 require a positive relationship with the world’s second-largest economy. The US imported goods amounting to $537bn from China last year, while its businesses invested nearly $120bn in China. EU investments in China over the course of two decades amounted to over $140bn. In the face of criticisms from the US, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin argued that the US was the chief culprit in the coercion of China.
The UK’s pledge of £1bn ($1.4bn) to boost its semiconductor industry over the next decade has been criticised as “insignificant” by industry figures, compared to the $50bn promised by the US and €43bn pledged by the EU. The boost is intended to expand the domestic industry, protect national security and reduce the risk of supply chain disruption. However, the UK currently has to import critical silicon chips from Taiwan. Simon Thomas of UK start-up Paragraf described the announcement as “quite frankly flaccid” and Garner consultant Gaurav Gupta said it would not create a UK company capable of competing with major chip producers.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the Western allies are "steadfast" in their support for Ukraine, warning Vladimir Putin "we're not going away". During a round of interviews at Hiroshima’s Seifukan tea house, Sunak stated that the Russian President needs to understand this message, and told Putin that they cannot "outlast us in this conflict". The UK is introducing a ban on Russian diamonds, which was worth more than £3bn ($4.29bn) to Russia in 2021, and also prohibiting imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, hoping other countries will follow suit. The move is aimed at applying further pressure on Putin and his supporters, and the three-day summit will also discuss military and economic support for Ukraine, economic stability, and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression. Sunak will also visit the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.
