Macao has revised its legal system to strengthen national security, echoing the crackdown on freedoms in neighboring Hong Kong. The revision of the Law on Safeguarding National Security was needed to deal with "new adverse challenges" in terms of national security, says its government. The Global Times newspaper, published by China’s ruling Communist Party, said the changes target espionage, foreign interference and Taiwan independence supporters and expand the definition of crimes. Unlike Hong Kong, most of Macao's population is recent migrants from the mainland and appears willing to accept heavy-handed party control.
The UK's recent signing of the Hiroshima Accord with Japan demonstrates a commitment to allies in the Indo-Pacific, including defence agreements, trade and semiconductor steps. These partnerships are designed to limit China's disruptive influence in the region. Japan is set to significantly increase its defence budget, mirroring the UK's deployment of a Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific. This emphasises the importance of maritime heritage and capabilities, and the role of naval power in ensuring free navigation of seas for generations to come.
Foreign automakers are being hit by China's improved domestic competition, which is pushing prices down and lowering their market share. Car companies are looking at different courses of action, with some such as Volkswagen doubling down on China, while others, such as Ford, are adopting a more focused approach, pulling back to commercial vehicles to concentrate on specific areas of development and listening to consumer trends. The US firm's move underlines the need for carmakers to act judiciously when attempting to lay down roots in regions with different sales tendencies.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima is expected to highlight the Ukraine war, the growing power of China and the threat to Taiwan. Leaders from India, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia will also be attending the summit, which opens today. Discussions will also focus on matters involving supply chains, economic and energy security. The Indian presence at the summit is expected to create a focus on the developing world within the G7, while the recent overtures of Russia and China towards Central Asia are also set to feature prominently. Yesterday, the G7 leaders released a statement ahead of the summit stressing their support for Ukraine which “will not waver”, and detailing “new steps” to be taken to ensure Russia's aggression fails. Sanctions imposed on Russia are also likely to be discussed, as well as their impact on trade of agricultural, medical and humanitarian products.
Hong Kong's Wong Chun-ting and Doo Hoi-kem have been handed a “decent” mixed doubles draw for the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban. The No 6 seeds will avoid facing a pairing from China, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan before the semi-finals, if they make it that far. Hong Kong’s men’s team coach Liu Guodong believes “a top-eight spot or even a medal is achievable.” Wong and Doo are expected to face Indian pair Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra, the world No 5, in the quarter-finals, before a potential face-off with the tournament’s top seeds Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the last four.
The National Portrait Gallery in London has undergone a £41.3m ($57.7m) redevelopment. Director Nicholas Cullinan, who took over the role in 2015, oversaw the project, which has included upgrades to facilities and accessibility, four new galleries, eight refurbished rooms, and more than 3,000 objects. The estate comprises about 4,000 paintings, sculptures and miniatures, and 8,500 works on paper, serving as both a repository for artistry and a record of British sitters throughout history. The gallery reopens to the public on 22 June. Attendance before the pandemic was 1.9 million visitors annually, and Cullinan hopes the new additions will attract a wider audience.
Comedy playwright, actor and singer Victoria Wood’s life and work is to be celebrated with the creation of a prize for comedy writing and a new release of her sketches. The Victoria Wood Playwrighting Prize for Comedy was announced by the Birmingham Rep to coincide with Wood’s birthday on 19 May. The award will be the first major theatre prize dedicated to comedy writing. Wood studied drama at the University of Birmingham and began her career in theatre. A new double-album release of her sketches from her show, Victoria Wood As Seen on TV has also been announced, as has a re-issue of her script compendium, Chunky, edited by the author of her official biography, Jasper Rees. Wood died in April 2016. In 1985, she became one of the first women to break into stand-up comedy, and in 2006 was awarded a CBE in recognition of her contribution to the performing arts.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (Navy) – also known as the PLAN – now has 351 ships in its battle force, making it the largest naval grouping in the world, according to the latest report by the United States Congressional Research Service. The US Navy has 294 ships. Factors in China’s success include its six new nuclear submarines and two aircraft carriers, one of which is already operational, with a third due to launch soon. China’s fleet also includes six cruisers, more than 80 destroyers, frigates and corvettes and a force of Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles capable of firing on a moving vessel up to 3,000km away and sinking it. The report’s findings have led to speculation that US naval superiority will reduce over the coming decades. The USN currently has a larger total tonnage of warships than China and is much better equipped, but China is expected to make further gains.
Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has launched a strategic plan for cooperation with Central Asia in the areas of security and defence. This is traditionally seen as Russia’s sphere of influence, and Moscow is currently preoccupied with the crisis in Ukraine. Central Asia is seen by Beijing as vital to the security of its the Xinjiang region, a politically sensitive area where repression of the Muslim Uighur population has been heavily criticised. The region is also a source of land-based energy imports and trade with Europe. Xi’s plan involves an increased level of involvement in external national affairs, which could potentially lead to China acting as a peacekeeper. Investments in finance, energy and transport logistics have also been pledged, although detailed plans are yet to be provided. Due to their concern over western governments backing pro-democracy movements through COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, Russia and China regard Central Asia as a region that requires their help in maintaining security.
The G7 is holding its annual summit in the Japanese shrine city of Hiroshima where the talks are set to focus on the growing influence of China, the Ukraine crisis and the ongoing threat to Taiwan. G7 leaders, however, are keen to avoid confrontation with China over the issue of its territorial claims that are threatening the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Instead, the leaders are set to extend the promise of G7 cooperation. Alongside the G7 nations, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, and the Philippines have been invited as guests, symbolising Japan's ongoing interest and focus on Southeast Asia. In addition, India and South Korea, which have previously pressed Japan to address issues related to Japanese Imperial Army’s conscripting of sex slaves for the military during World War II, will also take part, together with the EU.
Former UK Conservative MP Liz Truss's recent visit to Taiwan risks turning Taipei's quest for visibility into a Dutch auction as it attempts to counter Beijing’s intimidation and haemorrhaging of formal diplomatic support, said James Lee in The Diplomat. Taiwan risks coming across as a circus act by upstaging and obscuring officials from official diplomatic relations. Truss's visit called for "hard-power" support for Taiwan in the face of China's "authoritarianism" and provoked criticism from the UK's Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Alicia Kearns, calling it "the worst example of Instagram diplomacy". The UK's official Taiwan policy should not be confused with informal links, as it has walked a fine line on Taiwan since switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1950.
China has promised billions of dollars in "financing support and free assistance" to five Central Asian countries, boosting trade, infrastructure and technology investment and including visa-free travel arrangements. Speaking at the two-day China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, China's President Xi Jinping presented himself as a reliable partner to nations which were formerly part of the Soviet Union, while emphasising the importance of safeguarding their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Those countries attending the summit included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, which have been increasingly concerned over Russian efforts to regain control of Ukraine.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (Navy) – also known as the PLAN – now has 351 ships in its battle force, making it the largest naval grouping in the world, according to the latest report by the United States Congressional Research Service. The US Navy has 294 ships. Factors in China’s success include its six new nuclear submarines and two aircraft carriers, one of which is already operational, with a third due to launch soon. China’s fleet also includes six cruisers, more than 80 destroyers, frigates and corvettes and a force of Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles capable of firing on a moving vessel up to 3,000km away and sinking it. The report’s findings have led to speculation that US naval superiority will reduce over the coming decades. The USN currently has a larger total tonnage of warships than China and is much better equipped, but China is expected to make further gains.
Some of the world's largest chip makers, including Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), have agreed to invest billions of dollars in Japan in a move that will boost the country's importance in the global chip industry. Washington has been the most aggressive in its attempt to reorganise the global semiconductor supply chain, and recipient companies of the funding will be barred from building “leading-edge” chip factories in China for 10 years, a move seen as designed to counter the country’s technological advancement.
China's investments in Afghanistan have been growing, with a focus on economic and diplomatic engagement, rather than military involvement. Chinese firms are exploring and developing Afghanistan's natural resources, including oil, copper, iron, lithium, and rare earth minerals, in order to gain access to the country's natural resource wealth and expand China's Belt and Road Initiative. China's investments have provided a much-needed boost to the country's economy and offered some legitimacy to the Taliban government. However, the country still faces challenges related to developing strong state institutions, a functioning bureaucracy, and a safe security environment.
Chinese investors will also face concerns about how their investments will be used, particularly how much of the money will flow into the coffers of the Taliban, and how much will be used to generate revenue that can be used to improve the standard of living of the Afghan people. The absence of strong state institutions and environmental regulations are also potential issues for Chinese investors. Furthermore, China’s growing influence in Afghanistan is likely to face increased scrutiny from the international community, particularly India, which may view China’s growing influence in the region as a threat to its own strategic interests.
Overall, stabilizing Afghanistan will be a long and difficult task for China, but it could pay off by creating an arc of Chinese influence that extends from western China all the way to the Euphrates, encompassing surrounding countries and linking them with China via highways, railways, and pipelines, which would offer benefits to China’s industrial sector and enhance China’s superpower rivalry with the United States.
Entegris, a top supplier of chip-making materials, has invested in a $500m manufacturing centre in Taiwan. The facility in Kaohsiung will house the company's most advanced manufacturing operations and produce the latest chip-making materials including filters and containers. President and CEO of Entegris Bertrand Loy stated that the investment was a "sign of the conviction we have in the future of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan." The chip manufacturing industry has been highly competitive, with leading chipmakers TSMC, Samsung Electronics and Intel racing to produce cutting-edge chips of 3nm and below.
Group of 7 aim to project unity in Japan amid wide-ranging set of global issues
CNN
23-05-19 20:04
Leaders of the Group of 7 industrialised nations are gathering in Japan to try and project unity on China, even as differences persist between the US and Europe on how to confront China's growing military and economic power, as well as its human rights record. Leaders are confronting a wide-ranging set of issues including climate change, emerging AI technologies and China's military provocations around Taiwan and the South China Sea. Following a number of working sessions on Saturday, leaders will release a statement highlighting a “common approach to China". Climate change will also be discussed.
France President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised by the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for risking undermining support of Taiwan, due to his stance on China, describing it as a "dumpster fire". British and American members of the global Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China visited London on Friday to discuss toughening up the West's response to China. Macron said last month that Europe must not get dragged into a confrontation between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan.
Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have warned China and North Korea about their nuclear arsenals as they focus on the major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit later on Saturday. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that President Joe Biden and Zelensky would have face-to-face talks at the summit, a day after Biden supported training Ukrainian pilots on US F-16 fighter jets. The move follows earlier decisions by the US to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression but discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory. The focus on Asia comes as Japanese military officials confirmed Zelensky’s decision to attend the G7 in person to participate in talks to influence Ukraine’s defence against Russia. Zelensky called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country’s defences against Russia’s invasion; the jets could become useful in the long-term security of the country.
The G7 summit in the city of Hiroshima in Japan may feature debates on the Ukraine conflict, China’s economic power and the domination of Taiwan. Issues of global energy and economic security are also expected to be discussed. The presence of India, a country that is currently chairing G-20, is likely to bring a focus to global developing nations and the concerns of the so-called Global South. Significant Asia-Pacific nations including India, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia are participating alongside the seven member states of the G7 and the European Union. Gambia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Senegal and Vietnam have been invited to send representatives to a meeting on tropical diseases.
