Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 14 February 2022 - 20 February 2022

Economic

U.S. adds e-commerce sites run by Alibaba, Tencent to 'notorious' list

E-commerce sites operated by China's Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding were included on the U.S. government's latest "notorious markets" list, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Feb 17. The list identifies 42 online markets and 35 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. "This includes identifying for the first time AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting," the USTR office said in a statement. China-based online markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao also continue to be part of the list, along with nine physical markets located within China "that are known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods," the USTR office said. Inclusion on the list is a blow to the reputation of companies but carries no direct penalties. Industry bodies including the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Motion Picture Association welcomed the release of the report by the USTR. The USTR office said in a separate report released on Feb 16 the United States needs to pursue new strategies and update its domestic trade tools to deal with China's "state-led, non-market policies and practices." Click here to read... [2]

Beijing to impose sanctions on US defence firms Lockheed and Raytheon over arms sales to Taiwan

Beijing on Feb 21 said it would impose sanctions on two American defence companies in retaliation to the latest US arms sale to Taiwan. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies would be subject to sanctions for their “long-term involvement in US arms sales” to the island. The US$100 million deal – approved by the US two weeks ago and aimed at upgrading Taiwan’s Patriot missile defence system – was a serious infringement of China’s sovereignty and security interests, Wang said. “China once again urges the US government to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, and to stop arms sales to Taiwan and US-Taiwan military ties,” Wang said, referring to statements that included an agreement by the US to gradually reduce arms sales to the island. Wang said the “countermeasures” were in accordance with China’s anti-sanctions law. The law, which was passed in June, provides legal backing for Beijing to take retaliatory measures against foreign individuals and entities perceived to be interfering in China’s internal affairs, including by seizing assets and imposing business restrictions. The foreign ministry spokesman did not give further details of the sanctions or how they would be carried out. The two US defence firms do not do any business with mainland China. Click here to read... [3]

China’s CPTPP trade-pact aspirations bring vows for reform as Beijing reaches out to members

China is progressing in its talks with the members of major trade deals, as Beijing continues to advance its accession bids, which have the potential to reshape the global trade landscape. “China has been reaching out to, and discussing with, members of the major Pacific Rim trade deal based on the accession procedure of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),” Gao Feng, spokesman for the commerce ministry (Mofcom), said at a weekly press conference on Feb 17. Gao also said China has conducted “sufficient, holistic and profound” research into, and assessments of, that deal. And he vowed that China is willing to adhere to the rules and standards of the CPTPP via reforms, while committing to greater market access, to share in the deal’s huge market potential. China officially submitted its application in September to join the CPTPP, soon after the United States, Australia and Britain formed the Aukus security and military pact. Aiming to play a more active role in the world’s trade system and digital economy, Beijing also applied to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) on November 1. Gao said China has been in “intensive communication” with DEPA signatories and has conducted technical consultations.

China lithium deposit discovered near Mount Everest may be boon in push to secure critical resource

A vast deposit of one of the most highly coveted metals on Earth could potentially be located in the region around Mount Everest, according to Chinese scientists. The researchers’ discovery of lithium near the world’s tallest mountain comes as global demand for the metal has been skyrocketing, sending prices to record levels and further fuelling geopolitical competition for strategic resources. The ore deposit may contain as much as 1.0125 million tonnes of lithium oxide, according to the group of scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The spot price of lithium metal in the Chinese market soared to more than 2 million yuan (US$316,000) per tonne earlier this month – more than four times the price a year ago. But it is not yet known how much the new Himalayan deposit – dubbed Qiongjiagang, after the nearest peak – could be worth. It may also be the country’s third-largest lithium deposit after one at the Bailong Mountain site in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and the Jiajika deposit in Sichuan province, according to a report by China Science Daily, a newspaper backed by the CAS. Click here to read... [4]

Thai 'land bridge' project caught in Sino-U.S. tug of war

The project to construct a new transportation route connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific inevitably has strategic ramifications for the bitter rivalry between the U.S. and China over influence in Asia. Immediately after the feasibility study for the project began in September 2020, some officials at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand visited Ranong and warned local business leaders that China's involvement would not bring economic benefits to the local communities. The following year, executives at the state-owned company China Railway Construction traveled to the Thai province. China is working with the Thai government in a project to build high-speed train lines connecting Bangkok with northeastern and eastern parts of Thailand. Local officials who met the executives said the Chinese showed strong interest in taking part in the land bridge project. China is seeking to build a pan-Asian railway network that runs through the Indochina Peninsula as an alternative route to sea lanes passing through the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, in case a security crisis occurs in those places. The land bridge could serve as an important segment of such a route. The tug of war between the U.S. and China over the land bridge project shows the difficulties -- as well as the opportunities -- Japan faces in committing itself in infrastructure projects in Thailand. Click here to read... [5]

Nusantara poses threat to Indonesia's China-led high-speed rail

Indonesia's embattled high-speed rail project faces yet another hurdle, this time in the form of Nusantara, the nation's planned new capital. With construction already well behind schedule and the project billions of dollars over budget, the company behind the Chinese-led effort is warning that the 142-km rail link, which connects Jakarta to the West Javan city of Bandung, could take twice as long to break even as originally thought, with one of the factors being the relocation of the capital out of Jakarta. "In the 2017 feasibility study review, the break-even point was estimated to be 26 years. But recently there was an adjustment back to 40 years," Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, president director of KCIC, told a parliamentary hearing last week. "This is also not final and continues to be evaluated to see the potential for revenue streams and other business strategies that can be explored, so that [break even] can be achieved in less than 40 years," he added. Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, commonly known as KCIC, is a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state-owned companies that are building the rail line and will operate it. Riyadi's comments came just days after the sixth anniversary of the project's groundbreaking ceremony in 2016. Click here to read... [6]

Supply chain crisis: Asia rethinks ‘just-in-time’ strategy as pandemic upends logistics industry

Across Asia, businesses have had to rethink how they operate and develop new strategies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as shipping bottlenecks and supply chain disruptions upended established models of doing business. Minimising inventory costs was the order of the day pre-pandemic, with companies often relying on “just-in-time” supply chains to provide goods when they were needed instead of stockpiling them. But this waste-minimisation model became riskier as the new normal of lockdowns and other virus curbs took hold, causing long delays in supply networks. As the pandemic exposed the weaknesses of the “just-in-time” model, Asia’s businesses have begun to pivot towards keeping larger inventories – lowering the probability that any one product will sell out in a strategy known as “just-in-case”. In Malaysia, this led to a surge in customers seeking short-term storage solutions at Japanese company Nippon Express’ logistics warehouse in Shah Alam, which opened in March 2020 – just as the pandemic was making itself felt. Instead of the multi-year storage contracts that would have otherwise been the norm, businesses began asking to store goods for shorter periods of six months or less amid the chaos and confusion of months-long virus lockdowns and other curbs. Click here to read... [7]

Philippines, like New Zealand, rejects Myanmar in trade pact

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. told his Association of Southeast Asian Nations counterparts in a Feb 17 meeting in Cambodia that the Philippines will not accept Myanmar’s “instrument of ratification” of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, referring to the key document binding a country to the 15-nation free trade agreement, which went into effect Jan. 1. In Locsin’s speech released to journalists in Manila on Feb 18, he did not cite any reason for the Philippine decision and added he was ready to yield if that stance would get in the way of a collective position by the 10-nation regional bloc, which includes Myanmar. It’s not immediately clear if other countries under the RCEP, which includes all 10 ASEAN members, along with China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, would also snub Myanmar’s inclusion and eventually bar it from the massive trading bloc. Two Asian diplomats told The Associated Press this week that New Zealand notified other countries in the RCEP that it would not recognize Myanmar’s papers allowing it to join the trade bloc because it opposes its military-led government. Click here to read... [8]

India inks free trade deal with UAE, eyeing $100bn in trade

India and the United Arab Emirates signed on Feb 18 a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that promises to nearly double trade between the two nations to $100 billion in the next five years. Via the deal, New Delhi hopes that the UAE can serve as a gateway to other markets in West Asia, Africa and Europe. Formal negotiations on the pact were launched just a few months ago in late September, and the final deal was signed during a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. "I'm confident that this pact will usher in a new era in our economic ties and take bilateral trade to $100 billion from the current $60 billion in the next five years," Modi said during the summit as his commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and the UAE's visiting economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri signed the agreement. The 881-page document covers a wide range of sectors such as goods, services, investment, intellectual property regime, small and medium enterprises, digital trade and sustainability, Goyal said, addressing a press conference after the summit. The UAE is India's third-largest trade partner, accounting for about 40% of the South Asian nation's trade with the Arab world. Click here to read... [9]

UNICEF to pay stipend to Afghan teachers as ’emergency support’

The United Nations children’s agency says it will pay Afghan teachers a monthly stipend for at least two months. Salaries have been unpaid for months as the country plunged into economic crisis due to sanctions imposed by some Western governments on the Taliban administration. The stipends of roughly $100 per month will be funded by the European Union and will be paid – in Afghanis – to some 194,000 primary and secondary school teachers for January and February, UNICEF said in a statement on Feb 20. “Following months of uncertainty and hardship for many teachers, we are pleased to extend emergency support to public school teachers in Afghanistan who have spared no effort to keep children learning,” said Mohamed Ayoya, the representative for UNICEF Afghanistan. The country has been in economic crisis since the Taliban took over last August as foreign forces withdrew. Restrictions on the banking sector due to sanctions and a drop-off in development funding left the new administration struggling to pay many public sector salaries, including for teachers. The international community has been grappling with how to engage with the Taliban without formally recognising their government and has made education for girls a key demand when speaking with the group, according to diplomats. Click here to read... [10]

Vast leak alleges Credit Suisse accounts held by corrupt officials and criminals

In a major data leak, a global investigation by more than 40 news outlets has uncovered dozens of accounts at Credit Suisse allegedly held by corrupt officials, criminals and human rights abusers. Credit Suisse rejects the allegations. The investigation, dubbed “Suisse Secrets”, is said to have found dozens of problematic accounts amounting to over $8 billion (CHF7.36 billion) in assets. This includes accounts held by key figures implicated in corruption scandals in some of the poorest countries in the world. The global investigation was led by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) along with more than 40 media outlets around the world. According to OCCRP, no Swiss media group participated in the investigation due to the risk of criminal prosecution. The data of some 18,000 accounts was leaked by a self-described whistle-blower. Among the account holders are bureaucrats accused of looting Venezuela’s oil wealth, a banker in Angola who is under investigation in Portugal after his bank collapsed with $5.7 billion in untraceable debt, and a Yemeni spy chief implicated in torture. Compliance experts who reviewed OCCRP’s findings said many of these people should not have been allowed to hold accounts at Credit Suisse at all, raising questions about whether Switzerland’s second-largest bank missed or ignored red flags. Click here to read... [11]

Taiwan, with eye on China, to boost protection for its semiconductor secrets

Taiwan’s government proposed on Feb 17 a new law to prevent China from stealing its chip technology, amid rising concern in Taipei that Beijing is stepping up its economic espionage. Tech powerhouse Taiwan makes the majority of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips, used in everything from fighter jets to mobile phones, and the government has long worried about Chinese efforts to copy that success, including through economic espionage, poaching talent and other methods. Taiwan’s cabinet said it had proposed new offences for “economic espionage” under the national security law, setting out punishment of up to 12 years in prison for those who leak core technologies to China or “foreign enemy forces”. Using chip giant TSMC’s most advanced 2-nanometer chipmaking technology as an example, cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said such technology could be deemed vital to Taiwan’s security under the new law, and thus extra protection was needed for it, in addition to existing laws on trade secrets. “Everyone knows that TSMC ... has world-leading technologies,” Lo said. “If their technologies were stolen there would be a significant impact.” A designated court for economic espionage crime would be established to speed up trials, Lo added. Click here to read... [12]

Strategic

How Vladimir Putin modernised Russia’s army and turned it into a key foreign policy tool

Whether they have been camped out on Ukraine’s borders or moving tanks across the vast country, Russia’s battle-hardened troops have made the world listen to Vladimir Putin, who wants to redefine European security. President Putin has made reviving the army one of the top priorities of his 20-year rule. After years of post-Soviet neglect, the armed forces received new aircraft, tanks and missiles, opened new bases in the Arctic and resumed Cold War-style strategic bomber patrols. Today, experts say, the modernised Russian army has become a key tool of Putin’s foreign policy. Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, says Putin thinks big. “The Ukraine crisis has demonstrated, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Russia’s readiness to use military force to prevent further expansion of the Western alliance into former Soviet territory,” he said. “The geopolitical retreat that Russia began three decades ago has ended.” Moscow has the world’s second-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons and a huge cache of ballistic missiles. Putin has also boasted of developing a number of “invincible” weapons that can surpass existing systems, including the Sarmat intercontinental missiles and Burevestnik cruise missiles. Click here to read... [13]

Ukraine shelling renews invasion fears as Russia expels U.S. envoy

Shelling in Ukraine on Feb 17 renewed Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion as U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow is preparing a pretext to justify a possible attack and the Kremlin expelled an American diplomat. Early morning exchanges of fire between Kyiv's forces and pro-Russian separatists - who have been at war for years and where a ceasefire is periodically violated - caused alarm as Western countries have said an incursion could come at any time. One of the deepest crises in post-Cold War relations is playing out in Europe as Russia wants security guarantees, including Ukraine never joining NATO, and the U.S. and allies offer arms control and confidence-building measures. While Russia accuses the West of hysteria, saying some of its troops have returned to bases and that it has no plans to invade, many Western countries are adamant that the military build-up is continuing ahead of a possible assault. "We have reason to believe they are engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in," Biden told reporters at the White House. "Every indication we have is they're prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine." Click here to read... [14]

Putin orders forces to ‘maintain peace’ in eastern Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin ordered forces Feb 21 to “maintain peace” in separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, hours after the Kremlin recognized the area’s independence. The announcement raised fears that an invasion was imminent, if not already underway. The Kremlin decree, spelled out in an order signed by Putin, left unclear when, or even whether, troops would enter Ukraine. But it brought swift promises of new sanctions from the U.S. and other Western nations and underscored the steep challenges they face in staving off a military conflict they have portrayed as near-inevitable. The Kremlin's announcement came just hours after Putin, in a rambling, fact-bending discourse on European history, recognized the independence of the eastern separatist regions, paving the way to provide them military support and antagonizing Western leaders who regard such a move as an unjust breach of world order. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden “will soon issue an Executive Order that will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing” in the regions, or on anyone “determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.” She said those measures would be separate from tougher sanctions the U.S. is preparing in case of a Russian invasion. Click here to read... [15]

Russia-Ukraine crisis: Cold War is over, Chinese foreign minister says in call for diplomatic solution

The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of every country must be safeguarded and “Ukraine is no exception”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the weekend as he warned against Nato’s eastward expansion. “All countries’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be safeguarded because these are the basic principles in international relations established through the United Nations Constitution,” Wang told the 58th Munich Security Conference via video link on Feb 19. “This is also what China has been upholding, with no exception regarding Ukraine. If some people are still questioning where China stands on this issue, it is deliberate hype and distortion.” However, Wang also warned against further Nato expansion, reiterating a stance jointly upheld by President Xi Jinping and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin after meeting on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics two weeks ago. “The Cold War ended long ago and Nato was a product of it. [Nato] should make adjustments according to the times. If Nato keeps expanding eastward, is it conducive to maintaining peace and stability in Europe?” Wang said, according to a readout of his speech released by Beijing. He also urged Europe, Russia and the United States to agree on a road map to implement the Minsk peace accords, adding that it was the only path to solve the crisis. Click here to read... [16]

G-20 ministers warn of geopolitical risk, but no mention of Ukraine

Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors said Feb 18 that they will keep watch on major global risks to the international economy, including geopolitical tensions, after concluding a two-day hybrid meeting here that was overshadowed by the Ukraine-Russia situation. Their communique did not mention Ukraine specifically but alluded to it by saying that they will "continue to monitor major global risks, including from geopolitical tensions that are arising." Reuters reported earlier that G-20 members China and Russia had lobbied to water down the phrasing on geopolitical risks. The communique differs markedly from a statement on Ukraine earlier this week in which Group of Seven finance ministers said they were prepared to "collectively impose economic and financial sanctions" on Russia should it escalate tensions. The G-20 talks were bogged down by disagreements over multiple issues, including debt relief for low-income countries. Masato Kanda, Japan's vice minister of finance for international affairs, told a news conference that negotiations over the debt problem were the "most intense," with participating countries spending "countless hours" on the talks. The G-20 launched the Debt Service Suspension Initiative in the spring of 2020 as COVID-19 spread across the globe. But it ended this past December, and the focus has now shifted to debt relief for low-income countries. Click here to read... [17]

This time, Tibet stands silent as Olympics return to China

As a speedskating team was winning China’s first Olympic gold medal of the Beijing Games, all seemed quiet in the villages that line the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. A bus flew past gold-roofed monasteries on freshly paved asphalt. Red-robed monks rode motorcycles over windswept plains under snow-capped mountains. It was a stark difference from 14 years ago, when China hosted its first Olympics. That summer, foreigners filmed deadly clashes between Tibetans and security forces in Lhasa, the regional capital. News of the violence ricocheted online, fueling protests, hunger strikes and self-immolations across the Tibetan region. Today, Tibet has fallen quiet. There are no monks marching on police stations. No overturned cars or hurled stones. Far more international attention and outrage is directed at Xinjiang in China’s far northwest, where some human rights groups and Western governments say the Chinese government has been carrying out a campaign of genocide against the region’s Uyghur population. The once-relentless waves of protesters setting themselves afire has slowed. No self-immolations have been reported in the past two years; over the prior decade, there were more than 150. That is, at least as far as the outside world knows. Click here to read... [18]

Taliban intel chief says ISIS 'no threat' in Afghanistan

The head of the Taliban's intelligence services said Islamic State no longer operates in Afghanistan, disputing a United Nations report that states the terrorist group roams freely in the country. "There is no ISIS, not just in Nangarhar Province but all of Afghanistan," said Dr. Bashirmal, also known as Dr. Bashir, during an interview with Nikkei Asia in the eastern province. He added that the group known as Daesh in the country is not a threat to national security. The 29th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council -- a document compiled by UN experts on ISIS between June and December -- expressed concern about "the potential creation of a safe haven for the terror groups in Afghanistan for terrorist activity." Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISIS-KP) -- the movement's Afghan chapter -- has emerged as a growing threat in the region since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August last year. "Afghanistan is a traditional country and there are different tribes living here," Bashir said. "The country is 95% safe under our government's rule. The remaining 5% are thugs and thieves that were released from prisons when the government was falling, and a lot of weapons ended up in their hands." Click here to read... [19]

Taliban aiming to create 'grand army' for Afghanistan

The Taliban are creating a "grand army" for Afghanistan that will include officers and troops who served the old regime, the official tasked with overseeing the military's transformation said on Feb 21. Latifullah Hakimi, head of the Taliban's Ranks Clearance Commission, also told a news conference they had repaired half the 81 helicopters and planes supposedly rendered unserviceable by US-led forces during last year's chaotic withdrawal. He said Taliban forces took control of more than 300,000 light arms, 26,000 heavy weapons and around 61,000 military vehicles during their lightning takeover of the country. Afghanistan's armed forces disintegrated last summer in the face of a Taliban onslaught ahead of the Aug 31 US-led force withdrawal - often abandoning their bases and leaving behind all their weapons and vehicles. The Taliban have promised a general amnesty for everyone linked to the old regime, but almost all senior government and military officials were among the more than 120,000 people who evacuated by air in the final days. Many of the rank and file remained, however, melting back into civilian life and keeping a low profile for fear of reprisals. The United Nations said in January more than 100 people linked to the old armed forces have been killed since August. Click here to read... [20]

Khamenei says Iran not seeking nuclear weapons as deal draws closer

Iran's supreme leader said on Feb 17 that the country will further develop peaceful nuclear capacity to preserve its independence, amid negotiations with world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington have been held in Vienna since April amid fears about Tehran's nuclear advances, seen by Western powers as irreversible unless agreement is struck soon. Other parties to the deal, which then-U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018, have been shuttling between Iran and the U.S. Several sources, including Iranian officials, told Reuters that the next couple of days would be crucial in determining whether gaps could be closed. "We will sooner or later need peaceful nuclear energy. If we do not pursue it ... our independence will be harmed," Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a televised speech, supporting Tehran's hardline negotiating team in Vienna. "Diplomatic efforts by our revolutionary brothers in trying to get rid of the sanctions are also good but the main task is to neutralize the sanctions," added Khamenei, referring to far-reaching sanctions reimposed by Trump and still in place. Since 2019, Tehran has gradually breached the old deal's limits and gone well beyond, rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output. Click here to read... [21]

Iran, Qatar to sign major agreements on Raisi’s Doha visit

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Qatar to hold high-level talks with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and to participate in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). Raisi is is accompanied by several ministers and is expected to sign several agreements aimed at boosting bilateral ties during his two-day visit. According to Iran’s roads and transport minister, Rostam Ghasemi, four agreements will be signed between the two countries. The most important among them is an agreement on a plan to connect Iran and Qatar via an underwater tunnel, Ghaemi told state television. Two of the other agreements deal with shipping and boosting maritime trade while the fourth one relates to improving air travel between the two countries. On Feb 22, Raisi is also expected to represent Iran at the GECF summit. Iran holds the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves in the world. The visit comes as Iran and the world powers party to its 2015 nuclear deal are saying that long-running talks in Vienna to restore the deal – unilaterally abandoned by the United States in 2018 – are in the final stretch. If successful, the talks could herald Iran’s full return to the global energy market as it could once more sell its oil and derivatives unhindered by US sanctions. Click here to read... [22]

Nepal police fire tear gas to disperse protest over US aid grant

Nepal police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Feb 20 as hundreds protested against a $500m US aid grant that has divided the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress party. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) pact signed in 2017 faces opposition mainly from two of the Communist parties that are part of the coalition government. Critics of the pact claim the conditions in the grant agreement will prevail over Nepal’s laws and threaten the country’s sovereignty. They say it is part of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which has military components that could bring American soldiers to Nepal. US officials have spoken to Nepalese leaders recently to assure that the grant concerns only Nepal’s development. The money is meant to be used for the construction of power transmission lines and improvement of roads in the Himalayan nation. “Although they agreed to present the agreement in the parliament, it’s still not clear whether all coalition partners will cast their vote in favour… Our efforts will continue to convince them,” Prakash Sharan Mahat, spokesperson for the ruling Nepali Congress party, told AFP news agency. Click here to read... [23]

Sri Lanka completes return of illegally imported waste to UK

Sri Lanka has shipped out to the United Kingdom the last of several hundred containers filled with thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste, officials said on Feb 21. Several Asian countries have in recent years been pushing back against an onslaught of refuse from wealthier nations and have started turning back unwanted shipments. The waste from the UK arrived in Sri Lanka between 2017 and 2019, and was listed as “used mattresses, carpets and rugs”. But in reality, it also contained biowaste from hospitals, including body parts from mortuaries, according to customs officials, the AFP news agency reported on Feb 21. The containers were not chilled and some of them gave off a powerful stench, officials said. The 45 containers loaded onto a ship at a Colombo port on Feb 21 were the final batch of 263 containers holding about 3,000 tonnes of waste. “There could be fresh attempts to import such hazardous cargo, but we will be vigilant and ensure that this does not happen again,” customs chief Vijitha Ravipriya said. The first 21 containers holding medical waste were returned to the UK in September 2020, according to customs. A local environmental activist group filed a petition demanding the waste be returned to its sender and Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal upheld the petition in 2020. Click here to read... [24]

Ethiopia starts electricity production at Blue Nile mega-dam

Ethiopia began producing electricity for the first time from its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) – a massive hydropower plant on the River Nile that neighbours Sudan and Egypt say will cause severe water shortages downstream. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated electricity production on Feb 20 from the mega-dam, a milestone in the controversial multibillion-dollar project. The prime minister sought to assure neighbouring nations his country did not wish to harm their interests. “Ethiopia’s main interest is to bring light to 60 percent of the population who is suffering in darkness, to save the labour of our mothers who are carrying wood on their backs in order to get energy,” Abiy said. “As you can see, this water will generate energy while flowing as it previously flowed to Sudan and Egypt, unlike the rumours that say the Ethiopian people and government are damming the water to starve Egypt and Sudan.” Egypt’s foreign ministry, however, accused Ethiopia of “persisting in its violations” of a preliminary deal signed between the three nations in 2015, prohibiting any of the parties from taking unilateral actions in the use of the river’s water. The first violations of the initial agreement related to the filling of the dam, the ministry said in a statement on Feb 20. There was no immediate comment from Sudan. Click here to read... [25]

U.S. eyes 100-strong Mideast sea drone fleet with security partners

The United States Navy and security partners will patrol Middle East waters with 100 unmanned vessels next year to improve deterrence against attacks, like those presented by Iran, the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander said on Feb 21. The region is vital for global trade, especially oil supplies that flow out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. There have been high-seas confrontations between U.S. and Iranian forces with attacks on oil tankers in Gulf waters in 2019. Sanctions-hit Iran denied accusations of responsibility. Last year the U.S. Navy established a new task force to integrate drone systems and artificial intelligence into the maritime operations of its Bahrain-stationed Fifth Fleet. "We are at the cusp of an unmanned technological revolution," Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he unveiled plans for the joint fleet. "By the summer of next year, 100 advanced unmanned surface vessels would be patrolling the waters around this region." Cooper said the United States would join with Middle East allies whose forces have unmanned vessel capabilities to operate much of the new fleet to boost deterrence and threat detection and better secure critical waterways. Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which established diplomatic ties in 2020 and work closely with Washington on regional security, have developed indigenous unmanned assets. Click here to read... [26]

How does converting a Chinese navy ship into a coastguard vessel aid Beijing’s maritime mission?

Converting naval corvettes into China Coast Guard ships could boost the power of the enforcement agency and tackle sensitive maritime issues in a more flexible way, according to a Chinese journal. “China’s maritime law enforcement environment has become increasingly serious as foreign countries led by the United States complicated issues regarding the Diaoyu Islands and sensitive South China Sea islands,” said an article published this month in the latest edition of the Chinese magazine Naval and Merchant Ships. The Type 056 is a class of corvette whose major duties include mid-range green-water missions and littoral duties, rather than blue-water combat operations. Its variant, the Type 056A, is capable of anti-submarine warfare. China’s first Type 056 entered service in February 2013 to replace outdated vessels such as the Type 053 frigate. In December 2019, China ceased building such ships and focused on procuring bigger warships for high-seas missions. China has 22 Type 056 and 50 Type 056A corvettes. “The goal of the Chinese navy is to go to deep oceans and better safeguard China’s overseas interests. At present, a large number of non-military tasks near the coast can be handled by the coastguard,” the Naval and Merchant Ships article said. Click here to read... [27]

Medical

Hong Kong outbreak tests limits of China's zero COVID policy

The eruption of new coronavirus cases in Hong Kong has blindsided officials who have imposed strict zero COVID measures on the Asian financial hub, forcing Beijing to send backup to contain the outbreak. Hong Kong has recorded over 1,000 new cases for consecutive days, making it the most virulent location by far in greater China. The case count started surging after the Lunar New Year holiday. Over 2,000 infections were confirmed Monday for the first time. There had been barely any community spread through the end of December, thanks to the stringent COVID controls put in place. But the virus was apparently introduced through vectors such as imported hamsters and quarantine hotels. Compounding the epidemic is Hong Kong's high population density. More than 400 people tested positive at a single public housing complex. A delegation of ministers led by John Lee, Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration, met with mainland officials in nearby Shenzhen on Feb 19 to discuss remedies. China agreed to help Hong Kong upgrade testing capacity by building quarantine facilities and dispatching personnel, Lee said following the meeting. It is believed that Chinese officials have become increasingly annoyed with the Hong Kong government for not adopting lockdowns and other hardline measures used in the mainland. Click here to read... [28]

Travelers to Japan to face 3-tier quarantine rule from March

Travelers to Japan from March will face one of three quarantine scenarios, depending on their vaccination status and country of departure, as the government eases entry requirements. The baseline isolation period will remain seven days. But travelers who test negative for COVID-19 on the third day and meet certain other requirements will be able to end their quarantines early. Those who have received three vaccine doses and arrive from a country where the coronavirus is not spreading rapidly will be able to skip the quarantine altogether. The government has come under mounting pressure to ease its pandemic-era border controls, the strictest in the Group of Seven advanced economies. Japan previously required a 14-day quarantine for all incoming travelers, vaccinated or not. "I commend the government for moving toward easing" the entry restrictions, said Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Council and of trading house Mitsubishi Corp., on Feb 16. "I hope they will go a step further, based on the situation in other countries," he said. Access to zero-quarantine entry will depend on Japan's assessment of the virus's spread in each country. As of Feb. 10, the government had designated 82 countries and regions as subject to stricter entry requirements because of high omicron cases, among them the U.S., the U.K. and South Korea. Click here to read... [29]