https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/solomon-islands-pm-blames-foreign-powers-as-unrest-grows-20211126-p59ce9.html The Solomon Islands Prime Minister blamed foreign powers after riots in the nation prompted Australia to send assistance in the form of troops to the Solomon Islands. Manasseh Sogavare rejected criticism of the nation’s decision in 2019 to end diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of Beijing, which is considered a factor in this national crisis. He claims the… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/13/top-us-diplomat-blinken-begins-southeast-asia-tour-in-indonesia Following growing tensions with China, Anthony Blinkens, the US Secretary of State, made a noticeable commitment to Indonesia in a speech he gave when touring the country when referring to their relationship as a “strategic partnership”. This comes as the US is trying to forge relationships in the Indo-pacific. Blinken is set to tour the Indo-pacific… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/8/australia-joins-us-diplomatic-boycott-of-winter-olympics After the US announced that they will be diplomatically boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, several other countries including Australia have also agreed to do the same. This comes after a number of human right abuses in China have come to light. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that this comes as Australia is struggling to reopen… Read more »
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3159096/top-diplomat-antony-blinken-visit-indonesia-malaysia-and?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article&campaign=3159096 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Southeast Asia. He will specifically be visiting Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The four-day trip will also include diplomats from Australia, India, and South Korea. Also in attendance will be members from the association of Southeast Asian Nations. Blinken will arrive after meetings in the UK, as well as a trip… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/briefing/xi-putin-meeting-omicron-moderna-kpop.html Putin and Xi Jinping , leaders of the two most powerful countries in the east, had a video summit discussing their shared conflicts with the west. During the summit neither side declared a full formal alliance but rather used the term “old friend” Their discussions during the summit included western pressure mainly from the US on… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/14/china-says-will-strike-back-for-reckless-u-s-actions Earlier this week the U.S applied heavy sanctions on China for abusing human rights, specifically with Uighur Muslims. China has come out and publicly stated that ¨We urge the US to immediately withdraw the relevant wrong decision and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and harming China’s interests¨. This news is also concerning as the two… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/10/us-treasury-rolls-out-raft-of-sanctions-on-intl-human-rights-day The U.S., Canada, and the U.K. have all imposed multiple sanctions on China, Myanmar, and North Korea. All of these sanctions are for similar issues: to uphold Western values that promoting peace and spreading democracy is key in combating many human rights issues. The sanctions imposed on China were mainly to prevent the continuation of the… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/13/a-full-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan-will-be-hard-says-ministry This article is about the possibility of China invading Taiwan and the unlikeliness of that happening. The main points in the article that support the idea that China invading Taiwan is very unlikely are the following: Taiwan’s advantage over control of the Taiwan strait, the lack of locations for China to land troops in Taiwan, China… Read more »
http://www.news.cn/english/2021-12/06/c_1310353319.htm This article talks about how the Chinese State Counselor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a conference with Indonesia’s coordinating minister to dive deeper into their cooperation together on different things. They want to build a community with a shared future. One thing they have been cooperating on is the vaccine and getting it to their said communities and… Read more »
http://www.news.cn/english/2021-11/30/c_1310343408.htm This article talks about how some Western Politicians have considered boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics for “diplomatic reasons”. A few politicians are boycotting the Beijing olympics by not sending government officials to the event. The longest serving member of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has stated that this boycott is counterintuitive to what the olympics stand for. He… Read more »
