North Korea fires ‘longest-ever’ missile flight after threatening US

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Written by northsouth

Category: Asia

Published: 12 July 2023

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SEOUL - North Korea conducted a missile test with its longest ever flight time off its east coast on Wednesday, following a threat made to the US earlier this week.

The missile flew for 74 minutes to an altitude of 6,000 km and range of 1,000 km, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matusno said, in what would be the longest ever flight time for a North Korean missile.

The launch came after heated complaints from North Korea in recent days, accusing American spy planes of violating airspace in its economic zones, condemning a recent visit to South Korea by an American nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and promising to take steps in reaction.

North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Tuesday a US military spy plane had entered North Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone eight times.

She warned US forces would face a “very critical flight” if they continued “illegal intrusion”, repeating an accusation North Korea made on Monday that the US had violated its airspace by conducting surveillance flights.

North Korea warned that such flights may be shot down.

In April, North Korea test fired its first ever solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and conducted a failed attempt to launch its first-ever spy satellite on a new launch vehicle. UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology, including for satellite launches.

Analysts believe the North‘s ICBMs are enough to strike targets anywhere in the United States, and the country likely has developed nuclear warheads that can fit on rockets.

Wednesday’s missile launch came as leaders of South Korea and Japan were set to meet on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss threats including nuclear-armed North Korea.

Japan’s Coast Guard said what was believed to be a ballistic missile appeared to have landed as of mid-morning. It had earlier predicted the projectile would fall outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and around 550 km (340 miles) east of the Korean peninsula.

Leif-Eric Easley, an international studies professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said North Korea‘s recent statements against US surveillance aircraft was part of a pattern of inflating external threats to rally domestic support and justify weapons tests.

“Pyongyang also times its shows of force to disrupt what it perceives as diplomatic coordination against it, in this case, South Korea and Japan’s leaders meeting during the NATO summit.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in Lithuania to attend the Nato summit, convened an emergency national security council meeting to discuss the launch and vowed to use the summit to call for strong international solidarity to confront such threats.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also in Lithuania, ordered his staff to gather information and stay alert to prepare for unpredicted events, according to the prime minister’s office.

Mr Kishida and Mr Yoon are expected to meet on Wednesday.

“We will respond in close cooperation with the international community,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.

He said the launch threatened the peace and stability both of the region and the international community, and that Japan had lodged a protest through diplomatic channels in Beijing.

World’s largest democracy is collapsing before our eyes

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Written by northsouth

Category: Asia

Published: 23 June 2023

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WASHINGTON - Since Modi took office in 2014, and especially after winning reelection in 2019, he has systematically taken a hammer to the core institutions of Indian democracy, writes Zack Beauchamp in VOX.

The prime minister’s government has undermined the independence of the election supervision authority, manipulated judges into ruling in his favour, used law enforcement against his enemies, and increased its control over the Indian press.

The prime minister’s anti-democratic behaviour has accelerated over time. This assault on democracy is a deeply ideological project. The BJP is the electoral offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a radical Hindu nationalist organization to which Modi has belonged since he was 8 years old.

Christophe Jaffrelot, a leading India scholar at France’s Sciences Po, told me that its ideology amounts to “an Indian version of fascism.” You would think that a pseudo-fascist assault on democracy in the world’s largest country (by population) would merit an international outcry — certainly as much as the attention given to other prominent democratic backsliders like Hungary.

But perhaps because of India’s geopolitical significance, criticism from the world’s leading democracies has been largely muted — left off the agenda as Washington and its Pacific allies court New Delhi in their effort to balance a rising China.

Xi, Blinken agree to stabilize US-China relations in Beijing talks

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Written by northsouth

Category: Asia

Published: 19 June 2023

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By Humeyra Pamuk

BEIJING - China and the United States agreed on Monday to stabilize their intense rivalry so it does not veer into conflict, but failed to produce any major breakthrough during a rare visit to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed "progress" after shaking hands with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People, a grand venue usually reserved for greeting heads of state.

The top U.S. diplomat and Xi both stressed the importance of having a more stable relationship, as any conflict between the world's two largest economies would create global disruption.

China refused to entertain Washington's bid to resume military-to-military communication channels, citing U.S. sanctions as the obstacle. The two sides appeared entrenched in their positions over everything from Taiwan to trade, including U.S. actions toward China's chip industry, human rights and Russia's war against Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden said later on Monday he thinks relations between the two countries are on the right path, but he did not think progress was made during Blinken's trip.

"We're on the right trail here," Biden said of U.S.-China relations. Asked by reporters during a trip to California whether he felt progress had been made, he replied, "I don't feel, you know, it's been made."

At one of the most significant U.S.-China exchanges since Biden took office, it was not clear how the countries would overcome their differences. The sides agreed to continue diplomatic engagement with more visits in the coming weeks and months.

ACHIEVED OBJECTIVES

At a news conference concluding his two-day trip to Beijing, the first by a U.S. secretary of state since 2018, Blinken said Washington had achieved its objectives for the trip, including raising concerns directly, trying to set up channels for dialogue and exploring areas of cooperation. The trip was postponed in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew through U.S. airspace.

But he said progress was not straightforward.

"The relationship was at a point of instability, and both sides recognized the need to work to stabilize it," Blinken said before leaving China.

"But progress is hard. It takes time. And it’s not the product of one visit, one trip, one conversation. My hope and expectation is: we will have better communications, better engagement going forward."

U.S. officials had been playing down the prospect of a major breakthrough, but hoped Blinken's visit would pave the way for more bilateral meetings, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

It had been hoped that it would even pave the way for a summit between Xi and Biden later in the year.

Biden and Xi last met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November, pledging more frequent communication, although ties have since deteriorated.

"The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good," Xi told Blinken on Monday across a long table adorned with pink flowers.

Blinken responded by saying the two countries have a responsibility to manage their relationship.

His meetings in Beijing, including talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi and foreign minister Qin Gang, had been "candid and constructive," Blinken added.

It was not clear from Xi's remarks what progress he was referring to, although he told Blinken that China "hopes to see a sound and steady China-U.S. relationship" and believes that the countries "can overcome various difficulties," according to a Chinese readout of the talks.

Xi also urged Washington not to "hurt China's legitimate rights and interests," a signal of potential flashpoints such as Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing claims as its own.

Blinken said he made clear the United States needs much greater cooperation from China on stemming the flow of fentanyl and the sides agreed to set up a working group on the matter.

TAIWAN CORE ISSUE

The lack of open communication channels between the two countries has prompted international jitters, and Beijing's reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington has alarmed China's neighbors.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, senior foreign ministry official Yang Tao said U.S. sanctions were blocking progress on improving military-to-military communications.

Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu has been sanctioned since 2018 over the purchase of combat aircraft and equipment from Russia's main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.

Asked what specific progress the two sides had made, Yang said they had agreed to prevent a downward spiral in relations. The official added that Chinese foreign minister Qin had accepted Blinken's request to visit the United States.

Xi's comments, and the diplomatic choreography of the visit, appeared to signal a will to make progress, analysts said.

"China's messaging has been pretty positive," said Wu Xinbo, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

"China showed that it still hopes to work with the U.S. to stabilize and improve relations. I think that while China is not optimistic about Sino-U.S. relations, it has not given up hope either."

Beijing's tone on Taiwan was particularly pointed throughout Blinken's visit.

"China has no room for compromise or concessions," said Wang, according to the Chinese readout.

The United States has long stuck to a policy of "strategic ambiguity" over whether it would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan, which Beijing has refused to rule out.