Despite having never controlled Taiwan, these latest drills show that Beijing is resolute in resorting to aggressive military pressure tactics to resolve differences and annex the self-ruled democratic country. Under such circumstances, Taiwan and the US must strengthen their cooperation to deter Chinese aggression and ensure a free, open, peaceful, and stable Indo-Pacific region.
This latest exercise is a direct result of US provocation. As Washington continues to escalate its collusion with Taiwan in its latest defense act, Beijing had to demonstrate it will take any necessary measures to protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. If Washington doesn't want to trigger a military confrontation, it should respect the one-China principle and refrain from undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
There's a 10% chance that China will launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
This is clearly the result of Chinese meddling. Beijing has finally put into practice its years-old plans to push all of Nepal's communist parties together to form the next government. This move has kept the more India-friendly Nepali Congress out of power and is likely to favor Chinese geopolitical interests.
Nepal's relations with either neighbor won't be affected by this election, as major parties have all been clear that Kathmandu must maintain good relationships with both the PRC and India. Nevertheless friendship with Beijing mean tangible benefits to Nepalis, including high-quality cooperation in investment, infrastructure, and other areas.
Despite Putin's comments, Russia is being disingenuous about claims of wanting negotiations. These are ploys to buy time amid failures on the battlefield.
Russia has repeatedly said it's open to negotiate and bring the war to an end. It's Ukraine, and their backers in the West, that are refusing to participate in this process.
There is a 1% chance that Putin and Zelenskyy will meet to discuss the peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukraine conflict before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
While workplace safety has improved over the years, it's still a huge concern in China. Lax and inadequate regulations leave employers free to ignore their obligations, resulting in thousands of injuries and fatalities each year in the country. With many companies putting profit before safety, accidents occur in a broad range of industries, from construction to delivery drivers to mining. This will only continue as China rushes to maintain its top producer status.
China has cracked down significantly on unsafe mining practices but some companies have, by their own accord, slipped through the cracks. Meanwhile, Beijing's commitment to workplace safety isn't without consequences, as tighter oversight has been linked to a decline in production, which not only has domestic repercussions but also global ones. Beijing, faced with having to balance safety with economic security, is right to proceed cautiously.
Europe has become an energy slave to Russia, and now the west is vulnerable to becoming a slave to China because of its mineral resources. Beijing dominates the global market with its mining output and, in 2020, produced 85% of the world's rare earth refined products. The US has fallen behind and must tread carefully.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp. warned that the US power grid could face widespread and unprecedented risks this winter. While there are sufficient energy resources under normal winter conditions, large swaths of the country have been left with power systems not built for extreme cold scenarios. A strong and cohesive collaboration between industry and government will be needed to bring the regions out of the dark ages, literally.
The US power grid is a massive system that is complex and a growing network requiring significant maintenance. The increase in extreme weather events due to climate change has tested the system, in some cases, beyond its capacity. Biden has been forward-leaning on the challenges, however, signing a $1T infrastructure bill to help modernize the US grid and allow for the faster restart of service when facing disaster.
While Abbott has yet to confirm his responsibility for this latest stunt, there's no question that he's behind it. Once again, the governor is employing migrants as political tools to fuel his agenda. Abandoning children and families on the side of the road in below-freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve is reckless.
For far too long, woke, hypocritical politicians in blue states have declared their cities "sanctuaries" and avoided the brunt of the border crisis as their fellow border-states struggle. It's about time that they put their actions where their mouths are and start sharing the load.
The US government, intelligence community, and Big Tech clearly colluded behind closed doors to stifle free speech under the pretense of “stopping misinformation.” Now that the mask is off, the FBI and its co-conspirators respond by gaslighting any who dare question the Ministry of Truth.
Elon Musk seems to be addicted to creating controversy and misleading the public. To deflect from his botched management of Twitter, he's now trying to discredit America's intelligence agencies and fabricate nefarious ties between the FBI and social media platforms that don’t exist.
Though aspects of the Twitter Files have been productive in terms of transparency, Elon Musk is guilty of the same things he has accused companies and journalists of. The Twitter Files are not meant to advance the interests of the public, but the interests of the GOP and right-wing actors — caveat emptor.
The Rohingya people have desperately risked their lives crossing the ocean for years, trying to find a safe place to live after suffering human rights abuses in Myanmar. This crisis has exposed structural flaws in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as its rules made it possible for Myanmar to prevent regional powers from investigating the scale of human rights abuses and taking action to halt them.
It's hypocritical to criticize solely ASEAN when Western democracies have done nothing to help the Rohingya — even though the International Court of Justice has long called for measures to protect those persecuted. While this is likely to be a consequence of fears that Myanmar would strengthen ties with Beijing if pressed, not acting to preserve the universal validity of human rights can only damage the West's reputation — the plight of the Rohingya at sea is the world's responsibility.
You can’t blame Kim Jong-un for flexing North Korea’s military muscle when Biden is recklessly saber-rattling with Taiwan and China — how does he know the US won't also team up with South Korea for an invasion of the North? Trump's relationship with, and policies towards, North Korea maintained stability in the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Jong-un's geopolitical actions have been erratic, and his missile launches are destabilizing the Peninsula. Instead of provoking a confrontation, the leader should take the Biden administration up on its offer to meet without preconditions, and settle any grievances peacefully. Biden is showing strength and prudence in the region.
The US has threatened to nuke North Korea, which has the right to defend itself. The US should stop playing 'GloboCop' and prioritize solving its domestic problems.
There's a 15% chance that North Korea and South Korea will be recognized as a single sovereign state by 2045, according to the Metaculus prediction community.