Tag: Major non-NATO allies

Biden Again Says the US Would Defend Taiwan If China Attacks

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Again Says the US Would Defend Taiwan If China Attacks

Under the policy of strategic ambiguity, the US is not supposed to say one way or the other if it would intervene to defend Taiwan if China attacks.

Back in 2001, then-Senator Joe Biden criticized President George W. Bush for suggesting that the US would defend Taiwan, then later walking it back. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Biden wrote that “words matter” and said Bush hurt the credibility of the US by making such comments due to an “inattention to detail.”

That didn’t sound like a political gaffe to me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Taiwan bill looms, and it could pose ‘direct challenge’ for US-China ties

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

•Tensions are high, and the White House has tried to delay the Taiwan Policy Act that aims to upgrade ties with the island by designating it as a major non-Nato ally

•Observers say the bill ‘would overturn Sino-US relations’ and could prompt a stronger response from Beijing than House Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taipei

Taiwan bill looms, and it could pose ‘direct challenge’ for US-China ties

South Korea’s new president playing dangerous game with Pyongyang

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

The resumption of full-scale joint military exercises between the US and South Korea will increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula. After South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol came to power on March 22, pressure on North Korea increased, and in reaction, Pyongyang may react harshly to the strengthening of military ties between Seoul and Washington.

South Korea’s new president playing dangerous game with Pyongyang

Petro Reiterates Willingness to Normalize Relations with Venezuela

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The president-elect of the Republic of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, reiterated his desire to normalize relations with Venezuela in order to ameliorate the economic development of the region.

Petro Reiterates Willingness to Normalize Relations with Venezuela

Related:

Petro Upends Colombia Diplomacy by Reaching out to Venezuela:

During the election campaign, Petro – a former member of the M-19 guerilla group – tried to distance himself from Venezuela and Cuba, which he had previously defended, and focus more on Chile and Brazil. His goal is to normalize relations with Venezuela after years of diplomatic conflict, and adopt a position similar to that of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – Mexico’s foreign policy has traditionally been based on the policy of non-intervention. But Petro acknowledged that it is a “long process.” “Normalizing relations is not something that happens overnight,” he said to the press after announcing the reopening of the border. And he sent a clear message about his priorities on election night: after his victory was confirmed he made sure to call US President Joe Biden and the leaders of many other Latin American nations, before he spoke with Maduro.

Biden moves fast to open dialogue with Colombia’s incoming leftist president Petro:

A day earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had already called Petro with a similar message “to reiterate the United States’ steadfast commitment to the bilateral relationship,” according to a summary of the call released by the State Department.

Interesting, two days before calling Maduro, Petro talked to Blinken. 🤔💭

THE ANGRY ARAB: What Arab Media Is Saying About Ukraine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

THE ANGRY ARAB: What Arab Media Is Saying About Ukraine

The Gulf regimes feel Putin is more loyal than the U.S., and the mischievous behavior of UAE and Saudi Arabia in the last few weeks is an expression of their frustration with U.S. role in the region. (Riyadh, for instance, is in talks with China to trade some of its oil in yuan, which would deal a blow to the U.S. dollar that is used in 80 percent of world oil sales. Until now, the Saudis have exclusively used the dollar. And Emirati and Saudi leaders have refused to take Biden’s phone calls.)

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The UAE had long planned to become the new Israel in the region, but Qatar may have won that dubious honor. The Russian-Ukrainian war may lead the U.S. to further overlook those regimes’ despotism and atrocities in return for continued acts of loyalty.