March, 2023

• 4 March

  At the Brink of War in the Pacific? The Nightmare of Great Power Rivalry Over Taiwan

  

  While the world has been distracted, even amused, by the diplomatic tussle around China’s recent high-altitude balloon flights across North America, there are signs that Beijing and Washington are preparing for something so much more serious: armed conflict over Taiwan. Reviewing recent developments in the Asia-Pacific region raises a tried-and-true …

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• 4 March

  Why Biden Snubbed China’s Ukraine Peace Plan

  

  There’s something irrational about President Biden’s knee-jerk dismissal of China’s 12-point peace proposal titled “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.” “Not rational” is how Biden described the plan that calls for de-escalation toward a ceasefire, respect for national sovereignty, establishment of humanitarian corridors and resumption of …

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• 4 March

  Trapped in Putin’s Embrace: Erdogan’s Russian Dilemma

  

  The catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey earlier this month has put mounting pressure on embattled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of key presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held on May 14. It has also served to spotlight Erdogan’s problematically close ties with Moscow. As Erdogan is one …

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• 4 March

  ‘War Has a Cost’: The Journalists Tallying Russia’s Dead Soldiers

  

  The lists of Russia’s war dead may be hundreds and thousands of names long but some casualties stand out to the journalists who painstakingly compile them. Olga Ivshina, a senior reporter at the BBC Russian Service, can instantly recall Mikhail Shuvalov, a retired power plant worker who volunteered to fight …

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• 4 March

  Blinken Meets Lavrov at G20 Riven by Ukraine Divisions

  

  The United States and Russia met in their highest face-to-face contact since the invasion of Ukraine last year on the sidelines of a G20 meeting that ended in disarray due to divisions over the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke briefly at …

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• 4 March

  Moscow Says Clashed with ‘Ukrainian Saboteurs’ in Russian Border Region

  

  Moscow claimed that a group of Ukrainian saboteurs crossed into Russia and opened fire on civilians on Thursday, an allegation denied by Kyiv as a “deliberate provocation.” While Russia claims its regions bordering Ukraine are routinely shelled by Ukrainian forces, the alleged incursion, if confirmed, would be a rare instance …

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• 4 March

  Under pressure: Houthis target Yemeni government with economic warfare

  

  Even as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels pursue back-channel talks with Saudi Arabia as Riyadh looks for a major de-escalation in the coming weeks, they have also been ratcheting up the pressure on the internationally recognized Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG). On Feb. 16, 2023, the ambassadors of the United States, …

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• 4 March

  Defending submarine cables in the Black Sea: A challenge for NATO and the region

  

  Deep in the world’s oceans and seas lies a network of submarine communication cables connecting continents and regions. This critical infrastructure, owned mostly by international consortia of private telecommunication companies, spans, in total, more than 1.3 million kilometers and handles over 95% of the world’s data. The rise of projects …

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• 4 March

  The GCC and the road to net zero

  

  According to the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world has already warmed by around 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial times and will likely approach 1.5°C within the next two decades. Every corner of our planet has already experienced the impacts of climate change, …

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• 4 March

  Aqaba agreement overshadowed by spiking violence in the West Bank

  

  It was described as a “significant breakthrough” by a Jordanian official, while Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the agreement would ‘’de-escalate violence” if implemented, but just as the details of the one-day security meeting in Aqaba, Jordan, on Feb. 26, were being announced, it became apparent once more that …

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