Pompeo and Esper met with their counterparts Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (October 27) and signed a key military pact, the BECA, for geospatial cooperation. The signing of a much-awaited key military pact – the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) – amid India’s standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh, Washington’s trade frictions with Beijing and China’s assertive adventurism in the South China Sea has, if anything, instated China as a stimulus for stronger US-India defense ties.

The mystery about the awkward timing of the so-called 2+2 US-Indian security dialogue to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 27, is largely because there is a chicken-and-egg situation about it. The mystery about the awkward timing of the so-called 2+2 US-Indian security dialogue to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 27, is largely because there is a chicken-and-egg situation about it. It must be held now, precisely now, before November 3, for the reason that even a week later, a host of uncertainties could arise if a Joe Biden presidency sails into view. As the saying goes, there could be many a slip between the cup and the lip.

During new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s first overseas trip after taking office to Vietnam and Indonesia, Suga agreed on Monday with his Vietnamese counterpart to step up security and economic ties, including an agreement in principle for Japan to send defense equipment to the Southeast Asian country, which Chinese experts said targets China and signals Japan’s assistance to the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Everything about US-China hinges on the result of the upcoming US presidential electioTrump 2.0 essentially would turbo-charge its bet on decoupling, aiming to squeeze “malign” China on a multiple Hybrid War front, undermine the Chinese trade surplus, co-opt large swathes of Asia, while always insisting on characterizing China as evil incarnate. Team Biden, even as it professes no desire to fall into the trap of a new Cold War, according to the Dem official platform, would be only slightly less confrontational, ostensibly “saving” the “rules-based order” while keeping Trump-enacted sanctions.

However, the Russian model leverages technological advances to gain effectiveness and efficiency via subversion. Russia’s fomenting of rebellion in eastern Ukraine gave Russia the opportunity to seize Crimea while simultaneously derailing Ukraine’s inclusion into the European Union and NATO. Unlike Russia, China’s unconventional warfare does not use special operations forces, but involves the physical, de facto, acquisition of territory. China relies on less overtly hostile forces such as para-police and coast guard forces. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has built a “string of pearls” of airports, ports, and special economic zones across South Asia and East Africa provides China “strategic strong points” for basing and resupply while simultaneously limiting competitors’ options, the report said.

La expresidenta participó en un acto contra el plan del gobierno de vender la empresa estatal en el que también participó Lula y otros líderes de movimientos sociales. En celebración de los 67 años de Petrobras y en defensa de las empresas estatales y los servicios públicos, este sábado 3 de octubre, y a través de las redes sociales, se realizó el acto «En Defensa de la Soberanía Nacional y Por el Pueblo Brasileño».

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab arrived in Vietnam this week to finalize a proposed trade deal, a priority for Britain as it exits the European Union (EU) and moves to notch new bilateral pacts in Asia. Speaking from Hanoi on September 30, Raab said that Vietnam has offered to publicly support Britain’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member free-trade bloc that would give London an alternative to securing bilateral trade deals with each of its mainly Asian signatories.

China on Thursday officially opened three new pilot free trade zones (FTZs) and expanded one as it seeks greater opening-up and high-quality development.
The three new FTZs are in Beijing and the provinces of Anhui and Hunan, increasing the total number of the country’s FTZs to 21, while the expanded one is in the coastal province of Zhejiang. The launch came after the State Council on Monday issued a master plan to outline the priorities for the three new pilot FTZs, and adopted a plan to double the area of the pilot FTZ in Zhejiang. China’s decision to set up a new batch of pilot FTZs demonstrated the country’s firm determination to accelerate the formation of a new development pattern through a higher level of opening-up, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said at a press briefing on Monday.

Las elecciones legislativas estadounidenses del 2018 demostraron hasta que punto Trump había llegado a controlar al Partido Republicano. O, mejor dicho, como controlaba al voto que lo alimenta y por intermedio de este al partido mismo. Fue gracias a su involucramiento activo en esa campaña que múltiples candidatos de esa tolda lograron conservar sus curules en el Senado o acceder él. Gracias a Trump, los republicanos lograron contener la marea demócrata donde realmente importaba: el Senado.

The present Cold War is subtler, and it’s not about business or no business. It’s about what kind of business with what politics. Both the US and China are in favor of business – the Chinese are possibly even more pro-business than Americans – but it’s politics that makes a difference. The previous Cold War was easy. The issue was business or no business: the West and it’s front were pro-business. The USSR and its allies believed business was the mother of all evils. Politics followed. In China the hierarchy is straightforward: politics is on top. Business can thrive, and must thrive, but only as long as it doesn’t challenge politics and helps politics. In the West, private property and its rights are the foundation of society and the state. This is very simplified and the two systems each have their competitive advantages in an all-out competition. But before going into this, we have to take a step back.