News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. Exclusive: U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown - sources
2. China’s economic rise is unstoppable - the US should explore a partnership instead
3. U.S. could consider using Huawei equipment for overseas troops
4. British aircraft carrier strike group will soon deploy to waters near Japan, report says
5. The case for a quadripolar world
6. The American companies enabling China's Uyghur genocide
7. Why liberal internationalism is still indispensable - and fixable
8. Cybersecurity - the rest of the iceberg
9. NDAA underscores GOP differences with Trump on defense
10. Iran says scientist killed by satellite-controlled machine gun
11. China and the U.S. are facing off in the third world
12. Japan to put new Aegis radars on warships after cancelling ground stations: Asahi
13. 'Stronger together': Taiwan foreign minister urges new alliance against China
14. Tale of two belt and Road Initiative port projects in Malaysia shows limits of Chinese money
15. Inside Operation Gideon, a coup gone very wrong (Venezuela)
16. Chinese phone maker Gionee found guilty of implanting malware in more than 20 million devices
17. China's foreign minister calls for less U.S. 'interference' in domestic affairs
18. China’s huge naval forces are making U.S. naval logistics vulnerable
19. Beijing may have built bases in the South China Sea, but that doesn't mean it can defend them, report claims
20. India accuses China of helping rebel groups on Myanmar border
21. Here's Congress' detailed plan to get rid of confederate base names and monuments
22. An assessment of realism in American foreign policy
23. As the U.S. rushes to the exits two decades after invading Afghanistan, the Taliban surges
1. Exclusive: U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown - sources
Reuters · Humeyra Pamuk & Matt Spetalnick · December 6, 2020
2. China’s economic rise is unstoppable - the US should explore a partnership instead
South China Morning Post · Anthony Rowley · December 7, 2020
I will leave it to the economic experts to assess this article and analysis.
3. U.S. could consider using Huawei equipment for overseas troops
Dong-A Ilbo · Jae-Dong Yu · December 7, 2020
An assessment of the NDAA from the Korean press. This is a misreading of the NDAA. I do not think this means we should consider using Huawei, but we should consider allies using Huawei in our deployment and basing decisions. I think this will have implications for OPCON transition in Korea.
4. British aircraft carrier strike group will soon deploy to waters near Japan, report says
Stars & Stripes · Caitlin Doornbos · December 7, 2020
5. The case for a quadripolar world
Project Syndicate · Daron Acemoglu · December 3, 2020
6. The American companies enabling China's Uyghur genocide
American Conservative · Paul Brian · December 4, 2020
Wow. Quite a list of enablers.
7. Why liberal internationalism is still indispensable - and fixable
Foreign Policy · Michael Hirsh · December 5, 2020
The terminology itself has baggage and triggers those of certain political persuasions.
8. Cybersecurity – the rest of the iceberg
Hill · James Stavridis · December 5, 2020
9. NDAA underscores GOP differences with Trump on defense
Hill · Rebecca Kheel · December 6, 2020
The question is will POTUS veto the NDAA?
10. Iran says scientist killed by satellite-controlled machine gun
Rappler · Agence France-Presse · December 7, 2020
So if the "machine gun" was satellite controlled, does this mean it is a Space Force mission? (with some tongue in cheek)
11. China and the U.S. are facing off in the third world
Bloomberg · Hal Brands · December 7, 2020
Indirect, proxy, gray zone, competition.
12. Japan to put new Aegis radars on warships after cancelling ground stations: Asahi
Investing.com · Reuters · December 6, 2020
Build more Aegis.
13. 'Stronger together': Taiwan foreign minister urges new alliance against China
Guardian · Helen Davidson · December 7, 2020
Just as a reminder, one aspect of George Kennan's political warfare is the importance of alliances:
George F. Kennan defined political warfare as “the logical application of Clausewitz’s doctrine in time of peace.” While stopping short of the direct kinetic confrontation between two countries’ armed forces, “political warfare is the employment of all the means at a nation's command… to achieve its national objectives.” A country embracing Political Warfare conducts “both overt and covert” operations in the absence of declared war or overt force-on-force hostilities. Efforts “range from such overt actions as political alliances, economic measures…, and ‘white’ propaganda to such covert operations as clandestine support of ‘friendly’ foreign elements, ‘black’ psychological warfare and even encouragement of underground resistance in hostile states.” - George Kennan, "Policy Planning Memorandum." May 4, 1948
14. Tale of two Belt and Road Initiative port projects in Malaysia shows limits of Chinese money
South China Morning Post · Francis E. Hutchinson & Tham Siew Yean · December 7, 2020
15.Inside Operation Gideon, a coup gone very wrong
Rolling Stone · Kevin T. Dugan · December 6, 2020
A lot to this entire article.
16. Chinese phone maker Gionee found guilty of implanting malware in more than 20 million devices
PanDaily · Kelsey Cheng · December 7, 2020
Are these companies sacrificial lambs to show that they act on their own and not at the direction of the CCP? Is China trying to show it is not conducting cyber operations using Chinese tech companies?
Bottom line: is this an influence operation?
17. China's foreign minister calls for less U.S. 'interference' in domestic affairs
CNBC · Evelyn Cheng · December 7, 2020
Translation: leave us alone while we conduct human rights abuses against our own people.
18. China’s huge naval forces are making U.S. naval logistics vulnerable
National Interest · David Axe · December 7, 2020
Of course.
19. Beijing may have built bases in the South China Sea, but that doesn't mean it can defend them, report claims
CNN · James Griffiths · December 7, 2020
Why would anyone want to take these islands? Other than standoff long-range attacks, what kind of military operations does anyone envision against these artificial islands?
20. India accuses China of helping rebel groups on Myanmar border
Hindustan Times · Bloomberg · December 7, 2020
Irregular warfare in support of political warfare.
Again, with absolutely no apologies to Leon Trotsky: America may not be interested in irregular, unconventional, and political warfare, but IW, UW, and PW are being practiced around the world by those who are interested in them - namely the revisionist, rogue, and revolutionary powers and violent extremist organizations.
21. Here's Congress' detailed plan to get rid of confederate base names and monuments
Military.com · Hope Hodge Seck · December 4, 2020
22. An assessment of realism in American foreign policy
Divergent Options · Brandon Patterson · December 7, 2020
Nothing is black and white in international relations. And yes, it is all about statesmanship.
23. As the U.S. rushes to the exits two decades after invading Afghanistan, the Taliban surges
Los Angeles Times · David S. Cloud · December 7, 2020
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt on the morning after the Pearl Harbor attack
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
- attributed to Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
"We should never overlook the might and resiliency of the human spirit. Even after years more challenging than 2020, we humans have emerged as stronger, more capable versions of ourselves. We are the ones who decide our fate. We must never allow ourselves to sink into hopelessness and despair."
- Reginald Dieudonne
“You must allow everyone the right to exist in accordance with the character he has, whatever it turns out to be: and all you should strive to do is to make use of this character in such a way as its kind of nature permits, rather than to hope for any alteration in it, or to condemn it offhand for what it is. This is the true sense of the maxim—Live and let live…. To become indignant at [people’s] conduct is as foolish as to be angry with a stone because it rolls into your path. And with many people the wisest thing you can do, is to resolve to make use of those whom you cannot alter:
-Arthur Schopenhuaer
"Grand Strategy is the art of looking beyond the battle and calculating ahead. It requires that you focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it. Let others get caught up in the twists and turns of the battle, relishing their little victories. Grand strategy will bring you the ultimate reward: the last laugh."
-Robert Greene