When the going gets tough, blame someone else
So has the Covid-19 crisis brought about an era of heightened geopolitical civility and cooperation? Of course not...
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Leaders of the US and China seemed to spend more time this week arguing over the probabilities of who was responsible for the coronavirus crisis than speaking about the financial crisis that is fast decimating their economies.
Meanwhile, no doubt bored by the world’s two biggest major powers’ playground scrap, the rest of the world found itself struck by the fate of another would-be school bully. Absent from the public eye for the best part of a month now, the health and whereabouts of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un became a matter of such debate that some have begun weighing up his likely successors.
But first, to that US-China row. And there are no prizes for guessing who was shouting loudest. US President Donald Trump took to Twitters again to denounce China for letting Covid-19 spread around the world. This time, however, he said he had backup.
China faces the prospect of multiple lawsuits filed by states in the US, regional governments and aggrieved individuals, writes Richard Javad Heydarian. Among them, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is pushing for a bill that would allow American “victims” of the virus to sue and seek reparations from the Chinese government through US courts.
As if that wasn’t enough, a report also emerged that US hospitals and research labs are being targeted by Chinese cyber activity, as Beijing seeks to obtain knowledge of progress on developing a vaccine for Covid-19, reports Dave Makichuk. The action was “confirmed” by US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, who gave an opening keynote speech at a virtual business conference on April 23, according to reports.
The American claim that China is misrepresenting its coronavirus numbers, however, was called into question in an opinion piece by John Walsh. China’s numbers falls right into line with those of neighboring countries and comments by coordinator of the US response to the outbreak, Deborah Birx, are a classic example of “lying by omission, a half-truth being a full lie”, Walsh writes.
In what might be seen as a proxy retaliation, China struck back at Australia. The South Pacific nation had demanded an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 amid reports that Western spy agencies are investigating the Wuhan virus research facility. Beijing’s ambassador in Canberra, Cheng Jingye, wasted little time in threatening economic retaliation, hinting that China would target key Australian sectors like trade and education. Alan Boyd reports.
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| Where is Kim Jong-un? The North Korean leader hasn’t been seen for weeks and speculation is rife. One rumour suggests he has fled a catastrophic coronavirus outbreak in the capital Pyongyang. |
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The actions of both superpowers during the crisis have led analysts to question the stability of the regimes underpinning their leaderships.
David Hutt’s thought piece on China asks if the communist government is facing the same existential threat that the Chernobyl disaster presented its counterparts in the Soviet Union.
Equally, a new book – American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup – argues that the US “ hit rock bottom, with no clear path up”. Columnist Spengler joins the author’s call for more civility especially at a time when Americans should be rallying together instead of getting at each other’s throats.
With American and Chinese trust in their leaders apparently fraying, they may be forgiven for envying North Koreans, who possibly now have no leadership at all. Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen since before commemorations of his grandfather and DPRK founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday in mid-April.
South Korea has refuted claims he’s dead and sightings of his personal armed train in a seaside resort far from Pyongyang raise even more questions, one them being: has he fled a catastrophic coronavirus outbreak in the capital?
Nevertheless the media is awash with speculation on who will succeed him. A fake-news video that alleged Kim died on April 25 also claims that his sister Kim Yo Jong would be succeeding him, reports Bradley K. Martin. While Japanese media have given air to the rumor, writes Dave Makichuk, there is another name that’s mentioned by the Chinese – who tend to be closer to the Kim regime than officials of other countries.
Kim Pyong Il is a younger half-brother of Kim Jong Un’s late father, Kim Jong Il, the dynasty’s second supreme ruler. Recently returned from exile in Europe, Pyong Il is conceivably available to take the throne, writes Bradley K. Martin.
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Lebanese elites flee as banks attacked
Bankers fled Lebanon after protesters in the neglected northern city of Tripoli attacked successive bank branches on Monday night, armed with Molotov cocktails, reports Alison Tahmizian Meuse. The army employed live ammunition in its response, leaving a 26-year-old dead from his wounds by Tuesday.
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Tankers thrive while oil tanks in Singapore
Dozens of oil supertankers have dropped anchor off the coast of Singapore with no clear timetable for when they may offload the millions of barrels of unwanted oil they have been chartered to carry. The Asian oil-trading hub’s onshore storage facilities are at capacity, leaving tankers of varying sizes crowding the seas to serve as floating storage vessels. Nile Bowie reports.
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Pakistan’s regime, buying time before downfall?
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has replaced his special assistant on information with a retired general, sending a clear message that the military establishment is not ready to accept the failures of the hybrid regime it set up, Imad Zafar writes.
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China mega-projects cue new building bonanza
Maglev lines, high-speed railways and a cobweb of metro links. These are part of a long list of mega-projects being unveiled by China’s provincial authorities that may herald a new bonanza of infrastructure investment, writes Frank Chen. The projects will dwarf, in size and significance, Beijing’s 4 trillion yuan (US$565 billion) stimulus package rolled out to buoy up the sagging economy back in 2008.
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