News Archive – April-June 2024

S.E. ASIA – ASEAN:

HOW SINGAPORE’S CLEAN ENERGY DRIVE CAN SUPPORT COMMITMENT TO A GREENER ASEAN POWER GRID

South China Morning Post, June 30, 2024

ASEAN’s ‘Schengen Visa’: Closer to Reality?

Fragomen, June 26, 2024 – In recent months, much has been made of Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s proposal for a six-nation regional visa, which has perhaps drawn premature comparisons to the much more established Schengen Area visa in Europe.
The proposal would see a joint visa program between the nations that make up Mainland Southeast Asia, namely Thailand and Malaysia ( with these two countries alone drawing in more than 50% of the visitors to the region in 2023), Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.
While the initiative is certainly an ambitious one, the implementation of such a supranational visa within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is likely to encounter several hurdles.
Under Srettha’s proposal, like the Schengen Visa, tourists would be able to travel from one country to another (within the six-member bloc) using the same visa or visa status.
AS BRICS LURES MALAYSIA AND THAILAND WHILE WORLD ORDER ‘CRUMBLES ALL AROUND’, IS ASEAN OK?
South China Morning Post, June 29, 2024 – Joining the China and Russia-led bloc could cause Asean to fracture, some say. Others argue it’s harmless hedging.

NORTH AMERICAN ‘INTEGRATION’:

Mexican President Calls for EU-style North American Union

‘JUST AS…THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WAS CREATED THAT LATER BECAME THE EUROPEAN UNION’
Alex Newman, The New American, May 20, 2024 – The United States, Mexico, and Canada should be united under a European Union-style transnational government, declared far-left Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador last month in barely noticed comments. The controversial remarks come as regional governments modeled on the EU proliferate and absorb once-sovereign nations around the world.
Speaking during an event marking the 110th anniversary of the U.S. military’s occupation of the coastal city of Veracruz, “AMLO,” as the Mexican president is known, called for the creation of a North American “community” with its northern neighbors….
The explosive comments were widely reported in the Mexican press. But so far, there has been absolutely no coverage in the U.S. media, which historically has sought to ignore, downplay and even ridicule conservative concerns about the ongoing regionalization of governance in North America.

‘A BURDENSOME STONE….HEARTH OF FIRE AMONG THE WOOD’

Zechariah chpts. 12-14 KJV

European Union says Israel’s actions in Rafah threaten future relations

MILITARY OPERATIONS WOULD PUT RELATIONS UNDER ‘HEAVY STRAIN’

Washington Times, May 15, 2024 – EU officials said they recognize that Israel has a right to defend itself after Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a rampage that resulted in the death of more than 1,200 people and hundreds taken hostage. But any military response must be done in line with international humanitarian law, the EU said….
Israeli officials said four of Hamas’ remaining six battalions are located inside Rafah, along with much of the Palestinian terror group’s leadership and possibly many hostages. But they have faced growing pressure from the Biden administration to abandon a full-scale operation into the city.
HOW THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BECAME A GEOPOLITICAL PLAYER
Internationale Politik Quarterly, May 15, 2024 – This recent episode also shows how much the balance has shifted in Brussels. Von der Leyen has made bold use of her political opportunities and has indeed turned the European Commission into a geopolitical player, as she announced in 2019. The states either followed her lead—in the pandemic, with Russia sanctions, and EU enlargement, or they failed to find a common position, as in the Middle East conflict, effectively leaving the field to her commission. 

‘NEARSHORING’ TO NORTH AMERICA:

Manufacturers looking for low costs, easy access to U.S. market, turn to Mexico, not China

Green Bay Press Gazette | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 15, 2024 – The world’s largest electronics manufacturer has 30,000 employees spread over seven campuses in Mexico, with major production centers in Juarez, Tijuana, Guadalajara and Chihuahua City, making desktop computers, servers, components for electric vehicles and other products.
In this part of the country, where mountains converge with desert, the company has come to epitomize “nearshoring,” a global trade strategy focused on manufacturing near, but not within, a given country — in this case, the United States….
Much of the overall growth in Mexico has come from foreign-owned companies utilizing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which grants duty-free trade for many products across North America.
“If U.S. manufacturing is to be less dependent on China, we think the path will be via Mexico,” Morgan Stanley analyst Nikolaj Lippmann said in a research note.

SOUTH ASIA, SAARC:

India reaffirms commitment to SAARC process

The Statesman, May 15, 2024 – India on Wednesday underlined its commitment to SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), which has been lying dormant for eight years now, describing it as an important regional grouping for cooperation in South Asia.

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION:

EAEU serves as independent power center in multipolar world, says Putin

Bernama-Xinhua, May 9, 2024 – The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has become one of the independent and self-sufficient centres of the emerging multipolar world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday….
The EAEU, which was officially established in January 2015, is a regional bloc consisting of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Armenia.
ACADEMIC DEGREES ARE NOW MUTUALLY RECOGNIZED IN EAEU COUNTRIES – EAEUnion.org, May 3, 2024

REGIONAL INTEGRATION, INFRASTRUCTURE:

EU and ASEAN unite for Seamless Railway Operations in the region

WATE6 | EIN Presswire, May 8, 2024 – The event aimed at discussing the study on Seamless Railway Operations in ASEAN prepared under the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI), a demand-driven programme that supports ASEAN regional integration by strengthening the EU-ASEAN networks and exchanging knowledge and experience in policy areas of joint interests….
At the event, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) gave insights into challenges and solutions with regard to the EU policy on interoperability on the European railway network.

ARAB GULF, GCC:

Tourists could explore the whole GCC region on one visa by end 2024

The New Arab, May 7, 2024 – Currently, tourists need a separate visa for each Gulf nation they visit but the new scheme will allow for free travel between all GCC countries, in a boost for regional tourism….
The system will be called GCC Grand Tours and will allow expatriates living in the region to visit the six GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, and Oman – all with the same multi-entry visa. Citizens of the six countries are already able to travel visa-free in the region.

ASEAN and REGIONAL MERCANTILISM:

Growing Scramble To Court ASEAN In Strengthening Regional Presence – Analysis

AS BUFFER TO POTENTIAL ECONOMIC, SECURITY THREATS FROM CHINA
Eurasia Review, April 19, 2024 – ASEAN has been the key focus in recent weeks, with efforts by external powers to engage with the regional organization and reinforcing regional relevance and presence….With top firms’ exodus from China and the lure of the region as the hub for critical sectors especially semiconductor, EV, green energy and economy, supply chain hub, and others, [New Zealand] will not want to be left out in terms of reaping the spillover economic and development impact….
NZ will also want to boost ties as it will need the region to stay stable and as a buffer to potential threats from China.

EUROPEAN UNION:

Catholic bishops in Europe support an expansion of the European Union

LaCroix International, April 30, 2024 – On May 1, 2004, ten Central and Eastern European countries joined the European Union, expanding the bloc from 15 to 25 members. Twenty years after this “big bang,” which was then seen as a historic reunification of the Old Continent, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has urgently raised the question of EU expansion again. On April 22, in a statement on the sidelines of their spring assembly in Łomża (Poland), the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) strongly reaffirmed their support for enlarging the EU….
COMECE, which consists of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences from each Member State of the European Union, was founded in 1980 with the endorsement of the Holy See. It serves to represent the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU before European institutions, engages in dialogue with these institutions by offering insights that advocate for the common good and a human-centered perspective in EU policymaking.
‘MADE IN EUROPE’ and THE NEW REGIONAL MERCANTILISM:
‘MACRON PITCHES ‘MADE IN EUROPE’ TO GUARANTEE PROSPERITY IN ‘SORBONNE II’ SPEECH
Reiterates support for rapidly developing bloc’s defence industry
Euractiv, April 26, 2024 – “Europe could die,” French President Emmanuel Macron warned in his speech on the future of the EU at Sorbonne University on Thursday (25 April), stressing the importance of an industry ‘Made in Europe’, particularly in sectors like energy and digital.
EU PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LEGISLATION MANDATING 40% EU-MADE HYDROGEN TECH – Hydrogen Insight, April 26, 2024

ARAB GCC & ISRAEL:

Blinken Meets With Arab Officials to Discuss Gaza and Postwar Plans

Discuss pathway to Palestinian state, ‘greater regional integration’

New York Times, April 29, 2024 – Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Arab officials on Monday in Saudi Arabia about the war between Israel and Hamas…. Mr. Blinken met with Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, and then with foreign ministers and a top foreign policy adviser from five other Arab nations in the Persian Gulf that, along with Saudi Arabia, form the Gulf Cooperation Council…. The two diplomats also talked about greater regional integration and “a pathway to a Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel,” the summary said.
BLINKEN SAYS US ALMOST READY WITH SAUDI REWARDS FOR ISRAEL NORMALISATION
Pathway to Palestinian state ‘only way it’s going to work’
France24, April 29, 2024 – Blinken said the United States would hold talks in the coming weeks with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council on integrating air and missile defence and boosting maritime security.

SOUTH AMERICA:

Brazil’s government to launch commission to unlock South American integration projects

Reuters, April 29, 2024 – Brazil’s government will soon create an interministerial commission chaired by the Planning Ministry to unlock projects for integration in South America, a top official said on Monday.

SOUTH ASIA, BIMSTEC:

BIMSTEC Secretary-General discusses regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region at LKI

The Island, April 24, 2024 – Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary-General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was hosted by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI) for a special guest lecture and interactive session titled “Regional Cooperation through BIMSTEC” on 09 April 2024….
Delivering opening remarks, Additional Secretary (Economic Affairs) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Shanika Dissanayake noted that the seven-member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand accounted for 1.7 billion people and a combined GDP of 5.2 billion dollars. Describing the organization as a vibrant and progressive intergovernmental organization, Ms. Dissanayake noted BIMSTEC’s relevance in creating a more interconnected region, especially in the fields of transport, security, and energy.

Modi Could Squander an Unprecedented Chance at Normalising India-Pakistan Ties

The Wire (India), April 19, 2024 – Mired in economic and internal crises, Pakistan is primed for normalisation and trade with India – but Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, beholden to anti-Muslim politics, is failing to seize the chance.
BD, INDIA, PAKISTAN SHOULD REUNITE: MARK TULLY
Daily Sun (Bangladesh), April 19, 2024 – Taking a cue from France and Germany, which united to from European Union, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should also unite to from a South-east Asian union of countries, says Veteran journalist Mark Tully.
Talking to India Today following the inauguration of a two-day meeting of Saarc country delegates in Agra, Tully said the world is moving towards the end of wars and it is a time for the setting in of new world dynamics where such rivalries like India-Pakistan would be an exception worthy of a quick end.

SOUTH AMERICA – UNASUR:

Lula proposed to the president of Colombia to reorganize Unasur

‘OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TO UNIFY SOUTH AMERICA’

‘PERHAPS COLUMBIA CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE BRICS’
Radio Cadena Agramonte, April 18, 2024 – Among other issues, the idea of giving a new direction to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), – made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – was a one of the most defended by the Brazilian leader during this day.
Today we have an extraordinary opportunity to work to unify South America, so that perhaps Colombia can participate in the BRICS, Lula said, referring to the group made up of his country, Russia, India, China and South Africa and to which Egypt recently joined. Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

ARAB GULF and ISRAEL:

The Gulf’s New Regional Vision Makes Room for Israel

Despite ongoing war, Gulf Cooperation Council still sees Israel as legitimate regional player, rejects Hamas call for radical violence.
The National Interest, April 14, 2024The six members of the GCC—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—convened in Doha, Qatar, this week and approved and published a “Vision for Regional Security”….
Curiously, the GCC vision does not directly refer to October 7 or explicitly mention the following war. But for Israel, the text is reassuring. The GCC countries express a clear commitment to stability, security, and prosperity and, between the lines, accept that Israel has a legitimate place in the regional order. That was the spirit of the dialogue that this article’s Israeli author had with his Arab counterparts when he served as National Security Advisor during the previous Israeli government. That was the message that Israel’s regional peace partners agreed to at the Negev Forum Summit, which convened in Israel just two years ago, in March 2022.

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION and CHINA:

Russia Warming To China’s Belt & Road Initiative Projects

Russia’s Pivot to Asia, April 12, 2024 – Russian deputy prime minister Alexey Overchuk said the Kremlin and Beijing had discussed the possibility of “improving connectivity” between the initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the free trade area that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan and Russia and fills the geographic space between Western China and Eastern Europe….
Russia set up the EAEU with the former Soviet states of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2015 to foster economic integration and to advance its own geopolitical interests in Central Asia. It aimed to mirror the common market and customs union of the European Union, and was built on the foundations of previous blocs going back to the 1990s….
Moscow has shown increasing willingness to connect its own regional integration project with the Chinese initiative, which all EAEU members have joined….

‘MADE IN NORTH AMERICA’:

The US has moved on from China:
Mexico becomes its new factory

‘NEARSHORING’: GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY, CHEAP LABOR, NO REGIONAL DUTIES
La Grada, April 9, 2024 – This new trade corridor was ironically set up by former US president Donald Trump’s sanctions against the Asian giant as well as the signing of the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement or USMCA (Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement or CUSMA for the Canadians and Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá or T-MEC for Mexico) that replaces NAFTA.
With an unbeatable geographic proximity, cheap labor and no regional duties, the US’ southern neighbor has come out of this new “nearshoring” competition victorious over China….
Since the agreement states that a high percentage of the final product has been manufactured in the region, Chinese companies are importing components and finalizing assembly in a factory in America.
MEXICO OVERTAKES CHINA AS THE LEADING SOURCE OF GOODS IMPORTED BY US
msn | Canadian Press, April 9, 2024 – For the first time in more than two decades, Mexico last year surpassed China as the leading source of goods imported by the United States….
Some Chinese manufacturers have established factories in Mexico to exploit the benefits of the 3-year-old U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which allows for duty-free trade in North America for many products.

SOUTH ASIA:

Nepal cannot accept Saarc’s replacement with Bimstec

Kathmandu Post, April 3, 2024 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said Nepal will not accept the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to replace the other regional organisation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
“We do not see Bimstec as a replacement of Saarc,” said Shrestha. “In order to reinvigorate the stalled Saarc process, Nepal, as its current chair, will surely take an initiative.”
Raghuji Pant of the CPN-UML accused India of deactivating Saarc. As per its wish to exclude Pakistan, Bimstec was established, he said….
“India wants to minus Pakistan in the region so it formed Bimstec. Saarc is kept passive due to Pakistan’s presence in it,” said Pant.

SE ASIA:

ASEAN survey shows a trend toward China – and concerns about Beijing’s influence

Table Media, April 2, 2024 – According to a recent survey, more than half of people in Southeast Asia would prefer China as an ally to the US if they had to choose between the two superpowers. In the “State of Southeast Asia 2024” survey published on Tuesday by the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, more people favored the People’s Republic (50.5 percent of the almost 2,000 respondents) than the USA (49.5 percent) for the first time. In 2023, 61.1 percent still preferred the USA, and 38.9 percent preferred China.

REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE – EURASIAN UNION:

Russia’s push for North-South ITC sparks Eurasian economic revival

Caliber (Azerbaijan), April 1, 2024 – In recent directives from Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, a significant emphasis has been placed on bolstering the transport infrastructure along the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC)…
As Russia endeavors to bolster its economic ties within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) space, the North-South ITC emerges as a critical component for facilitating trade and connectivity across multiple countries. The corridor is designed to provide a strategic route connecting South Asia to Europe via Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Russia.

VIDEO: GLOBAL SHAKEDOWN (2015)
The world’s developing and projected regional blocs. (Excerpt @ 20:15 of 27:33)