Today’s News 24 August 2021 (Tuesday)

A. NAVY NEWS/COVID NEWS/PHOTOS Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

B. NATIONAL HEADLINES Title Writer Newspaper Page New cases top 18K amid Delta community PDI A1 1 spread 2 466 more delta cases detected nationwide S Crisostomo P Star 1

C. NATIONAL SECURITY Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

D. INDO-PACIFIC Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

E. AFP RELATED Title Writer Newspaper Page 3 Anti-Red Task Force gets P28-B funding N Corrales PDI A3 Esperon denies fund transfers to NTF- M Punongbayan P Star 5 4 ELCAC 5 DILG denies NTF-ELCAC fund transfer P Antolin Tribune 3 6 AFP: Afghan conflict spillover ‘very remote’ J Roson Tribune B15 7 AFP chief virus positive J Roson Tribune 3

F. CPP-NPA-NDF-LCM Title Writer Newspaper Page AFP: Slain communist rebel, poet not a J Andrade PDI A5 8 heroine High-ranking official among two slain rebels G Masculino M Bulletin 5 9 in Negros clash

G. MNLF/MILF/BIFF/ASG Title Writer Newspaper Page 10 ASG widows get a shot in the arm N Lacson Tribune B15

H. EDITORIAL-OPINION-COMMENTARY-SPECIAL Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

I. ONLINE NEWS Title Link NATIONAL NEWS 182 Pinoys now out of Kabul, 17 more https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/182- 11 seeking repatriation ( pinoys-now-out-of-kabul-17-more-seeking- repatriation/ Government 2022 borrowings cut to https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/gov 12 P2.5T from P3.1T ernment-2022-borrowings-cut-to- %e2%82%a72-5t-from-%e2%82%a73-1t/ House eyes Sept. 30 budget OK; https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/hou 13 Senate starts own review se-eyes-sept-30-budget-ok-senate-starts-own- review/ Massive protest looms if gov't fails to https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/massive- 14 pay health workers' benefits until Sept. protest-looms-if-govt-fails-to-pay-health- 1 — nurses' group workers-benefits-until-sept-1-nurses-group/ Palace to PhilHealth: Reimburse https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/08/24 hospitals ASAP /2122149/palace-philhealth-reimburse- 15 hospitals-asap

6-week MECQ could slow down https://manilastandard.net/news/top- 16 upsurge in MM stories/363145/6-week-mecq-could-slow- down-upsurge-in-mm.html Manila trails Asean-5 peers in safe https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/man 17 cities index, ranks 51st of 60 ila-trails-asean-5-peers-in-safe-cities-index- ranks-51st-of-60/ 'Habagat' to bring rains over Palawan, https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/habagat-to- 18 Occidental Mindoro; 'fair' weather over bring-rains-over-palawan-occidental-mindoro- the rest of PH fair-weather-over-the-rest-of-ph/ Rainy Tuesday in Bicol, Visayas and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1477833/rainy- 19 parts of Mindanao due to ITCZ tuesday-in-bicol-visayas-and-parts-of- mindanao-due-to-itcz NAVY NEWS Navies of India and Philippines conduct https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de military drills in South China Sea fence/navies-of-india-and-philippines-conduct- 20 military-drills-in-south-china- sea/articleshow/85570467.cms PH Navy frigate joins maritime drills with https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/24/ph-navy-frigate- 21 2 Indian vessels in West PH Sea joins-maritime-drills-with-2-indian-vessels-in- west-ph-sea/ Philippines To Purchase New 5.56mm https://www.asiapacificdeensejournal.com/202 22 Squad Automatic Weapons For Marines 1/08/philippines-to-purchase-new-556mm- squad.html Duterte honor Tokyo Olympics https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/08/23 23 medalists, participants /2122119/duterte-honor-tokyo-olympics- medalists-participants PPA, PCG personnel in Zamboanga https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/ppa-pcg- 24 learn counter-terrorism techniques personnel-in-zamboanga-learn-counter- terrorism-techniques/ AFP RELATED US Indo-Pacific Command chief visits https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/us-indo-pacific- 25 PH on 70th anniversary of Mutual command-chief-visits-ph-on-70th-anniversary- Defense Treaty of-mutual-defense-treaty/ Spillover of Afghanistan conflict into Phl https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/23/spil 26 ‘very remote’ –AFP lover-of-afghanistan-conflict-into-phl-very- remote-afp/ AFP confident of Mindanao security https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/natio 27 amid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan n/800432/afp-confident-of-mindanao-security- amid-taliban-takeover-of-afghanistan/story/ AFP needs to stay vigilant vs. local https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151292 28 terrorist groups Duterte gov't eyeing P8.6 billion budget https://news.abs- 29 on intel cbn.com/news/08/23/21/duterte-govt-eyeing- p86-billion-budget-on-intel AFP Chief infected with COVID-19 https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/breaking-afp- 30 chief-infected-with-covid-19/ Makabayan bloc solons regressive, not https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151267 31 progressive: Esperon COA urged to audit funds of leftist https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151348 32 Makabayan Bloc, too NTF-ELCAC insists on proper utilization https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/ntf- 33 of state funds elcac-insists-on-proper-utilization-of-state- funds NTF-ELCAC's proposed 2022 budget https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/ntf- 34 higher than this year elcacs-proposed-2022-budget-higher-than- this-yea No fund transfer to NTF-ELCAC DILG https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/23/no- 35 – dilg-fund-transfer-to-ntf-elcac/ Slain rebel in Negros encounter https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/08/23/21 36 identified 22028/slain-rebel-negros-encounter-identified PNP strictly follows COA rules on use of https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151287 37 anti-insurgency funds Even in defeat, AFP 'proud' of Pacquiao https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151273 38 Council revives proposal for 'tokhang' https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/08/23/21 39 campaign vs Cordillera leftists 22085/council-revives-proposal-tokhang- campaign-vs-cordillera-leftists INDO-PACIFIC NEWS Global fall in foreign investment reflects https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/global-fall-in- 40 rise in geopolitical tensions foreign-investment-reflects-rise-in-geopolitical- tensions/ US Vice President Kamala Harris https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/u 41 receives namesake orchid, official s-vice-president-kamala-harris-orchid- welcome at Istana welcome-istana-official-visit-2130576 US VP Harris: Focus must stay on https://apnews.com/article/evacuations- 42 Afghan evacuation a3811627fce72375e956d45e227e0a70 43 Harris reaffirms pivot to Indo-Pacific as https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/harris- US exits Afghanistan reaffirms-pivot-to-indo-pacific-as-us-exits- afghanistan-20210823-p58l34.html US still a ‘global leader,’ Harris says on https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2 44 Asia trip, as allies fret over China 021-08-23/kamala-harris-us-global-leader- asia-trip-china-singapore-2646404.html United States VP Kamala Harris https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de believes Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific fence/united-states-vp-kamala-harris-believes- 45 will dictate future of world southeast-asia-indo-pacific-will-dictate-future- of-world/articleshow/85559128.cms Biden s Indo-Pacific Thinking https://www.chinausfocus.com/peace- 46 ’ security/bidens-indo-pacific-thinking Democratic infighting imperils Biden's https://manilastandard.net/news/world- 47 vast US investment plans news/363150/democratic-infighting-imperils- biden-s-vast-us-investment-plans.html Biden’s special envoy urges North https://www.news10.com/news/international/bi 48 Korea to return to talks dens-special-envoy-urges-north-korea-to- return-to-talks/ Sung Kim's Seoul visit highlights U.S. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2021082400030 49 commitment to denuclearization: State 0325?section=national/diplomacy Dept. U.S. requests Korea to allow evacuees https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/08/ on bases 23/national/diplomacy/Afghanistan-Afghan- 50 evacuees-Chung- Euiyong/20210823185107998.html How Afghanistan withdrawal could lead https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/23/ho 51 to a harder policy against China w-afghanistan-withdrawal-could-lead-to-a- harder-policy-against-china/ Kamala Harris’ Southeast Asia visit https://www.scmp.com/week- draws Chinese netizens ire asia/politics/article/3146094/kamala-harris- 52 ’ southeast-asia-visit-draws-ire-chinese- netizens Wuhan lab leak theory: How Fort https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada- 53 Detrick became a centre for Chinese 58273322 conspiracies The prospects for China’s engagement https://www.9dashline.com/article/the- 54 in Afghanistan prospects-for-chinas-engagement-in- afghanistan Opportunity in Afghanistan https://www.chinausfocus.com/peace- 55 security/opportunity-in-afghanistan China’s Top Priority In Afghanistan Is https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/ 56 Stability, Experts Say chinas-top-priority-afghanistan-stability- experts-say/184757/ SCO assures to build peaceful and https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de prosperous Afghanistan fence/sco-assures-to-build-peaceful-and- 57 prosperous- afghanistan/articleshow/85569896.cms China asks Pakistan to arrest those https://www.hindustantimes.com/world- 58 behind suicide bomb attack news/china-asks-pakistan-to-arrest-those- behind-suicide-bomb-attack- 101629749520263.html China orders Communist Party https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/c members to resolve conflicts of interest hina-orders-communist-party-members- 59 as top Hangzhou official probed resolve-conflicts-interest-top-hangzhou-official- probed-2130356 Chinese officials lecture Hong Kong https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Chinese- 60 legislators on Five Year Plan officials-lecture-Hong-Kong-legislators-on- Five-Year-Plan Thousands Leaving Hong Kong, https://www.voanews.com/east-asia- 61 Teachers Quit Amid Security Law and pacific/thousands-leaving-hong-kong-teachers- Pandemic quit-amid-security-law-and-pandemic China-Japan Relations: Searching for a https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign- 62 New Equilibrium policy/china-japan-relations-searching-for-a- new-equilibrium Suga to seek reelection despite growing https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Suga-to-seek- 63 calls for 'new party face' reelection-despite-growing-calls-for-new-party- face Japan aims to prevent rare-earth https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 64 technology drain 0823_12/ Russian man from disputed island taken https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/23 65 into custody in Japan /national/disputed-islands-custody/ US, South Korea envoys discuss https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/us- 66 jumpstarting talks with North Korea south-korea-envoys-discuss-jumpstarting- talks-north-korea-2129791 South, U.S. envoys discuss https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/08/ 67 humanitarian support for North 23/national/diplomacy/Sung-Kim-Noh-Kyuduk- KoreaUS-alliance/20210823155300502.html North Korea Causes More Difference https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign- 68 than Agreement between China and the policy/north-korea-causes-more-difference- U.S. than-agreement-between-china-and-the-us North Korea’s maritime accusations https://www.scmp.com/week- against Japan: just a gambit to open asia/politics/article/3146047/north-korea-has- 69 talks? accused-japan-trespassing-its-waters-just- gambit Vietnam deploys troops to enforce strict https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 70 lockdown 0823_22/ Singapore PM backs US as Asian https://www.scmp.com/week- 71 security ‘guarantor’, Harris faces asia/politics/article/3146053/singapore-pm-lee- Afghanistan grilling backs-us-guarantor-security-asia-harris-grilled No Cabinet posts for opposition, they https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/no- can contribute in COVID-19 council: cabinet-posts-opposition-they-can-contribute- 72 Malaysia PM Ismail Sabri covid-19-council-malaysia-pm-ismail-sabri- 2130621 Malaysia PM Ismail Sabri looks forward https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ to visiting Singapore, strengthening malaysia-ismail-sabri-looks-forward-visiting- 73 existing bilateral relations singapore-strengthen-bilateral-relations- 2129751 China-backed mining deepens Papua https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia- 74 New Guinea's golden dilemma Insight/China-backed-mining-deepens-Papua- New-Guinea-s-golden-dilemma Australia to resettle ‘thousands upon https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/austra 75 thousands’ of Afghans lia-to-resettle-thousands-upon-thousands-of- afghans-20210823-p58l5j.html Putin wary of Afghan refugees in https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/2021 76 Central Asia 0823_10/ WHO: Kabul airport problems blocking https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/kabul- 77 medical supplies for Afghans airport-block-medical-supplies-afghans-taliban- 2130701 Seeking World Recognition, Taliban https://www.newsweek.com/seeking-world- 78 Vows to Help Fight Terror and Climate recognition-taliban-vows-help-fight-terror- Change climate-change-1622239 How Afghanistan Will Influence https://www.eurasiareview.com/23082021- Geopolitics In The Region: Uncertain how-afghanistan-will-influence-geopolitics-in- 79 Changing Power Balances the-region-uncertain-changing-power- balances-analysis/ Afghanistan Is a Much Bigger Economic https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/afgha 80 Disruption Than Markets Think nistan-is-a-much-bigger-economic-disruption- than-markets-think/ Iran: President Raisi Says Delay in https://www.eurasiareview.com/23082021- 81 Release Of Frozen Assets In Japan Not iran-president-raisi-says-delay-in-release-of- Justifiable frozen-assets-in-japan-not-justifiable Why Taiwan Matters to the United https://asiapost.live/why-taiwan-matters-to-the- 82 States united-states-the-diplomat/ Who Is Directing American Policy? https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17676/who- 83 is-directing-american-policy Global Tax Reform and China https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance- 84 economy/global-tax-reform-and-china Boycotting Beijing 2022: Accountability https://www.justsecurity.org/77841/boycotting- 85 for the Next Olympics and Beyond beijing-2022-accountability-for-the-next- olympics-and-beyond/ Beautiful Words, Dangerous Actions https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign- 86 policy/beautiful-words-dangerous-actions Beijing s American Hustle: How Chinese https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/08/23/beijin 87 ’ Grand Strategy Exploits U.S. Power gs-american-hustle/ China, Pakistan, India jockey for https://www.reuters.com/world/china-pakistan- 88 position in Afghanistan's new Great india-jockey-position-afghanistans-new-great- Game game-2021-08-23/ DEFENSE NEWS Navies of India and Philippines conduct https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/def military drills in South China Sea ence/navies-of-india-and-philippines-conduct- 89 military-drills-in-south-china- sea/articleshow/85570467.cms Philippines To Purchase New 5.56mm https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/202 90 Squad Automatic Weapons For 1/08/philippines-to-purchase-new-556mm- Marines squad.html U.S. Indopacom chief visits; Phl, India https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/23/u-s- 91 hold naval drills at WPS indopacom-chief-visits-phl-india-hold-naval- drills-at-wps/ US Indo-Pacific commander's PH visit https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/24/us-indo-pacific- 92 pushes through despite AFP Chief's commanders-ph-visit-pushes-through-despite- condition afp-chiefs-condition/ Spillover of Afghanistan conflict into https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/23/spill 93 Phl ‘very remote’ –AFP over-of-afghanistan-conflict-into-phl-very- remote-afp/ ASEAN on guard for extremism https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International- inspired by Taliban's Afghan triumph relations/Afghanistan-turmoil/ASEAN-on-guard- 94 for-extremism-inspired-by-Taliban-s-Afghan- triumph Companies need to undergo a shift in https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/comp 95 cyber culture anies-need-to-undergo-a-shift-in-cyber-culture/ Petraeus Questions U.S. Ability to https://news.usni.org/2021/08/23/petraeus- 96 Counter Terrorism After Afghanistan’s questions-u-s-ability-to-counter-terrorism-after- Fall afghanistans-fall 20th SEACAT concludes, puts http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Art 97 cooperative maritime security first icle/2741621/20th-seacat-concludes-puts- cooperative-maritime-security-first The evolving role of warships in the https://www.naval- 98 21st-century navy technology.com/uncategorised/the-evolving- role-of-warships-in-the-21st-century-navy/ US Navy Fleet and Marine Tracker: https://news.usni.org/2021/08/23/usni-news- 99 Aug 23, 2021 fleet-and-marine-tracker-aug-23-2021 US-led Quad plans joint naval https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/a 100 exercises as China tensions boil over rticle/3146085/us-led-quad-plans-joint-naval- exercises-china-tensions-boil United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Art and USS America Expeditionary Strike icle/2741593/united-kingdom-carrier-strike- 101 Group Join Together for LSGE 21 group-and-uss-america-expeditionary-strike- Operations group Royal Navy CSG Fires On Uninhabited https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 102 Island In The Pacific news/2021/08/royal-navy-csg-fires-on- uninhabited-island-in-the-pacific/ USS America fuels HMS Defender at http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Art 103 sea in first FAS with U.S. amphib, icle/2741643/uss-america-fuels-hms-defender- British warship at-sea-in-first-fas-with-us-amphib-british-warsh America-class amphibious assault ship https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/nav USS Tripoli completes Combat System al-news/naval-news- 104 Ship Qualification Trials archive/2021/august/10589-america-class- amphibious-assault-ship-uss-tripoli-completes- combat-system-ship-qualification-trials.html USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 105 Commences Planned Incremental news/2021/08/uss-gerald-r-ford-cvn-78- Availability commences-planned-incremental-availability/ Carrier USS Gerald Ford Leaves https://news.usni.org/2021/08/23/carrier-uss- 106 Norfolk for Last Repairs Before Maiden gerald-ford-leaves-norfolk-for-last-repairs- Deployment before-maiden-deployment The Navy is trying to get rid of its https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-faces- cruisers again, but it's heading for another-fight-to-get-rid-of-its-cruisers-2021-8 107 another fight over their fate

USN MQ-25 conducts air-to-air https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/nav refueling with E-2D Advance Hawkeye al-news/naval-news- 108 aircraft for first time archive/2021/august/10590-mq-25-conducts- air-to-air-refueling-with-e-2d-advance-hawkeye- aircraft-for-first-time.html Pentagon to mandate COVID-19 https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/a 109 vaccine, as Pfizer is approved ug/23/pentagon-to-mandate-covid-19-vaccine- as-pfizer-is-/ The US Army is using a controversial https://www.businessinsider.com/clearview-ai- facial-recognition technology that uses facial-recognition-us-army-cid-criminal- 110 images from social media to identify command-tech-2021-8 people, documents show Historic Patriot missile launch in https://ipdefenseforum.com/2021/08/historic- 111 Australia showcases U.S. Army’s patriot-missile-launch-in-australia-showcases-u- adaptability, potency s-armys-adaptability-potency/ China’s military uses civilian cargo ship https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/articl 112 for transport in ‘Taiwan drill’ e/3146072/chinas-military-uses-civilian-cargo- ship-transport-taiwan China's Mach 30 wind tunnel expected https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202108/12322 113 to be completed in 2022, help develop 34.shtml aerospace, hypersonic aircraft China has improved accuracy of its https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united- 114 missile force states-canada/article/3146101/china-has- improved-accuracy-its-missile-force-us China's amendment of the military https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202108/12321 service law highlights the role of non- 70.shtml 115 commissioned officer, 'key to modernization': expert Two Chinese military turboprops enter https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/42754 116 Taiwan’s ADIZ ( 73 Taiwan’s planned US$7 billion missile https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/articl 117 boost may push PLA to step up combat e/3146050/taiwans-planned-us7-billion-missile- readiness boost-may-push-pla-step Japan's Plan To Bulk Up Island Near https://www.ibtimes.com/japans-plan-bulk- 118 Taiwan Necessary For Self-Defense, island-near-taiwan-necessary-self-defense-say- Say Analysts ( analysts-3279248 South Korea’s Marines are Geared Up https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/south- 119 for a Lethal Fight Against the North korea%E2%80%99s-marines-are-geared- lethal-fight-against-north-192169 Konfrontasi and East Timor— https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/anzus-at-70- 120 America’s Indonesian balancing act konfrontasi-and-east-timor-americas- indonesian-balancing-act/ More cybersecurity cooperation https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/si 121 between Singapore, US in public, ngapore-us-mou-cybersecurity-cooperation- defence and financial sectors public-defence-finance-2130121 Myanmar’s Anti-Junta Resistance https://asiapost.live/myanmars-anti-junta- 122 Inflicting Rising Casualties resistance-inflicting-rising-casualties-report-the- diplomat/ Indonesian Navy launches Klewang- https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/nav class fast attack craft KRI Golok 688 al-news/naval-news- 123 archive/2021/august/10583-indonesian-navy- launches-klewang-class-fast-attack-craft-kri- golok-688.html New Weapons, Electronics Proposed https://www.defenseworld.net/news/30280/New 124 in Indian Order for New Su-30MKI Jets _Weapons__Electronics_Proposed_in_Indian_ Order_for_New_Su_30MKI_Jets One of 2 under-construction Indian https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/def Navy frigates to be delivered by 2023, ence/one-of-2-under-construction-frigates-to- 125 says Russia be-delivered-by-2023-says- russia/articleshow/85572155.cms Indian Police kill militant group https://www.reuters.com/world/india/police-kill- 126 commander and deputy in Indian militant-group-commander-deputy-indian- Kashmir kashmir-2021-08-23/ Pakistan Is Relocating India-Centric https://asiapost.live/pakistan-is-relocating-india- 127 Terror Camps To Afghanistan centric-terror-camps-to-afghanistan/ What s the real cost of Australia s https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/whats-the- 128 ’ ’ submarine capability? real-cost-of-australias-submarine-capability/ Russian Navy Commissions New https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 129 Minesweeper ‘Georgy Kurbatov’ news/2021/08/russian-navy-commissions-new- minesweeper-georgy-kurbatov/ Russia begins constructing nuclear https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/a 130 submarines amid increasing friction ug/23/russia-begins-constructing-nuclear- with West submarines-amid/ Russia Lays Keel of Four Submarines https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 131 and Two Corvettes at Once news/2021/08/russia-lays-keel-of-four- submarines-and-two-corvettes-at-once/ Russia s Orion Drone to Get https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/08/23/ru 132 ’ ‘ ’ Electronic Warfare System ssia-orion-drone-electronic-warfare-system/ Kalashnikov Presents New Guided https://www.defenseworld.net/news/30278/Kala 133 Missile at ARMY-2021 Forum shnikov_Presents_New_Guided_Missile_at_AR

MY_2021_Forum Russia to Exhibit New Weapon https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/08/23/ru 134 Systems at Army 2021 Forum ssia-new-weapon-systems/ Russia Coercive Diplomacy https://www.fpri.org/article/2021/08/russias- 135 coercive-diplomacy-why-did-the-kremlin-mass- its-forces-near-ukraine-this-spring/ DOWNLOADABLE Russia Coercive https://www.fpri.org/wp- 136 Diplomacy content/uploads/2021/08/russias-coercive- diplomacy.pdf International Laws Role in Combating https://www.justsecurity.org/77845/international 137 Ransomware? -laws-role-in-combating-ransomware/ Adapting Together: A Unified View of https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2 138 Distributed Operations 021/august/adapting-together-unified-view- distributed-operations DEFENSE/SECURITY AFGHANISTAN 'Was it worth it?': Pain and anger inside https://www.reuters.com/world/us/was-it-worth- 139 Pentagon after Afghanistan crumbles it-pain-anger-inside-pentagon-after- afghanistan-crumbles-2021-08-23/ Kabul airlift accelerating but still https://apnews.com/article/kabul- 140 hampered by chaos fbf81df40a2fc23051c1bb6f4c40693c US to use commercial planes for https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210 141 Afghan evacuations 823_04/ Dozens of US Air Force planes head to https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/asia/kabul- 142 Kabul as 20,000 people remain at airport-afghanistan-intl-hnk/index.html airport US Flights Out of Afghanistan Set to https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/u 143 ‘Increase Significantly’ as Aug. 31 s-flights-out-afghanistan-set-increase- Deadline Nears significantly-aug-31-deadline-nears/184745/ Some Concerned Islamic State Might https://www.newsweek.com/some-concerned- 144 Target Crowds at Kabul Airport, Fire islamic-state-might-target-crowds-kabul-airport- Missiles at Planes fire-missiles-planes-1622072 U.S. House intel panel chair says https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house- 145 Afghan evacuation not likely done by intel-panel-chair-says-afghan-evacuation-not- Aug. 31 likely-done-by-aug-31-2021-08-23/ The US military has been sending https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military- troops to rescue Americans stuck rescuing-stranded-americans-outside-kabul- 146 outside the Kabul airport, Pentagon airport-pentagon-2021-8 says Japan SDF to head for Afghanistan to https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210 147 help evacuation 823_26/ South Korea wary of US plan to use https://www.scmp.com/week- 148 military bases to process Afghan asia/politics/article/3146009/south-korea-wary- evacuees us-plan-use-military-bases-process-afghan Germany says firefight involving https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/germa 149 Western forces erupts at Kabul Airport ny-says-firefight-involving-western-forces- erupts-kabul-airport-2130271 Australia willing to support extension of https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/austra 150 evacuation from Afghanistan: Foreign lia-willing-support-extension-evacuation- minister afghanistan-foreign-minister-2129931 First NZDF flight lands at Kabul, picks https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fall-of- up desperate evacuees afghanistan-first-nzdf-flight-lands-at-kabul- 151 picks-up- evacuees/XS67LU4DGF47DPCWNIUAAJMZQ E/ Singapore offers to help US evacuate https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/af 152 refugees from Afghanistan using RSAF ghanistan-us-evacuation-rsaf-mrtt-2130461 tanker-transport plane Afghan soldier killed in firefight outside https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/fall-of- 153 Kabul airport afghanistan-soldier-killed-outside-airport-in- firefight/XTSTUCJLDNI2WBC3VQZ43K2WDY/ Afghan Military Officers: We Fought https://www.newsweek.com/afghan-military- 154 Hard but Biden 'Abandoned' Us officers-we-fought-hard-biden-abandoned-us- 1621473 The Taliban hasn't captured all of https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/asia/panjshir 155 Afghanistan yet. One province has -valley-afghanistan-northern-alliance-explainer- vowed to resist intl/index.html The Taliban Are Hunting Afghan https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning- 156 Contractors ( jolt/the-taliban-are-hunting-afghan-contractors/ Taliban Says Hundreds of Fighters https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/08/23/tal 157 ‘ ’ Head For Holdout Valley Panjshir iban-head-holdout-panjshir/ 'Thousands' Flock to Taliban https://www.newsweek.com/thousands-flock- 158 Resistance As Afghans Say They're taliban-resistance-afghans-say-theyre-ready- 'Ready' to Fight fight-1622053 Taliban warns of 'consequences' if https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/def August 31 deadline for US-led troop ence/taliban-warns-of-consequences-if-august- 159 withdrawal is extended 31-deadline-for-us-led-troop-withdrawal-is- extended/articleshow/85563619.cms The Dreadful Consequences of the https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17673/afgha 160 Biden Disaster in Afghanistan nistan-dreadful-consequences The Taliban’s Comeback Could Upend https://slate.com/news-and- 161 the Balance of Power Across Asia politics/2021/08/taliban-afghanistan-pakistan- india-china-power-balance.html Checking Out of Hotel Afghanistan: A https://defense.info/featured- Look Back at the Russian Departure story/2021/08/checking-out-of-hotel- 162 afghanistan-a-look-back-at-the-russian- departure/ COVID NEWS Philippines reports record COVID-19 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippi 163 cases as Delta variant spreads nes-covid-19-record-cases-delta-variant- 2130566 98% of COVID-19 cases in PH https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/98-of-covid-19- 164 asymptomatic, mild — DOH cases-in-ph-asymptomatic-mild-doh/ Galvez: 3 countries commit to donate https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/galvez-3- 165 5.5 M COVID-19 vaccines to PH countries-commit-to-donate-5-5-m-covid-19- vaccines-to-ph/ The Philippines approves emergency https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippi 166 use of Russia's Sputnik Light COVID- nes-covid-19-vaccine-sputnik-russia-single- 19 vaccine dose-2130251 WHO head calls for two-month vaccine https://www.news10.com/news/international/wh 167 booster moratorium o-head-calls-for-two-month-vaccine-booster- moratorium/ Booster COVID-19 shots should be https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/boost 168 delayed: WHO director-general er-covid-19-shots-should-be-delayed-who- director-general-2130706 Taiwan's President kicks off rollout of https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/asia/tsai- 169 island's first domestically produced ing-wen-covid-vaccine-taiwan-intl- Covid-19 vaccine hnk/index.html North Korea develops its own PCR https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/north- 170 equipment to test for COVID-19 korea-develops-its-own-pcr-equipment-test- covid-19-2129896 Thailand to shift strategy to 'learning to http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=2021 171 live with COVID-19' 0823001034 Israel finds COVID-19 vaccine booster https://www.bworldonline.com/israel-finds- 172 significantly lowers infection risk for covid-19-vaccine-booster-significantly-lowers- seniors infection-risk-for-seniors/ New study reveals antibodies stop https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/2021/8/23 173 severe COVID-19 risk /22637697/antibodies-covid-19-infection-risk What you need to know about the https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare- 174 coronavirus right now pharmaceuticals/what-you-need-know-about- coronavirus-right-now-2021-03-02/ 175 Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020- Across the World coronavirus-cases-world- map/?srnd=coronavirus 176 Covid map: Where are cases the https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105 highest? 177 Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid- vaccine-tracker-global- distribution/?srnd=premium-asia

J. OPINION/EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Title Link 178 Washington Needs to Do More Than https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/20 Just Show Up in Southeast Asia 21-08-23/what-can-be-done-to-move- southeast-asia-back-into-the-u-s-orbit-of- influence?srnd=premium-asia 179 Another fine mess https://manilastandard.net/opinion/editorial/363 132/another-fine-mess.html 180 COA: A guardrail of democracy https://opinion.inquirer.net/143413/coa-a- guardrail-of-democracy 181 A very sound proposal https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/08/24/2 122137/very-sound-proposal

182 Diaspora https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/08/24/2 122140/diaspora 183 Bracing for the Afghan refugee wave https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/08/24/opinio n/editorial/bracing-for-the-afghan-refugee- wave/1812095 184 Baseless policy https://opinion.inquirer.net/143419/baseless- policy 185 Why is the US investigating the origins https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3146 of the coronavirus? 102/why-us-investigating-origins-coronavirus 186 Depoliticize the Pandemic, Please! https://www.chinausfocus.com/energy- environment/depoliticize-the-pandemic-please 187 A new prime minister appointed but https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentar Malaysia politics still on knife’s edge y/malaysia-ismail-sabri-prime-minister- implications-impact-2130326 188 What happened to Russia's Sputnik V https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentar COVID-19 vaccine? y/russia-vaccine-sputnik-china-diplomacy- 2125706 189 Afghanistan and beyond: China must https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article learn from US hubris and blunders /3146003/afghanistan-and-beyond-china-must- learn-us-hubris-and-blunders 190 Do not give the Taliban the legitimacy it https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/do- craves not-give-the-taliban-the-legitimacy-it-craves- 20210822-p58kyg.html 191 To understand China’s plans for https://www.scmp.com/week- Afghanistan, take a look at Somalia asia/opinion/article/3145651/understand- chinas-plans-afghanistan-take-look-somalia 192 Biden's Indo-Pacific policy blueprint https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Biden-s-Indo- emerges Pacific-policy-blueprint-emerges

182 Pinoys now out of Kabul, 17 more seeking repatriation BYRECTO MERCENE AUGUST 23, 2021 1 MINUTE READ

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in its August 23 situation bulletin, said a total of 182 overseas Filipino workers have left Afghanistan, while 17 are requesting company or government repatriation. At least 27 Filipinos still remain in the war-ravaged country.

The DFA said they are in contact with the 27 Filipinos and of this number 10 signified their intent to remain in Afghanistan, while the remainder have requested to be evacuated.

Some who left Afghanistan are not returning to the Philippines for various reasons, DFA Assistant Secretary Eduardo Menez said.

He added he believes those who are not leaving despite the risks have “mostly work- related” reasons.

All those workers who managed to exit Afghanistan, despite the chaos at the Hamid Karzai International Airport—where thousands of Afghans and foreigners desperate to flee the Taliban takeover of the country have flocked since Sunday afternoon—were assisted by various Philippine Embassies so that no repatriated worker in transit need not fully quarantine in the transit country, “as they will be undergoing quarantine upon arrival in the country.”

Many of the OFWs who exited Afghanistan on military planes of western or Asean countries are still in transit countries like the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, although some have gone on to European destinations.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/182-pinoys-now-out-of-kabul-17-more-seeking- repatriation/

Government 2022 borrowings cut to ₧2.5T from ₧3.1T BYBERNADETTE D. NICOLAS AUGUST 23, 2021 EYEING a smaller budget deficit, the government has set a smaller borrowing program for next year at P2.47 trillion, down by nearly a fifth from P3.07 trillion this year.

Broken down, the government will be borrowing P1.91 trillion from domestic sources while the remaining P560.58 billion will come from external sources, 2022 budget documents showed.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters that next year’s borrowing program is smaller due to the expected reduction in the budget deficit.

In its July meeting, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) said it expects the national government’s budget deficit to go down to P1.67 trillion or 7.5 percent of the country’s GDP from the programmed P1.86 trillion this year or 9.3 percent of GDP.

The government’s budget deficit stood at 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion in pre- pandemic 2019, and this has more than doubled to a record-high 7.6 percent of GDP or P1.37 trillion in 2020.

The government expects the downtrend in the budget deficit starting 2022 as the rise in revenues is expected to outpace the increase in disbursements.

Interestingly, the 2022 budget document did not state if the government will once again borrow from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as it did while shoring up funds for the Covid-19 pandemic response.

However, De Leon clarified that they are not closing any doors, saying “it is still available.”

“We did not say no more BSP borrowings. It depends,” she said.

The last time the BSP extended a P540-billion short-term loan to the government was back in July. Of the gross domestic borrowings next year, the bulk of the amount will be borrowed through fixed-rate Treasury Bonds amounting to P1.86 trillion while P52 billion will be raised through auctioning off Treasury Bills.

In terms of gross external borrowings, P353.5 billion will come from bonds and other inflows, P126.7 billion through program loans, and P80.37 billion via project loans.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/government-2022-borrowings-cut-to-%e2%82%a72-5t- from-%e2%82%a73-1t/

House eyes Sept. 30 budget OK; Senate starts own review BY JOVEE MARIE DE LA CRUZANDBUTCH FERNANDEZ AUGUST 23, 2021 2 MINUTE READ

House of Representatives of the Philippines – Photo from Facebook HOUSE Committee on Appropriations Chairman Eric Go Yap said on Monday he has set a meeting with Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Thursday to discuss his proposal to certify as urgent the P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022.

According to Yap, his committee will immediately start the budget process with briefings from Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on Thursday.

He said the House is eyeing to finish and approve the 2022 national budget by September 30.

As promised, the Executive branch through the Department of Budget and Management on Monday submitted the National Expenditure Program for 2022 to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

For his part, Speaker Velasco vowed to scrutinize the NEP for 2022.

“Today, we gladly received from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte—through the Department of Budget and Management—the National Expenditure Program that would assist the legislature in the review and deliberation of the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2022,” he said. “This officially signals the start of the budget season in Congress or the legislative process of evaluation, debate and amendment which we hope could lead to the timely and decisive passage of the 2022 General Appropriations Act,” he added.

Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said he supports the decision of President Duterte to mainstream health in every aspect of the budget priorities.

“Now that Congress has formally received the 2022 NEP, it is now the duty of your Representatives to review the proposed budget to ensure that the people’s taxes will be spent fairly and equitably among regions. Rest assured that during the congressional review, our people’s interest in these challenging times will be our primordial concern,” Romualdez added.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/house-eyes-sept-30-budget-ok-senate-starts-own-review/

Massive protest looms if gov't fails to pay health workers' benefits until Sept. 1 — nurses' group

Published August 23, 2021, 6:44 PM by Alexandria Dennise San Juan The Filipino Nurses United (FNU) on Monday, Aug. 23, said healthcare workers might resort to mass resignation as part of an impending protest if their special risk allowance (SRA) will not be released by September 1.

“Sa tingin ko, isa na iyan [mass resignation] sa magaganap. Ang mga kasamahan natin talaga namang frustrated na dahil walang nangyayari. Ang iba sa kanila ay gusto na talagang magresign (I think it [mass resignation] is one of the possibilities. Our colleagues are extremely frustrated over the government’s inactions. Some of them already want to resign),” FNU President Maristela Abenojar said during a virtual press briefing.

Abenojar added that many nurses have already resigned and sought better jobs abroad over low pay and poor working conditions here in the country.

Some are also now mulling for a mass resignation due to the delayed release of their additional pay which they have been waiting for more than a year now since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“In fact, narinig naman natin ang sinabi ng samahan ng mga private hospitals na 40 percent na ng kanilang mga nurses ang nagresign, so far (we heard from the group of private hospitals that 40 percent of their nurse workforce have already resigned),” she said.

The FNU launched a 10-day countdown from August 23 to September 1 until the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) pay the health workers their long-delayed benefits.

President Duterte last Saturday, Aug. 21, gave the DBM 10 days to process the fund needed by the DOH to compensate health care workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

This, after several groups of medical professionals particularly from private hospitals complained about the non-release of their SRA and the removal of their other benefits.

If they failed to release the benefits during the 10-day ultimatum, Abenojar warned that healthcare workers from both private and public sectors will stage a mass protest. “We assure na hindi namin bibitawan ang laban na ito kaya mas malaki at mas maingay na pagkilos ang maririnig sa September 1 kapag hindi ito natugunan (We assure that we will not give up this fight. Expect massive protests on September 1 if nothing happens),” she added.

Meanwhile, Abenojar called on other nurses to take part in the countdown through joining mass protests, as well as the public to support the actions being made by the health workers.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/massive-protest-looms-if-govt-fails-to-pay-health-workers-benefits- until-sept-1-nurses-group/

Palace to PhilHealth: Reimburse hospitals ASAP

Helen Flores - The Philippine Star August 24, 2021 | 12:00am

“Pay what you have to pay as soon as possible because the intent of the law is that the government, through PhilHealth, will become the sole purchaser of all (medical) goods and services,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, referring to the Universal Health Care Law that he authored during the 17th Congress. Philhealth FB Page / File MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday admonished the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for refusing to pay private hospital claims, saying it could “derail” the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.

“Pay what you have to pay as soon as possible because the intent of the law is that the government, through PhilHealth, will become the sole purchaser of all (medical) goods and services,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, referring to the Universal Health Care Law that he authored during the 17th Congress.

“PhilHealth needs to cooperate and pay the hospitals. This is not about the lack of funds. I will be the first to tell you PhilHealth funds will not run out,” Roque said.

“It is not possible to implement universal health care when only public hospitals provide services, especially during a pandemic,” Roque said, amid warnings from hospitals and physicians’ organizations that they will cut ties with the state health insurer due to nonpayment of claims.

PhilHealth earlier issued Circular No. 2021-0013 that suspended payments to hospitals and health care providers whose claims are under investigation. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/08/24/2122149/palace-philhealth-reimburse-hospitals-asap

6-week MECQ could slow down upsurge in MM posted August 24, 2021 at 02:50 am by Willie Casas and Vito Barcelo, Jun David

Health officials said a six-week modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) coupled with an enhanced COVID-19 response could lead to a lower number of active cases in Metro Manila by the end of September.

PROTOCOLS IGNORED. Many of them not minding health and safety protocols, people walk along Ylaya Street in Tondo, Manila on Monday, August 23, 2021, on the third day the National Capital Region downshifted to modified enhanced community quarantine. Protocol enforcers are surprisingly nowhere in sight. Danny Pata

Using a modeling tool, the DOH laid out several scenarios and their projected active cases:

* Two-week ECQ followed by four-week MECQ combined with the current levels of vaccination, case isolation, and compliance to health protocols = 66,403 cases by Aug. 31 and 269,694 cases by Sept. 30

* Six-week MECQ combined with the current COVID-19 response = 71,255 cases by Aug. 31 and 330,079 cases by Sept. 30

* Six-week MECQ combined with an improved COVID-19 response = 83,921 cases by Aug. 31 and 152,776 cases by Sept. 30

* Four-week MECQ followed by a two-week GCQ (general community quarantine) combined with an improved COVID-19 response = 83,921 cases by Aug. 31 and 158,489 cases by Sept. 30

The DOH said, however, that the projections were not cast in stone.

“The latest projections suggest that the best-case scenario or the least number of active cases in the NCR is seen when there is an improvement in the vaccination, shortening the interval between symptom onset and isolation to at most six days, and compliance with the minimum public health standards (MPHS),” the DOH said.

“We can further lower... the projected active cases in NCR if there is improved adherence to MPHS, better case detection to isolation time, and increased vaccination coverage,” it also said.

Metro Manila was under ECQ, the strictest lockdown classification, from Aug. 6 to 20. It was downgraded to MECQ along with the province of Laguna on Aug. 21. Under ECQ, only essential trips and essential industries such as food and medicine are allowed to operate.

Under MECQ, indoor and al fresco dine-in services are still prohibited.

Personal care services including beauty salons, beauty parlors, barbershops, and nail spas are likewise not allowed.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday said the prolonged enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in certain areas does not work.

Duque’s comment was made when he said that he had to leave the Go Negosyo forum earlier than the rest of the participants due to an emergency meeting, GMA News reported.

“I have an emergency meeting with DOH (Department of Health) regional directors of Region 7 (Central Visayas) and Northern Mindanao because despite the prolonged ECQ, there seems to be no improvement,” Duque said

“It is really troubling, to say the least,” Duque said.

Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Cagayan de Oro City and Gingoog in Misamis Oriental were placed under ECQ from July 16 to Aug. 7.

Dr. Alethea de Guzman of DOH followed up Duque’s pronouncement by disclosing that 42 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country are of the more infectious Delta variant.

This is a significant increase from 6 percent in June.

Some 12.8 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far.

However, this is way below the target of vaccinating 76.3 million by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity.

Meanwhile, the Palace assured the public that residents affected by the two-week ECQ in Metro Manila who have yet to receive the cash aid can still get financial assistance despite the new MECQ status.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the distribution of cash aid to affected families under ECQ will continue even after the quarantine status was shifted to a less strict MECQ.

“There is no truth to reports that those who were not able to receive the cash aid will not anymore get the said assistance because the ECQ period had already lapsed,” Roque said.

“As long as you haven’t received the cash aid despite the downgrade to MECQ, you will still get the assistance that was intended for the ECQ period,” he added.

The target beneficiaries of the cash aid in NCR are the low-income individuals and families identified by the LGUs, who are physically residing, permanently or temporarily, or present in the city or municipality under ECQ, at the time of the ECQ declaration. President Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to place Metro Manila and Laguna under MECQ from Aug. 21 until Aug. 31.

Each qualified resident in NCR may receive cash assistance worth P1,000 or a maximum of P4,000 per household.

LGUs were given 15 days to complete the distribution of the financial assistance.

However, they were allowed an extension in case they were not able to finish in time due to the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The city of Caloocan said it has completed the distribution of P1.34 billion in cash assistance from the national government.

During the 12-day distribution, a total of 402,835 families received cash assistance in Caloocan, the first city in Metro Manila to complete the distribution of the total national government allocation for its residents. https://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/363145/6-week-mecq-could-slow-down-upsurge-in- mm.html

Manila trails Asean-5 peers in safe cities index, ranks 51st of 60 BYCAI ORDINARIO AUGUST 23, 2021 2 MINUTE READ WEAK personal and health security made Manila the least safe city compared to other Asean-5 cities included in the 2021 Safe Cities Index (SCI) released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU).

Based on the data, Manila ranked 51st out of 60 cities in the 2021 SCI with an overall score of 52.5 out of 100. This is below the average score of 66.1 out of 100.

In the Asean-5, Singapore ranked 3rd overall with a score of 80.7 of 100; Kuala Lumpur, 32nd and a score of 66.6; Bangkok, 43rd with a score of 60.2; Ho Chi Minh City, 45th with 58.5; and Jakarta, 46th, 56.4.

“The pandemic is an immediate health challenge, but it has also created a potential turning point across every pillar of urban safety. A renewed, more holistic understanding of urban safety gives hope for cities that are not just more secure, in every sense, but more sustainable and enjoyable places in which to live,” the EIU white paper stated.

The index measures safety by looking at five pillars of security —digital security; health security; infrastructure security; personal security; and environmental security.

Manila’s lowest score was 46.4 for personal security where it ranked 55th, tied with Bangkok. This pillar measures crime and terrorism as well as the government’s efforts to respond to them.

In terms of health security, Manila scored 49.9 out of 100 but was ranked 54th out of 60 cities worldwide. The city’s score was higher in digital security where it scored 47.4 but ranked higher at 49th out of 60. Manila also ranked 52nd out of 60 in terms of infrastructure security where it scored 52.9 out of 100. The city’s best ranking was 41st for environmental security where it scored 65.9 out of 100.

The city’s performance was below the global average in all indicators. This includes the city’s score in environmental security where the global average score was 68.5 out of 100.

“The introduction of the new pillar for environmental security in this year’s index reflects the increased importance of sustainability issues and climate adaptation measures amid the pandemic,” the EIU said in a statement.

This year, Copenhagen topped the SCI, scoring 82.4 points out of 100 while Toronto followed close behind with 82.2. This was a departure from the last three SCI editions where Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka—always in that order—have been the index leaders.

EIU said the change reflected a reordering among cities that have always come close to the top. In all four editions of our index, six cities — Amsterdam, Melbourne, Tokyo, Toronto, Singapore and Sydney—have all figured among the leading the top 10, with only a few points separating them.

The performance of some cities were also affected by the introduction of the new pillar on environmental security. Toronto and Copenhagen performed better in this pillar compared to the top 3 cities from earlier years. The EIU also said the index showed that leading middle-income cities did better in this area than in any other categories. In particular, three at this income level finish in the pillar’s top 10: Bogota (4th); Rio de Janeiro (8th); and Kuala Lumpur (10th).

The 2021 index ranks 60 cities across 76 indicators. The 2021 framework has been refined to better capture a city’s environmental security. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/08/23/manila-trails-asean-5-peers-in-safe-cities-index-ranks-51st- of-60/

'Habagat' to bring rains over Palawan, Occidental Mindoro; 'fair' weather over the rest of PH

Published August 23, 2021, 6:27 PM by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

(SCREENGRAB FROM PAGASA) Expect scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Palawan and Occidental Mindoro due to the southwest monsoon, locally called “habagat,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Monday afternoon, Aug. 23.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy conditions with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.

PAGASA warned the public against flash floods or landslides that may occur during severe thunderstorms, which are often associated with short-lived heavy rain, lightning, thunder, gusty winds, and sometimes hail.

Weather specialist Ariel Rojas said PAGASA has not monitored a weather disturbance that may form or affect the country in the next few days. Only the southwest monsoon is seen to prevail, especially over the western section of Mimaropa (Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), he added.

Moreover, PAGASA has not issued any gale warning on Monday afternoon thus fisherfolk and seafarers are safe to sail.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/habagat-to-bring-rains-over-palawan-occidental-mindoro-fair-weather- over-the-rest-of-ph/

Rainy Tuesday in Bicol, Visayas and parts of Mindanao due to ITCZ

By: John Eric Mendoza - @inquirerdotnet

INQUIRER.net / 07:55 AM August 24, 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Bicol region, Mimaropa, the entire Visayas and parts of Mindanao are expected to have rainy weather on Tuesday due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), the state weather service said.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the ITCZ will bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms to Mimaropa, which consists of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan; Bicol Region; the entire Visayas; Zamboanga Peninsula; Northern Mindanao; and Caraga.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience fair weather, but rain showers due to isolated thunderstorms are still a possibility, according to Pagasa.

“Intertropical Convergence Zone ang dominanteng weather system ngayon sa bansa, at nakakaapekto yan sa Katimugang Luzon, buong Kabisayaan at sa hilagang bahagi ng Mindanao,” said weather specialist Loriedin Dela Cruz in a public weather forecast.

(Intertropical Convergence Zone is the dominant weather system in the country which affects Southern Luzon, the entirety of Visayas and Northern Mindanao.)

“Dulot ho niyan ay mga pag-ulang nararanasan sa ilang bahagi ng bansa, kasama na rin ho riyan ang maulap na papawirin,” Dela Cruz added.

(This will bring rains in parts of the country, as well as cloudy skies.)

Meanwhile, no gale warning was raised in any of the country’s sea waters as the rest of the country is expected to have a slight to moderate sea condition with 0.6 to 2.5 meters of waves, according to the state weather service.

EDV https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1477833/rainy-tuesday-in-bicol-visayas-and-parts-of- mindanao-due-to-itcz#ixzz74R4WQzso

Navies of India and Philippines conduct military drills in South China Sea SECTIONS

Navies of India and ..

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/navies-of-india-and-philippines-conduct-military-drills-in-south- china-sea/articleshow/85570467.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/navies-of-india-and-philippines-conduct-military- drills-in-south-china-sea/articleshow/85570467.cms

PH Navy frigate joins maritime drills with 2 Indian vessels in West PH Sea

Published August 24, 2021, 7:56 AM by Martin Sadongdong A Philippine Navy (PN) frigate took part in a maritime partnership exercise with two Indian Navy ships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Monday, Aug. 23.

BRP Antonio Luna (Photo by Philippine Navy) INS Ranvijay (Photo by India Defense Attache via Philippine Navy)

INS Kora (Photo by India Defense Attache via Philippine Navy) BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), a missile-capable frigate, met INS Ranvijay (D55), a guided missile destroyer, and INS Kora (P61), a guided missile corvette, on the northwestern coast off Palawan as they performed several operational maneuvers at sea which were part of the combined evolutions during the exercise. Col. Antonio Mangoroban Jr., acting commander of the Naval Forces West (NAVFORWEST), said both navies “were very much satisfied with the outcome of these interactions” which focused on enhanced interoperability and collaboration of the Philippines’ and India’s navies.

“As a newly-commissioned vessel of the Philippine Navy, BRP Antonio Luna is anticipated to be at par with her foreign counterparts and it is a breath of fresh air to see our modern navy partake in these maritime partnership exercises,” Mangoroban shared.

BRP Antonio Luna was delivered to the PN in February 2021 by its South Korean manufacturer, Hyundai Heavy Industries.

After it was commissioned in March, the frigate has performed various functions including sovereignty patrols in the WPS.

Meanwhile, INS Ranvijay and INS Kora were deployed by the Indian Navy to improve maritime security coordination with partner nations such as the Philippines.

Both countries have enjoyed a long-standing friendly relationship for seventy-two years.

Since 1998, regular visits by Indian navy vessels to the Philippines have highlighted the two maritime nation-states’ defense cooperation.

After the exercise, the Indian naval ships were scheduled to drop anchor at the Manila Port for replenishment.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/24/ph-navy-frigate-joins-maritime-drills-with-2-indian-vessels-in-west-ph- sea/

Duterte honor Tokyo Olympics medalists, participants Alexis Romero - Philstar.com August 23, 2021 | 8:07pm

Philippine Sports Commission handout MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday evening honored the athletes who represented the Philippines during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and vowed to continue supporting the country's sports programs.

Duterte awarded incentives to weightlifter and gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, boxers and silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, and boxer and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial during a ceremony attended by sports officials in Malacañang.

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'Best Olympics Ever': Team Philippines' great moments in Tokyo

Diaz was feted for bringing home the Philippines' first ever Olympic gold medal and for her "uplifting life story" that serves as inspiration to Filipinos.

She received P15 million from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., a certificate of turnover of a housing unit from the National Housing Authority (NHA), P3 million from the Office of the President (OP), and a presidential medal of merit.

Petecio and Paalam each received P5 million from the PSC, a certificate of turnover of a housing unit from NHA, and P2 million from the OP.

They were also conferred with an Order of Lapu Lapu with the rank of Kamagi, which is given to those "who actively participated in and contributed significantly to an activity pursuant to a campaign or advocacy of the president."

Marcial, meanwhile, was awarded P2 million from the PSC, a certificate of turnover of a housing unit from NHA, and P1 million from the OP. Other athletes who joined the Tokyo Olympics will receive P200,000 from the OP as well as presidential citations.

Duterte also honored former Olympian and boxer Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, who won silver during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Velasco received a P500,000 incentive from the OP and was conferred with the Order of Lapu Lapu with the rank of Kamagi.

"I congratulate you once again for bringing pride and honor to the country and for uplifting the spirit of the Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Your hard work, dedication, and sportsmanship even amid the challenges in your training and competition prior to the Olympics are truly inspiring," the president said.

"I am confident you will get better and stronger in securing more victories in the future. Your success will continue to motivate many aspiring athletes and our Filipino youth to channel their energies into sports and other productive activities, keeping them away from the harmful vices," he added.

Duterte thanked the Philippine Olympic Committee and the PSC for their efforts to ensure that the Filipino athletes are ready to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. He assured athletes that the government remains committed to providing them full support.

"I enjoin the Philippine Sports Commission, the Philippine Olympic Committee, and other sports bodies to continue providing the much needed assistance to keep our athletes on top of their game and to help them become all-time greats," Duterte said.

Duterte also congratulated Japan for hosting the 2020 Olympics and expressed hope that the Paralympics ito be held in Tokyo would become a "resounding success."

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/08/23/2122119/duterte-honor-tokyo-olympics-medalists- participants

PPA, PCG personnel in Zamboanga learn counter-terrorism techniques

Published August 23, 2021, 4:04 PM by Richa Noriega Several personnel of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have graduated from a counter-terrorism course that equipped them with the necessary skills needed to protect residents, port facilities, and sea-traveling public in Zamboanga.

The PPA announced Monday, Aug. 23, that several port police officers and coast guard personnel have graduated from a 45-day counter-terrorism course which ran from July 5 to Aug. 20.

The course was primarily aimed at strengthening the personnel’s capabilities on counter- terrorism operations with a focus on port facilities, the PPA said.

The participants underwent a series of trainings covered by 12 modules tackling human rights and rules of engagement, basic life support, tactical medicine, map and chart reading, weaponry, tactical communication, small unit tactics, close-quarter combat, visit board and seizure, VIP protection, bus assault, mission planning, and crisis management.

Personnel from the Coast Guard units and Bureau of Fire Protection – Special Rescue Force Region IX also shared their experiences and knowledge during the course and training.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/ppa-pcg-personnel-in-zamboanga-learn-counter-terrorism-techniques/

US Indo-Pacific Command chief visits PH on 70th anniversary of Mutual Defense Treaty

Published August 23, 2021, 5:51 PM by Roy Mabasa The Philippines on Monday welcomed the visit of Adm. John C. Aquilino, Commander for United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Adm. Aquilino met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and reaffirmed the US commitment to the alliance.

“Our alliance represents the mutual trust that is central to our enduring friendship, and this trust is a necessity in order to confront the security challenges in this theater,” Aquilino said.

He also emphasized that both nations have made clear their commitments to the Alliance, “and that we remain prepared to fight alongside and defend each other using all of our capabilities to preserve the region’s peace and stability”.

AFP Inspector General Lt. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, who represented AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Jose Faustino, said the anniversary of the MDT is an opportunity to advance Philippine-US mutual security interests and manifests commitment of the armed forces of both countries to the alliance even in the midst of challenges brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Aquilino’s visit marks his first visit to the Philippines as INDOPACOM chief and underscores the US-Philippine relationship as close friends and allies. Aquilino first visited the Philippines in August 2018 when he was still the Commander US Navy Pacific Fleet.

The Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States was signed on August 30, 1951 in Washington, D.C.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/us-indo-pacific-command-chief-visits-ph-on-70th-anniversary-of- mutual-defense-treaty/

Spillover of Afghanistan conflict

into Phl ‘very remote’ –AFP Published 22 hours ago on August 23, 2021 04:28 PM

By John Roson The Armed Forces believes that a spillover of the conflict in Afghanistan into the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao, has a “very remote” chance of happening, but measures are still being carried out to prevent that from happening, officials said.

“It is very remote because we have already substantially reduced local terrorists’ capability to launch [attacks],” Maj. Gen. Edgardo de Leon, AFP deputy chief of staff for operations, told reporters in a briefing.

Militant groups that might sympathize with the Taliban of Afghanistan “have been contained” in parts of Mindanao, but soldiers remain vigilant in those areas, he said.

Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson, said the military is confident that its efforts in Mindanao have made it more capable of handling terror attacks.

“Of course we recognize that terrorism is in our midst and we also ask our people to be vigilant, but we’re confident that we have already moved forward, we are leaps and bounds in securing the areas where local terrorist groups used to roam,” he said.

Aside from troop vigilance, the military is also enhancing coordination with stakeholders and border control, especially at the boundaries with Indonesia and Malaysia, to prevent a resurgence of conflict, Zagala said.

De Leon, meanwhile, said the AFP has made preparations to evacuate Filipinos who are still in Afghanistan, those who have already fled to other countries, and even Afghan people who would want to seek asylum in the Philippines.

He said the military is only waiting for guidance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Regarding the possible risk in accepting evacuees from Afghanistan, we don’t see any risk because those trying to seek asylum are people who are peace-loving, they are running away from conflict. But with our distance from Afghanistan, probably we are the last to be thought of for asylum or protection,” De Leon said.

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/23/spillover-of-afghanistan-conflict-into-phl-very-remote- afp/

AFP needs to stay vigilant vs. local terrorist groups

By Priam Nepomuceno August 23, 2021, 4:12 pm

MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) still needs to be vigilant despite gaining headway in neutralizing local terrorist groups (LTGs) operating in some parts of southern Philippines.

Army Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson, made this comment when asked if the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban forces last week would reignite radicalism in the country.

"We are confident that our efforts in Mindanao and security and stability operations there are bearing fruit. So, we believe it's safer, more stable and that our PCVE (preventing and countering violent extremism efforts) are bearing fruit. Again, what we need to do is to be vigilant," he added during Monday's virtual briefing.

Zagala also said a lot of the areas, where local terrorists are known to roam, are stable and secured, and that the AFP has gained headway in its efforts against these LTGs.

"Through the years we have already been (gaining) headway in our efforts against local terrorist groups and we are confident that we will be able to finish them (at the) soonest possible time," he added.

He cited the country's Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement with Malaysia and Indonesia as a big help in securing the Philippines' southern borders.

As this developed, Maj. Gen. Edgardo De Leon, AFP deputy chief-of-staff for operations, said they don't see any risk in accepting or granting asylum to Afghans fleeing from the conflict.

"As regards the possible risk in accepting evacuees from Afghanistan, the Afghan people, we don't see any risk because those trying to seek asylum are those people who are peace-loving who are running away from conflict," he said.

Considering the distance of Afghanistan to the Philippines, which is placed at 5,920 kilometers, de Leon said the country will be probably the last place the Afghans will be looking for asylum.

"So with regard to the possible risk of a spillover of the Taliban conflict to our country it is very remote because we have already reduced substantially the capability of the local terrorists to launch conflict, we have seen our victory, the government victory (in) Marawi and the local terrorists have substantially been reduced," he said. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151292

Duterte gov't eyeing P8.6 billion budget on intel, surveillance expenses RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

Posted at Aug 23 2021 10:45 PM MANILA - The Duterte administration is looking to spend over P8 billion of the national budget on surveillance next year — which is lower than this year's allocation.

According to the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing Tables attached to the 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP) that was submitted to the House of Representatives on Monday, the government has earmarked a grand total of P8.6 billion for intelligence and confidential expenses.

This is lower by P911,372,000 from what is allotted this year.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/duterte-govt-eyeing-p86-billion-budget-on-intel

UPDATE: AFP Chief infected with COVID-19

Published August 23, 2021, 11:51 AM by Martin Sadongdong Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it was revealed Monday, Aug. 23.

Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines (Courtesy of AFP Public Affairs Office)

Faustino was supposed to meet with reporters covering the military beat in a hybrid meeting around 9 a.m. but it had to be cancelled after the results of his antigen test yielded positive results, said Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson.

“Those who are attending the meeting [took] antigen test and that also included the Chief of Staff. This morning, prior to the meeting, the Chief of Staff tested positive in the antigen test,” Zagala told reporters.

The press briefing for Faustino’s scheduled meeting with officials from the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) at 3 p.m. was also cancelled.

The military chief is now undergoing self-isolation in his quarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City as he received the result of his real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, the gold standard in COVID-19 testing, which also turned out to be postive.

“He is okay. It’s just for safety reaason that he is in isolation. That’s the protocol to [ensure] not only he is safe but all of those concerned [officials],” Zagala noted.

Contact tracing has also been initiated to find out where Faustino got infected and to identify his close contacts.

Last Saturday, Faustino presided the joint change of command and retirement ceremony of the Visayas Command (VISCOM) between now retired Lt. Gen Roberto Ancan and Maj. Gen. Pio Dinoso III.

“All of those who were in close contact with the Chief of Staff, we advise them to also test and we’re also relying on our own medical professionals in the procedures to be taken,” Zagala said. Despite this, Faustino will still be in command of the AFP, according to Zagala.

The AFP has 15,625 COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 21, according to the military spokesperson. Of these, there are more than 1,500 active cases; 13,000 recoveries; and a total of 31 deaths.

Meanwhile, the vaccination of military personnel and civilian human resources are on- going. A total of 108,010 AFP personnel have been inoculated which represents around 80 percent of its total force.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/breaking-afp-chief-infected-with-covid-19/

Makabayan bloc solons regressive, not progressive: Esperon

By Priam Nepomuceno August 23, 2021, 2:48 am

MANILA – National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said militant members of the House of Representatives should rather call themselves regressive, not progressive, for opposing the Barangay Development Program (BDP) that aims to bring government projects to communities cleared of the influence of communist terrorists.

"Iyan ang BDP na tinututulan ng sinasabi nilang progressive bloc sa Congress. Paano sila naging progressive eh tinututulan nila ang development. Ang tawag sa kanila dapat ay regressive (The ones claiming to be members of the progressive bloc in Congress are against the BDP. How can they be progressive if they are against development? They should be called 'regressive')," Esperon said in an interview with the Cabinet Report program hosted by Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on Aug. 20.

The BDP is the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC hallmark program to bring government projects development projects in conflict-afflicted and geographically isolated villages that have been considered "cleared" from the influence of communist rebels.

Esperon, who is NTF-ELCAC vice-chairperson, slammed the "Makabayan Bloc", which is known to support the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA), for the numerous deaths caused by the more than 50-year insurgency in the country.

"Hindi rin sila Makabayan Bloc kung hindi 'Kamatayan Bloc', dahil sa kanila ang daming namamatay (They cannot be called 'Makabayan Bloc' (patriotic bloc) instead they should be rightly called the 'Kamatayan Bloc' for the numerous deaths they caused)," he added.

The BDP has initially identified 822 barangays nationwide that were former guerilla fronts of the CPP-NPA- NDF for projects such as farm-to-market roads, classrooms, water and sanitation systems, health stations, and livelihood.

Of the PHP19 billion total budget of the NTF-ELCAC for 2021, PHP16 billion is allotted for the development of 822 barangays cleared of insurgency. Each recipient barangay would receive PHP20 million.

Next years’ budget allocation for the BDP is intended for 1,406 barangays mostly located in Samar and the Bicol Region, compared to the 822 barangays in 2021.

"The funds for the BBP are directly released to the provincial and the city governments who will undertake, administer or contract out the BDP projects. That's the bulk of it," Esperon earlier said.

He rued the fact that these militant groups managed to attract the attention of other legislative and non- legislative officials in their bid to block the funding for BDP.

These officials, he said, are calling for the diversion of the NTF-ELCAC funds to help finance the government's ongoing response against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. "Teka muna, iyong ayuda ay ibang programa iyan, alam natin na ang Covid-19, talagang iyan ang clear and present danger na talagang inaatupag natin (Wait a minute, the aid for Covid-19 is another program and we know that Covid-19 is a clear and present danger that we are managing)," Esperon said.

Despite the preoccupation with the Covid-19 pandemic, he said we must remember that the country is facing political-security threats from communist terrorists.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The NDF has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973 (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151267

COA urged to audit funds of leftist Makabayan Bloc, too

By Marita Moaje August 23, 2021, 7:31 pm

MANILA – A former cadre of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) has challenged the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit the funds received from the national government by the House of Representatives’ Makabayan Bloc.

Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, in SMNI program "Laban Kasama ang Bayan" on Aug. 20, said Makabayan party-list groups receive millions yearly from the government but they are used to advance the programs of the CPP- NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front).

“We are challenging, and calling, and appealing to the Commission on Audit. Make a very credible and incisive audit kung saan napunta ang pondo ng mamamayan at ng taong bayan na nilulustay at inaabuso ng CPP-NPA-NDF gamit ang kanilang Kamatayan Bloc na mga partylist (on where the funds of the people are being spent on by the Death Bloc and being used by the CPP-NPA-NDF),” Celiz said.

He issued the call amid the COA report on alleged deficiencies on the budget of the Department of Health and other government agencies.

The Makabayan Bloc, composed of Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Kabataan, and ACT Teachers party-list groups, is receiving a budget of not less than PHP70 million every year from the national government.

“Ibig nating ipaabot sa COA na kung mayron kayong dapat i-audit ngayon, at kung mayron kayong dapat busisiin sa pag abuso sa pondo, walang iba kundi itong Kamatayan Bloc ng CPP-NPA-NDF na gumagamit ng pondo, bilyon bilyon, in the last 20 years (We would like to call on COA, if there are funds that you should look into, this is no other than those of the Kamatayan Bloc of the CPP-NPA-NDF, which have spent billions of government funds for the last 20 years),” he said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The NDF has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973

Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Chair Greco Belgica also supported Celiz' call.

“Especially may mga allegation na their funds are being used to fund terrorist activities or mga NPA, dapat po talagang ma-audit ng COA ‘yan para maging official 'yung audit report at masampahan ng ka-ukulang kaso kung sino man ang may sala (there are allegations that their funds are being used to fund terrorist activities and the NPA. They should be audited by COA for it to be official and so that proper charges may be filed),” Belgica said in the same forum. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151348

NTF-ELCAC insists on proper utilization of gov't funds amid COA report Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

Posted at Aug 23 2021 06:52 PM | Updated as of Aug 24 2021 10:45 AM MANILA (UPDATED)—The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF- ELCAC) on Monday insisted that government funds were put to proper use through programs aimed at countering communist insurgency in various communities.

NTF-ELCAC vice chair and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the task force does not receive funds from other government agencies.

Esperon said there were no fund transfers to the task force as various government agencies spend their own funds through coordinated programs.

“Kami dito, convergence. Sama-sama tayo sa pag-implement ng projects. May dala tayong lahat ng project at lahat papunta sa serbisyo sa bayan at nakakatulong sa pagpapaalis sa mga NPA (New People’s Army) sa mga lugar,” Esperon said.

(We are together in implementing projects. These all go to the public and help in eliminating the NPA.)

In the 2020 audit report by the Commission on Audit on the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, government auditors noted that the transfer of P160 million funds through Notice of Transfer Allocation for programs of the anti-communist task force is “highly questionable for lack of authority and legal basis."

The audit report noted that provisions of Executive Order No. 70 do not give specific authority to task force member agencies to exercise sole discretion to allot funds for implementation out of its appropriation.

“We recommended that Management provide legal authority/ basis for the fund transfers of ₱160,083,401.61 to Regional Offices for the implementation of EO No. 70, for this may be a ground for technical malversation of public funds,” auditors said in the report.

Among the fund utilizations flagged by the auditors were P1.7 million spent on monthly meetings in Region XII.

TESDA deputy director general Lina Sarmiento said P147 million were spent on scholarship projects for beneficiaries, among others.

“Ito po ay ginamit ng TESDA sa mga kababayan natin na nag-surrender, sa mga kababayan natin na IPs (indigenous peoples), at sa mga kababayan natin na hindi naaabot ng gobyerno,” Sarmiento said.

(These were used by TESDA to our fellowmen who surrendered, to the IPs and those not serviced by government.)

Other member agencies of the task force also stressed that their funds for anti-communist programs were spent according to pertinent laws and regulations. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Glen Paje said that they were addressing the lack of documentation of the used funds.

“Our DSWD field office via the recommendation of COA has agreed to join and collaborate with the agencies including the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to retrieve the copies of these documents as well as attest to the eligibility of beneficiaries,” Paje said.

Philippine National Police deputy chief Lt. Gen. Joselito Vera Cruz said that their 2020 funds for NTF-ELCAC programs were under continuous appropriation, which means that they still have until the end of 2021 to utilize the funds.

“Na-assure po ng ating chief PNP na walang single centavo na mawawala sa korapsyon dito sa pondong ito, at ito ay aming gagamitin upang ipatupad ang aming role dito sa NTF-ELCAC,” Vera Cruz said.

(Our PNP chief assured no single centavo goes to corruption, and we will use the funds to implement our role in NTF-ELCAC.)

Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said earlier that it is high time that the NTF-ELCAC be abolished, amid allegations that it mishandled funds.

"As it is, the NTF-ELCAC is essentially like a civilian-military junta manipulating taxpayer's money for their ill intents," said the progressive lawmaker.

Esperon hit back at the Makabayan solon for "falsely accusing" the task force of mishandling public funds.

"Siguro yung kanilang reaction ay misplaced, wala sa lugar and probably will even say na self- serving," he said.

Esperon said he welcomes the move of Gabriela Party-list for a congressional inquiry on the alleged fund transfers and spending of NTF-ELCAC under House Resolution No. 2417.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/ntf-elcac-insists-on-proper-utilization-of-state-funds

NTF-ELCAC gets higher proposed funds in 2022 despite calls for its abolition RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

Posted at Aug 23 2021 03:33 PM MANILA -- The government's anti-communist task force is getting a budget boost in an election year, based on the proposed 2022 national budget, despite allegations it merely engages in red tagging and harassment of government critics since its inception.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is getting a P28.1 billion proposed budget in 2022, up from the P19 billion it got this year.

In his 2022 budget message, President Rodrigo Duterte, who chairs the NTF-ELCAC, said that the government will continue to address problems arising from the continuing “communist terrorist” activities in the countryside.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/21/ntf-elcacs-proposed-2022-budget-higher-than-this-year

No fund transfer to NTF-ELCAC

– DILG Published 1 day ago on August 23, 2021 01:01 PM By Paula Antolin @tribunephl_phau The Interior Department (DILG) refuted new accusations of irregularity by the Makabayan Bloc in a fund allegedly transferred by the department to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año clarified that there was no fund transfer but a downloading of funds from the DILG Central Office to its regional offices. Año said the fund in question (P2.9 million) was for the DILG’s Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) at the barangay level, which is the department’s significant contribution to the objectives of Executive Order (EO) 70.

EO 70 institutionalize the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace, creating a national task force to end local local communist armed conflict and directing the adoption of a national peace framework.

“Again, let me underscore that DILG funds were never transferred to the NTF-ELCAC,” he added. “Moreover, there is nothing “highly irregular” in the DILG’s utilization of funds for ELCAC-related activities because we are authorized to do so under the General Appropriations Act of 2020.”

The DILG chief expressed surprise that the Makabayan Bloc would question the downloading of funds to its field offices, when it was Congress that appropriated these funds to the department. In House Resolution No. 2417, the Makabayan Bloc claimed that the “NTF-ELCAC must not be allowed to move around and source funds from its member agencies for the implementation of its activities at its whim without Congressional authorization.”

RCSP is a convergence mechanism for local government units to come together and identify issues and needed government intervention, particularly at the barangay level. It is based on an empowerment framework that aims to improve people’s ability to organize themselves and own development by implementing value-chain interventions to improve their current situation.

Año said the Makabayan Bloc is making wild accusations as it attempts to pick holes in the government’s implementation of EO 70, ”he said.

He said the Makabayan Bloc seems to be grandstanding to the point of calling for a House inquiry now that the 2022 elections is just around the corner.

“Don’t work hard at the expense of the DILG. It is not good for you to maliciously accuse and spread false information just to make political points,” Año pointed out. He said that 40 additional target barangays for the RCSP were identified in Region XII. As such, additional funds were downloaded by the DILG Central Office to DILG Region XII to cover the additional barangays. “Shouldn’t the Makabayan Bloc be even happier that more barangays will improve the situation and be saved from the clutches of communist terrorist groups? ” he asked. The chief also said that they have updated all liquidation reports and have submitted all required documents to the Commission on Audit.

He said that after the COA Exit Conference, it was agreed by all concerned that the monitoring of downloaded funds shall be undertaken by each division/field office to ensure that all programs, activities and projects are conducted and liquidated as required under applicable rules and regulations.

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/08/24/most-covid-19-fatalities-in-cdo-unvaxed/

Slain rebel in Negros encounter identified

Gilbert Bayoran - The Philippine Star

August 23, 2021 | 12:00am BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — One of two New People’s Army guerrillas killed in an encounter in Silay City, Negros Occidental was the secretary of the recently dismantled Northern Negros Front of the NPA, a ranking military official said yesterday.

Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, commander of the Army’s 79th Infantry Brigade (IB), said the NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command identified the fatality as Kerima Lorena Tariman, alias Ka Ella.

Tariman and the other fatality, identified only as Ka Pabling, were involved in extortion and intimidation activities in northern Negros, including the recent burning of three heavy equipment in Barangay San Isidro in the town of E. B. Magalona, Javines said.

The encounter that occurred last Friday between troopers of the 79th IB and the group of Tariman in Barangay Kapitan Ramon also resulted in the death of Pfc. Christopher Alada.

In a statement, Juanito Magbanua, spokesman for the Apolinario Gatmaitan Command, said Tariman led the Roselyn Jean Pelle Command in Negros Occidental.

Magbanua said the revolutionary movement pays the highest tribute to “martyrs” such as Tariman and Ka Pabling, whom he said offered their lives for the Negros masses.

Maj. Cenon Pancito, spokesman for the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said Tariman was never a people’s hero as she terrorized people.

From Legazpi, Albay, Tariman moved to Negros to revive the Northern Negros Front after it was dismantled by the communist leadership itself for failing to meet party standards, Pancito said. Javines said Tariman is the wife of Eric Acosta, a political prisoner who was recently released from detention.

The NPA said Tariman, 42, was formerly managing editor of the Philippine Collegian, a student publication of the University of the Philippines.

“She was a poet, writer and revolutionary artist who chose to share the life- and-death struggle of the masses of Negros Island. She gave up her life to serve the people and the revolution,” the NPA said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines described her as an artist and intellectual who endeared herself to the peasants of Negros.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/08/23/2122028/slain-rebel-negros-encounter-identified

PNP strictly follows COA rules on use of anti- insurgency funds

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan August 23, 2021, 3:27 pm

MANILA – The Philippine National Police strictly follows the rules and regulations of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the utilization of anti-insurgency funds from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Joselito Vera Cruz said on Monday.

Vera Cruz made this clarification after the COA flagged the PNP over its supposed low disbursement of some PHP723 million after spending only PHP86.57 million of the budget for anti-insurgency programs in 2020.

He said the funds allotted for its anti-insurgency projects are intact and will be wisely used for the welfare of Filipinos residing in far-flung areas known to be infested with communist terrorists.

“(The) Unutilized ELCAC funds in 2020, uulitin ko lang po, wala po anomalya, irregularidad dahil ang pondo ng PHP723 million na release October 2020 hindi po kakayanin mahigit dalawang buwan magamit ang pondo dahil marami tayo sinusunod na rules and regulation (of) Commission on Audit (I will repeat, there is no anomaly, no irregularity because the PHP723 million funds was released October 2020, we cannot spend, use the funds for only two months because we follow the rules and regulations of COA),” Vera Cruz said during Monday’s episode of "Tagged: Debunking Lies by Telling the Truth” virtual press briefing.

In coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), he said the PHP723 million is a “continuing appropriation” that will be spent up to December 2021.

“Ito ay continuing appropriation kaya ito up to December 2021 para gamitin ang pondo. Ito assured po ng ating Chief PNP (Gen. Guillermo Eleazar) walang single centavo na mawawala. Ito ay gagamitin ipatupad aming role sa NTF ELCAC (This is a continuing appropriation so it will be used up to December 2021. Our Chief PNP assured that no single centavo will be lost. It will be used to implement our role in NTF-ELCAC),” he said. Vera Cruz said the PNP is grateful for being part of the armed component of NTF-ELCAC that was created under Executive Order No. 70 mandating a whole-of-nation approach against communist insurgency.

“Matatandaan niyo late 80s and early 90s kami pa ay mga tenyente, kami po ay may sinusunod na strategy special operations team clear consolidate and develop kaya lang yung mga panahon na yun matapos namin maclear ang isang barangay pagkatapos namin maka establish ng detachment to ensure the security for the residents pagdating po sa consolidation and development talaga naman walang maibigay na kaukulang pondo ang ating iba’t ibang ahensiya ng ating gobyerno upang masolusyunan ang mga problema ng mga residente na nanganganib sa barangay aming na clear at nakapag establish ng aming presence (Remember during the late 80s and early 90s when we were just Lieutenants, we followed a strategy special operations team -- clear, consolidate, and develop. Those were the times that after we cleared a barangay, after we established a detachment to ensure the security of the residents, but when it comes to consolidation and development, our various government agencies really cannot provide the corresponding funds to solve the problems of the residents who are in danger in the barangays that we cleared and established our presence),” Vera Cruz said.

With the creation of NTF-ELCAC, he said addressing the communist insurgency does not only involve armed component composed of the PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines but other government agencies that have been given respective roles in solving the decades of insurgency.

Eleazar emphasized the funds was just unused because it was only released in October 2020 and not due to negligence or anomaly. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151287

Even in defeat, AFP 'proud' of Pacquiao

By Priam Nepomuceno August 23, 2021, 10:20 am

Boxing icon Sen. Manny Pacquiao (Photo grabbed from Pacquiao's Facebook page)

MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is still proud of boxing icon Sen. Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao despite his loss against Cuban Yordenis Ugas for showing perseverance despite the odds during the match.

In a statement Monday, AFP spokesperson, Army Col. Ramon Zagala, said Pacquiao, a military reservist, had "nothing more to prove" in boxing having won major world titles in eight different weight divisions.

"We are proud of our champion, for even in defeat he has inspired and shown our soldiers the value of fighting for your country to the end," Zagala said. "Our eight-division world champion, senator, and brother in the reserve force has nothing more to prove for he has already won the hearts and minds of every Filipino around the world."

In a battle pitting boxers who saw their original opponents backing out due to eye injuries, the 42-year-old Pacquiao looked sluggish in his first bout in two years, and the 35-year-old Ugas banked on his reach advantage to connect jabs eventually swelled Pacquiao's face a bit early on.

The fighting senator would put up a gallant fight, even turning the jets early into Round 10, but Ugas closed out the match on a strong note, delivering haymakers to Pacquiao in the final two periods.

Two judges had it 116-112, while the third juror scored the bout 115-113 all in favor of Ugas, who moved up to 27-4. Pacquiao, on the other hand, fell to 62-8-2.

Pacquiao first enlisted in the Army Reserve Force with the rank of sergeant in 2006.

Pacquiao was then promoted to technical sergeant in the same year, rising through the ranks when he became a master sergeant in 2009. In December 2017, Pacquiao was promoted to the rank of a full-fledged colonel after finishing his General Staff course.

Prior to this, his promotion to lieutenant colonel was approved in September 2011 as recommended by Army officials. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1151273

Council revives proposal for 'tokhang' campaign vs Cordillera leftists Artemio Dumlao - Philstar.com August 23, 2021 | 5:44pm

The STAR / Edd Gumban, file BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Officials in the Cordillera region are trying to revive a proposal to use "tokhang" tactics used in the government's "war on drugs" against activists and rights workers.

The proposal, which would have barangay officials talk to supposed leftists to convince them to not be leftists anymore, was raised earlier this year and died on the vine over criticism that it would be open to abuse. Neither being a leftist or even a communist are actual crimes in the Philippines.

The Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council (CRPOC) passed a resolution this week adopting the “Dumanun Makitungtong” (Seek and Talk) strategy against alleged "known members of left-leaning organizations."

The government equates being left-leaning as support for and membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army. An assertion that is inaccurate and has been used to justify what activists call a crackdown on legitimate and legal organizations.

Cordillera Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Council (CRLECC) Number 06, Series of 2021, or "A resolution enjoining the members of the law enforcement agencies together with the representatives of local government units (LGUs), religious sector, and NGOs to conduct 'Dumanun Makitungtong' strategy to known members of Communist Front Organizations (CFOs)" was adopted during the third quarter CRLECC meeting in Baguio City.

The strategy includes house visits to members of supposed front organizations to persuade them to stop dealing with or supporting the CPP- NPA-National Democratic Front in the region.

Araceli San Jose, OIC-regional director of Department of the Interior and Local Government, who heads secretariat of Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council, said the strategy "is in support of the priority thrust of President Rodrigo Duterte in addressing the insurgency." The CRPOC urged the Provincial and Highly Urbanized City Peace and Order Councils to adopt the RLECC resolution and strategy and to have their component Local Peace and Order Councils also adopt the strategy. https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/08/23/2122085/council-revives-proposal-tokhang-campaign-vs- cordillera-leftists

Global fall in foreign investment reflects rise in geopolitical tensions

23 Aug 2021|David Uren

Foreign direct investment is increasingly being seen as a threat to national security as relations between China and the West deteriorate. Twenty-five nations imposed new security regulations controlling investment inflows during the past year.

There are now 34 countries screening foreign investment for national security threats. Nearly all are advanced nations, although China, India and Russia all imposed new national security barriers last year.

Globally, foreign investment flows in 2020 dropped to their lowest level since 2005. While the pandemic shook confidence in the global economy, last year s investment fall extended a trend that has now been underway for four years. Global flows in 2020 of just under US$1 trillion were only half the level of 2016, according to the latest annual report on’ foreign direct investment from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (see figure I.1).

However, the impact of the new regulatory barriers and the loss of investor confidence appears to be mainly an advanced country phenomenon. Inflows to advanced nations dropped to just US$314 billion last year, having peaked at US$1.34 trillion in 2016.

Outward investment flows from advanced economies have also collapsed, dropping from a 2015 peak of US$1.26 trillion to US$347 billion in 2020. Outflows from EU businesses fell to just US$91 billion, the lowest level since 1987 and 87% below the 2015 peak.

Australia, which has traditionally been a major recipient of both US and UK investment, has been hit by the downturn, with global companies investing just US$20 billion last year, less than a third of the 2018 peak of US$68 billion.

Both inflows and outflows of foreign direct investment among developing countries are holding up much better. Foreign investment inflows fell by only 8.3% to US$663 billion last year, which was double the investment flow in advanced nations. Foreign investment outflows from developing nations dropped 7% to US$387 billion. It is the first time that companies based in developing nations have put more money into foreign investment than companies in advanced nations.

China is leading the way. Foreign investment into China actually rose last year, with a 5.8% increase to US$149.3 billion.

Investment inflows to China exceeded those to the European Union for the first time and are now only 4.5% below flows into the United States.

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/global-fall-in-foreign-investment-reflects-rise-in-geopolitical- tensions/

US Vice President Kamala Harris receives namesake orchid, official welcome at Istana

US Vice President Kamala Harris poses next to the Papilionanda Kamala Harris during a orchid naming ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Aug 23, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool) Gabrielle Andres 23 Aug 2021 05:54PM(Updated: 23 Aug 2021 07:53PM) SINGAPORE: United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday (Aug 23) received a spray of orchids named in her honour, as part of her three-day working visit to Singapore.

The orchid, named Papilionanda Kamala Harris, was presented to Ms Harris at the Istana in what Singapore has termed "orchid diplomacy".

The hybrid plant produces an upright inflorescence about 40cm long and bears up to 12 flowers, each measuring about 9cm in width, said the National Parks Board in a press release.

US Vice President Kamala Harris stands next to the Papilionanda Kamala Harris during a orchid naming ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Aug 23, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool) It features purplish pink petals and sepals, which are adorned with prominent pink spots and tessellations, and are each complemented with a magenta lip, NParks added.

"It's beautiful and I'm honoured to receive it," Ms Harris said at the ceremony.

She joins a long line of visiting heads of state and distinguished guests who have had orchids named after them, including US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill. Their orchid - Dendrobium Joe and Jill Biden - was presented to them during an official visit to Singapore in 2013, when Mr Biden was vice president.

The Vice President landed in Singapore on Sunday morning to kick off her first official visit to Asia, a trip which will also include Vietnam.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/us-vice-president-kamala-harris-orchid-welcome-istana- official-visit-2130576

Harris reaffirms pivot to Indo-Pacific as US exits Afghanistan

By Chris Barrett August 23, 2021 6.45pm

Singapore: Vice-President— Kamala Harris has moved to reaffirm the United States commitment to allies in the Indo-Pacific after the fall of Kabul, saying events in south-east Asia will largely dictate the future of the world . The withdrawal’ of the US from Afghanistan and the chaotic scenes following the Taliban takeover have prompted“ new questions about US foreign policy” and the dependability of the Western superpower as a security guarantor for like- minded nations around the world.

Kamala Harris had an orchid named in her honour during her visit to Singapore s presidential palace on Monday.CREDIT:REUTERS Nowhere is that issue more pressing than in south-east Asia and Taiwan’ as a rising China poses a threat to regional and global stability.

Harris, however, said in Singapore on Monday the Biden administration s exit from Afghanistan was no reflection of the role it intended to play in the contested Indo-Pacific. ’ The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, she said during a press conference at Singapore s presidential palace before addressing American“ sailors aboard the USS Tulsa at Changi Naval Base. ” ’ And we take that role seriously, understanding that we have many interests and priorities around the world. I m here in Singapore as a reaffirmation of our commitment“ to our membership in the Indo-Pacific region [and] our long- standing partnerships with south-east’ Asia.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/harris-reaffirms-pivot-to-indo-pacific-as-us-exits-afghanistan- 20210823-p58l34.html

US still a ‘global leader,’ Harris says on Asia trip, as allies fret over China

BY SHIBANI MAHTANI THE WASHINGTON POST AUGUST 23, 2021

• • Successive U.S. administrations have pledged to pivot away from unending military entanglements and focus American foreign policy on the Indo-Pacific, where a string of nations are anxious about China's growing military clout and hungry for U.S. engagement.

A question facing the Biden administration is how far it will be able to do that and maintain credibility among U.S. allies alarmed by the collapse of the U.S.-backed — government in Afghanistan and with fresh memories of chaotic diplomacy under President Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to Singapore and Vietnam this week, only her second foray internationally, is emerging as a test of Washington's ability not just to lead but counter an increasingly aggressive Beijing.

"The current narrative now is that America is withdrawing, which puts even more pressure on her trip," said Huong Le Thu, a nonresident fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "[The United States] needs a win."

Harris's visit officially began Monday, when she met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In a bilateral meeting that lasted more than an hour, the two discussed issues including deepening economic engagement, shoring up supply chains, the launch of a new climate partnership between the United States and Singapore, and expanded cybersecurity cooperation.

"The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously," Harris said in a joint news conference with Lee. The initiatives, Harris added, "speak, I believe, volumes in terms of the integrity of the relationships the United States has around the world."

Harris on Tuesday is scheduled to deliver a speech on Washington's Indo-Pacific policy. A senior administration official, speaking to reporters ahead of Harris's meetings on Monday, said Southeast Asia "was important before recent developments in Afghanistan; it's important now, and it's going to remain important, as is the broader Indo-Pacific."

"We're pursuing the deepening of these partnerships for economic and security interests, and global health interests, and much more," the official said.

Singapore was one of the countries that deployed personnel to Afghanistan since 2007 as part of the International Security Assistance Force, withdrawing these forces in 2013. Vietnam, the second stop on Harris's trip, has obvious echoes of the messy withdrawal from Afghanistan but has grown closer to the United States out of shared concerns over China's actions in the South China Sea. (Vietnam fought a war with China in 1979 and has overlapping maritime claims with Beijing.)

China's state media, which has mocked the United States over the chaotic events in Afghanistan, noted that Harris's visit came at an "embarrassing" time.

"The U.S.'s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan has triggered changes in the country's situation. This is creating a crisis of confidence among U.S. allies and partners," Zhang Tengjun, assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, wrote in the Global Times.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2021-08-23/kamala-harris-us-global-leader-asia-trip- china-singapore-2646404.html

United States VP Kamala Harris believes Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific will dictate future of world

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said she believes that Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific will dictate the future of the world as she held talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as part of her Southeast Asia visit aimed at bolstering America's engagement in the region.

Harris, at a press conference here with Lee, pointed out that the agreements the US has inked with Singapore and the Southeast Asian region are evidence of its strength and enduring relationships a ..

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/united-states-vp-kamala-harris-believes-southeast-asia-indo- pacific-will-dictate-future-of- world/articleshow/85559128.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/united-states-vp-kamala-harris-believes- southeast-asia-indo-pacific-will-dictate-future-of-world/articleshow/85559128.cms

Biden’s Indo-Pacific Thinking Aug 23, 2021

After nearly seven months in office, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has begun to implement its Indo-Pacific strategy with high-profile moves, revealing more clearly its strategic intentions and methods.

It significantly strengthened diplomatic maneuvers in the region recently, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin making a flurry of country visits to demonstrate America s focus. The visits were also used to expound the strategic significance of partnerships with regional allies to a U.S. audience. ’ “ ” Over the past 10 years, the Asia-Pacific has been the geostrategic focus of the U.S., with clear continuity. The Bush administration proposed in its second term to shift focus to Asia, the Obama administration moved to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific and the Trump administration introduced the Indo-Pacific strategy. The current Biden strategy basically “ ” follows the general approach of previous administrations to prioritize the region and targets more directly long-term preparations for and engagement in major power competition, with greater attention to detail. The following new features have been observed.

First, institutions have been consolidated. Biden created the position of coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs at the National Security Council and assigned it to Kurt Campbell, previously a key player in the Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy. Campbell leads a team of more than 20 people at the NSC, more for the first time than the number responsible for Europe and the Middle East. This institutional change is clearly significant. With Campbell coordinating, the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce, USAID and others will be in a better position to advance the Indo-Pacific strategy in an orderly manner.

Second, there are more diverse forces to drive implementation of the strategy. Previously, the U.S. mainly relied on Japan, Australia and other core allies, but Biden is now clearly working to bring extraterritorial countries into Indo-Pacific affairs. The United Kingdom, Germany, France and other European countries have recently significantly increased their “ ” diplomatic and military inputs. NATO and the European Union have also issued so-called strategic documents. America s Indo-Pacific strategy now features multi-wheel drive.

Third, the administration has ’found more entry points to advance the“ strategy. The U.S.” tended to use regional hot spots and difficult issues to facilitate its design for the Indo- Pacific. But the Biden administration clearly favors the use of regional governance issues. New topics, such as COVID-19 vaccines, supply chains and industrial chain security frequently appear in its diplomatic rhetoric. At the same time, unlike the Trump administration, the Biden team pays greater attention to values-oriented diplomacy and advocates rules and good governance as the basis for Indo-Pacific cooperation.

These practices point to the predominance of a whole set of old ideas that the U.S. has been accustomed to: pursuing a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region and ensuring the realization of its strategic intent through both deterrence and crisis management.

On one hand, power balance is a tried-and-true strategic tool in U.S. foreign policy. In the Indo-Pacific, it s convenient and low-cost. Since the end of the Cold War, great changes have taken place in the regional landscape. With a GDP three times that of Japan and five times ’ that of India, China has become the central engine of regional prosperity, with robust economic growth and a tremendous amount of trade. In military and other fields, the country s leading edge over other countries in the region has gradually become obvious.

From the’ U.S. perspective, the scenario of China s rapid rise squeezing America s strategic space a concern that emerged more than a decade ago is becoming a reality at ’ ’ increasing speed. In the face of these changes, it is imperative for the U.S. to restore a more — — favorable balance of power. To this end, America must declare again and again the importance of the Indo-Pacific region and increase its investments in all aspects. Getting European countries involved and hyping up supply chain security and other new issues are clearly designed to dilute China s advantages in the region.

On the other hand, while increasing’ its diplomatic and military investments, the U.S. has always attached great importance to a regional balance of power through deterrence and crisis management. These two tools, one hard and one soft, have long been available in the country s diplomatic toolbox. Their uses by the Biden administration have been evident. Deterrence is reflected in the administration s repeated commitment to protecting the ’ security interests of its allies such as diplomatic statements on the Diaoyu Islands and ’ “ ” the South China Sea. It is also manifest in the increase of military assets in the region. — Defense Secretary Austin recently talked a lot about integrated deterrence, emphasizing a stronger combination of U.S. military advantage with that of its allies as the key to success “ ” in competing with well-matched powers.

At the same time, crisis management remains an important means for the Biden administration to implement its Indo-Pacific strategy. Although the U.S. has repeatedly instigated regional tensions to create intervention opportunities, ultimately it does not want to see any incident leading to a major conflict. This is particularly evident in the case of Taiwan.

The Biden administration has played the Taiwan card from time to time. However, when it realized that provokes major Chinese reactions, it had to signal that it rejects Taiwan independence clearly a crisis-management measure to avoid a showdown.

Generally speaking,— the Biden administration s Indo-Pacific strategy has developed with major power competition in mind but with little strategic innovation, as structural ’ problems still constitute long-term constraints. It is plagued by the gap between an ambitious design and insufficient resources, the reluctance of most regional countries to choose between China and the U.S. and the fact that the U.S., as the so-called global hegemon, has to be mindful of other major regions in the world. These factors facing the U.S. should underpin China s strategic focus as it exercises patience in the game with the U.S. ’ https://www.chinausfocus.com/peace-security/bidens-indo-pacific-thinking

Democratic infighting imperils Biden's vast US investment plans posted August 24, 2021 at 08:00 am by AFP

A dispute between progressive and centrist factions of the Democratic party has threatened passage of President Joe Biden's nearly $5 trillion in spending plans for the United States, as Congress nears a key vote on the measures Monday.

Biden's Democratic allies controlling the House and Senate have for months been considering the two measures aimed at overhauling the world's largest economy through massive injections of cash into an array of programs.

Earlier this month, the Senate approved a $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment plan, with some Republicans crossing the aisle to support the measure.

However a squabble has arisen in the House over whether to pass that bill first, or a separate $3.5 trillion plan supported only by Democrats that would allocate money towards education, health care, the labor market, and fighting climate change.

The House will convene in Washington Monday to take procedural votes that could offer hints of the way forward.

In a statement released on Monday, the chamber's speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated she would uphold her promise to the progressives for the massive spending plan to get a vote first, while also announcing an evening meeting of Democratic lawmakers.

"We must not squander our congressional Democratic majorities and jeopardize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to create historic change to meet the needs of working families," she wrote, adding that "the success of each bill contributes to the success of the other."

The dispute erupted when nine moderate Democrats in the House demanded the popular infrastructure measure be approved without delay.

But progressive lawmakers insist the larger bill should take priority, fearing the centrists, objecting to its cost, will refuse to provide their crucial votes in a chamber with a tight Democratic majority once the infrastructure bill is passed.

Biden, who is facing blowback from both parties over the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, is expected to weigh in on the dispute behind the scenes.

The first procedural vote to be held Monday in the House will define the rules to govern future debates and votes on the two bills. A second, more important, vote will come on Tuesday on the budget resolution, which would allow Democratic to pass the $3.5 trillion plan using only their party's votes in the Senate.

https://manilastandard.net/news/world-news/363150/democratic-infighting-imperils-biden-s-vast-us- investment-plans.html

Biden’s special envoy urges North Korea to return to talks

INTERNATIONAL by: KIM TONG-HYUNG, Associated Press

Posted: Aug 23, 2021 / 12:14 AM EDT / Updated: Aug 23, 2021 / 02:01 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) U.S. President Joe Biden s special envoy for North Korea said Monday he s ready to meet his North Korean counterparts anywhere and at any time as he held— discussions with South Korean’ officials over stalled nuclear talks with the ’North. “ ” Sung Kim s visit to Seoul comes amid declining expectations for a quick resumption of talks and new tensions over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises.’ North Korea has described the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and has threatened unspecified countermeasures that would cause a security crisis for the U.S. and South Korea. “ After ”meeting with senior South Korean diplomat Noh Kyu-duk, Kim reiterated that the Biden administration has no hostile intent toward North Korea and that the joint drills are routine and defensive in nature.

Kim and Noh told reporters they discussed possible ways to facilitate diplomacy, including humanitarian cooperation with North Korea in providing anti-virus resources, sanitation and safe water. They did not announce any specific plans.

Kim also is to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, who is also visiting Seoul.

The United States does not have hostile intention for (North Korea, Kim said. He said the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are long-standing, routine and“ purely defensive in nature and support the security of both our ”countries. “ I continue to stand ready to meet with my North Korean counterpart at ” anywhere and at any time, Kim said. “ Talks between the United States” and North Korea have stalled since the collapse of a summit between former President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2019, when the Americans rejected the North s demand for a major easing of economic sanctions in exchange for a partial reduction of its nuclear capabilities. ’

Kim has since pledged to bolster his country s nuclear deterrent while urging his people to stay resilient in a struggle for economic self-dependence in the face of U.S. pressure. His government has so far rejected’ the Biden administration s overtures for talks, demanding that Washington abandon its hostile policies first. ’ “ ” North Korea has closed its borders since the start of the pandemic, but it will eventually have to open itself to humanitarian assistance and dialogue with the United States to carry out vaccinations, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. That doesn t necessarily mean it will abstain from a missile test during or after the U.S.-South Korea drills, Easley said. ’

While North Korea has yet to report any coronavirus infections, experts have expressed skepticism about its claim of a perfect record, given its poor health care system and the porous border it shares with China. Edwin Salvador, the World Health Organization s representative to North Korea, told The Associated Press last week that the North has yet to complete the technical requirements that are needed to receive vaccines’ under the U.N.-backed COVAX program. “ ” The atmosphere for diplomacy deteriorated further this month when Kim s powerful sister released a statement saying the drills were the most vivid expression of the U.S. hostile policy toward North Korea and that the North’ will work faster to strengthen its preemptive strike capabilities. “ ” The United States and South Korea are conducting a nine-day joint military exercise that began last Monday which Seoul s Defense Ministry says is mostly computer-simulated and doesn t involve live field training. There have been no known missile tests by North Korea since the’ start of the drills, although South Korean military officials have said’ the North is currently staging its own summertime exercises.

North Korea has long bristled at U.S.-South Korea military drills and often responds to them with its own weapons demonstrations. The allies in the past few years have canceled or downsized some of their joint training exercises to provide space for diplomacy or because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some analysts say North Korea s recent threat may signal a resumption of its weapons testing. North Korea ended a yearlong pause in ballistic tests in March by firing two short-range missiles’ into the sea, continuing a tradition of testing new U.S. administrations with weapons demonstrations aimed at measuring Washington s response and wresting concessions.

There haven’ t been any known test launches since then as Kim has focused national efforts on fending off the coronavirus and salvaging a broken economy damaged further’ by pandemic border closures and food shortages.

https://www.news10.com/news/international/bidens-special-envoy-urges-north-korea-to-return-to- talks/

Sung Kim's Seoul visit highlights U.S. commitment to denuclearization: State Dept. Diplomacy 05:20 August 24, 2021

FONT SIZE WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- The ongoing visit to South Korea by U.S. special envoy for North Korea Sung Kim underscores the U.S.' commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a State Department spokesperson said Monday. The spokesperson insisted that Kim's trip also highlighted the U.S.' commitment to working closely with South Korea toward that goal. "Special Representative Kim's travel to Seoul illustrates the U.S. and ROK commitment to ongoing close collaboration on DPRK issues as we seek to advance complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula," the spokesperson said, referring to South and North Korea by their official names -- the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively. "This is the special representative's second trip to Seoul in three months and follows the visit of Deputy Secretary (Wendy) Sherman and other high-level meetings that reflect the Biden-Harris Administration's focus on close coordination with the ROK, including on issues related to the DPRK," the spokesperson added in an email to Yonhap News Agency. Kim, who is double-hatted as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, first visited Seoul in June, about a month after he was named U.S. special representative for the North by President Joe Biden. Kim arrived in Seoul on Saturday (Seoul time), and has met with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Seoul's top nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu- duk. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210824000300325?section=national/diplomacy

U.S. requests Korea to allow evacuees on bases

The United States has made a request to the South Korean government to temporarily house Afghan evacuees in U.S. military bases here, Seoul’s top diplomat confirmed Monday.

Asked about the Afghan issue by the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee Monday afternoon, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stressed there is “no such discussion underway at all” with the United States on accommodating evacuees at U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) bases.

But when pressed by a lawmaker if Washington had made a request for evacuees to be temporarily housed at U.S. military bases in Korea, Chung replied, “It is true that the possibility was discussed at the very basic level at an early stage. But it was not discussed seriously."

He added that Korean government consent is necessary in order to accommodate Afghan evacuees at the military bases.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the Pentagon is considering U.S. military bases in Japan, South Korea, Germany, Kosovo, Bahrain and Italy, among other potential sites, to provide housing for Afghan evacuees.

The issue is already splitting the Korean public, with some calling for support of international humanitarian efforts and others wary of opening the borders, taking into consideration the geographic distance from Afghanistan and the country’s generally conservative stance on granting refugee status. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/08/23/national/diplomacy/Afghanistan-Afghan-evacuees- Chung-Euiyong/20210823185107998.html

How Afghanistan withdrawal could lead to a harder policy against China

Biden is getting attacked on all sides for putting its ‘credibility’ on the Taiwan issue at risk. Will he cave to it?

In an interview on Wednesday, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden whether the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan called into question the credibility of America’s commitment to its allies and partners, particularly Taiwan. “Look, America cannot be trusted now,” Stephanopoulos suggested. “America does not keep its promises.”

“Who’s gonna say that?” Biden asked. Lots and lots of people, Mr. President.

Stuart Lau, Politico’s Europe-China correspondent, was one of the first to invite his followers to “imagine Beijing watching U.S. military ‘commitment’ in Afghanistan while contemplating its next move on Taiwan.”

CNN’s Jim Sciutto, too, worried that “the people of Taiwan have to be watching the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan nervously.” On New York Times columnist Bret Stephens’ list of U.S. allies who “will draw the lesson that it is on its own in the face of its enemies,” Taiwan came first.

Donald Trump Jr. was slightly less restrained: “Whatever China’s timeline was before on trying to seize Taiwan, we all know they’re licking their chops now knowing that there will never be a weaker US administration in power.” Greg Locke, a conservative pastor from Tennessee, built on this theme: “China is licking their lips right now over this Afghanistan debacle. They’re going for Taiwan next.”

This kneejerk tendency to hold up and dangle the 24 million people in Taiwan to justify continuing a decades-long, unwinnable war thousands of miles away is disconcerting, but not all too surprising.

“Great power competition” is so amorphous that any argument or policy position can be wrapped neatly around it — from investing $1 trillion in infrastructure and maintaining patent restrictions on Covid-19 vaccines during a global pandemic, to opening the doors to immigrants (and even hundreds of millions of them) to keeping them out, including from Hong Kong.

In the Stephanopoulos interview, even Biden tacitly framed the withdrawal as a strategic move in this great game: “You know who’s most disappointed in us getting out? Russia and China.” When he announced the plan back in April, one key justification was shifting energy and resources towards “the challenges that are in front of us,” first-and- foremost the “stiff competition we’re facing from an increasingly assertive China.” But not only journalists and partisans raised this issue of credibility. The Global Times, a reactionary but unauthoritative Chinese tabloid, published an editorial mocking Taiwan, gloating that in the event of a war its “defense will collapse in hours and the US military won’t come to help.”

This drew the ire of Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, who commented that “Biden has revealed just how weak he is, and the Chinese Communist Party is taking advantage of it.” In an interview with Donald Trump, Sean Hannity admitted that he didn’t necessarily disagree with the editorial’s assessment: “I don’t believe Joe Biden would lift a finger to help Taiwan.”

Trump recalled telling Chinese President Xi Jinping to “not do anything having to do with Taiwan. I know you want to, do not do it.” But he now worries that “bad things are going to happen with respect to Taiwan because they don’t respect our leadership and they no longer respect our country.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, Iain Duncan Smith, a conservative member of the UK parliament, referenced the Global Times editorial in a speech in the House of Commons: “Their belief now is we will not stand up for freedom, we will not stand up for democracy, and we have encouraged those, the totalitarian states…we have encouraged them to believe that we are in full retreat.”

Meanwhile, Chen Dingding, a professor at Guangzhou’s Jinan University, noted that “most Chinese experts agree” that the “implications for [Taiwan] are real.”

Whether or not they are in fact real, both Washington and Taipei felt compelled to push back.

Asked about the issue in a Tuesday press conference, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan responded that “our commitments to our allies and partners are sacrosanct and always have been. We believe our commitment to Taiwan and to Israel remains as strong as it’s ever been.”

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “gratitude” for Sullivan’s affirmation, which it said echoed the “rock-solid backing of the country shown by [Biden] since taking office.” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen also addressed the issue publicly, albeit indirectly.

Biden reaffirmed his support for Taiwan in the Wednesday interview, mentioning it in the same breath as formal U.S. treaty allies: “If in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond,” said Biden. “Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with – Taiwan.”

This came too close to contradicting America’s longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” for some analysts, and an anonymous official shortly thereafter clarified that “policy with regard to Taiwan has not changed.” Nonetheless, this all makes for a strong and immediate rebuff. But the Biden administration is yet very likely aware of the fact that the withdrawal has shifted the chessboard itself, at least temporarily, due to new or reinforced perceptions about American incompetence and decay.

Rush Doshi, a China Director on the National Security Council, released a magnum opus earlier this year — The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order — which argued that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Beijing has tailored and calibrated its foreign policy depending on its perceptions of Washington’s power and influence.

The 2008 financial crisis is a crucial turning point, and the more aggressive and ambitious shift under President Xi Jinping was driven by “perceptions of accelerating American decline following Brexit, Trump, and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020,” Doshi writes. The popular perception that the withdrawal was “botched” and represents a serious crisis for Biden fits it comfortably within this list.

Indeed, Brookings’ Ryan Hass recently wrote that “the principal means through which China may seek to profit from America’s withdrawal might be its efforts to advance a narrative of American decline.”

This applies to Taiwan in its own way as well. Beijing’s most immediate effort will be “to undermine the psychological confidence of the Taiwan people in their own future,” Hass writes. “Beijing would like to advance a narrative inside Taiwan that the United States is distant and unreliable, Taiwan is isolated and alone, and Taiwan’s only path to peace and prosperity runs through Beijing.”

Biden’s China team will likely be very sensitive to these dynamics, and interpret the withdrawal, Beijing’s perception of it, and how to respond through these different psychological prisms. If so, it will seek to dispel any notion that Washington is flailing and helpless, both to reassure Taiwan and other partners while deflating any sense of opportunity or feelings of overconfidence on the part of Beijing.

To go a step further, the administration will also likely do everything in its power to ensure that the withdrawal does not come to define its foreign policy, particularly as the midterm elections start to gain steam. That might require focusing more on Afghanistan over the coming months to stabilize the situation.

But senior Biden aides “repeatedly stressed” to David Rothkopf that the withdrawal was part of a “much broader, carefully considered strategic shift,” which includes “a shift in our focus and the deployment of our resources from the Greater Middle East to the Asia- Pacific region.” Some argue that U.S. allies welcome and expect Biden’s own post- withdrawal “Indo-Pacific pivot.”

The administration had already spent months laying the groundwork for just that: it organized a coordinated, comprehensive campaign to increase pressure on Beijing from nearly all angles, while retooling various aspects of national power — from the CIA to U.S. Southern Command to the Air Force — to compete in this great game.

It is from this foundation and with this set of tools that Biden’s team will adjust, amplify and double-down on its China policy, meaning that things can be expected to get very hot in the year ahead. The Global War on Terror may be all but over; the era of great power competition now begins in earnest.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/08/23/how-afghanistan-withdrawal-could-lead-to-a-harder- policy-against-china/

Kamala Harris’ Southeast Asia visit draws ire of Chinese netizens

 The US vice-president’s trip has been picked apart on platforms such as Weibo, with many posts questioning why she was not in Afghanistan  Analysts say that while Singapore is looking to remain neutral, it backs Washington’s presence in the region – and Beijing is aware of that

Maria Siow Published: 9:45am, 24 Aug, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP

US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ bid to reassure Southeast Asia of Washington’s commitment to the region has been picked apart by Chinese netizens, many of whom have reacted negatively to her visit to the region.

Several users of Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo asked why Harris had not instead headed to Afghanistan to resolve the regional turmoil brought about by the withdrawal of American troops. Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday night, and heads to Vietnam later on Tuesday.

“Why did she head to China’s backyard?” one posted, while another asked, without mentioning Singapore by name if it wanted to “be brothers with the Chinese or ... running dogs for the Americans?”

Asked at a daily press briefing on Monday about Harris’ visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: “China always holds that exchanges between countries should be conducive to promoting mutual trust, and peace and stability in the region and the world at large”.

With Chinese state media and diplomats continuously highlighting how the chaotic US pull-out of Afghanistan is a sign that it cannot be trusted by allies and partners in Europe and Asia, Chinese netizens also poured scorn on Washington’s claims that it is committed to the region, saying the US had made “countless promises in the past that it had not kept” and that Harris is in the region “to stir up trouble and sow discord”.

Others, citing a well-known Chinese idiom, suggested it was clear Harris had undertaken the trip so as to garner support to counter Beijing’s influence in the region.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146094/kamala-harris-southeast-asia-visit-draws- ire-chinese-netizens

Wuhan lab leak theory: How Fort Detrick became a centre for Chinese conspiracies

A disinformation campaign claiming that the Covid-19 virus originated from an American military base in Maryland has gained popularity in China ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the virus origins. In May, US president Joe Biden ordered a 90-day probe into whether the Covid-19 virus came from a lab accident or emerged from human contact with an infected animal. Until then, the "Wuhan lab leak" theory had been dismissed by most scientists as a fringe conspiracy theory. But now as the report is due to be released, China has gone on the offensive. In the past few weeks, Chinese sources have been amplifying a baseless claim that Covid-19 was made in the US. Using everything from rap music to fake Facebook posts, experts say the propaganda efforts have been successful at convincing the domestic Chinese audience to cast scepticism on international criticism of the country's role in the Covid-19 pandemic. But, experts say, it has done little to legitimise China to the outside world.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58273322

Opportunity in Afghanistan? Aug 24, 2021

Is the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan an opportunity for China? Conventional thinking on international relations yields affirmative answers. But the more sensible answer is that the future is unknown.

If some of America s allies who sent troops to Afghanistan over the past 20 years were baffled by the peace agreement the U.S. got itself into with the Taliban in 2019, the ’ sentiment is all too familiar to China. The United States has repeatedly denied China s request to extradite Chinese passport holders detained by the U.S. military, for example. It ’ wasn t until 2014 that the U.S. released them from its Guantanamo military prison in Cuba. As seen from China, America s global war on terror was selective along time-honored ’ geopolitical and geostrategic fault lines. ’ Afghanistan both its society and polity is little understood in China. So is the 20-year of history of the American presence in that country. Whatever was happening between the — — U.S. and Afghanistan was, for China, a fait accompli.

In geographical terms, the Wakhan corridor connects Afghanistan and China. For thousands of years, that land has remained inaccessible to average residents from both countries. Even without the surge of religion-inspired violence on the other side of the border, the corridor was a buffer against unlawful immigration.

Still, in terms of economic geography, with Afghanistan being landlocked, the country s much touted mineral resources have repeatedly proved difficult to access for foreign ’ investors. Over the past 20 years, Chinese mining companies signed contracts to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine, located 25 miles southeast of Kabul, only to find its policy and security environments prohibitive. Complicating matters were allegations of spying at the location as recently as January this year. The dream of future Chinese business operations in Afghanistan is certain to continue, with corporate reputations being a commodity in international competition.

Some Chinese news outlets are already reporting positive expectations about infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. In November 2007, a Chinese mining company obtained a 30-year right to extract deposits in Mes Aynak. And, the country can benefit from having more infrastructure, from electricity to roads. But if there is one thing that history books do confirm about the sociopolitical sentiments in Afghanistan, it is that canine and even rabid acts against foreign presence in the name of preservation of sovereignty prevails in the fights among political entities in that country. Nobody should imagine the situation will be different in the future.

More to the point, Afghan society is not immune from the ever more wildly divergent interpretations of what constitutes sovereignty in the wider world. It would be wrong, and even fatal, for Chinese business entities attracted to Afghanistan to limit their “ ” understanding to the words of a government authority. As in other societies, average Afghans, particularly those not in power or who are uncomfortable with their governing authorities, have a say in what the foreign business presence in their country means for them. That, in turn, is a manifestation of demand for sovereign control and influence.

Can Afghanistan be expected to be cooperative with China in the latter s pursuit of security? Commenting on the change of power in Kabul in recent days, China s Foreign ’ Ministry spokesperson expressed hope that the Taliban will honor its pledge to never allow ’ any force to use the Afghan territory to engage in acts detrimental to China. What it takes for that to happen remains to be seen, in part because the existence of militant elements targeting China and Chinese interests is hard to assess.

But for China, the most reliable means of defense against cross-border acts of violence continues to be eliminating possibilities of collaboration on the Chinese side of the border. The irony, for China, is that its pursuit of economic development in Xinjiang, including job creation for all ethnic minorities, theoretically speaking, can enhance its pursuit of domestic security. Given the international reaction in recent years, some of which stem from emigrants from Xinjiang to other countries, China faces a continuous challenge. Only when citizens feel secure about their lives can a society expect to see its national security enhanced.

In the wake of changes in Kabul in recent days, China should participate in the vision of stable development in Afghanistan. It will be wise for China to help navigate the changing socioeconomic landscapes there by participating in multilateral efforts and projects. This is even necessary, as any foreign country or business entity that s perceived by Afghans of whatever political inclination to be taking advantage of their society is likely to be met ’ — by resistance or even violence. That, in turn, will not be conducive to positive — developments in relations between the two countries.

In short, the termination of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan is not as much of a game changing development for China as it is sometimes portrayed to be. For China, Afghanistan is a neighbor that won t move away. Future complications cannot be ruled out, as this has been true for a very long time. ’ https://www.chinausfocus.com/peace-security/opportunity-in-afghanistan

China’s Top Priority In Afghanistan Is Stability, Experts Say

The U.S. must move past blame for Afghanistan to focus on the threat from China, one expert says.

BY JACQUELINE FELDSCHER

SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT

AUGUST 23, 2021 02:36 PM ET

AFGHANISTAN

CHINA

The scene at the Kabul airport continues to be chaotic more than a week after the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital, with throngs of people so desperate to escape the country that some are passing babies over barriers to help get them out.

But just three miles away, it’s business as usual at the Chinese embassy.

China is one of only a handful of countries that have kept their embassies in Kabul open amid the Taliban takeover. Beijing’s interest in Afghanistan, at least in the short term, is more focused on preventing instability that could spill over the border into China, rather than capitalizing on American chaos or stepping in where the U.S. is stepping out, experts say.

“The main concern is that whatever problems there are in Afghanistan stay in Afghanistan,” said Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic fellow in the German Marshall Fund’s Asia program. “They want the Taliban to establish a government that at least jumps through enough hoops that it can reach diplomatic legitimacy….They don’t want a pariah state on its border again.”

The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was expected to help the Pentagon shift its attention to great power competition and the threat of China. This strategic point should not be lost amid images of the frenzied evacuation and efforts to affix blame, said Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine and CEO of the Punaro Group.

“While we’ve been bogged down in Afghanistan, China has been on the march militarily, economically and technologically,” Punaro said. “Are we taking advantage of this inflection point as we put Iraq and Afghanistan in the rearview mirror and actually focusing on China?”

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/chinas-top-priority-afghanistan-stability- experts-say/184757/

SCO assures to build peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan SECTIONS

SCO assures to build peaceful and pro ..

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/sco-assures-to-build-peaceful-and-prosperous- afghanistan/articleshow/85569896.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/sco-assures-to-build-peaceful-and- prosperous-afghanistan/articleshow/85569896.cms

China asks Pakistan to arrest those behind suicide bomb attack

 China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged Pakistan to “severely punish” the perpetrators and “earnestly protect the safety of Chinese nationals, organisations and projects” in the country. By Sutirtho Patranobis, Hindustan Times, Beijing PUBLISHED ON AUG 24, 2021 01:43 AM IST China on Monday called for the swift arrest of the masterminds behind a blast in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, which killed two children and injured three others including a Chinese national. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged Pakistan to “severely punish” the perpetrators and “earnestly protect the safety of Chinese nationals, organisations and projects” in the country. “On August 20, a motorcade of the Gwadar East Bay expressway project was attacked by a bomber on the way to construction site. One Chinese national suffered minor injuries and several local personnel were injured or killed,” Wang said. “We are shocked and condemn this incident, mourn the Pakistani personnel killed in the attack and convey sympathy to the bereaved families and injured.” Friday’s attack came a month after a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying workers in Pakistan, killing 13, including nine Chinese nationals. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-asks-pakistan-to-arrest-those- behind-suicide-bomb-attack-101629749520263.html

China orders Communist Party members to resolve conflicts of interest as top Hangzhou official probed

SHANGHAI : Members of China's ruling Communist Party in the technology hub city of Hangzhou have been ordered to resolve any potential business- related conflicts of interest involving themselves or relatives, the country's graft watchdog said on Monday.

The statement from the local arm of China's powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CDDI) came two days after it announced a probe into the most senior party official in Hangzhou, city party secretary Zhou Jiangyong.

Zhou is under investigation for "serious violations of discipline and laws", the CCDI said, without giving further details. It wasn't immediately clear whether Zhou was under detention, and Reuters wasn't able to reach him to request comment.

On Monday the CDDI said close to 25,000 current party cadres in leadership positions in the eastern city, as well as those who had retired within the last three years, were undertaking "self examinations" to review any potential conflicts of interest.

Capital of Zhejiang province and a two-hour drive southwest of Shanghai, Hangzhou is home to more than 10 million people as well as some of China's top software and internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

The city is also the home base for Alibaba's financial affiliate, Ant Group, whose record US$37 billion initial public offering (IPO) was derailed last November by Chinese regulators, who wanted to rein in some of its operations and subject it to more rules and capital requirements. Late on Sunday, Ant Group issued a statement saying it had "strictly followed laws and regulations" in an "open and transparent" IPO process, and dismissing speculation online surrounding the IPO as "false rumours".

Ant did not specify what these rumours were in its statement.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim Coghill and Kenneth Maxwell)

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/china-orders-communist-party-members- resolve-conflicts-interest-top-hangzhou-official-probed-2130356

Chinese officials lecture Hong Kong legislators on Five Year Plan Beijing breaks protocol with visit, warning city to 'get moving' economically

Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other Hong Kong officials join visiting Beijing leaders at a seminar Aug. 23. (Photo provided by Hong Kong Information Services Department)

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondentAugust 23, 2021 23:49 JST HONG KONG -- Chinese officials addressed Hong Kong lawmakers at the city's legislature for the first time on Monday, lecturing them about priorities as the country moves into a new five-year economic plan.

Beijing officials usually invite Hong Kong legislators to meet with them in Shenzhen or other mainland cities, in a nod to the "one country, two systems" framework under which China promised autonomy to the territory when it regained control over Hong Kong from Britain in 1997. But many such taboos have given way amid China's crackdown on dissent in the city since 2020.

"Connecting one-on-one with the nation's 14th Five Year Plan is not only about connecting policies, industries and markets, but it is also about connecting ideas and mentalities," Huang Liuquan, the Beijing delegation leader and deputy director of China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said Monday in an earlier session with local government officials.

He added that President Xi Jinping's mantra of "the Chinese dream" and "the great revival of the Chinese race" includes "7.5 million Hong Kong compatriots' Hong Kong dream."

Luo Huining, Beijing's top residing representative in Hong Kong, delivered three messages to local officials just before Huang spoke: Obtain a clear understanding of what China's national planning demands, melt into the big picture of national development and make good use of the support provided for national policy.

Luo stressed that "the central government has been extremely concerned about the economic development and improved livelihood in Hong Kong." The new five-year plan has given Hong Kong a "renewed position for development and provided even more policy supports," the top Beijing envoy said.

"It is now time for the Hong Kong society to go a step further and get moving," he said. "Making no progress means retrogression. Slow progress is also retrogression." Huang also encouraged Hong Kong legislators to grasp the opportunity to participate in the nation's economic development, using an analogy from an ancient Chinese proverb that warns against missing the final boat.

The delegation also included mainland officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the People's Bank of China and the state's information office.

The 14th Five Year Plan, which runs from 2021 through 2025, was passed by the National People's Congress in March, along with longer-term targets for 2035. Hong Kong has been weaved into the plan alongside Macao. China looks to emphasize Hong Kong as an international center for finance, navigation, trade and aviation while enhancing its position as an offshore renminbi center and a science and innovation hub.

According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 and later registered with the United Nations, the "one country, two systems" arrangement was supposed to govern Hong Kong at least until 2047. The agreement signed and ratified by China stipulates that Beijing's jurisdiction be restricted to foreign policy and national defense, with the rest left to Hong Kong under the notion of a "high degree of autonomy."

China's five-year plan is mainly about economic development and not foreign policy or national defense.

Hong Kong's Legislative Council lost virtually all its opposition voices last year after four pro-democracy members were disqualified and a larger group then resigned in protest. The electoral overhaul imposed by Beijing in March further diminishes the chance for opposition candidates to contend in the postponed election, now scheduled for December.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Chinese-officials-lecture-Hong-Kong-legislators-on-Five- Year-Plan

Thousands Leaving Hong Kong, Teachers Quit Amid Security Law and Pandemic

By Tommy Walker

August 23, 2021 09:17 AM

BANGKOK - Hong Kong has seen an alarming reduction in its population over the last 12 months, as people leave in the wake of the pandemic and the city’s political turmoil.

According to data released by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s population has declined by 1.2%, equating to 89,200 people. It’s the biggest decrease in Hong Kong’s population in 60 years, AFP reported.

It comes after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city, cracking down on political dissidents following the anti-government protests in 2019.

Kacey Wong, a visual artist and activist from Hong Kong, recently relocated to Taiwan, citing the far-reaching effects of the security law. He told VOA over the phone that he wants to live somewhere that has “100% freedom of expression,” he said. “For me Taiwan provides that opportunity,” he added.

One of Hong Kong’s well-known artists, Wong, 51, is known for his flair for the visual arts embodied with social activism and politics. But he hasn't gone unnoticed by Beijing, as his name appeared in state-controlled newspaper Ta Kung Pao — which is thought to be China’s wanted list for those who may have broken the security law.

After seeing dozens of lawmakers arrested under the security law, Wong believes that the so-called “red line” of the law in Hong Kong has become so ambiguous that it’s becoming untenable to live with.

“People are saying it’s not the red line anymore, it’s the red sea. It’s a zone that you cannot avoid,” he said.

Wong pointed to how supporters are being targeted for wearing black t-shirts and yellow face mask. The two colors are associated with the pro-democracy movement, and wearing them is seen as a method of protest against the government.

Supporters of the movement have used other methods too, such as publicly reading Apple Daily’s pro-democracy newspaper, before its closure in June. https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/thousands-leaving-hong-kong-teachers-quit- amid-security-law-and-pandemic

China-Japan Relations: Searching for a New Equilibrium Aug 24, 2021

The importance of stable China-Japan relations cannot be overstated. As the world s second and third-largest economies, respectively, the impact of steady bilateral ties goes beyond ’ the Asia-Pacific. The complex bilateral relations both have deep linkages and serious fault lines. Proximity, history, territorial and maritime row, nationalist passions, and economic interdependence thus demand sturdy guardrails. The relations have shown remarkable resilience despite tortuous twists and turns, with Japan s China policy seen as an exemplary model that other countries can emulate. But do recent developments suggest the template ’ is under stress?

Wither “cold politics, hot economics”?

Cold politics and hot economics long defined the relations between the two powerhouse neighbors. Political and diplomatic wrangling is handled astutely, and trade is insulated. “ ” But curbs in rare earth exports, disruption in technology supply chains, and the Xinjiang cotton row demonstrate that the time-honored mantra is being put to the test. Beijing and Tokyo are increasingly competing in many fields, from providing health, economic, and security goods to shaping technology standards and regional trade architecture. But more than this rivalry, many aspects of which other countries welcome, distrust, and divergent outlook undermine the relations.

Sino-Japanese competition unlocks numerous opportunities providing options to investment host countries, compelling reforms in aid delivery, and diversifying partners for many countries in the Global South. China already eclipsed Japan in the global construction space and began making forays in aid and development assistance. Japan, for its part, embarked on its own vaccine diplomacy to counter China s growing influence borne out of its health outreach. Both countries are major outbound investors, and their foreign capital ’ will play a crucial role in stimulating recovery from the pandemic. To counter Beijing s Belt and Road Initiative, which was unveiled in 2013, Tokyo rolled out its Partnership for ’ Quality Infrastructure in 2015. It also worked alongside the United States and other partners to offer the Blue Dot Network (2019) and, recently, the Build Back Better World (June 2021) as market-based alternatives to China s state-backed infrastructure finance. In trade, Japan filled the void left by the U.S. in 2017 when Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. ’ from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), continuing to lead the trade pact rechristened as the Comprehensive and Progressive TPP while hoping for Washington s re-entry. Both China and Japan already ratified the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic ’ Partnership. The latter s presence was seen as a counterweight to thwart the former from dominating the world s largest trade deal expected to take effect next year. ’ In the security domain,’ China is a significant arms exporter to Southeast Asia, with Japan also investing in the maritime capacity building of regional coastal states, including those with which Beijing has longstanding disputes over the South China Sea. The Japan International Cooperation Agency began financing the procurement of patrol boats for the Philippine and Vietnamese coast guards. Tokyo also bagged its first defense export deal to supply radar to Manila last year, an acquisition that would boost the latter s maritime domain awareness. ’ https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/china-japan-relations-searching-for-a-new- equilibrium

North Korea has accused Japan of trespassing in its waters. Is this just a gambit to open talks?

 Pyongyang’s allegation and its threat of ‘strong countermeasures’ are seen as a sign of its worsening famine – and a bid for formal engagement with Tokyo  The food-supply situation, analysts say, may be driving North Korea to seek ways of lifting the international sanctions it is under

Julian Ryall Published: 7:30pm, 23 Aug, 2021 Why you can trust SCMP

North Korea’s accusation that Japan has been operating in its waters – and its threat of “strong countermeasures” – are an indication of a worsening food-supply situation, analysts believe, though the statements are also seen as a potential opening gambit in getting Tokyo to open talks.

The North Korean Supreme People’s Assembly and representatives of the army, the foreign ministry and the land and environmental ministry held talks on Sunday, after which Pyongyang announced that Japanese vessels had been “illegally intruding” into areas of the East Sea – which Tokyo calls the Sea of Japan.

In a post on its website, the North Korea foreign ministry said the issue “has become a reality in recent years” and that Pyongyang was basing its claim on territorial waters linked to Dokdo, the

South Korean -controlled islets that are halfway between the Korean peninsula and Japan, which also claims them.

The statement from North Korea does not specify the area that it is claiming, but analysts believe it refers to the Yamatotai fishing grounds around 350km north of the Noto Peninsula in northwest Japan.

There have been a number of recent confrontations in the area – which is renowned for its catches, particularly of squid during the autumn months – with Japanese Coast Guard vessels intercepting Chinese and North Korean ships operating within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

In October 2019, a North Korean fishing boat sank after an accidental collision with a Japanese Coast Guard vessel. The 60 crew members were rescued and put aboard other fishing boats.

In other incidents, Japanese patrol boats have used water cannons to drive foreign boats away.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146047/north-korea-has-accused- japan-trespassing-its-waters-just-gambit

Vietnam deploys troops to enforce strict lockdown

Vietnam has deployed soldiers in Ho Chi Minh City to enforce a strict lockdown in a bid to curb a coronavirus outbreak there.

The government introduced the tough measure on Monday. Residents of the southern city, where the infection situation is serious, are banned from going out of their homes in principle.

Soldiers carrying automatic rifles stop automobiles and motorcycles at checkpoints to see whether drivers and passengers are carrying certificates that permit them to be out.

Troops are said to be delivering food to residents who are not allowed to go shopping.

Some people are posting messages online, criticizing the government for changing its coronavirus responses frequently. They are calling for reliable measures.

Local media quoted a former senior military officer as saying that the deployment of troops will help step up antivirus measures and that people will become more likely to follow the rules.

Coronavirus infections have been raging in Vietnam since late April. Despite tough restrictions, daily case counts have exceeded 10,000 since last Thursday.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210823_22/

Singapore PM Lee backs US as ‘guarantor’ of security in Asia as Harris grilled over Afghanistan chaos

 Kamala Harris emphasised US commitment to the region and demurred when asked about Afghanistan withdrawal, insisting Washington was ‘singularly’ focused on evacuations  Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore was ‘grateful’ the US had prevented terrorist groups using Afghanistan as a base, adding that Washington’s response to the unfolding crisis would shape perceptions in Asia

Dewey Sim in Singapore US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Monday began her two-nation tour of Asia by fielding a barrage of questions about Washington’s recent withdrawal from Afghanistan and whether its security commitments in the region can be trusted.

Speaking in Singapore alongside Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong, Harris demurred when asked about the withdrawal of US forces, saying instead that Washington was “singularly” focused on the evacuation of US and Afghan citizens after Taliban militants seized control of the country.

Harris landed in Singapore on Sunday and is scheduled to deliver a major foreign policy address on Tuesday before flying to Vietnam. After meetings on Monday with Lee and his key ministers, Harris emphasised the US commitment to the region, which she said would “in large part … dictate the future of our world”.

Several agreements were announced between the US and Singapore onclimate change financing, cybersecurity and public health. The delegations also discussed cooperation dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain resilience. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146053/singapore-pm-lee-backs-us-guarantor-security-asia- harris-grilled

No Cabinet posts for opposition, they can contribute in COVID-19 council: Malaysia PM Ismail Sabri

The prime minister said that the Cabinet line-up would be announced later this week.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Monday (Aug 23) that opposition politicians will not be appointed as Cabinet ministers, amid suggestions on the feasibility of a unity government.

If opposition lawmakers would like to contribute in the country s fight against COVID-19, they can do so via the National Recovery Council or the special committee, he added. ’ Speaking to the media after inspecting the flood situation in Kedah state, the new prime minister said it appeared the opposition had given an encouraging response to his offer to be involved in national recovery efforts.

They want to discuss, God willing. I will meet with them to discuss, they want to know what their role is, he said. “ ” The same with economic recovery, there is the National Recovery Council and they can also be involved in that, Mr Ismail Sabri said. “ ” When asked if this meant Cabinet roles, Mr Ismail Sabri said there was no unity government involving opposition parties.

But cooperation does not mean they are in the Cabinet. If they really want to help solve the COVID-19 issue, we have the Special Committee on COVID-19, they can contribute their opinions“ and ideas there.

” https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/no-cabinet-posts-opposition-they-can-contribute-covid-19-council- malaysia-pm-ismail-sabri-2130621

Malaysia PM Ismail Sabri looks forward to visiting Singapore, strengthening existing bilateral relations

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Sunday (Aug 22) he looks forward to visiting Singapore and meeting his counterpart Mr Lee Hsien Loong to discuss existing bilateral relations.

Mr Ismail Sabri thanked Mr Lee for reaching out to congratulate him on his appointment as the ninth Prime Minister of Malaysia, and said that he had taken the opportunity to extend well-wishes to Singapore on its National Day on Aug 9.

During the telephone conversation, Mr Ismail Sabri said that he had also expressed Malaysia s high commitment to further strengthen existing bilateral relations with Singapore, on top of exploring new potential in various fields for both countries’ mutual interest.

I look forward to visit Singapore’ and meeting His Excellency to discuss how both Malaysia and Singapore can benefit from the friendship that both of“ our countries have for so many years, he said in a Facebook post on Sunday. ” https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/malaysia-ismail-sabri-looks-forward-visiting-singapore- strengthen-bilateral-relations-2129751

China-backed mining deepens Papua New Guinea's golden dilemma COVID raises economic need but history of disputes and Beijing's rise fuel opposition ELIZABETH BEATTIE, Contributing writerAUGUST 24, 2021 06:00 JST

HONG KONG -- When the COVID-19 pandemic shrank Papua New Guinea's economy, the country looked to what one top official branded the "devil" for answers.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/China-backed-mining-deepens-Papua- New-Guinea-s-golden-dilemma

Australia to resettle ‘thousands upon thousands’ of Afghans

By Rob Harris August 23, 2021 7.30pm

Australia is likely— to resettle more than 12,000 Afghan refugees over the coming years as part of its established humanitarian program as the federal government joins international negotiations to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops in the region.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Federal Parliament on Monday the government would resettle thousands upon thousands of Afghans who had courageously stood with Australian forces over the 20 years since they joined a United States-led coalition to“ end the use of Afghanistan” as a terrorist base of “operations. ”

The international scramble to evacuate thousands of international workers, Afghan interpreters and women at risk since the Taliban swept to power last week continues, with an estimated 20,000 people chaotically trying to board flights from Kabul airport.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called a virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations for Tuesday to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people. Mr Morrison said on Monday the national security committee of cabinet had met daily to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Australia was working closely with its allies and partners.

Our priority is the safe and orderly departure of Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders, including formerly locally engaged Afghan employees,“ he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-” to-resettle-thousands-upon- thousands-of-afghans-20210823-p58l5j.html

Putin wary of Afghan refugees in Central Asia

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United States and its allies should not send Afghan refugees to Central Asian countries.

Putin referred to the situation in Afghanistan at a meeting in Moscow on Sunday.

Putin pointed out that Western nations are attempting to relocate refugees from Afghanistan to the former Soviet republics in Central Asia while their visas are being processed.

The president said refugees can be sent without visas to Russia's neighboring countries, while Western nations don't want to take them without visas. He called this approach "humiliating."

Putin expressed concern about the possibility of terrorists posing as refugees.

He said, "We don't want militants under the disguise of refugees to appear here again."

Central Asian nations are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of the worsening security situation in Afghanistan.

However, Uzbekistan's foreign ministry said it had accepted nearly 2,000 refugees by Friday. The country places importance on its relations with the US.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210823_10/

Kabul airport problems blocking medical supplies for Afghans: WHO

GENEVA: More than 500 tonnes of medical supplies including surgical equipment and severe malnutrition kits due to be delivered to Afghanistan this week are stuck because of Kabul airport restrictions, the World Health Organization said on Monday (Aug 23).

Aid agencies say it is critical that medical and food supplies reach some 300,000 people displaced in Afghanistan over the past two months amid advances by the Taliban insurgents that culminated in the capture of Kabul on Aug 15.

Nearly 18.5 million people - half the population - rely on aid and the humanitarian needs are expected to grow due to drought. But the closure of Kabul airport to commercial flights has held up deliveries, WHO regional emergency director Dr Richard Brennan told Reuters.

"While the eyes of the world now are on the people being evacuated and the planes leaving, we need to get supplies in to help those who are left behind," Brennan said in an emailed statement.

He said the WHO was calling for empty planes to divert to its warehouse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to collect the supplies on their way to pick up evacuees from Afghanistan.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/kabul-airport-block-medical-supplies-afghans- taliban-2130701

Seeking World Recognition, Taliban Vows to Help Fight Terror and Climate Change

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 8/23/21 AT 4:37 PM EDT In comments shared exclusively with Newsweek, a senior Taliban official has called for global recognition of his group's rule over Afghanistan, where he vowed militants would never again be allowed to launch attacks against other countries.

And he said his group has plenty to offer if the world embraces it.

In the week since the Taliban, officially known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, took Kabul in a rapid, largely uncontested march, no country has yet formally recognized the change in power. But the issue has been a major point of discussion as governments, including those of China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and even the United States, maintain contact with the group now effectively in charge of the country.

As these conversations develop, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a member of the Taliban's Cultural Commission, told Newsweek that his group sought worldwide recognition of the Islamic Emirate. NEWSWEEK NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP >

"We hope not only to be recognized by regional countries," Balkhi said, "but the entire world at large as the legitimate representative government of the people of Afghanistan who have gained their right of self-determination from a foreign occupation with the backing and support of an entire nation after a prolonged struggle and immense sacrifices despite all odds being stacked against our people."

And he argued that such a move would be to the benefit of not only Afghanistan but nations across the globe.

"We believe the world has a unique opportunity of rapprochement and coming together to tackle the challenges not only facing us but the entire humanity," Balkhi added, "and these challenges ranging from world security and climate change need the collective efforts of all, and cannot be achieved if we exclude or ignore an entire people who have been devastated by imposed wars for the past four decades."

https://www.newsweek.com/seeking-world-recognition-taliban-vows-help-fight-terror- climate-change-1622239

How Afghanistan Will Influence Geopolitics In The Region: Uncertain Changing Power Balances – Analysis August 23, 2021 Murray Hunter 0 Comments

By Murray Hunter Afghanistan was the frontline of the United States declared war on terror twenty years ago. This led to the US invasion of the country after the September 11 terrorist attacks, where there was a search for Osama bin Laden, and other leaders of the Al-Qaeda movement. The Taliban were dislodged as punishment for providing safe haven for Al-Qaeda, leading to a twenty-year occupation in an experiment to bring a democratic society to a country where power was traditionally decentralized in the hands of tribal warlords.

The Afghanistan war and occupation cost the US a staggering US $2.25 trillion. The war resulted in the deaths of 66.000 Afghan military forces and police, 47,000 civilians, and 50,000 Taliban fighters. On the US side 7,400 solders, contractors, and allied security forces lost their lives.

Over the last few months, the Taliban was able to fill the void of withdrawing US and allied forces very easily, moving back into Kabul without the need to fight. The speed of this was so quick, US and allied personnel are being evacuated in scenes of panic at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul. Overnight, the country was renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

The US withdraw from Afghanistan has left a massive geo-political vacuum. Due to the perceived sudden nature of this event, although the withdrawal was staged over a long period of time, it’s now uncertain what exactly will happen, and which nations will be the winners and losers.

Is this a US withdrawal from Central Asia? Hardly, as the US didn’t project power from Afghanistan. US presence was primarily concerned with internal security. The US withdrawal has freed up resources and stopped a financial sink-hole. However, with no more physical presence in Afghanistan, other dynamics will occur, changing the regional balance of power.

China has the most to gain with its presence throughout Central Asia. China has a strategic partnership with Pakistan, and is developing one with Iran. China is also working with Russia under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which Iran is joining. With many Central and South Asian countries as members, this block could act as a buffer to US trade and diplomatic influence across the region. https://www.eurasiareview.com/23082021-how-afghanistan-will-influence-geopolitics-in- the-region-uncertain-changing-power-balances-analysis/

Afghanistan Is a Much Bigger Economic Disruption Than Markets Think

An economic disaster is on the verge of unfolding in Afghanistan. To think about how bad it is likely to get, consider that when the Taliban were ousted in 2001, according to the World Bank, Afghan GDP was a bit less than $4 billion, with a population of about 21 million citizens. The Taliban had cracked down on education so much that only about 20 percent of primary-school-aged children were enrolled in school, and life expectancy at birth was only about 56 years. By 2020, GDP had climbed all the way to $20 billion — with the population soaring to 38 million, primary-school attendance rates of almost 100 percent, and life expectancy at birth all the way up to almost 65 years.

The tragic truth is that the Taliban seem hell-bent on reintroducing policies that take their people and their economy back to the 1990s. One can be sure that GDP will give back most of the gains since 2000. Such a shock will be an almost unbearable burden for the citizens of Afghanistan, but its economy is so tiny that the only significant direct economic effect will come through a trade effect in heroin markets.

But the U.S. retreat will have effects far more powerful than the direct economic effects might suggest. Indeed, there are both near-term and longer-term effects that suggest that a wave of flight to safety could well be around the next corner.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/afghanistan-is-a-much-bigger-economic- disruption-than-markets-think/

Iran: President Raisi Says Delay in Release Of Frozen Assets In Japan Not Justifiable August 23, 2021 Tasnim News Agency 0 Comments By Tasnim News Agency Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called on Japan to unfreeze the country’s assets that have been blocked unjustifiably.

In a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, held in Tehran on Sunday, Raisi stressed the need for the release of the currency resources of Iran that have been frozen in Japan.

“The delay in releasing the Iranian assets held in Japanese banks is not justifiable,” he said.

Highlighting the friendly ties between Tehran and Tokyo and calling for the enhancement of the economic and trade relations, the president praised Japan for its humanitarian assistance to Iran in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

In response to the Japanese foreign minister’s call for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, he said while the Islamic Republic had fully honored its JCPOA commitments, it was the US that breached the deal, withdrew from the agreement unilaterally and intensified the sanctions on Tehran.

Denouncing the European parties for following the US and refusing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal, Raisi said Americans must be held accountable for failing to fulfill their commitments and provide the world’s public opinion with an explanation for the breach of the JCPOA.

The president made it clear that Iran has no problem with the negotiations per se, but said, “With what justification should the US sanctions against the Iranian nation continue?” On the developments in Afghanistan, he welcomed the efforts by Japan and regional countries for the establishment of peace and stability, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported and continues to support peace and stability in Afghanistan, however, we believe that Afghans themselves should decide for Afghanistan.” Blaming the lingering problems in Afghanistan on foreign interference, the president said the presence of Americans in the region, as in Afghanistan, has not resulted in security, but has created threats.

“Today, the Americans confess after 20 years that their presence in Afghanistan has been wrong, and, undoubtedly, we will witness such a confession about other regional countries as well as the Persian Gulf in the near future,” Raisi stated. He further stressed that ensuring the security of regional and international waters will be in the interests of all sides, noting that Iran opposes any act resulting in insecurity of the region.

For his part, the senior Japanese diplomat expressed confidence that the relations between Tokyo and Tehran will grow under the new Iranian president’s tenure.

Highlighting Japan’s efforts to ensure regional peace and stability, Motegi said his country has always supported the JCPOA and believes that the revival of the nuclear deal will serve the interests of all parties and could contribute to a negotiated solution to problems.

The visiting Japanese foreign minister also voiced concern about the recent developments in Afghanistan, calling for a halt to the violence and for protection of the lives of people in that country.

Japan supports the diplomatic efforts by the regional countries for the establishment of peace, stability and calm in the region, and its principled policy is that troubles and conflicts should be settled peacefully and through dialogue, he concluded. https://www.eurasiareview.com/23082021-iran-president-raisi-says-delay-in-release-of- frozen-assets-in-japan-not-justifiable/

Who Is Directing American Policy? by Lawrence Kadish August 23, 2021 at 4:30 pm

. repeatedly told by military brass and intelligence officials that this was going to be the nightmare scenario if he unilaterally pulled American forces out at the end of this month. . How could he do this? For those who follow the grifters, pilot fish, and "consultants" who wallow behind the wake of this administration it should come as no surprise. . "All our efforts in Afghan have be uprooted by a complete disaster of an administration.... you can spin it all you want.... We Afghan/Iraq vets did not lose this.... our government did... our government lost it for us... but while most of America was at the mall, we were all in the mix shedding our time, effort and blood.... What broke me was the video of the mother throwing her newborn to the Marines on the wall.... but this is all squarely on who's in office now.... even if he doesn't know it." — EMT worker on 9/11/2001 and later a US Marine. . That final observation from an individual I am proud to know reveals what many of us wonder. This president is making terribly flawed decisions for which history and the American people will hold him accountable. And if it is not Biden directing American domestic and foreign policy, then who is?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17676/who-is-directing-american-policy

Global Tax Reform and China Aug 24, 2021

A cascade of events signals that global tax reform has gathered great momentum. The G7 Finance Ministers Meeting in June reached a consensus on two-pillar global corporate tax reform and sending and important political message. On July 1, the OECD/G20 BEPS project ’ announced that the two-pillar global tax reform plan had been endorsed by more than 130 countries and jurisdictions.

Moreover, on July 10, the third meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers concluded with a historic agreement on a more stable and fairer global tax architecture. As the 139 countries of the Inclusive Framework continue debating remaining issues and “ ” technical details, it is estimated that a final decision on global tax reform could be made in October, and changes will be put in place as early as 2023.

The tax reform follows a two-pillar plan that has been gradually established since 2019. The first pillar is the redistribution of some tax rights that is, to reapportion some taxes of large multinational enterprises from the place where they are registered to the place — where they operate and make profits. The second pillar is to set the lowest corporate tax rate in the world to end the race to the bottom of corporate tax.

The current scheme sets more specific arrangements for the two pillars. For example, the first pillar only applies to multinational companies with a turnover exceeding 20 billion euros and profit margins exceeding 10 percent, and extractive industries and regulated financial services are excluded. The second pillar, applying to companies with a turnover of more than 750 million euros, is to create a minimum tax of 15 percent for multinationals through the income inclusion rule and the low-tax payment rule.

The global tax reform movement started as early as 2009 after the financial crisis, as many countries were increasingly dissatisfied with what they saw as abuses of globalization. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has gravely worsened the financial situation for many countries, adding urgency and new momentum for global tax reform. However, the shift of attitude in the U.S. has provided a key impetus for this round of reform.

The Biden administration supports global tax reform to achieve three goals:

First to act in accordance with the U.S. domestic tax reform. In April 2021, the Biden administration proposed the Made in America tax plan, which aims to raise more tax revenue to support its massive domestic investment programs. The U.S., which plans to “ ” raise its minimum tax rate to 21 percent, is counting on an increase in the world s lowest tax rate to blunt the impact of higher corporate tax rates at home. ’ Second, to address the imbalance of globalization. The common practice of seeking tax havens for multinationals and the resulting large amount of tax revenue outflow have drawn the ire of many Americans, angry about the abuses of globalization. In promoting meaningful acts curbing tax havens, the Biden administration aims to protect the U.S. tax base and to promote the return of the manufacturing industry.

Third, to convince the Europeans to give up their “digital tax.” Europe s unilateral digital service tax has triggered a major row between Europe and the United States, creating bad ’ blood and preventing effective coordination between the two sides on many issues. Recently, the European Union agreed to put a hold on its digital tax while waiting for progress in global tax reform.

The EU is also supportive of global tax reform. For years, it has been unhappy about tax revenue that has been lost because of the existence of tax havens within its borders. It is pushing for ambitious and comprehensive tax reform within the EU to further strengthen the foundation of the European single market.

But the EU plan had been thwarted by low tax members, such as Ireland, Malta, Luxembourg and Hungary. The EU hopes to take advantage of the external pressure of global tax reform to prepare for tax reform at the EU level.

Despite the fact that global tax reform still faces uncertainties in the future as both the U.S. and EU face internal resistance and global implementation requires time, it is still quite possible that the world will see in the coming years a major reshaping of the current international tax rules that would affect both national governments and multinational enterprises.

Through the G20 platform, China has endorsed two-pillar global tax reform. An analysis of the reform arrangement shows that China will not lose from the reforms. As the major market for many multinational companies, China may get more tax revenues from the Pillar 1 reform. China s corporate rate is well above 15 percent, and Pillar 2 will not have a major impact on China s policy autonomy, though it may put pressure on some of its domestic tax ’ incentives for tech companies. In addition, global tax reform will have only limited impact ’ on China s foreign investment, as China s attraction increasingly lies in its complete industrial supply chain, huge domestic market and favorable opening-up policies. ’ ’ For many Chinese multinational companies, especially tech companies rapidly developing their overseas operations, global tax reform is an area worthy of more attention and careful response planning. On one hand, compared with the haphazard digital service taxes, a global tax reform arrangement is more predictable and implies lower compliance cost.

On the other hand, international tax policy changes will become an unavoidable external challenge for large multinational technology enterprises. They will increase the overseas compliance costs, affect the tax costs of cross-border investment and influence the investment decisions of companies. The minimum corporate tax rate rule could also hit multinational companies that set up subsidiaries in low-tax jurisdictions to avoid taxes.

https://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/global-tax-reform-and-china

Boycotting Beijing 2022: Accountability for the Next Olympics and Beyond by David M. Crane, Yonah Diamond and Noah Lew August 23, 2021

There is now a consensus in the human rights community, and one growing among politicians, in favor of some form of boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, hosted by China—a regime committing ongoing mass atrocities and serious human rights abuses, particularly in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, while currently cozying up to Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. In addition to the possibility of a full boycott, other alternatives include a diplomatic boycott, relocation of the Games, athlete-led protests, and the withdrawal of corporate sponsors. Others have proposed longer-term reforms that would prevent any authoritarian regime from hosting the Games in the future, such as Ambassador David Scheffer’s proposal to establish neutral, permanent locations for the Olympic Games through an international treaty. History has shown the dangers of allowing repressive regimes to gain legitimacy by hosting the Olympics. Given these dangers, the international community and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have short-term and long-term avenues to hold China accountable and preserve the legitimacy of the Olympics in the future. https://www.justsecurity.org/77841/boycotting-beijing-2022-accountability-for-the-next- olympics-and-beyond/

Beautiful Words, Dangerous Actions Aug 23, 2021

On July 27, 2021, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in Singapore that the U.S. does not seek military conflict with Beijing. He made even more beautiful remarks when he said: “ ” stable relationship with China. Nevertheless, he added, We will not flinch when our “Let me be clear … I am committed to pursuing a constructive, interests are threatened. Yet we do not seek confrontation. ” “ Over the past few months, President Joe Biden and Secretary” of State Antony Blinken have made similar public statements, but the credibility of the U.S. is so poor that few might believe such statements are sincere. Beautiful public remarks are made for the U.S. image in the world, while dangerous actions conducted by the U.S. related to Taiwan and the South China Sea tell the truth, contradicting the nice words.

First, the U.S. has been accustomed to pushing its domestic law concepts on China, putting these above bilateral documents and international law. For example, the U.S. has created laws and issued executive orders related to the Taiwan question that distort the one China principle. In fact, it has been pursuing a policy that is pushing the two countries “ closer and closer to military conflict, as the U.S. version of one China has been drifting ever ” further from what was mutually agreed upon in three Sino-U.S. joint communiques. It is dangerous for the U.S. to continue taking China s goodwill and tolerance as a chance to maximize its strategic interests. ’ The U.S. should immediately stop its hegemonic unilateral practice that push U.S. domestic notions of law on China when dealing with Taiwan issues. It should truly observe the principles laid down in the three communiques. The Taiwan Relations Act, and Six Assurances, which go against the one-China principle as defined in the three communiques, have long been opposed by China, and they are null and void in the case of Taiwan. The new guidelines issued by the Biden administration in April 2021, liberalizing guidance on contacts with Taiwan, is another serious deviation from the true one-China principle.

It is ridiculous for the U.S. to say that its interactions and engagement with Taiwan reflect our deepening unofficial relationship. Such grossly deceptive games should stop at once to “ prevent people from believing that all U.S. government actions are unofficial. ” Second, upgrading official and military exchanges with Taiwan has come to the brink of a precipice. U.S. cabinet members have been to Taipei, planes emblazoned with the glaring words U.S. Air Force have landed in Taiwan more than once, arms sales to Taiwan have

“ ” included offensive weapons with, and U.S. personnel in Taiwan have conducted exercises and training. The U.S. Coast Guard is now regularly engaged in covert discussions and operations with its counterpart in Taiwan in accordance with a memorandum of cooperation signed last March. With Tsai Ing-wen, leader of China s Taiwan region, involved in such U.S. schemes as the democracy summit this autumn, for example, one ’ might expect, with no exaggeration, that if the U.S. continues to move down this erroneous road, another a serious crisis in the Sino-U.S. relations might be triggered anytime.

Third, U.S. military operations in areas near China could backfire. Under the slogan of free navigation and overflight, the U.S. military has been intensifying its activities in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Reconnaissance operations averaging five or six a day have never stopped. Hydrologic survey operations have been added. The number of U.S. Naval ships encroaching on China s territorial waters is increasing, and the wrong signals have been sent to pro-independence forces in Taiwan. The U.S. has ’ increasingly become a saboteur of peace and stability in the region.

Fourth, agitation in the areas of human rights, ideology and an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic will produce no good results. These are harmful to the two countries and to the whole world. The U.S. should truly change its confrontational approach and return to dialogue, which has proved helpful in the past. U.S. reliance on big lies and distortions of facts to demonize China will always harm itself. China s progress in human rights and democracy, as well as its contribution to the global suppression of the COVID-19 ’ pandemic cannot be denied.

Fifth, malignant U.S. actions against China can never achieve any desired results. They only reveal the true intentions of America s China policy. The U.S. military has conducted military exercises near China to stir up trouble, together with Japan, Australia and a few ’ NATO members, such as Britain and France. U.S. diplomats have been inciting Lithuania, a small country in Europe to challenge the one-China principle. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken even met with the representative of the Dalai Lama in India during his visit there in a vain attempt to foment trouble in Tibet. How can the U.S. explain its true intentions toward 1.4 billion Chinese people?

Sixth, selfish U.S. trade policy has resulted in serious consequences globally. Take the U.S. blockade of semiconductor chips for example. U.S. hegemonic actions have broken global industrial supply chains, and they are now undergoing a painful process of restructuring. As a result, the shortage of chips in automobile manufacturing is so acute that prices of chips are going up and quite a number of manufacturers in different countries (including the U.S.) have been forced to reduce production. It is well-known that high tariffs unilaterally imposed on China s exports to the U.S. have cost U.S. consumers and become a factor in U.S. inflation. ’ Facts have proved that when the U.S. has tried to hurt China, it has hurt itself and other parts of the world. It is high time for the U.S. to change course and return to the normal practice of seeking common ground while reserving differences, so that the two countries can truly initiate and expand cooperation for the welfare of the two peoples and the whole world.

https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/beautiful-words-dangerous-actions

Beijing’s American Hustle How Chinese Grand Strategy Exploits U.S. Power

Matthew Pottinger China Program Chairman

Although many Americans were slow to realize it, Beijing’s enmity for Washington began long before U.S. President Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and even prior to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rise to power in 2012. Ever since taking power in 1949, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has cast the United States as an antagonist. But three decades ago, at the end of the Cold War, Chinese leaders elevated the United States from just one among many antagonists to their country’s primary external adversary—and began quietly revising Chinese grand strategy, embarking on a quest for regional and then global dominance.

The United States and other free societies have belatedly woken up to this contest, and a rare spirit of bipartisanship has emerged on Capitol Hill. But even this new consensus has failed to adequately appreciate one of the most threatening elements of Chinese strategy: the way it exploits vital aspects of American and other free societies and weaponizes them in the service of Chinese ambitions. Important U.S. institutions, especially in finance and technology, cling to self-destructive habits acquired through decades of “engagement,” an approach to China that led Washington to prioritize economic cooperation and trade above all else.

If U.S. policymakers and legislators find the will, however, there is a way to pull Wall Street and Silicon Valley back onside, convert the United States’ vulnerabilities into strengths, and mitigate the harmful effects of Beijing’s political warfare. That must begin with bolder steps to stem the flow of U.S. capital into China’s so-called military-civil fusion enterprises and to frustrate Beijing’s aspiration for leadership in, and even monopoly control of, high-tech industries— starting with semiconductor manufacturing. The United States must also do more to expose and confront Beijing’s information warfare, which spews disinformation and sows division by exploiting U.S. social media platforms—platforms that are themselves banned inside China’s own borders. And Washington should return the favor by making it easier for the Chinese people to access authentic news from outside China’s so-called Great Firewall.

Some have argued that because the CCP’s ideology holds little appeal abroad, it poses an insignificant threat to U.S. interests. Yet that ideology hardly appeals to the Chinese people, either, and that hasn’t prevented the party from dominating a nation of 1.4 billion people. The problem is not the allure of Leninist totalitarianism but the fact that Leninist totalitarianism—as practiced by the well-resourced and determined rulers of Beijing—has tremendous coercive power. Accordingly, U.S. leaders should not ignore the ideological dimension of this contest; they should emphasize it. American values—liberty, independence, faith, tolerance, human dignity, and democracy—are not just what the United States fights for: they are also among the most potent weapons in the country’s arsenal, because they contrast so starkly with the CCP’s hollow vision of one-party rule at home and Chinese domination abroad. Washington should embrace those strengths and forcefully remind American institutions that although placating China might help their balance sheets in the short term, their long-term survival depends on the free markets and legal rights that only U.S. leadership can secure.

In past decades, the United States’ failure to reckon with the ways that American society and businesses were being weaponized to serve the CCP’s long-term agenda might have been chalked up to naiveté or Pollyannaish optimism. Such excuses are no longer plausible. Yet Beijing continues to run this play, turning American money and institutions to its own ends—and making the need for real action from Washington all the greater.

https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/08/23/beijings-american-hustle/

Analysis: China, Pakistan, India jockey for position in Afghanistan's new Great Game By Sanjeev Miglani and Asif Shahzad, Yew Lun Tian

Aug 23 (Reuters) - The Russian and British empires battled over Afghanistan in the 19th century, and the United States and the Soviet Union in the 20th. As the Taliban takes over in the strategic, landlocked nation, the new Great Game has Pakistan in control, with its ally China looking to cement its grip on the region.

Pakistan has deep ties with the Taliban and has been accused of supporting the Islamist group as it battled the U.S.-backed government in Kabul - charges denied by Islamabad. When the Taliban captured Kabul last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said Afghans had broken the "shackles of slavery".

https://www.reuters.com/world/china-pakistan-india-jockey-position-afghanistans-new- great-game-2021-08-23/

Philippines to purchase new 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapons for Marines

AUGUST 23, 2021 Facebook

A light machine gun providing fire suppression during operations. Photo c/o Weaponsystems.net.

The Philippine Navy (PN) is in the process of acquiring new 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW) for the Philippine Marine Corps, with the acquisition tender already ongoing.

The procurement, with a budget of PHP100 million (US$2 million) is being done through public bidding, with the tender closing on 24 August 2021. Delivery is expected to be completed within 300 calendar days from release of the project's Notice to Prceed (NTP).

According to Philippine defense page Philippine Defense Resource, the requirement for 160 units of new 5.56mm light machine guns with reflex optic sights, plus several 200-round box magazines and 30-round STANAG M16 magazines and other accessories.

The project specifications also mentioned that the SAWs should have rail interface per MIL STD 1913 or Picatinny Rail, with a gas-operated, rotating bolt operating system, striker-fired firing pin firing mechanism, and air cooled design.

The specifications also mentioned the weight of the new SAW to be between 6.0 kilograms to 8.16 kilograms, and an overall length between 800 millimetres to 1,041.40 millimetres.

It was mentioned also that the quantity was only enough to re-arm the Philippine Marine Corps' Marine Special Operations Group (MARSOG) or a standard Marine Battalion.

Currently the PMC has 1 Assault Armor Battalion and 12 Marine Rifle Battalions, utilizing the M60E3/E4 7.62mm light machine gun which is considered heavier and longer than the specified new 5.56mm SAW.

Aside from the M60E3/E4, the Philippine Marine Corps also operate the newer M60E6, as well as the FN Herstal Minimi 5.56mm SAW, both of which are operated by the MARSOG.

https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/2021/08/philippines-to-purchase-new-556mm- squad.html

US Indo-Pacific commander's PH visit pushes through despite AFP Chief's condition

Published August 24, 2021, 7:20 AM by Martin Sadongdong A top United States military officer traveled to the Philippines Monday, Aug. 23, to reaffirm the US government’s commitment to the alliance with our country and in honor of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Admiral John Aquilino, commander for US Indo-Pacific Command, visits Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Aug. 23, 2021. (Photo by Armed Forces of the Philippines) Admiral John Aquilino, commander for the United States Indo-Pacific Command, met with Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Inspector General Lt. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to discuss deepening Washington’s bilateral ties to Manila and the Indo-Pacific region.

Noticeably, Gacal represented AFP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino Jr. who is in self-isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Nonetheless, Aquilino underscored the importance of the US’ commitment to assist the Philippines and the Indo-Pacific region in its shared security needs.

“Our alliance represents the mutual trust that is central to our enduring friendship, and this trust is a necessity in order to confront the security challenges in this theater,” Aquilino said.

“Both of our nations have made it clear that we are committed to the Alliance, and that we remain prepared to fight alongside and defend each other using all of our capabilities to preserve the region’s peace and stability,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gacal said the AFP values the signing of Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries which he described as “the birth of our defense alliance.” “This occasion is an opportunity to advance our mutual security interests and manifests both our Armed Forces’ commitment to the alliance even in the midst of challenges brought by the pandemic,” Gacal said.

Signed on August 30, 1951, the MDT is an accord which states that both the US and Philippines will support each other in case of an attack on each country’s territory, armed forces, public vessels or aircraft from a third-party country.

The trip marks Aquilino’s first visit to the country as commander for US Indo-Pacific Command.

However, he previously visited as commander for US Navy Pacific Fleet in August 2018, meeting with Lorenzana and other defense officials to discuss opportunities to increase military cooperation.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/24/us-indo-pacific-commanders-ph-visit-pushes-through-despite-afp- chiefs-condition/

20th SEACAT concludes, puts cooperative maritime security first By Lt. Lauren Chatmas, Command Destroyer Squadron 7 Public Affairs SINGAPORE –

The 20th annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercise concluded Aug. 20, following 10 days of in-person and at-sea engagements that enhanced collaboration among Indo- Pacific partners and focused on shared maritime security challenges of the region.

SEACAT is a multilateral exercise that brought together 21 partner nations, interagencies, international and non-government organizations, designed to provide mutual support and a common goal to address crises, contingencies, and illegal activities in the maritime domain using standardized tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Ashore, the exercise involved a command post exercise at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base that served as a centralized hub for information sharing in the tracking of contracted merchant vessels simulating suspicious vessels of interests (VOIs) in seas throughout Southeast Asia.

Capt. Tim LaBenz, deputy commander of Destroyer Squadron 7 (DESRON 7), served as the Officer in Tactical Command, overseeing the operations in Singapore.

"Integrating U.S. Navy personnel and liaison officers from across the region and beyond, the multilateral collaboration required during SEACAT continues to build on well-established relationships in the maritime domain," said LaBenz. "Exercises like these showcase the daily strides and highlight our shared focus to promote maritime security, all in support of a free and open Indo- Pacific."

By aggregating information through maritime domain awareness (MDA) tools, cueing was provided to participant countries’ operations centers and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft or surface assets. These assets made use of that information across the region to track, find and simulate boarding of the VOIs, with the goal of practicing and advancing a collective ability to enforce international rules, laws, and norms.

The exercise scenarios were designed to encourage countries to share information to enhance understanding of the operational environment, build capacity for humanitarian support missions, and uphold international laws and norms. As Indo-Pacific Command’s executive agent for counter- narcotics, Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West provided intel support to participating countries, demonstrating their shared commitment to the international rules-based approach to address transnational organized crime.

"As the U.S. Department of Defense lead agency for counternarcotics in the Indo-Pacific, Joint Interagency Task Force West remains honored to participate in SEACAT year after year," said Rear Adm. Charles Fosse, director, JIATF West. "SEACAT 2021 strengthened our intelligence-sharing partnerships with other military and law enforcement operational centers, enabling a unified effort to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Signifying the largest iteration to date, 21 nations participated, including Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

In all, SEACAT included 10 ships and more than 400 personnel. U.S. Navy participants included USS Tulsa (LCS 16), staff of DESRON 7, P-8A Poseidon aircraft assigned to Task Force 72, and personnel from Task Forces 73, 76, U.S. 7th Fleet, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and JIATF West. Other organizations included United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), EU Critical Maritime Route Wider Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO), and Global Fishing Watch, with application of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS).

https://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/2741621/20th-seacat-concludes-puts- cooperative-maritime-security-first/

The evolving role of warships in the 21st-century navy

23 Aug 2021

Warship design is on the precipice of a new revolution. Navies are looking at the potential of uncrewed, lean-crewed and multirole vessels as part of their fleets. RAND Europe research leader James Black discusses what defines a warship in the 21st century.

The Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group epitomises sea power projection. Credit: MOD Crown Copyright You only need to witness the grandeur of the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group spearheaded by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to recognise that there’s an international renewed interest in sea power projection, and warships are at its heart.

The UK as an island nation has a long history of heavy emphasis on sea power and expeditionary power projection. It’s also a country that has several overseas territories and is heavily reliant on international trade and the free movement of goods via sea lanes.

But a recent shift in the threat environment dating back to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia triggered NATO allies that had spent the previous ten to 15 years focused on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations to turn their attention back to near-abroad territorial defence threats. There is also an increasing awareness of a rising China, which has made heavy investments in naval capabilities with the People’s Liberation Army Navy increasing in size and sophistication.

According to RAND Europe research leader James Black, while in the past the response would have been driven by numbers and tonnage, the focus is beginning to shift.

“There’s still a political focus on numbers, particularly in the US, but nowadays increasingly people are thinking more about systems and effects, including ships or unmanned vessels – small or large, in the water or flying or underwater – as part of a broader system of systems,” says Black.

Black adds that automating a significant proportion of activity that is currently dependent on personnel would drastically drive down the cost of naval operations and increase efficiency, potentially enabling a larger force. Uncrewed assets The US Navy is demonstrably driving this, having recently committed $374 million in research and development funding for armed large, uncrewed surface vessels (LUSV), which, at up to 300ft long, would be a similar size to frigates.

“The US is in a position of having a highly-equipped, capable navy but it is in a race to recapitalise,” explains Black. “It has various classes of vessels, some of which are older and facing renewal in the next ten to 20 years.

“At the same time, it’s got this ambition to grow the size of the fleet to 355 ships. They’re probably not currently planning to count unmanned platforms towards the total, but they are aware that unmanned assets might enable them to increase overall mass. That’s not just in terms of numbers of vessels but also things like missile tubes, which is important as when some of the subs go out of service, you’re potentially facing a reduction in the number of missile tubes.”

Black explains that an uncrewed replacement could take the format of effectively a large magazine of missile tubes that floats, equipped with command and control software and sensors, delivering extra firepower. “Equally, if you have small, unmanned vessels that are potentially armed; they can support an armed, manned traditional vessel that acts as a mothership to various smaller autonomous systems,” he adds. “They can also access sensing nodes within that system, so you can contribute to the survivability of your crewed assets and keep people slightly further back and out of harm.” System of systems Over the next ten to 20 years, Black predicts a further move towards viewing ships more as part of a system of systems, leading navies to think less about whether they want to design a single warship or submarine and more about the capabilities they need to deliver and how they fit with other domains. “We see the US Marine Corps are thinking increasingly about how they cannot just fight from the sea onto the land, as has traditionally been their role when they’ve relied on amphibious operations from big platforms at sea,” Black explains.

“They’re moving towards dipping in and out of the land and the sea, working in small agile groupings, deploying onto islands and then firing anti-ship missiles to take out enemy assets at sea. Fighting from the land to the sea; reversing that dynamic.”

The system of systems approach will further blur the boundaries by enabling a manned ship to work alongside uncrewed surface, underwater or air assets. This is reflected in modern frigate design featuring mission bays from which to deploy them.

“Navies can also reconfigure a vessel at potentially quite short notice for different types of missions,” adds Black. “That can be as simple as an ISO standard container that might contain an unmanned vessel, electronic warfare equipment or disaster relief equipment, and you can swap those in and out.” Containerised assets also offer navies the option of readily reconfiguring civilian ships. This not only offers additional capability but could operate in a part of the world where a discrete, low observable, potentially deniable vessel would be preferable to an overt warship.

Other factors influencing modern warship design include survivability in terms of armour and defensive measures and deployability in terms of how long it can operate far from port and autonomously.

“Some of that is also to do with not just the warship design but also things like how you crew vessels,” explains Black. “Do you leave a ship somewhere in a certain region of the world and rotate multiple crews through that ship rather than bring it back to port to recrew?”

In that situation, uncrewed assets offer new opportunities for moving people, equipment, food and stores on and off ships. That further increases deployment duration, maximising at-sea time and minimising time spent in port.

https://www.naval-technology.com/uncategorised/the-evolving-role-of-warships-in-the-21st-century- navy/

US-led Quad plans joint naval exercises as China tensions boil over

 Four-day manoeuvre off Guam will be the second time the US, Indian, Australian and Japanese navies stage joint drills under Malabar exercise  This comes amid rising tensions between China and the US on multiple fronts, from Taiwan and Southeast Asia to Afghanistan

India, the US, Australia and Japan – members of the Washington-led Quad security grouping – are expected to hold joint naval exercises for the second year running , in the latest coordinated effort to flex military muscles amid tensions with China.

The four-day joint manoeuvre off the coast of Guam from Thursday will feature “complex surface, subsurface and air operations including live weapon firing drills, anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, and joint manoeuvres and tactical exercises”, an Indian Navy spokesman told The Hindu.

The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which pledges to promote a free, open and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, is viewed by Beijing as part of a campaign to contain China’s growing influence in the region. The Chinese foreign minister has labelled it the “

Indo-Pacific Nato

”.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3146085/us-led-quad-plans-joint-naval- exercises-china-tensions-boil

United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group and USS America Expeditionary Strike Group Join Together for LSGE 21 Operations By Lt.Cmdr. Sherrie A Flippin, Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7 Public Affairs PHILIPPINE SEA –

United Kingdom (U.K.) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 21) and USS America Expeditionary Strike Group (AMA ESG) with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, begin multinational advanced aviation operations in support of Large Scale Global Exercise (LSGE) 21, Aug. 20.

“These events allow us to work with an unmatched network of partners and allies in a complex environment, supporting the common goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Chris Engdahl, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7. “Continued and combined operations in this region allow us to improve shared understanding, trust, and interoperability on challenges that have global impacts.”

LSGE 21 is global command and control exercise, with a regional focus, to enhance integration of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. With many operations, activities, and investments nested under the LSGE 21 umbrella, these operations are part of the larger initiative.

While sailing together, the strike groups will conduct large-formation steaming maneuvers, anti-submarine and surface warfare exercises, and aviation integration events to enhance their capability and proficiency throughout all domains.

“The ability for the United States and the United Kingdom to be ‘interoperable’ and operate their fifth generation jets from the same deck at the same time is testament to the special relationship between our two countries,” said Commodore Steve Moorhouse, OBE, Commander of the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group.

HMS Queen Elizabeth leads the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group and is operating a mixed air group of F-35Bs, with a squadron of U.K. jets and a squadron from the U.S. Marine Corps. Additionally, USS The Sullivans from the U.S. Navy as well as several other Royal Navy ships comprise the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group.

“The U.K. Carrier Strike Group offers the largest fifth generation air wing afloat today and working with our close allies to develop operating procedures and capabilities while concurrently showcasing the agility of land and carrier-based aviation in the Indo-Pacific demonstrates our commitment to the region,” added Moorhouse.

Integrating Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211’s F-35Bs into the carrier air wing provides the opportunity to share experiences, tactics, and procedures, highlighting common interests and strong bilateral relationship, between the U.S. and the U.K.

The Lightning (F-35B) is a next generation multi-role combat aircraft equipped with advanced sensors, mission systems and stealth technology employed from both the AMA ESG and the CSG 21.

Together, the forward-deployed ships of ESG 7 and elements of the 31st MEU are operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

https://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/2741593/united-kingdom-carrier-strike-group- and-uss-america-expeditionary-strike-group/

Home»News»Royal Navy CSG Fires On Uninhabited Island In The Pacific Ships of the Carrier Strike Group have carried out live firing in the Pacific. Royal Navy picture Royal Navy CSG Fires On Uninhabited Island In The Pacific

F-35 stealth jets and warships of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group unleashed their firepower during high-octane live firing exercises with US allies as the Indo-Pacific leg of their global deployment ramps up another notch.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Kent, HMS Defender and HNLMS Evertsen of the CSG – which is currently on a seven-month deployment to Indo-Pacific and back – linked up with the Expeditionary Strike Group 7 and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Philippine Sea in waters close to an uninhabited tropical island for two days of intensive gunnery training.

The windswept Farallon de Medinilla outcrop – in the middle of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific – was struck by weapons fired from three F-35 jet squadrons (two from HMS Queen Elizabeth and the other from amphibious assault ship USS America) and the naval guns of HMS Kent, Defender and HNLMS Evertsen.

This barrage was called in by specialists from the United States Marine Corps – known as Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) – who landed on the island tasked with coordinating firepower from the F-35s and warships, bringing a hail of lead and steel down on targets across the island. This was the fiery opening phase of two weeks of training with US allies for the UK Carrier Strike Group, who are fresh from a port visit to Guam, the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/08/royal-navy-csg-fires-on-uninhabited-island-in-the- pacific/

USS America fuels HMS Defender at sea in first FAS with U.S. amphib, British warship By Lt. John Stevens, USS America Public Affairs PHILIPPINE SEA –

USS America (LHA 6), the Navy’s only forward-deployed amphibious assault ship, conducted a bilateral fueling-at-sea (FAS) with Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender (D 36) while operating with elements of the HMS Queen Elizabeth (R 08) Carrier Strike Group (CSG-21) in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 20.

This is the first time in history a U.S. amphibious ship has conducted a FAS with a British warship, and the third time America has refueled a partner nation at sea this summer.

“The America Team thoroughly enjoyed having our Royal Navy brethren alongside today,” said Capt. Ken Ward, America’s commanding officer. “Today’s operations with Defender not only extended their operational time on station to support our combined missions, it provided another opportunity to demonstrate our interoperability with our allies and partners as we train and operate across a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Demonstrating a sustainment capacity unique to its class of amphibious assault ships, America refueled the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155) on July 27 during Talisman Sabre 21. Little more than a week later on Aug. 7, America consecutively refueled Ballarat and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Makinami (DD 112).

“By conducting this ground-breaking replenishment-at-sea in the Indo-Pacific we have further demonstrated our flexibility and interoperability with the UK’s most important strategic ally and partner,” said Cmdr. Vincent Owen, Defender’s commanding officer. “I’d like to thank the captain and crew of USS America for their professionalism in ensuring this unprecedented evolution was conducted safely and professionally and I look forward to working further with the U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group 7 over the coming days.”

America and USS New Orleans (LPD 18), both part of the Sasebo-based Amphibious Squadron 11, wrapped up participation in Large Scale Global Exercise 21 earlier this month before operating with CSG-21 during its deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

America, flagship of the America Expeditionary Strike Group, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

https://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/2741643/uss-america-fuels-hms-defender-at- sea-in-first-fas-with-us-amphib-british-warsh/

America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli completes Combat System Ship Qualification Trials Naval News August 2021 Navy Forces Maritime Defense Industry POSTED ON MONDAY, 23 AUGUST 2021 15:29 According to information published by the U.S. Navy on August 18, 2021, sailors aboard the America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) completed the ship’s first-ever Combat System Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT) earlier this month. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli(Picture source: Derek Fountain/HII)

CSSQT is a major milestone where teams demonstrate the ship’s weapons systems’ ability to effectively communicate and destroy incoming threats in an operational environment.

During the qualification phases, the team conducted multiple trials to validate the ship’s self-defense systems’ performance, including ship’s radars tests and operating the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), NATO Sea Sparrow, and Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) weapons systems.

With CSSQT trials now complete, Tripoli will focus on additional certifications and qualifications that will ensure it is a combat-ready and lethal asset to the Navy.

The USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is the second America-class amphibious assault ship built for the United States Navy. Tripoli was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding (Huntington Ingalls Industries) at the company's shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Fabrication of ship components began in July 2013, and the ship's keel was laid in a ceremony on 20 June 2014 in Pascagoula. The ship was commissioned in Pascagoula, Miss., July 15, 2020.

The USS Tripoli is powered with a hybrid mechanical-electric propulsion system. The system consists of two LM2500+ gas turbines and two 5,000 hp. auxiliary propulsion motors. Each gas turbine is rated at 35,290shp and provides speeds in excess of 22 kt. The armament of the USS Tripoli includes two Rolling Airframe Missile launchers, two Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile launchers, two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts and seven twin .50 BMG machine guns

https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/august/10589- america-class-amphibious-assault-ship-uss-tripoli-completes-combat-system-ship-qualification- trials.html

Carrier USS Gerald Ford Leaves Norfolk for Last Repairs Before Maiden Deployment By: Sam LaGrone August 23, 2021 7:28 PM

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) departed Naval Station Norfolk to transit to Newport

News Shipbuilding in support of her Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), a six-month period of modernization, maintenance, and repairs, Aug. 20, 2021. US Navy Photo

After three bulkhead-rattling explosions off the coast of Florida, carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its crew began the ship’s last repair period before a long-delayed deployment.

On Friday, the $13 billion carrier made the short trip across the James River to Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding for the six-month planned incremental availability following the explosive shock trials off the East Coast, the Navy announced on Saturday.

Ending in August, the carrier and crew endured three 40,000-pound blasts to test the Ford-class design as part of the full-ship shock trials.

In a roundtable with reporters in early August, Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, Ford’s commanding officer, said that from early assessments the damage Fordsuffered during shock tests would not add a significant amount of work to the maintenance period.

“Nothing that I’ve seen reported to me so far is in the category of so much more work than I expect it to add to the scope of the availability in terms of schedule,” he said.

The results from the thousands of sensors aboard Ford will be used to refine the design of the Ahead of the shock trials, Ford completed 21 months of its post-delivery period after shipbuilder Newport News delivered the carrier to the Navy and the ship commissioned in 2017.

Part of the availability included testing and certifying the ship’s next-generation systems that were included in the design – including the electromagnetic launching system for the aircraft, the Advanced Arresting Gear and the Dual Band air search radar.

As part of the maintenance, the yard and the Navy will complete the certification of the remaining four out of the 11 Advanced Weapons Elevators that have been a key new technology difference between the existing Nimitz-class carriers.

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/23/carrier-uss-gerald-ford-leaves-norfolk-for-last-repairs-before- maiden-deployment

China has improved accuracy of its missile force, US Army finds

 The DF-11 short-range ballistic missile was originally designed to hit targets out to 186 miles  Newer models have expanded ranges beyond 435 miles, according to a US Army publication titled ‘Chinese Tactics’ released on Monday

The Chinese military has improved the accuracy and range of its ballistic missile force, the world’s largest, according to a new US Army report.

The DF-11, the most widely deployed short-range ballistic missile of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, was originally designed to hit targets out to 186 miles, but newer models have expanded ranges beyond 435 miles, according to an August 9 Army publication titled Chinese Tacticsreleased on Monday by the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy.

“Accuracy has also increased, reducing” the intended target point to only 32 yards, “giving theatre commanders a long-range precision strike capability”, according to the Army publication. The DF-11 can employ both conventional and nuclear warheads. The “solid-fuel rocket and mobile transporter-erector-launchers enable rapid launch and reload operations”, it added.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3146101/china-has-improved- accuracy-its-missile-force-us

MQ-25 conducts air-to-air refueling with E-2D Advance Hawkeye aircraft for first time Naval News August 2021 Navy Forces Maritime Defense Industry POSTED ON MONDAY, 23 AUGUST 2021 16:53 According to information published by the U.S. Department of Defense on August 19, 2021, the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program completed its first aerial refueling flight with an E-2D aircraft at Mid-America Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

The Boeing-owned MQ-25 test asset, known as T1, transferred fuel to an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the newest variant of the E-2 platform which was upgraded with an aerial refueling capability in 2019.

This test marks the second refueling flight for the MQ-25 program. In June, the government/industry team completed the historic first unmanned tanking flight with an F/A-18 Super Hornet.

During the six-hour flight, Navy E-2D pilots from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Zero (VX) 20 approached T1, performed formation evaluations, wake surveys, drogue tracking and plugs with the MQ-25 test asset at 220 knots calibrated airspeed (KCAS) and 10,000 feet. This test allows the program to analyze the aerodynamic interaction of the two aircraft. The team can then determine if any adjustments to guidance and control are required and make those software updates early, with no impact to the developmental test schedule.

T1 testing will continue over the next several months to include flight envelope expansion, engine testing, and deck handling demonstrations aboard an aircraft carrier before the MQ-25 engineering, manufacturing and development aircraft are delivered next year.

The ACCLW will integrate the MQ-25A Stingray into the carrier air wing alongside the E- 2 and C-2 squadrons. The Stingray’s persistent mission tanking coupled with the E-2D’s aerial refueling capability will transform the Hawkeye from an over-the-horizon airborne early warning platform limited to shorter missions in the carrier environment, to an asset capable of providing comprehensive battle management for extended periods from anywhere within the battlespace.

The MQ-25A FIT is working with PMA-268 and Boeing to ensure the end user (MQ-25 operators) have early input as the aircraft moves quickly from development through test. The Navy will begin standing up the fleet replacement squadron, Unmanned Carrier- Launched Multi Role Squadron (VUQ) 10, later this year followed by two MQ-25A squadrons, VUQ-11 and 12. These squadrons will deploy detachments to the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers. MQ-25 will be the world’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and provide critical aerial refueling and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities that will greatly expand the global reach, operational flexibility and lethality of the Carrier Air Wing and Carrier Strike Group. The Stingray is a foundational step toward the Navy’s strategic vision of a future fleet augmented by unmanned systems to pace the evolving challenges of the 21st century.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is a high-wing airplane powered by two Rolls-RoyceT56- A-427A turboprop engines mounted on each wing and retractable tricycle landing gear. As with most carrier-borne airplanes, the E-2D is equipped with a tailhook for recovery (landing), and the nose gear can attach to a shuttle of the aircraft carrier's catapults for launch (takeoff). The aircraft also uses the Grumman Sto-Wing folding wing system for carrier storage. A distinguishing feature of the Hawkeye is its 24-foot (7.3 m) diameter rotating radar dome that is mounted above its fuselage and wings.

https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/august/10590-mq- 25-conducts-air-to-air-refueling-with-e-2d-advance-hawkeye-aircraft-for-first-time.html

China’s military uses civilian cargo ship for transport in ‘Taiwan invasion drill’

China s military made use of a large civilian cargo ship to transport troops, weapons and supplies in a recent drill, which one analyst said would be used should the PLA launch an attack on self-ruled’ Taiwan.The exercise was highlighted on state television last week. It involved an amphibious brigade from the 73rd Group Army based in Xiamen, Fujian – the eastern province that faces Taiwan across a narrow strait. Transport was provided by a 16,000-tonne civilian ship, CCTV said in the report on August 17, without saying when or where the exercise was held.

“It’s the first time we’ve used a civilian ship with displacement of more than 10,000 tonnes,” Wang Hua, an officer with the 73rd Group Army, told the broadcaster. “In the past we relied on smaller civilian ships of a few thousand tonnes to handle offshore loading of supplies.”

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3146072/chinas-military-uses-civilian-cargo-ship- transport-taiwan

Two Chinese military turboprops enter Taiwan’s ADIZ Taiwan sent aircraft, issued radio warnings, deployed air defense missiles systems to track PLAAF planes

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By Eric Chang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

2021/08/24 09:33 Shaanxi Y-8 EW. (MND photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, marking the ninth intrusion this month.

A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane and a Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft flew into the southwestern corner of the ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the PLAAF planes.

Chinese planes have been spotted in Taiwan’s identification zone so far this month on Aug. 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, and 23. While all the planes sent into the zone by China last month were slow-flying Y-8 turboprops, this month has seen a mix of spotter planes and warplanes.

On Aug. 12, three Y-8s of different variants, along with four Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, were tracked in the ADIZ, while on Aug. 17, two Y-8s and a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control plane were seen in the zone along with six J-16 fighter planes and two H-6 bombers.

Since September of last year, Beijing has stepped up gray zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most occurrences taking place in the southwest corner of the zone. Compared to previous months, June and July saw fewer incursions.

An ADIZ is an area that extends beyond a country’s airspace where air traffic controllers ask incoming aircraft to identify themselves. Gray zone tactics are defined “as an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.”

According to MND data, Chinese aircraft were tracked in the ADIZ 14 times in July, 10 times in June, 18 times in May, 22 times in April, 18 times in March, 17 times in February, and 27 times in January. Last year, they were observed 19 times in December, 22 times in November, and 22 times in October.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4275473

Japan's Plan To Bulk Up Island Near Taiwan Necessary For Self-Defense, Say Analysts

KEY POINTS  Japan plans to bulk up Ishigaki island, situated 300 kilometers from Taiwan  There is also a plan to set up an e-warfare unit on the Yonaguni island  The defense white paper said the conflict in Taiwan is a challenge to Japan's security.

As much as its intention to support Taiwan, Japan's latest move to deploy extra defense personnel and missiles on an island near the island nation is a strategy to defend itself from China, say analysts.

A report by Nikkei Asia said Tokyo's plan to bulk up Ishigaki island, situated 300 kilometers from Taiwan, is significant as "any attack on Taiwan could quickly spread to Japan's southern islands -- Tokyo's front line of defense." Earlier this month, Japan’s defense minister Kishi Nobuo confirmed plans to deploy several hundreds of troops and anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles on Ishigaki to counter threats from China's growing military. Kishi added that the medium-range ground-to-air guided ammunition units, ground-to-ship guided ammunition units, and 500 to 600 troops will be placed on the island by March 2023. This comes as China has increased its naval presence near Taiwan.

Ishigaki will become the fourth missile-armed island in the Ryukyu island chain. A report by Yomiuri newspaper said the defense ministry is also planning to set up an electronic warfare unit on the Yonaguni island, another island in the Ryukyu chain. Yonaguni is just 110 km away from Taiwan.

In April, Kishi visited Yonaguni, telling reporters, "when I come to Yonaguni, I can see that Taiwan is very close [about 60 nautical miles away], right on the opposite shore." He added that the peace and stability of Taiwan are linked to the peace and prosperity of the region and the international community. According to the report, Kishi's new plans and an unprecedented statement about the need to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack "publicly links Taiwan's security to Japan's own."

https://www.ibtimes.com/japans-plan-bulk-island-near-taiwan-necessary-self-defense-say-analysts- 3279248

, and the country has maintained a large and powerful Marine Corps ever since. Now, a new generation of South Korean amphibious naval forces means the country can ponder taking the offensive during wartime, not only blunting an invasion but upending the Kim family’s dynastic hold on North Korea.

Korea’s peninsular nature means that the ocean is never far away from residents of both countries. It also means that armies fighting on the peninsula, friendly or not, run lines of communication and supply that are constantly in danger of being severed from the sea. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, well aware that the invading Korean People’s Army was reliant on increasingly tenuous supply lines as it inched south, planned and oversaw a successful amphibious assault at the port of Inchon. The result was an abrupt reversal of fortune for a KPA on the brink of victory, with

More cybersecurity cooperation between Singapore, US in public, defence and financial sectors

US Vice President Kamala Harris meets Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a bilateral meeting at the Istana in Singapore on Aug 23, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)

Aqil Haziq Mahmud 23 Aug 2021 02:16PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 03:31PM) BookmarkShare SINGAPORE: The United States and Singapore have signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to expand cooperation on cybersecurity, Singapore s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday (Aug 23). ’ The MOUs cover cybersecurity in the public, defence and financial sectors.

ADVERTISEMENT They come as US Vice President Kamala Harris is on a three-day official visit to Singapore, where she is looking to deepen bilateral cooperation in multiple areas including defence and cybersecurity.

The first MOU was signed by Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) chief executive David Koh and director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Jen Easterly. It builds on a similar MOU signed in 2016. ’ This MOU will establish cooperation in areas like regular exchange of information on cyber threats, coordination of response to cybersecurity incidents, and joint cybersecurity training and exercises, CSA said in a statement on Monday.

It also covers mutual guidance on prevailing cybersecurity trends and best practices, joint cooperation in capacity building activities as well as raising cybersecurity awareness among respective constituents.

Mr Koh said Singapore and the US share deep mutual interests in improving cybersecurity cooperation, particularly as cybersecurity has become a key enabler for both countries to utilise the benefits of“ digitalisation to grow” their economies and improve lives. “ ”

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-us-mou-cybersecurity-cooperation- public-defence-finance-2130121the shattered remnants of Kim Il-sung’s army racing north to avoid entrapment and annihilation.

Indonesian Navy launches Klewang-class fast attack craft KRI Golok 688 Naval News August 2021 Navy Forces Maritime Defense Industry POSTED ON MONDAY, 23 AUGUST 2021 10:43 According to information published by the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) on August 21, 2021, Klewang-class fast attack craft KRI Golok was launched by PT Lundin Industry Invest. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

KRI Golok-388 Trimaran (Picture source: Twitter account of Jatosint)

KRI Golok-688 Trimaran has a length of 62.53 meters, a width of 16 meters, a draft of 18.7 meters, a weight of 53.1 tons. A maximum speed of 28 knots and a cruising speed of 16 knots.

Klewang-class fast attack craft is the futuristic design and stealth wave-piercing trimaran carbon fast attack craft made by PT Lundin Industry Invest. The class is also armed with Type 730 CIWS and four C-705 surface-to-surface missiles and she is capable of carrying 25 crew members.

Type 730 is a Chinese seven-barrelled 30 mm Gatling gun CIWS. It has a PLA Navy designation H/PJ12. It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by radar, and electro-optical tracking systems. The maximum rate of fire is 5800 rd/m, and the effective range is up to 3 km.

North Sea Boats is an international boat building company specialized in building craft for military, law enforcement, SAR, commercial, and high-performance applications. The company has a presence in Sweden, Singapore, and Indonesia, with its headquarters located at Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. North Sea Boats was founded in 2003 by John and Lizza Lundin as a trading name for PT Lundin Industry Invest. https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/august/10583- indonesian-navy-launches-klewang-class-fast-attack-craft-kri-golok-688.html

Pakistan Is Relocating India-Centric Terror Camps To Afghanistan

The biggest reason behind shifting terror camps from Pakistan to Afghanistan is that Pakistan wants to avoid possible action of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), according to a source New Delhi: After the Taliban takeover, Pakistan has started relocating its terrorist camps active against India to the eastern and southern parts of Afghanistan. As per exclusive details accessed by Zee Media, Pakistan has shifted many camps of Lashkar (LeT) to the eastern area of Afghanistan, while the camps of Jaish (JeM) have shifted to the southern part of Afghanistan. “The Pak’s ISI operatives are playing a key role in running LeT /JeM terror networks and coordinating with Taliban- Haqqani network,” said a highly placed source deputed in the central security establishment.

The biggest reason behind shifting terror camps from Pakistan to Afghanistan is that Pakistan wants to avoid possible action of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

JeM has been deploying senior commanders and trained cadres for Taliban operations in Afghanistan. Regular refreshing training courses are being organised at JeM Markaz, particularly in Peshawar, for sending them to Afghanistan.

Some of the Taliban shadow commanders are associated with JeM.

“JeM shares symbolic relation and sustained operational synergy with Afghan Taliban. JeM has also been regularly providing trained cadres to assist the Taliban,” said the source. The arms that have fallen into the Taliban’s hands are being diverted to JeM and LeT. ISI is conspiring to target Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

As per the latest intelligence input, the presence of terrorists at launch pads near LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is increasing. Terrorists are trying to infiltrate through the international border adjacent to Jammu so that region can be targeted.

Since January 2021, a total of 92 terrorists including 12 foreign terrorists have been killed by security forces in Kashmir.

Pakistan is trying to create the narrative that the Taliban have changed.

https://asiapost.live/pakistan-is-relocating-india-centric-terror-camps-to-afghanistan/

Home»News»Russian Navy Commissions New Minesweeper ‘Georgy Kurbatov’

Launch of the project 12700 Georgy Kurbatov MCM vessel under construction for the Russian Navy. St. Petersburg, September 30, 2020 (c) Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant JSC Russian Navy Commissions New Minesweeper ‘Georgy Kurbatov’ By TASS Russian news agency “The flag-raising ceremony took place in Baltiysk onboard the advanced Project 12700 minesweeper Georgy Kurbatov built for the Russian Navy by the Sredne- Nevsky Shipyard,” the press office said. As it was reported earlier, the Georgy Kurbatov will join the 68th sea area defense brigade of the Black Sea Fleet. The press office told TASS that the new ship had passed all the trials, including state tests, at Baltic Fleet sea ranges. The ship will sail to its permanent base from Baltiysk, the press office said without specifying the cruise start date. The first serial Project 12700 minesweeper Georgy Kurbatov was laid down in 2015, launched in September 2020 and was expected to be handed over to the Navy in late 2021. The minesweeper was initially planned to join the Navy in the fourth quarter of 2016, however the warship caught fire on June 7, 2016. Six hundred square meters of internal coating were ablaze and the fire was rated 3 out of five possible points. The fire delayed the commissioning by several years.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/08/russian-navy-commissions-new-minesweeper- georgy-kurbatov/

Russia Lays Keel Of Four Submarines And Two Corvettes At Once

Russian President Vladimir Putin today participated via video conference in a keel laying ceremony of four submarines (two SSBN and two SSK) and two corvettes for the Russian Navy according to press release published by the Kremlin.

Martin Manaranche 23 Aug 2021

The keel-laying ceremony was held at Sevmash Shipyards in Severodvinsk, Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, and Amur Shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The keelplates were placed on two Project 955A nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) Borei-A-class submarines, ‘Knyaz Potemkin’ and ‘Dmitry Donskoy’, two improved Kilo-class Project 636.3 submarines, ‘Mozhaisk’ and ‘Yakutsk’, as well as two corvettes: The Project 20380 (Steregushchiy-class) ‘Grozny’ and the Project 20385 (Gremyashchiy-class) ‘Buyny’.

“I congratulate all shipbuilders and sailors of Russia on a new important stage in the development of our country’s Navy – the start of construction of another series of modern ships.”

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. According to an official released by the Kremlin, all ships will be equipped with modern high-precision weapons and the latest control and communication equipment. The effectiveness of most of them has been proven in the course of combat missions in Syria.

“I have said more than once and would like to reiterate: a strong, sovereign Russia needs a powerful, balanced Navy. Today the Navy plays the key role in our nation’s security, firmly defends our national interests, and makes a tangible contribution to strengthening strategic parity and international stability.”

“We will continue to develop Russia’s naval potential, improve the fleet’s basing system and infrastructure, provide the ships with the latest weapons and equipment, practice complex training and combat missions during exercises and long-distance sea voyages, and conduct “demonstration” of the Russian flag in strategically important areas of the world’s oceans.”

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/08/russia-lays-keel-of-four-submarines-and-two- corvettes-at-once/

Kalashnikov Presents New Guided Missile at ARMY-2021 Forum Kalashnikov Group revealed a new guided missile, S-8L, at the ARMY-2021 International Military-Technical Forum. “The S-8L guided missile with semiactive homing head can be used by various carriers, including all types of helicopters or aircrafts, as well as UAVs,” said Andrey Semenov, the First Deputy CEO of the Kalashnikov Group. The advanced 80-mm S-8L guided missile with HEF warhead is designed to engage single and group ground targets, both stationary and moving. The S-8L is launched from the helicopters and aircrafts using the B8V20 or B8M1 rocket launchers. The firing range of the rocket is up to 6 km. It can effectively engage lightly- armored targets. At the ARMY-2021 forum, the rocket will be demonstrated integrated with a helicopter-type UAV. Kalashnikov Group and partners are currently seeking the opportunities to apply the air-launched guided missile Vikhr-1 using various types of carriers. Such works are conducted to complete a major overhaul and modernization of the Mi- 28N helicopters. Similar works are also performed to enhance military capability of the Mi-28UB helicopters. The possibility to adapt the Vikhr-1 guided missile to be used with the Mi-28NE and Mi-35P helicopters is now being considered. The company is pursuing opportunities to use the Vikhr-1 guided missile with the Orion-E UAV. The Kalashnikov Group, in cooperation with the JSC KBP, is currently implementing R&D projects to modernize the Vikhr-1 guided missile and improve its specifications. The modernized Vikhr-1M missile will be used from Ka-52, Ka- 52M as well as other carriers.

https://www.defenseworld.net/news/30278/Kalashnikov_Presents_New_Guided_Missile_at_ARMY_20 21_Forum#.YSXu2OgzbIU

During March and April 2021, the Russian military conducted a large-scale buildup in its regions bordering Ukraine, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Scores of videos appeared on TikTok, Telegram, Twitter, and other social media sites showing Russian military equipment, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, and air defense systems, moving toward or appearing in the vicinity of Ukraine’s borders. The United States Department of Defense’s spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the Russian buildup was even larger than during the peak of the fighting in 2014. Ukrainian officials estimated that the Russian military buildup would reach a total of 120,000 Russian troops with more than fifty-six battalion tactical groups (BTG). United States defense officials gave a lower estimate that 48 BTGs had moved into the border area and 80,000 Russian troops were in Crimea or elsewhere near Ukraine’s borders. To put this in perspective, the Russian military has approximately 850,000-900,000 servicemembers in total, and 168 constant readiness BTGs, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. If these estimates were accurate, the Russian military massed roughly 10-15% of its total manpower and approximately one third of its BTGs near Ukraine’s borders.

In response to the buildup, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and President Joe Biden all called their Russian counterparts to discuss the situation. U.S. European Command (EUCOM) raised its alert status to its highest level. The buildup also coincided with an increase in fighting along the line of contact, with at least 36 Ukrainian servicemen killed thus far in 2021. The movement of Russian forces led to intense speculation about Russia’s intentions, including fears of a large-scale ground invasion. However, U.S. intelligence indicated that a large-scale ground invasion was unlikely because of a lack of prepositioned spare parts, field hospitals, ammunition, and other logistics necessary for such an operation. Likewise, EUCOM commander General Tod Wolters said on April 15 that there was a “low to medium” risk of a Russian ground invasion of Ukraine in the coming weeks.

On April 22, after the end of a large-scale exercise at the Opuk training area in Crimea, which included an amphibious landing, a helicopter air assault operation with two companies, and a multi-battalion airborne operation with more than two thousand paratroopers and sixty vehicles parachuted from forty Il-76MD transport aircraft, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the winter verification tests for the Western and Southern Military Districts had been a success and the troops would return to their permanent bases. However, he indicated that equipment from Central Military District’s 41st Combined Arms Army, which included BM-27 Uragan multiple launch rocket systems and Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile systems and other heavy equipment, would remain at the Pogonovo training area in Voronezh near Ukraine’s border until the Zapad 2021 strategic exercise in September. Furthermore, Shoigu did not state clearly whether all of the equipment and units deployed near Ukraine’s borders outside of Crimea would also return to their bases, nor how those units were employed during the snap inspection.

Two weeks after Shoigu’s announcement, U.S. defense officials said that Russia had removed only “a few thousand” troops and that there were approximately 80,000 servicemen near Ukraine’s borders, despite Shoigu’s order for most of those units to return to their permanent bases by May 1. Thus Russia can still escalate rapidly in Ukraine in the future, though the immediate threat of a serious escalation of fighting in the Donbas appears to have passed with Shoigu’s announcement.

Russia to Exhibit New Weapon Systems at Army 2021 Forum 1 MINUTE READ

Several Russian defense and aerospace firms will display more than 50 new weapon systems at the Army 2021 international military-technical forum on August 22-28 in Moscow. According to Rostec Deputy CEO Dmitry Lelikov, the company will feature its new Su- 57E, the export version of the country’s Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft. It will also showcase an export version of the Penitsillin automated reconnaissance system, which combines thermal and acoustic reconnaissance to locate enemy firing positions accurately. Furthermore, Lelikov revealed that the defense firm will demonstrate a new reconnaissance and command module capable of directing the fire of combat vehicles. In addition to these weapon systems, a Kalashnikov PPK-20 machine gun with a shortened barrel and an AK-12 SP assault rifle designed for special operations forces will be unveiled. “Overall, we will demonstrate more than 1,000 exhibits, including 50 of our latest systems,” Lelikov said at a briefing for foreign military representatives. Rostec announced that it would exhibit its new anti-tank missiles capable of piercing 110-centimeter armor plates behind reactive armor. They can hit targets up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away. The company revealed that it would be displaying its latest innovations in unmanned aerial vehicles separately. One such innovation is its BAS-200 rotary-wing drone, which has a takeoff weight of up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds). It can perform various missions, including terrain monitoring, search and rescue, and cargo delivery. https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/08/23/russia-new-weapon-systems/

International Law’s Role in Combating Ransomware? by Colonel (Retired) Gary Corn August 23, 2021

It’s (belatedly) official—ransomware is a national security problem. Recognizing the strategic threat shadowy criminal organizations (often with loose or cryptic affiliations to nation-states) now pose to critical infrastructure, the economy, and basic public services, President Biden made clear last month that the United States will no longer view the growing scourge of criminal ransomware attacks solely through the limited prism of law enforcement. As evidenced by the White House’s establishment of a multi- agency ransomware task force, it is a national security threat that requires decisive, coordinated action leveraging all elements of national power. So, President Biden’s most recent warning to President Putin during a July 9th phone call seems straightforward: take care of the ransomware problem emanating from Russia or the United States will. As Jack Goldsmith points out here, this is not the first time Biden or his predecessors have issued stern warnings to Putin about Russian cyber threats. Legitimate concerns over drawing unenforced redlines aside, what is different this time is that the cyber operations the U.S. expects Putin to put a stop to are not directly attributable to the Russian state. Rather, they are the work of Russian criminals, and Biden considers cyber operations against their infrastructure to be part of the self-help toolkit on the table should Russia fail to take action. Specifically, during his call with Putin, Biden told him that the United States would “take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge,” and when reporters asked whether those actions might include cyber operations against the infrastructure behind the attacks, his answer was a succinct “Yes.” This forward-leaning position is a stark reminder that if necessity is the mother of invention, it is the grand matriarch of state behavior and the primary driver for the adoption and evolution (or lack thereof) of international law and norms. The need to proactively disrupt these ransomware attacks grows more compelling with each episode. Even the New York Times Editorial Board understands the strategic imperatives at play, describing the ransomware problem, even if a bit hyperbolically, as “a war that needs to be fought, and won.” As my former Cyber Command teammates deftly articulated here, as a matter of domestic law and policy, bringing the Department of Defense’s substantial capability and capacity to bear on this problem as part of the solution is a sound and necessary choice. This leaves the issue of the United States’ obligations under international law and its views on how they would apply to the cyber operations implicated in Biden’s threat. What can we draw from his apparent decision to embrace, at least as an option, cyber operations targeting for disruption the overseas infrastructure of non-state criminal organizations? Does it signal an evolving U.S. position on the unsettled debate over the purported rule of cyber due diligence? That is, does the United States now consider Russia (and presumably other states in whose territory ransomware infrastructure resides) legally accountable, directly or indirectly, for the actions of non-state criminal organizations? Or does it reflect an assessment, consistent with at least the United Kingdom’s view (and that of the U.S. Department of Defense), that the principle of sovereignty does not present a legal barrier to conducting certain counter-ransomware operations? In a characteristically thorough and thoughtful post here, Professor Michael Schmitt urges the United States to affirmatively weigh in on these legal-policy questions, as well as the issue of whether states can engage in collective countermeasures. Acknowledging the magnitude of the ransomware problem and the fact that the law enforcement response paradigm alone has proved inadequate, Schmitt recognizes the need to adopt “a more aggressive approach than has been taken in the past.” He suggests that for the counter-ransomware operations Biden has referenced to “fit comfortably within a legal framework,” the United States should expressly endorse three interdependent legal positions; to wit, that: “1) Sovereignty is a rule of international law; 2) States must exercise due diligence to terminate hostile cyber operations from their territory; and 3) States may engage in collective countermeasures.” According to Schmitt, embracing these positions would “operate synergistically to provide the optimal legal framework for responding as President Biden has suggested, not only to deter and respond to hostile cyber operations into the United States but also those targeting U.S. allies and partners.” At one level, Schmitt is correct. If the rules he advocates for are to provide even a modicum of the security benefit he suggests, they must be adopted together as they are mutually dependent, at least with respect to sovereignty and due diligence. Unfortunately, his arguments in favor of those two rules are grounded in several flawed premises that undermine his conclusions about the efficacy of his recommendations. Endorsing the positions on sovereignty and due diligence set out in Schmitt’s post would unduly constrain the United States’ ability to more proactively counter ransomware and other cyber threats.

The Unsettled State of International Law The questions of whether, and if so how, international law applies to state interactions in the cyber domain have been the subject of rich debate for years. At this point, the answer to the first question is effectively settled—international law applies to states’ activities conducted in and through cyberspace. The United States has long been at the lead on taking this position and is committed to respecting its international legal obligations in the conduct of cyber operations.

However, the answer to the second question has proved far more challenging. After years of negotiation, the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and Open Ended Working Group (OEWG), the only two official, multi-state bodies to address the question, have been able to reach consensus only on a handful of basic precepts. Similarly, the growing number of official state pronouncements that have come out in the last several years have demonstrated as much divergence as convergence of views. On certain points there is wide agreement among those states that have weighed in, such as the view that cyber operations are subject to the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello when conducted as part of an armed conflict. In contrast, states have offered a spectrum of views about sovereignty and due diligence, with consensus proving elusive. This should be unsurprising, because as Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Roy Schöndorf has noted, the unique, nascent, and evolving nature of the domain calls for “an extra layer of caution . . . in determining how exactly international legal rules apply to cyber operations, and in evaluating whether and how additional rules should be developed.” While the U.S. has taken a lead role in advocating international law’s applicability to the cyber realm, for many of the reasons Schöndorf cited it has proceeded prudently on the question of how international law applies. The United States has offered some glimpse into its approach to the multi-faceted question of the normative status and contours of sovereignty (here, here, and here), which is markedly different from the position Schmitt advocates it adopt; insofar as, for example, the Department of Defense has stated its solidarity with the United Kingdom’s view that there is insufficient evidence of the existence of a customary international law rule of sovereignty that would “generally prohibit[] . . . non-consensual cyber operations in another State’s territory.” The U.S.’s view on due diligence is more opaque, with many believing that it remains unconvinced it is a rule of international law applicable in the cyber context. Greater transparency on these issues is no doubt important to shaping how customary international law might influence state cyber interactions going forward, but that is distinct from the precedent question of what the substance of the U.S. position should be on these open questions. As Schmitt acknowledges, these are unsettled areas. However, the United States need not wade precipitously into these debates in the ways he suggests. The False Prophet of Countermeasures Countermeasures are sub-use-of-force actions that alone would be unlawful but for the fact they are taken in response to the internationally wrongful act of another state and are specifically aimed at inducing that state to return to compliance or pay reparations. Regarding the specific question of collective countermeasures, Schmitt is correct. As Eric Talbot Jensen and I wrotein 2018, and Schmitt and Sean Watts have set out more recently, aside from resting on a weak legal foundation, the view that states cannot deploy countermeasures in collective aid of other states is anachronistic and maladapted to today’s security environment. It is for this reason that Estonia was correct in eschewing this artificial constraint on collective action. More cooperation with partners and allies is certainly a key component to the U.S.’s overall cyber strategy, and to the extent countermeasures might prove useful as a tool of compellence in a given situation, there is no sound reason why they should be limited to unilateral employment. However, while partner operations may prove beneficial at times, there is no indication that the U.S. needs to or will rely primarily on others to deliver the disruptive cyber effects Biden alluded to. They would presumably be U.S.-conducted operations.

Moreover, depending on which state or academic you ask, the law of countermeasures suffers from several other equally disabling constraints, rendering them far less useful as a self-help security tool, at least in the context of cyber, than Schmitt suggests. For example, there is a general view that countermeasures cannot be employed anticipatorily, substantially limiting their effectiveness as a means of proactively countering and disrupting cyber threats that have yet to fully manifest. Efforts to force another state to stop, or put a stop to, malicious cyber operations may at times be the last best option, but it is an ex post, not an ex ante approach, where the harms will have already manifested and the adversary’s objectives likely achieved. Also, countermeasures are available only against states, not non-state actors or criminal organizations. So, for countermeasures to have any bite against the ransomware problem, the United States would also have to endorse the due diligence rule, and even then, their availability would be limited for the reasons laid out below. This overstatement of the utility of countermeasures is one of several factors undermining Schmitt’s arguments that endorsing the three positions he adopts is the “optimal legal framework for countering ransomware attacks.”

Due Diligence – Raising the Tide or Creating False Expectations As the adage goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. In this sense, getting states to better police their respective corners of cyberspace is a laudable goal and holds some potential to contribute to a more stable and secure internet. The UNGGE has consistently said states should aspire to do so, noting that they “should not knowingly allow their territory to be used for internationally wrongful acts using [information and telecommunications technologies].” Biden’s admonition to Putin seems grounded in this same view, although his demand arguably goes further (non-state actors cannot commit internationally wrongful acts). However, whether Russia or any other states bear a legal obligation to thwart criminal ransomware activities emanating from their territories is a very different and unsettled question. In broad terms, the ostensible international obligation of cyber due diligence requires states to take feasible measures to try to put a stop to ongoing malicious cyber activities, at least of a certain magnitude, that it knows (or reasonably should know) are being conducted from or through their territories, including by non-state actors. On its face, this sounds beneficial and reasonable enough. However, as with the principle of sovereignty, the applicability and scope of the due diligence rule to cyberspace is hardly a settled issue and for good cause. While a handful of states have endorsed the view that due diligence is a general rule of international law with particularized applicability to cyberspace, others specifically disagree, and as Schmitt acknowledges and Professors Sean Watts and Eric Jensen document in an excellent discussion of the contours of the debate, there is insufficient evidence at this time to assert that any cyber-specific rule of due diligence exists as a matter of customary international law. Given the unique attributes of cyberspace, it is, as Israel points out, with good reason that the UNGGE has repeatedly confined the concept of due diligence to a voluntary, non-binding norm. According to Schmitt, failure to endorse due diligence as a binding rule of international law will effectively leave the United States without the legal basis to respond “to hostile cyber operations of non-state actors or in cases where attribution to a state proves difficult to reliably establish.” This warning is true in so far as by “respond” Schmitt is specifically referring to countermeasures. But advancing due diligence as an end run solution to the (increasingly less) difficult problem of attribution is grounded on a number of faulty premises, starting with the interdependent need to adopt the Tallinn 2.0 view of sovereignty as a rule of international law that would otherwise bar a range of non- consensual, self-help counter-cyber (not countermeasures) options.

Among proponents of cyber due diligence, there is a wide variance of views as to the purported rule’s scope. Some argue that for the rule to have any real effect, it should include an obligation to both monitor domestic cyber infrastructure and prevent a broad array of transboundary cyber harms. A preventive obligation does find support in the specific context of international environmental law where international tribunals have invoked due diligence to establish state responsibility. However, mapping such an aggressive version of due diligence to the unique cyber context raises serious concerns about the potential impacts on human rights such as privacy and free speech. It would also place an unreasonable expectation on states and substantially broaden their exposure to claims of breach and the attendant, potentially escalatory consequence of countermeasures. As Watts and Jensen rightly caution, “by presenting more opportunities for more States to allege more breaches of international law, due diligence potentially increases the frequency of States’ resort to countermeasures and their accompanying potentially destabilizing effects.” Those who advocate for the cyber due diligence rule respond to these concerns by asserting that it does (or should) not include a duty to prevent harmful activities. That was the position the Tallinn 2.0 contributors took. While this caveat may lessen overall risks to privacy and potential conflicts with human rights obligations, it also substantially waters down the value of the due diligence rule as a means of tamping down malicious cyber activity. https://www.justsecurity.org/77845/international-laws-role-in-combating-ransomware/

Adapting Together: A Unified View of Distributed Operations By Captain Andrew Y. Foltermann, U.S. Air Force

More than 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu illuminated a philosophy that continues to be salient today: “Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.”1 Recently, the United States has reembraced this philosophy and begun to reorient on its most dangerous enemies—China and Russia. A fight against either of these opponents will be an away game, putting the U.S. military at a clear disadvantage. Moreover, increased vulnerability to long-range precision fires requires divergence from the military strategy employed over the past 30 years. The National Defense Strategy echoes this sentiment, which has spurred action from each service branch.2 Space Force aside, each service is developing a distinct concept for how it intends to overcome the challenges of peer competition. These concepts all fall under the umbrella of distributed operations or adaptive basing and fundamentally accomplish the same thing: spread operations to small and temporary locations to enable maneuver within a contested environment. While these concepts are a step forward for each service individually, insular development has resulted in deficiencies that threaten effectiveness. To ensure victory against peer adversaries, the Department of Defense must provide a unified joint vision for operating in a contested distributed environment. At a minimum, this vision should include updated joint doctrine and integrated training.3 Joint Doctrine

The joint concept for distributed operations is being developed from the bottom-up, contrary to the top-down model fundamental to joint planning doctrine. Absent joint requirements and funding priorities for distributed operations, the services continue to support their individual priorities. Concepts currently being developed include adaptive basing and agile combat employment (Air Force), littoral operations in a contested environment, expeditionary advanced base operations, distributed maritime operations, and distributed lethality (Navy/Marine Corps), and the multidomain task force (Army).4 As a result of this decentralized planning, there is no one framework or vision for distributed operations. Moreover, insular planning, training, and execution have prevented well-defined linkages among these concepts. Decentralized planning has resulted in various developmental flaws, including redundant capabilities, conflicting priorities, and misaligned methods. Service-specific concepts focus on each service’s dominant domain for execution; consequently, each plan falls short when denied in that domain. For example, if the enemy employs a robust antiair capability, strategic airlift is no longer a viable means of logistics for the Air Force plan of adaptive basing.

Another result of improper planning is redundant capabilities—one example being the overlap between expeditionary advanced base operations and the multidomain task force, both of which call for establishing small and austere bases within the first island chain off the coast of China. The two concepts also compete to fund similar niche weapon systems, mainly ground-based antiship cruise missiles.5 Bottom-up planning also causes conflicting priorities among the services, particularly when building partnership capacity. Gaining allies to establish forward bases is a cardinal approach of distributed operations; however, with limited suitable locations—such as airfields in southeast Asia— disagreements over basing priorities are likely.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/august/adapting-together-unified-view- distributed-operations

'Was it worth it?': Pain and anger inside Pentagon after Afghanistan crumbles

1/6 A U.S. Marine provides a meal ready-to-eat to a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 21, 2021. Picture taken August 21, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/Handout via REUTERS

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WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - On the second floor of the Pentagon, a small map marks the path that a hijacked American Airlines plane took before hitting the military headquarters on Sept. 11 2001, an attack that propelled the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210823_04/

Afghan visa applicants told to stay away from Kabul airport as US races to meet exit deadline By Nick Paton Walsh, Sam Kiley and Sheena McKenzie, CNN Nurse recounts delivering baby born aboard evacuation plane from Afghanistan

Watch chaos unfold at Kabul airport's north gate Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)Afghans who have applied for special immigrant visas to the US were told to stay away from Kabul's airport on Monday, as American officials ramped up evacuation flights and the Talibansaid all US forces needed to leave by August 31.

Western countries are now in a frantic race to complete what US President Joe Biden last week called "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history," amid harrowing scenes at the airport of tens of thousands of people trying to flee Taliban rule. Amid the scramble to evacuate, many Afghans have essentially been pushed to the back of the queue. "We are currently prioritizing American citizens and legal permanent residents for entry," John Johnson, public affairs officer for the US Embassy in Kabul, told CNN on Monday. "Due to a deteriorating security environment we are asking all others not to come to the airport at this time -- the gates remain closed." A source close to the situation at the airport told CNN that while current policy is to only let US and NATO citizens into the airport, they hoped to soon move to permitting applicants for the US' Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program -- an avenue for Afghans who worked for US forces and agencies to get out of the country -- along with the US embassy's local Afghan staff. US officials have emphasized that some SIV applicants are being "processed through the gates" and "considered for entry." However, CNN sources on the ground say it is still not broad policy to let them into the airport. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that locally employed staff were a priority. "Our locally engaged staff, they are absolutely a priority. They are absolutely part of our plans. And that commitment to them, to their safety and security, is something that is in no way diminished," he said at a press briefing on Monday.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/asia/kabul-airport-afghanistan-intl-hnk/index.html

US Flights Out of Afghanistan Set to ‘Increase Significantly’ as Aug. 31 Deadline Nears

More than 230 Air Force cargo, tanker aircraft are evacuating Americans, Afghans from Kabul.  The U.S. Air Force has more than 230 cargo planes, tankers, and other aircraft now committed to the massive airlift underway in Kabul and evacuation flights are expected to “increase significantly” in the coming hours, as the U.S. races to get people out before Aug. 31, according to a defense official.

“It’s going to build, to increase significantly,” the official told Defense One on the condition they not be named. “You are going to see a significant uptick in the number of transport aircraft going in there and the volume and pace at which they are moving.”

On Monday, the Taliban announced that they consider Aug. 31 a “red line” for when U.S, forces must depart, even as President Joe Biden said Sunday he is considering extending that deadline.

Air Mobility Command has called up aircraft and crews across its platforms, including C-130 Hercules, C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft. The C-17s and C-130s are flying into Kabul, while C-5s are bringing supplies elsewhere in the theater. KC-46 tankers are refueling aircraft along the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. Some KC-10 and KC-135 tankers are not refueling the airlifters, but have been reconfigured to haul people themselves, by installing seat pallets.

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On Sunday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the activationof the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, adding at least 18 aircraft from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Omni Air, Atlas Air, Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines to bring evacuees from staging bases in the Middle East and Europe, and on to bases inside the United States.

To date, Air Force planes have airlifted more than 30,000 people from the airport, which is being secured by Marines and soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division and 82nd Airborne Division. An estimated 20,000 are now on the airport grounds trying to board both U.S. military and commercial aircraft.Thousands more Afghans and U.S. personnel are still elsewhere in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The airlift operation is already one of the largest in Air Force history. The largest operation to date remains the airlift of personnel during the evacuation of Saigon. The U.S. airlifted 50,490 evacuees to safety and airlifted 31,000 Vietnamese who escaped by boat to the Philippines. U.S. aircraft took those refugees to Guam, according to the Air Force historical records.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/08/us-flights-out-afghanistan-set-increase-significantly- aug-31-deadline-nears/184745/

SDF to head for Afghanistan to help evacuation

Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo has ordered the Self-Defense Forces to evacuate Japanese nationals in Afghanistan, along with the local staff at the Japanese Embassy there.

The country's security situation has been deteriorating since the Taliban took power about a week ago.

The SDF will transport Japanese nationals in Afghanistan, including those working for international organizations and Afghans working for the Japanese Embassy.

A C2 transport plane from the Miho Air Base in western Japan and two C130 aircraft from the Komaki Air Base in central Japan will be deployed.

The C2 aircraft left for the Miho Base Monday evening after picking up an SDF team at a base near Tokyo. It is scheduled to take off within a few hours after refueling.

The two C130s will leave for Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The transporters will shuttle between an airport in the capital, Kabul, and countries around Afghanistan.

The SDF has been deployed four times before to evacuate Japanese nationals from other countries but this is the first time for it to transport non-Japanese nationals under the SDF law.

The Defense Ministry says hundreds of members of the Air and Ground Self-Defense Forces will be sent to Afghanistan.

Under the SDF law, they are allowed to use weapons only when the lives of themselves, other SDF members, or people they are transporting are in danger.

The ministry says it cannot disclose the kind of arms they carry. An SDF official says it wants to start transporting people who want to evacuate later this week at the earliest.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210823_26/

Germany says firefight involving Western forces erupts at Kabul Airport

A US Marine gives a ready-to-eat meal to a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug 21, 2021. (Photo: US Marine Corps/Sgt Samuel Ruiz/Handout via REUTERS) 23 Aug 2021 02:45PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 02:45PM) KABUL: A firefight broke out between unidentified gunmen, Western security forces and Afghan guards at Kabul airport on Monday (Aug 23), Germany's armed forces said, as thousands of Afghans and foreigners thronged the airport, seeking to flee Taliban rule.

One Afghan guard was killed and three were wounded in the battle at the airport's north gate, which involved US and German forces, the German military said on Twitter.

While the Taliban have deployed fighters outside the airport, where they have tried to help enforce some kind of order, there are Afghan guards helping US forces inside the airport.

CNN reported that a sniper outside the airport had fired at Afghan guards inside the facility and they had returned fire but US forces had fired back at the Afghan guards.

Two NATO officials at the airport said the situation was under control and all airport gates had been closed. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/afghanistan-kabul-airport-evacuation-firefight-us-germany- 2130271

Australia willing to support extension of evacuation from Afghanistan: Foreign minister

FILE PHOTO: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. REUTERS/Leah Millis 23 Aug 2021 11:03AM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 11:03AM) BookmarkShare CANBERRA: Australia is willing to assist with evacuations from Afghanistan after Aug 31 if the United States decides to delay its withdrawal, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Monday (Aug 23).

US President Joe Biden last week said US troops may stay in Afghanistan past an Aug 31 deadline to evacuate Americans.

Australia has evacuated about 1,000 citizens and Afghans from Kabul in the past week, and Payne said Australia would be willing to support further rescue flights.

"We are part of those discussions and if they are to be extended, we are absolutely ready to support a continuing operation at Hamid Karzai international Airport," Payne told reporters in Canberra.

Payne did not specify whether the 250 military personnel deployed by Australia would remain if evacuations are extended.

Australia's government is under mounting pressure to expedite the rescue of Australians and Afghans who worked for the country during its two-decade long involvement in Afghanistan.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned Australia is unlikely to be able to help all the Afghans who had provided assistance, offering 3,000 visas to fleeing Afghans from Australia's existing humanitarian visa programme of 13,750 a year. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/australia-willing-support-extension-evacuation-afghanistan- foreign-minister-2129931

Singapore offers to help US evacuate refugees from Afghanistan using RSAF tanker-transport plane

The RSAF MRTT taking off from Boise airport in Idaho during an overseas exercise. (Photo: MINDEF) SINGAPORE: Singapore has offered to help the United States evacuate refugees from Afghanistan using the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) plane, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (Aug 23).

The RSAF MRTT can carry up to 266 passengers or 37,000kg of cargo, and can be used to evacuate sick or injured personnel.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/afghanistan-us-evacuation-rsaf-mrtt-2130461

South Korea wary of US plan to use military bases to process Afghan evacuees as withdrawal ignites debate

The US plan to use overseas military bases to accommodate evacuees from Afghanistan has divided opinion among South Korean politicians and prompted discussion about the strength and scale of the security ties between the two countries.

South Korea hosts 28,500 US troops but Washington s withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to calls for Seoul to regain operational control over its troops. The debate coincides with the visit of Washington s special envoy for North Korea, who arrived in Seoul ’on Saturday. ’

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3146009/south-korea-wary-us-plan-use-military- bases-process-afghan

The Taliban Are Hunting Afghan Contractors 

A member of the Taliban stands outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021. (Stringer/Reuters)

On the menu today: A reader shares his accounts from Afghan contractors who are hiding from Taliban death squads in Kabul; the FDA gives the Pfizer vaccine full approval — after doctors and nurses have aleady administered 202 million shots; and Andrew Cuomo abandons his dog. Sometimes, you can just tell from the headlines that it’s a Monday.

Dodging the Taliban Death Squads in Afghanistan

If you missed it over the weekend, for a stretch of Friday and Saturday, one of the email accounts that the U.S. State Department uses to process a type of asylum visas for Afghans filled up, and messages to it started bouncing back to senders.

I heard about the embarrassing technical snafu from a longtime NR reader who spent years in Afghanistan working for a defense contractor. This reader’s company worked on the construction of camps and garrisons, parts of bases at Bagram and Kandahar, as well as several government buildings for the Afghan military and police. His company employed thousands of Afghans, all of whom are now targets of the Taliban.

Lest you doubt that Afghan construction workers would be on the Taliban’s target list, the Taliban is issuing death warrants for the relatives of translators who worked for the U.S. or coalition forces. Anyone who the Taliban thinks “helped the Americans” is marked for death — as well as their families.

My reader said emails stopped bouncing back late Saturday, but that “I have limited faith in its stability. Sometimes I feel like I’m shoveling P2 [asylum-visa] paperwork into

https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-taliban-are-hunting-afghan-contractors/

The Dreadful Consequences of the Biden Disaster in Afghanistan by Guy Millière

. army, after they saw the American military pulling out of the Bagram air base, might understandably have decided not even to try to fight. The "trillion dollars spent training and equipping hundreds of thousands of Afghan National Security and Defense Forces" with "advanced weaponry" has led to that US-provided "advanced weaponry" falling into the hands of terrorists it was meant to fight -- a donation from US taxpayers to what is now the world's best-armed terrorist state. . [T]he US has had troops in Germany and South Korea for about 70 years – a relatively modest "insurance policy" that never seemed "forever." Ironically, by handing over Afghanistan to the same Taliban that hosted Al Qaeda, which murdered nearly 3,000 people on 9/11, the US is not only making a mockery of these victims; it will soon find itself having to fight at an even greater cost in life and treasure as countries trying to eliminate America can now do it without American troops nearby, and with America's military equipment. . The French, British, Germans, Australians and Czechs have been venturing behind enemy lines to rescue their stranded citizens hiding there; Americans have not. The Pentagon and the State Department have admitted that they do not even know how many Americans are in the country; how could they know where they are? . Trump reportedly expected to leave a residual troop force in place, and apparently had a plan for an orderly military withdrawal -- based strictly on conditions on the ground. These presumably included not departing in the middle of the Taliban's summer fighting season, but in winter, when they shelter in Pakistan; not neglecting to consult with America's European allies, and not surrendering the main US air base, Bagram, before evacuating Americans and their allies, whom they had promised to rescue should plans not work out. . Trump seems to have understood what the Biden administration ignores: that terrorists are probably not all that susceptible to diplomacy, but to strength -- as Osama bin Laden put it... to "the strong horse". . After days of silence, Biden read a 19-minute speech saying that he stood behind his decision to leave Afghanistan, and even accused he Afghan security forces, which had sacrificed an estimated 66,000 men. Biden left the press conference without answering questions and returned to Camp David where he resumed his vacation". Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi praised his "strong leadership". . Pakistan is more deeply linked to the Taliban's victory than the United States might care to admit. . "Of all the foreign powers involved in efforts to sustain and manipulate the ongoing fighting, Pakistan is distinguished both by the sweep of its objectives and the scale of its efforts, which include.... soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support..., arranging training for Taliban fighters..., planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support." — Human Rights Watch. . China, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, and the Taliban have different worldviews, but do possess three things in common: they are enemies of the United States and the Western world, they want to see the United States humiliated and defeated, and they want to eliminate the United States from the region. The United States has been humiliated, defeated and eliminated from the region. Its enemies have won. . Those who love the United States,

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17673/afghanistan-dreadful-consequences

Checking Out of Hotel Afghanistan: A Look Back at the Russian Departure

08/23/2021

By Ambassador (ret) Jon D. Glassman

Thirty two years ago, January 30, 1989, ten American diplomats and U.S. Marine Security Guards, including I, the US Charge d Affaires, departed Kabul as 120 thousand Soviet troops evacuated the country across its northern border. We were ordered out by the incoming Bush Administration for fear that we would be massacred’ in error by mujahidin rebels expected to storm the Afghan capital after Soviet departure.

Sharing the belief that the fall of the Soviet-backed Afghan regime of Najibullah was imminent, I told the New Delhi press that the Afghan quasi-Communists would collapse in six months. This, however, did not occur for three years until mujahidin forces took the capital in 1992, decisively empowered by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its military and food supply chain, and its financial support of the client regime.

Najibullah, a brutal former Secret Police director, fled to the UN compound from whence he was extracted and hung in 1996 by Taliban forces mobilized by Pakistan to end the chaos of mujahidin coalition rule.

The expected and genuine outcome of the Soviet evacuation is relevant now as we cope with the debacle of US evacuation and withdrawal.

The Soviets and their Afghan partners took extreme measures in the last days of large-scale Russian presence to buttress their respective post-withdrawal positions vis-à-vis the mujahidin resistance, neighboring Pakistan, and, most importantly, each other. Measures that the Soviets and their clients undertook will not, and cannot, be repeated now, nor could any post-withdrawal arrangement that might eventually ensue be undone by the collapse of the United States, as occurred with the Soviet Union.

Yet, it is worthwhile to recapitulate the extraordinary effort the Russians and their Kabul allies put into guaranteeing their post-withdrawal equities. As we contemplate new and more modest U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in the future, we might want to consider whether we will achieve better results than the aggressive Soviets, notwithstanding the greater resilience of our polity.

On August 17, 1988, a C130 aircraft carrying Pakistani President Zia ul Haq, Pakistan JCS Chairman General Akhtar Abdur Rehman, my good friend US Ambassador Arnie Raphel, and US

Defense Attache BG Herbert Wassom crashed in Bahjawalpur, Pakistan. Immediately, speculation arose that the Soviets had assassinated President Zia, the linchpin of Afghan mujahidin resistance.

Indeed, Soviet Ambassador in Kabul Nikolay Yegorychev, former First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party, told me a few weeks earlier that some Pakistani patriot would likely shoot down a U.S. resupply flight into the neighboring country unless the US stopped its provision of Stinger anti- aircraft missiles to the mujahidin. “ ”

https://defense.info/featured-story/2021/08/checking-out-of-hotel-afghanistan-a-look-back-at-the- russian-departure/

Philippines reports record COVID-19 cases as Delta variant spreads

COVID-19 patients lie in beds after being admitted in the chapel of Quezon City General Hospital, turned into a COVID-19 ward amid rising infections, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, Aug 20, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez) 23 Aug 2021 05:49PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 05:49PM) BookmarkShare MANILA: The Philippines health ministry reported a record 18,332 COVID-19 infections on Monday (Aug 23) and for the first time acknowledged community transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus in its capital region.

The region, an urban sprawl containing the capital, Manila, and 16 cities home to more than 13 million people, had been subject to strict lockdown measures which were relaxed for 10 days from Aug 21 to allow more businesses to operate.

"Widespread lockdown or restrictions are no longer effective in the country," health ministry spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire told a regular news conference on Monday. "It would be more effective if restrictions were loosened a bit and if lockdowns were more targeted."

Large numbers of Delta variant cases for which the source could not be traced had been detected in the capital region and nearby provinces, the health ministry said in a separate statement.

Authorities have for several weeks attributed the current rise in cases to the Delta variant, but genome sequencing capacity in the Philippines is limited, with only a few thousand samples processed weekly.

On Monday, the country's genome centre said it had detected an additional 466 Delta variant cases, bringing the number of people confirmed to be carrying the variant to 1,273. The Philippines has recorded a total of 1.86 million COVID-19 cases, the statement said, a fifth of which were detected over the last 40 days. Nearly 32,000 people in the Philippines have died with COVID-19, according to official data.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippines-covid-19-record-cases-delta-variant-2130566

Galvez: 3 countries commit to donate 5.5 M COVID-19 vaccines to PH

Published August 23, 2021, 3:29 PM by Martin Sadongdong There are three countries that have pledged to give 5.5 million doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines to the country for free, the country’s vaccine czar bared Monday, Aug. 23.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. presents updates on COVID- 19 vaccination program on July 12, 2021. (Screenshot courtesy of RTVM livestream) Without mentioning the specific countries involved, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said among the vaccine donations are 1.5 million doses of American jab Pfizer and one million doses of British-Swedish vaccine AstraZeneca.

Further, an additional three million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are also going to be delivered to the country although Galvez did not specify its brand.

“Nagsabi na po ang tatlong bansa na magdo-donate sila ng 1.5 million na Pfizer at one million na AstraZeneca at meron pa pong isang bansa na baka magdonate po ng three million (Three countries have already communicated to us that they will donate 1.5 million Pfizer, one million AstraZeneca, and another country might also donate three million doses),” Galvez said at a ceremonial vaccination program in San Mateo Rizal that marked the administration of 30 million COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

The vaccines are expected to be delivered starting September in addition to the expected 10 to 15 million doses of procured vaccines that the country will receive.

The task force official credited President Duterte’s “good” bilateral relationships with other nations for the vaccine donations.

“Napakaganda po ng relationship niya sa mga bansang ito at kami po ay natutuwa dahil maraming tumutulong sa ating vaccination program (He has good relationship with these countries and we are happy because there are a lot [of countries] that are helping us in out vaccination program),” Galvez stated.

Since February, the government has received 48,522,890 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. It includes around 13.30 million donated jabs from the COVAX facility, a global vaccine sharing initiative; and 2.1 million doses acquired through bilateral donations.

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/23/galvez-3-countries-commit-to-donate-5-5-m-covid-19-vaccines-to-ph/

The Philippines approves emergency use of Russia's Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine

A view shows boxes containing vials with the single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination centre at a city market in Moscow, Russia, Jun 30, 2021. (File photo: Reuters/Tatyana Makeyeva) 23 Aug 2021 04:29PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 04:29PM) BookmarkShare MANILA: The Philippines has approved the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine, the country's vaccine procurement chief said on Monday (Aug 23), making it among the first country in Asia to approve the single-dose vaccine.

The approval by the Philippines' food and drug agency will allow the country to follow up its order for 10 million doses, Carlito Galvez, a retired general who handles the government's vaccine procurement, told a news conference.

The government expects vaccine manufacturers to increase deliveries in September and October, Galvez said.

Mongolia and Kazakhstan have approved Sputnik Light, developed by Russia's Gamaleya Institute.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippines-covid-19-vaccine-sputnik-russia-single-dose- 2130251

Booster COVID-19 shots should be delayed: WHO director-general

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference in Geneva Switzerland on Jul 3, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Fabrice Coffrini) 23 Aug 2021 06:39PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 06:39PM) BookmarkShare BUDAPEST: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday (Aug 23) that COVID-19 booster shots should be delayed as priority should be given to raising vaccination rates in countries where only 1 per cent or 2 per cent of the population has been inoculated.

If vaccination rates are not raised globally, stronger variants of the coronavirus could develop and vaccines intended as booster shots should be donated to countries where people have not received their first or second doses, he said during a visit to Budapest.

"In addition, there is a debate about whether booster shots are effective at all," Ghebreyesus told a news conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

Those whose immune system is compromised should get a booster shot, though they represent only small percentage of the population, he added.

The Unites States announced last week it plans to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely available starting on Sep 20 as infections rise from the coronavirus Delta variant.

Hungary has already started widely distributing booster shots, with anyone eligible four months after they received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/booster-covid-19-shots-should-be-delayed-who-director- general-2130706 North Korea develops its own PCR equipment to test for COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks walk amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in front of Pyongyang Station in Pyongyang, North Korea April 27, 2020. (Photo: Kyodo/via REUTERS) 23 Aug 2021 10:21AM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 10:21AM) BookmarkShare SEOUL: North Korea has developed its own polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment to conduct COVID-19 tests, state media said on Monday (Aug 23), as the country steps up efforts to head off new, more contagious strains of the virus.

The isolated country has not confirmed any coronavirus cases, but has sealed borders, restricted travel and imposed strict prevention measures, seeing the pandemic as a matter of national survival.

As part of the anti-virus efforts, scientists and technicians at the State Academy of Sciences have developed the PCR system that meets global standards for the first time, said the Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Worker's Party's newspaper.

The equipment was introduced as one of recent achievements made under leader Kim Jong Un's push to localise machinery, tools and materials amid international sanctions and border closures that sharply reduced trade.

North Korea has run PCR tests as an internationally recognised standard COVID-19 diagnostic method, but received outside assistance including from the World Health Organization.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/north-korea-develops-its-own-pcr-equipment-test-covid-19- 2129896

Taiwan's President kicks off rollout of island's first domestically produced Covid-19 vaccine By Ben Westcott and Eric Cheung, CNN Updated 0906 GMT (1706 HKT) August 23, 2021

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, center, receives her first shot of the island's first domestically developed coronavirus vaccine at the Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan on Monday, August 23.

(CNN)Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen received her first shot of the island's homegrown Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, a public show of support for the new drug which is central to plans for inoculation self sufficiency amid low immunization rates and struggles to obtain vaccines from overseas.

Monday's island-wide rollout of the Medigen Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Taipei-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation, comes after the drug was approved for emergency use last month by Taiwanese authorities for anyone above 20 years old, with at least 28 days between the two doses. The vaccine has yet to complete phase 3 clinical trials and no efficacy data is available. Paul Torkehagen, Medigen's director of overseas business development, told CNN in May that the company designed a "very large" phase 2 clinical trial to ensure the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, with 3,800 participants. Normally, a stage 2 clinical trial only involves several hundred people. Data from the trials showed that 99.8% of participants were able to form antibodies against Covid-19 after taking two doses of the vaccine, Medigen's CEO Charles Chen said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/asia/tsai-ing-wen-covid-vaccine-taiwan-intl-hnk/index.html

Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across the World Updated: August 25, 2021, 7:21 PM GMT+8

Tracking Covid-19  Vaccine Tracker  Global Cases  U.S. Cases  U.S. Regions Brazil 2,738 98,025 N/A N/A

U.K. 2,020 100,649 3,585.9 2.5

U.S. 1,910 115,292 1,549.7 2.8

France 1,687 99,600 N/A 6.0

Russia 1,235 47,269 1,202.6 8.1

Germany 1,146 48,435 856.5 8.0

India 332 24,789 386.0 0.5

Japan 125 10,877 155.9 13.1

Mainland China 3 68 N/A 4.3

Testing data as of August 24, 2021, 6:15 PM GMT+8 Sources: OECD for number of hospital beds (2016 for the U.S., 2017 for other countries), government agencies and the COVID Tracking Project via Our World in Data for testing data (various recent dates) (reported in the past 45 days) and the U.S. Census Bureau for population figures (2019).

The world is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 infections, as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 210 million people and killed more than 4.4 million globally since late January 2020. Efforts many countries took to stamp out the pneumonia-like illness led to entire nations enforcing lockdowns, widespread halts of international travel, mass layoffs and battered financial markets. Recent attempts to revive social life and financial activities have resulted in another surge in cases and hospitalizations, though new drugs and improved care may help more people who get seriously ill survive.

Getting to a Flatter Curve  The first 586 days with more than 100 confirmed cases

 Asia

 Other Show deaths  01002003004005001 yrDays since 100 confirmed cases1001,00010,000100,0001,000,00010,000,00030,000,000CasesMainland ChinaFranceU.K.Hong KongU.S.AustraliaBrazilIndiaRussiaTaiwanNew Zealand Note: JHU CSSE reporting began on January 22, 2020, when mainland China had already surpassed 500 cases. Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering 213,346,848 Confirmed cases worldwide 4,455,551 Deaths worldwide Jurisdictions with cases confirmed as of August 25, 2021, 7:21 PM GMT+8

 1–99

 100–999

 1,000–9,999

 10,000–99,999

 100,000–999,999  1,000,000–9,999,999

 10 million or more Where deaths have occurred Deaths Cases

U.S. 630,838 38,077,523

Brazil 575,742 20,614,866

India 435,758 32,512,366

Mexico 254,466 3,249,878

Peru 197,944 2,143,691

Russia 175,328 6,709,605

U.K. 132,174 6,586,184

Indonesia 129,293 4,026,837

Italy 128,855 4,494,857

Colombia 124,388 4,894,702

France 114,026 6,734,077

Argentina 110,806 5,148,085

Iran 104,022 4,796,377

Germany 92,067 3,889,968

Spain 83,527 4,804,424

Show more  Note: Totals for Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. include overseas territories and other dependencies. Cases and deaths for cruise ships have been separated in accordance with JHU CSSE data. More Coverage From Bloomberg  Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter  Stories about the coronavirus outbreak from Bloomberg News  Virus Update from Bloomberg News  The Future of Travel in the Covid Era  How Covid Is Shifting Human Behavior Around the World  The Covid Resilience Ranking

The epicenter of the pandemic has continued to shift throughout the year, from China, then Europe, then the U.S., and now to developing countries like Brazil. Cases globally surpassed 10 million in late June, but ever since infections have been multiplying faster. The U.S. and India have the most infections, accounting for more than a third of all cases combined.

Global Cases Added Per Day New cases: 664,817 Jan 21, 2020 Aug 24, 2021 U.S.

New cases: 135,245

Jan 21, 2020

Aug 24, 2021 Iran

40,623 India

37,593 Brazil

30,872 U.K.

30,762 France

25,914 Russia

18,260 Germany

16,654 Mainland China

20 Note: On February 14, 2020, Hubei officials changed their diagnostic criteria, resulting in a spike in reported cases.

Countries took drastic measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 on their homefront— with varying degrees of success. More than 140 governments placed blanket bans on incoming travelers, closed schools and restricted gatherings and public events, according to data compiled by Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Bloomberg reporting.

As countries loosen lockdowns in an effort to reboot their economies, many have seen a resurgence of infections. The number of new daily cases in the U.S. rose to record highs after some states relaxed social distancing requirements. Even places that successfully contained infections earlier in the year, like China and South Korea, have seen cases bubble back up. Theories that warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere would bring relief appear to be unfounded.

How the Outbreak Spread Country by Country  Seven-day rolling average of new deaths and cases

 Asia

 Other Show cases  Mar 2020Jan 2021Aug 2400.5K1.0K1.5K2.0K2.5K3.0K3.5K4.0KNew deaths by dayU.S.IndiaRussiaU.K. Note: Shown are the 15 places with the highest totals of confirmed cases, as of August 24. Negative values resulting from governments revising their totals have been excluded from rolling average calculations.

The “worst is yet to come” given a lack of global solidarity, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said at a briefing in Geneva on June 29.

In May, the WHO emphasized the need for a plan that includes testing for the virus and its antibodies, effective contact tracing and isolation, and community education. Antibody tests on the market that could potentially indicate a person’s immunity have been unreliable so far. Researchers and drugmakers are racing to develop treatments that could hold the key to recovery.

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir is one of the first widely used drugs for Covid- 19. It received an emergency use authorization from U.S. regulators in May, after a trial found it sped recovery by about four days in hospitalized patients. It was also part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s treatment after he tested positive for the coronavirus in early October, along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s antibody cocktail and the generic drug dexamethasone.

Vaccines are also in development, though the study of one leading candidate from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is on hold in the U.S. while regulators investigate a potential safety issue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/?srnd=coronavirus

More Than 5.02 Billion Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker In the U.S., 364 million doses have been administered Updated: August 25, 2021, 4:52 AM GMT+8

Vaccine Tracker  Global  U.S.  U.S. Vaccine Demographics  FAQ  Covid-19 Tracker

The biggest vaccination campaign in history is underway. More than 5.02 billion doses have been administered across 183 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 36.4 million doses a day.

In the U.S., 364 million doses have been given so far. In the last week, an average of 860,114 doses per day were administered.

World Map of Vaccinations More than 5.02 billion doses have been administered—enough to fully vaccinate 32.7% of the global population

 no data05153060%of population covered Note: “Population covered” divides the doses administered for each vaccine type by the number of doses required for full vaccination. Data gathered from government agencies, public statements, Bloomberg interviews and the World Health Organization and Johns Hopkins University. Bloomberg Travel Tracker  Find out where in the world you are free to travel—and which destinations are still sealed off. . . Enough doses have now been administered to fully vaccinate 32.7% of the global population—but the distribution has been lopsided. Countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 20 times faster than those with the lowest.

Uneven Access to Vaccines Least wealthy

       Most wealthy

The least wealthy 52 places have 2.9% of the vaccinations… Vaccines India Mainland China U.S.

 Hover for more comparisons Population India Mainland China

…but 20.5% of the world's population Note: Vaccine access calculations account for the number of doses needed for full protection; some vaccines require a two-dose regimen while others require just a single dose. Countries and regions are ordered by GDP per capita (PPP). When will life return to normal?

While the best vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, it takes a coordinated campaign to stop a pandemic. Infectious-disease experts say that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the U.S. population would enable a return to normalcy. On a global scale, that’s a daunting level of vaccination. At the current pace of 36.4 million a day, the goal of high levels of global immunity remains a long way off. Manufacturing capacity, however, is steadily increasing, and new vaccines by additional manufacturers are coming to market.

The Path to Immunity Around the World Globally, the latest vaccination rate is 36,374,228 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another 6 months to cover 75% of the population.

↑↓

 Average daily rate estimate Jan. 8 March 6 May 2 June 28 Aug. 24 Doses administered: 80M 60 40 20 0 Note: Immunity calculations take into account the number of doses required and the current rate of administration for each vaccine type. The “daily rate estimate” is a seven-day trailing average; interpolation is used for jurisdictions with infrequent updates. *Coverage may exceed 100% in some places, as shots may be administered to non-residents. Data are from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker. ‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

Israel was first to show that vaccines were bending the curve of Covid infections. The country led the world in early vaccinations, and by February more than 84% of people ages 70 and older had received two doses. Covid cases declined rapidly, and a similar pattern of vaccination and recovery repeated across dozens of other countries.

This progress is under threat. New strains, led by the highly transmissible delta variant, have caused renewed outbreaks. It’s now a life-and-death contest between vaccine and virus. Unvaccinated people are more at risk than ever, leading U.S. health officials to dub it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Even among those who are vaccinated, the delta variant may lead to mild cases, and those who get sick are able to spread the disease to others, according to the latest data. The vaccines remain effective at preventing hospitalization and death.

Vaccinations vs. Cases Vaccines have helped reduce case numbers in the places where they’ve been deployed most widely. Currently, 28 places have administered enough shots to cover at least 60% of the population.

United States (56.9% covered)

↑↓ Jan. 24 March 18 May 10 July 2 Aug. 24 People covered: 75% 50 25 0

 Seven-day average Jan. 24 March 18 May 10 July 2 Aug. 24 New cases per million: 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Note: “People covered” divides the doses administered for each vaccine type by the number of doses required for full vaccination. Vaccine data from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Tracker. Cases data: Johns Hopkins University. A Change to Our Data Sources  Behind the data: After more than 240 straight data shifts, we’re taking the next step and will now be relying on a combination of automated scrapers and third- party data sources. . .

Since the start of the global vaccination campaign, countries have experienced unequal access to vaccines and varying degrees of efficiency in getting shots into people’s arms. Before March, few African nations had received a single shipment of shots. In the U.S., 109.6 doses have been administered for every 100 people.

Delivering billions of vaccines to stop the spread of Covid-19 worldwide is one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken.

Race to End the Pandemic The Maldives leads the world, with enough vaccinations to cover 89.7% of its population

↑↓ UAE UAE Mald. Mald. U.K. U.K. U.S. U.S. Aruba Aruba Afgh. Afgh. Angola Angola Alb. Alb. Andorra Andorra Argen. Argen. Armenia Armenia Antigua Antigua Aus. Aus. Austria Austria Azer. Azer. Belgium Belgium Benin Benin B. Faso B. Faso Bang. Bang. Bulg. Bulg. Bahrain Bahrain Baha. Baha. Bosnia Bosnia Belarus Belarus Belize Belize Bermuda Bermuda Bol. Bol. Brazil Brazil Barb. Barb. Brunei Brunei Bhutan Bhutan Bots. Bots. C.A.R. C.A.R. Switz. Switz. Chile Chile Mainland China Mainland China Iv. Coast Iv. Coast Camer. Camer. DR Congo DR Congo Rep. Congo Rep. Congo Col. Col. Comoros Comoros C. Verde C. Verde Co. Rica Co. Rica Cuba Cuba Curaçao Curaçao Cayman Cayman Cyprus Cyprus Cz. Rep. Cz. Rep. Germany Germany Dji. Dji. Domca. Domca. Den. Den. Dom. Rep. Dom. Rep. Alg. Alg. Ecuador Ecuador Egypt Egypt Spain Spain Est. Est. Ethio. Ethio. Finland Finland Fiji Fiji France France Micronesia Micronesia Gabon Gabon Georgia Georgia Ghana Ghana Guinea Guinea Gambia Gambia Guinea-Bis. Guinea-Bis. Eq. Guinea Eq. Guinea Greece Greece Grenada Grenada Greenland Greenland Guat. Guat. Guyana Guyana H.K. H.K. Honduras Honduras Croatia Croatia Haiti Haiti Hungary Hungary Indon. Indon. Is. Man Is. Man India India Ireland Ireland Iran Iran Iraq Iraq Iceland Iceland Israel Israel Italy Italy Jamaica Jamaica Jordan Jordan Japan Japan Kazak. Kazak. Kenya Kenya Kyrg. Kyrg. Camb. Camb. St. Kitts St. Kitts S. Korea S. Korea Kuwait Kuwait Laos Laos Leb. Leb. Liberia Liberia Libya Libya St. Lucia St. Lucia S. Lanka S. Lanka Lesotho Lesotho Lithu. Lithu. Lux. Lux. Latvia Latvia Macau Macau Mor. Mor. Monaco Monaco Moldova Moldova Mada. Mada. Mex. Mex. N. Mace. N. Mace. Mali Mali Malta Malta Myan. Myan. Monte. Monte. Mong. Mong. Moz. Moz. Mauritan. Mauritan. Mauritius Mauritius Malawi Malawi Malay. Malay. Nam. Nam. Niger Niger Nigeria Nigeria Nicar. Nicar. Netherl. Netherl. Norway Norway Nepal Nepal Nauru Nauru N.Z. N.Z. Oman Oman Pakistan Pakistan Panama Panama Peru Peru Phil. Phil. P. N. Guinea P. N. Guinea Poland Poland Portugal Portugal Par. Par. Qatar Qatar Rom. Rom. Russia Russia Rwanda Rwanda S. Arabia S. Arabia Sudan Sudan Senegal Senegal Sing. Sing. Solomon Solomon S. Leone S. Leone El Salv. El Salv. San Marino San Marino Somalia Somalia Serbia Serbia S. Sudan S. Sudan Sao Tome Sao Tome Surinm. Surinm. Slvk. Slvk. Slvn. Slvn. Sweden Sweden Eswatini Eswatini Seych. Seych. Chad Chad Togo Togo Thailand Thailand Tajik. Tajik. Timor-L. Timor-L. Tonga Tonga Tr. Tobago Tr. Tobago Tunisia Tunisia Turkey Turkey Taiwan Taiwan Tanzania Tanzania Uganda Uganda Ukraine Ukraine Uruguay Uruguay Kosovo Kosovo Uzbek. Uzbek. St. Vincent St. Vincent Venez. Venez. Vietnam Vietnam Samoa Samoa Yemen Yemen S. Africa S. Africa Zambia Zambia Zimb. Zimb. EU EU Canada Canada Jan. 12 March 9 May 4 June 29 Aug. 24 People covered: 100% 80 60 40 20 0

Note: “People covered” divides the doses administered for each vaccine type by the number of doses required for full vaccination. Data from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker Global Vaccination Campaign

% of population

Enough for % given Daily rate of Doses of 1+ fully doses administered people dose vaccinated administered Countries and regions

Global Total 5,027,639,542 – – – 36,374,228

1,961,893,000 70.1 55.5 12,360,286 Mainland China –

India 588,997,805 21.5 33.1 9.5 4,895,314

EU 519,716,658 58.5 63.7 57.0 1,856,307

U.S. 363,915,792 56.9 60.9 51.6 860,114

Brazil 179,727,882 43.8 60.7 26.3 1,652,903

Japan 119,818,884 47.5 53.3 41.6 1,252,557

Germany 99,888,859 60.1 64.1 59.0 286,402

Indonesia 90,387,621 16.9 21.6 12.0 872,475

Turkey 90,335,711 54.3 55.7 42.6 673,930

U.K. 89,679,178 67.1 71.5 62.8 209,684

France 84,638,524 65.3 73.3 64.3 445,974

Mexico 80,886,612 31.7 44.2 24.3 473,307

Russia 77,884,484 26.5 28.8 23.6 536,418

Italy 75,838,662 62.8 69.0 58.7 230,243

Spain 63,938,402 68.8 76.7 67.6 316,461

Canada 52,600,111 70.1 72.9 64.7 116,426

Pakistan 50,478,166 12.3 18.1 6.6 1,576,693 % of population

Enough for % given Daily rate of Doses of 1+ fully doses administered people dose vaccinated administered Countries and regions

Argentina 39,605,804 44.1 60.5 26.5 372,474

South Korea 38,583,923 37.3 50.9 23.8 790,961

Show more  Note: Population coverage accounts for the number of doses required for each vaccine administered. The daily rate is a 7-day average; for places that don’t report daily, the last-known average rate is used. U.S. Vaccinations: State by State

Roughly half of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, and states are flush with supply. The vaccination campaign, however, has slowed. Once the envy of the world for its swift rollout, the U.S. has since been overtaken by dozens of countries. There are still wide gaps between the most and least vaccinated counties in the U.S., leaving many communities vulnerable to continued outbreaks.

Distribution in the U.S. is directed by the federal government. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, as well as Moderna’s shot both require two doses taken several weeks apart. J&J’s inoculation requires just a single dose. Additional booster shots may be used to enhance protections over time.

So far, 202 million Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine—78.4%of the adult population. At least 171 million people have completed a vaccination regimen. The U.S. is sending some of its excess supply to other hard-hit regions of the world.

Vaccines Across America Enough doses have been administered to cover 56.9% of the total population

Popul ati on Cover ed% of Suppl y Used

 045505560% ASCT

RI CT DE DC GU MP AS VI Note: “Population covered” divides the doses administered for each vaccine type by the number of doses required for full vaccination. Data added after Feb. 20 is from the CDC and includes doses administered by federal entities in state totals. Prior data from the Bloomberg Covid-19 Tracker. It can take several days for counts to be reported through the CDC database. A new beginning

It takes about two weeks after a final vaccine dose for immunity to fully develop. While the CDC has offered guidance on mask-wearing after vaccination, many local governments and businesses have set their own rules.

Unvaccinated people, including children, should still wear masks indoors, according to the CDC’s latest guidance.

U.S. Vaccinations vs. Cases Vaccines have helped reduce case numbers in the places where they’ve been deployed most widely. Currently, 21 places have administered enough shots to cover at least 60% of the population.

United States (56.9% covered)

↑↓ Jan. 24 March 18 May 10 July 2 Aug. 24 People covered: 75% 50 25 0

 Seven-day average Jan. 24 March 18 May 10 July 2 Aug. 24 New cases per million: 1,000 800 600 400 200 0

Note: “People covered” divides the doses administered for each vaccine type by the number of doses required for full vaccination. Vaccine data from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Tracker. Cases data: Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. health officials are now focused on how to vaccinate people who have been reluctant to get a shot. Younger, unvaccinated populations are increasingly viewed as key to getting the pandemic under control.

How State Vaccinations Stack Up Vermont leads all states, with enough vaccinations to cover 72.8% of its populations

↑↓ U.S. U.S. Miss. Miss. Vt. Vt. Alaska Alaska Ala. Ala. Ark. Ark. Ariz. Ariz. Calif. Calif. Colo. Colo. Conn. Conn. D.C. D.C. Del. Del. Fla. Fla. Ga. Ga. Hawaii Hawaii Iowa Iowa Idaho Idaho Ill. Ill. Ind. Ind. Kan. Kan. Ky. Ky. La. La. Mass. Mass. Md. Md. Maine Maine Mich. Mich. Minn. Minn. Mo. Mo. Mont. Mont. N.C. N.C. N.D. N.D. Neb. Neb. N.H. N.H. N.J. N.J. N.M. N.M. Nev. Nev. N.Y. N.Y. Ohio Ohio Okla. Okla. Ore. Ore. Pa. Pa. R.I. R.I. S.C. S.C. S.D. S.D. Tenn. Tenn. Texas Texas Utah Utah Va. Va. Wash. Wash. Wis. Wis. W.Va. W.Va. Wyo. Wyo. Jan. 12 March 9 May 4 June 29 Aug. 24 People covered: 80% 60 40 20 0 Note: Two doses are needed for full protection with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, while the J&J shot requires a single dose. Data from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker

After focusing first on hospitals and other institutional health-care settings, states expanded the number of places that offer the shots. Mass vaccination centers were created from sport stadiums, theme parks, convention halls and race tracks. Now the campaign has moved to more traditional health-care settings: pharmacies, doctors’ offices and clinics.

The Path to Immunity in the U.S. In the U.S., the latest vaccination rate is 860,114 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another 4 months to cover 75% of the population.

↑↓

 Average daily rate estimate Jan. 8 March 6 May 2 June 28 Aug. 24 Doses administered: 5M 4 3 2 1 0 Note: Immunity calculations take into account the number of doses required and the current rate of administration for each vaccine type. Data are from Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker. U.S. Vaccination Campaign

% of population

Enough for % given Daily rate of Doses of 1+ fully doses Supply administered people dose vaccinated administered used Jurisdiction

U.S. Totals 363,915,792 56.9 60.9 51.6 860,114 85.1%

California 47,304,100 62.1 68.0 55.1 95,556 88.1%

Texas 29,471,219 52.8 56.0 46.4 94,964 80.2%

Florida 24,308,757 59.2 62.7 51.7 81,419 83.1%

New York 24,002,086 64.3 66.4 59.3 47,109 90.2%

Pennsylvania 15,190,103 61.7 68.5 54.4 27,853 87.4%

Illinois 14,358,623 58.7 65.1 50.5 25,441 87.5%

11,999,714 20,031 93.9% Federal Entities* – – –

Ohio 11,491,208 51.1 51.9 47.9 19,334 84.0%

New Jersey 10,835,890 63.4 69.0 60.6 20,961 84.8%

North Carolina 10,268,978 50.8 54.7 45.6 28,198 79.5%

Virginia 10,107,860 61.3 64.6 56.5 19,234 88.1%

Michigan 10,080,912 52.3 54.8 50.0 13,512 80.0% % of population

Enough for % given Daily rate of Doses of 1+ fully doses Supply administered people dose vaccinated administered used Jurisdiction

Georgia 9,518,650 46.0 49.9 40.4 29,097 74.7%

Massachusetts 9,386,189 70.4 74.7 65.4 11,668 91.0%

Washington 9,362,918 64.1 66.8 59.5 17,921 91.3%

Maryland 7,494,606 64.3 67.4 60.8 13,224 81.9%

Arizona 7,456,104 53.0 55.9 47.2 15,550 81.7%

Colorado 6,727,051 60.5 62.7 56.2 11,709 88.7%

Wisconsin 6,384,485 57.0 57.9 53.3 11,400 93.3%

Show more  Note: The category entry for Federal Entities isn’t counted in the country total because those vaccinations are already included in relevant state totals. The “Unassigned” entry refers to vaccinations from CDC’s U.S. totals that the agency didn’t assign to a specific state or territory. “Doses administered” figures include all vaccinations within a state, regardless of a person’s residency, while population coverage data only accounts for residency. “Shots used” shows the proportion of administered vaccines compared with the total doses received by a state.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/?srnd=premium-asia

Washington Needs to Do More Than Just Show Up in Southeast Asia Visits to the region by big-name officials like Kamala Harris are one thing. There is still a huge amount of work to be done for the U.S. to shore up its credibility post-Afghanistan. By Ruth Pollard August 24, 2021, 6:30 AM GMT+8

Kamala Harris with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reviewing the honor guard. Photographer: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/AFP After years of half-hearted engagement in Southeast Asia, the U.S. is back. At least that’s the line the Biden administration is attempting to run.

The question is, after the way the U.S. left Afghanistan and treated its key partners, will regional leaders buy it?

Many will be looking at Washington with even more skepticism and distrust, given the dangerous situation unfolding at Kabul airport and the potential for a resurgence in terrorism emanating from a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. All in the wake of the tumultuous Trump presidency. The visit of Vice President Kamala Harris to Southeast Asia this week will provide an indication of just how much diplomatic capital Joe Biden has lost over Afghanistan, with the inevitable comparisons to the American withdrawal from South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in 1975.Harris’s visit follows those of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who attempted to present a more humble U.S. to the region — one that could admit to its policy missteps and domestic problems, including attacks on Asian-Americans — as a way of rebuilding trust across Southeast Asia.

Washington needs the region to get behind its push to check China’s moves, and has even offered up a plan for a digital trade pact covering Indo-Pacific economies. But some nations have been reluctant to sign up to the idea — held back by a combination of a lack of trust in the U.S. and fear of how Beijing would respond. China’s largest corporations, like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., have led a wave of investment into Southeast Asia — which has more than half a billion people rapidly migrating online — so there is not much upside to an agreement that cuts out the mainland.

The region should be important to Washington. It has two longtime U.S. allies — the Philippines and Thailand — and key partners, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. But years of neglect has seen economic ties shift toward Beijing, even as these nations have serious concerns about China’s actions in the South China Sea and the potential debt trap of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road project.

Harris was careful to stress the U.S. commitment to the region. She focused on the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific — diplomat-speak for dealing with Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea — as well as expanding cooperation on security, the global economy and pandemic responses. Her mantra was “reaffirm, reinforce and renew” when she spoke in Singapore Monday after meeting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

But there was no sidestepping Afghanistan and how Southeast Asia views the U.S.’s unseemly departure and its impact on the credibility of Washington’s foreign policy promises. As Lee said, perceptions of U.S. resolve and commitment to the region will now be influenced by what it does going forward, how it repositions itself and how it continues the fight against terrorism. He too couched the visit as a sign of the U.S. “renewing ties.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-08-23/what-can-be-done-to-move-southeast-asia- back-into-the-u-s-orbit-of-influence?srnd=premium-asia

COA: A guardrail of democracy By: Richard Heydarian - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:04 AM August 24, 2021

Lamented former Venezuelan supreme court president Cecilia Sosa upon her resignation: “[We] committed suicide to avoid being assassinated. But the result is the same. It is dead.” The independent-minded magistrate was responding to a perilous authoritarian lurch throughout the late-1990s under former Venezuelan populist Hugo Chávez, who pressed ahead with the creation of a constituent assembly that awarded itself the power to dissolve preexisting state institutions with electoral fiat.

ADVERTISEMENT The controversial move was clearly in violation of an existing supreme court ruling, yet the judicial body chose to tag along in order to avoid a headlong clash with the popular president. Within months, the acquiescent court was gone, replaced with a new Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which would be packed with Chavismo “revolutionary” loyalists.

It goes without saying that the new court never failed in its self-presumed duty to never question executive aggrandizement under the Venezuelan populist. After years of populist euphoria, it became clear that fiddling with democratic institutions was a glide path to catastrophe.

FEATURED STORIES

OPINION

‘Weh,’ professor?

OPINION

‘Sibak, sibak, sibak’

OPINION

‘Winarak’ and the misuse of emotions

At the most fundamental level, democracy is about “ordered liberty” and rule of law, whereby no one, even the country’s highest officials, is exempt from institutional scrutiny, in accordance with the constitution. But in order to have functional checks and balances, you need truly independent bodies that have the resources, mandate, and political will to call out executive abuse.

Over the past five years, the Commission on Audit (COA) has emerged as one of the few bright spots in our besieged democracy. In many ways, it has been the ultimate bastion of institutional independence and integrity.

https://opinion.inquirer.net/143413/coa-a-guardrail-of-democracy

Another fine mess

Just when we thought we’d seen enough trouble at the doorstep of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, we learned over the weekend that hospitals and doctors may no longer wish to work with the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

Duque, who has been staving off calls for his resignation over audit findings that his department mishandled P67.3 billion in funds earmarked for the country’s COVID-19 response, has called on PhilHealth and the hospitals to continue discussions amid a worsening dispute over the non-payment of billions of pesos worth of claims. On Saturday, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), the Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) and the Private Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP) said they were considering disengaging with PhilHealth after the state insurer issued a circular on the temporary suspension of the payment of claims over fraud concerns. But the hospitals said the accusations of fraud were unacceptable and saw this as “another ploy to deny or delay the payment of claims.” Members of the Philippine Hospitals Association said they worried that their COVID- related claims would be unfairly tagged as fraudulent as a way to delay payments due them. “The bridge between the health-care providers and PhilHealth now has serious cracks caused by a feeling of mistrust by PhilHealth against health-care providers. The bridge is bound to collapse, maybe it is time to review the engagement with PhilHealth and level the playing field,” the groups said in their statement. They promised to continue to treat PhilHealth-covered patients, but only while their contracts with PhilHealth—which expire in December 2021--are in effect. As chairman of PhilHealth, Duque cannot simply wash his hands of the dispute, which could hobble the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the PhilHealth circular was issued to suspend payments, relations between the state insurance company and hospitals had soured over some P25.6 billion in unpaid claims, which they said would hurt their operations as they geared up for another COVID-19 surge. It is understandable that PhilHealth, racked by a corruption scandal in September 2020, may now be erring on the side of caution. On the other hand, if every claim is subject to exacting scrutiny, this could delay the flow of funds used to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, with potentially dire consequences. Secretary Duque’s call for further discussions seems almost nugatory given the chasm of trust dividing both sides. Throughout all his travails, Secretary Duque has enjoyed the unflinching support of the President, who routinely clears him of any fault or wrongdoing, even before any investigation can begin. We wonder, though, in the privacy of the President’s office in the Palace, if he doesn’t chide his teary-eyed Health secretary and say: “Now here’s another fine mess you’ve got me into.”

https://manilastandard.net/opinion/editorial/363132/another-fine-mess.html

A very sound proposal

SENTINEL - Ramon T. Tulfo - The Philippine Star August 24, 2021 | 12:00am Joey Concepcion has a very sound proposal that needs to be considered by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Concepcion’s proposal: Open malls, restaurants, and other establishments in Metro Manila to vaccinated people.

The staff in those establishments should be fully vaccinated as well, according to Concepcion.

That proposal comes from a presidential adviser who doesn’t have a military mindset.

President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte should appoint more people in his Cabinet who think out of the box like Concepcion.

Digong may want to consider COVID-19 as a health issue and not a national security matter.

Get the soldiers and policemen off the streets and subordinated to doctors, nurses and other health workers.

* * *

Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, played medical counselor to beleaguered Secretary Francisco Duque III during a hearing on how the Department of Health spent the questionable P67-billion COVID-19 funds.

During the hearing, Duque forgot to mute his microphone and was overheard telling his subordinates in Filipino: “My brain is confused. I don’t know what…”

Hearing Duque’s complaint, Gordon said, also in Filipino: “You have many psychiatrists at the DOH. Have yourself treated by DOH psychiatrists.”

The senator then made an offer to Duque: “We have psycho-social support in the Senate (that you may want to avail yourself of).” Gordon then went into English: “I know it’s very stressful to work in the government, so please make sure that you get it done.”

The Blue Ribbon committee head said: “Accountability is significant to the budget cycle. I consider you as a friend, but my loyalty is to the country first, before my loyalty to the government.”

Gordon’s bottom-line message to the health secretary was to resign because the excrement has hit the fan.

* * *

Overpricing by the DOH of supplies to combat COVID-19 is all over the place.

Take, for example, the failed attempt by the DOH to buy laptop computers.

Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said P700,000 was set aside for four laptop computers, or P175,000 each.

Tayag said the high-tech computers would have been used in recording names of people who have been vaccinated. Fast computers were needed to do the job, he said.

However, Senate Majority Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said that the high- performance laptop computer he used for video meetings and sessions in the Senate cost only P96,000.

And that’s only for computers.

The prices of face masks and face shields are not included yet.

* * *

Party-list Rep. Claudine Bautista, who was married recently, is being bashed for her lavish wedding in the super expensive and high-end Balesin resort.

If it’s her money and her bridegroom’s that was spent, that’s none of the public’s business.

But then the wedding should have been made secret. The couple could have been more discreet given the current situation. Bautista, who represents the Drivers United for Mass Progress and Equal Rights (DUMPER), should have thought about her constituents who are out of work and hungry as a result of the lockdown.

The ostentatious wedding left a bad taste in the mouth.

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/08/24/2122137/very-sound-proposal

Bracing for the Afghan refugee wave August 24, 2021

People disembark at the arrival of a chartered Air Belgium airplane carrying evacuated people from Afghanistan, at the military airport in Melsbroek, on August 23, 2021. The Belgian military evacuation mission 'Operation Red Kite' flies defense cargo planes back and forth between the Pakistani capital Islamabad and Kabul in Afghanistan, to get Belgians and their families, but also Afghans such as interpreters, fixers and employees of human rights organizations safely out of Afghanistan. AFP PHOTO AFTER the Taliban blitzed its way back to power in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghans are scrambling to leave the country. At Kabul airport, over 14,000 people are waiting to be airlifted out. They could be the lucky ones.

Untold numbers more, many of them former workers in Western diplomatic missions and civilian organizations, are trapped in the capital, unable to gain access to the airport because of Taliban restrictions.

There are also Afghans considered to be prime Taliban targets - political activists, journalists and feminists among them - who face persecution and even death unless they can find a way to get to the airport.

The US and its allies have pledged to evacuate at-risk Afghans. The problem is how. One suggestion is to negotiate with the Taliban to give them safe passage.

Since August 14, US President Biden has reported, 28,000 people have been flown out of

Afghanistan. But they represent only a ripple in the wave of refugees expected to stream out of Afghanistan.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN's refugee agency, more than 270,000 Afghans were displaced this year alone by the conflict that has engulfed their country, bringing the number of Afghan refugees to over 2.6 million.

It's the second biggest refugee population after the 6.8 million who were uprooted during the Syrian war in 2015.

To head off a humanitarian crisis, sanctuary must be found for the Afghan refugees. The US, because it had the biggest footprint in Afghanistan among the Western countries, has pledged to take in 10,000 Afghan refugees.

Britain is offering safe haven for 20,000 refugees. Canada says it can resettle the same number.

Australia will accept 3,000, and Tajikistan says it will shelter 100,000 displaced people from its neighboring country.

But many countries in Europe are lukewarm to the idea of welcoming another huge influx of asylum seekers. In 2015, their borders were overrun by swarms of refugees from Syria, triggering an immigration firestorm that spread throughout the European Union (EU). To prevent a replay of that nightmare, the consensus in the EU is to offer asylum only to

Afghans who worked for European embassies, armies or international relief agencies.

"We must anticipate and protect ourselves against significant irregular flows of migration that would endanger those who use them and fuel trafficking of all kinds," French President

Emmanuel Macron said.

Last week, Poland fortified its border with troops and a barbed-wire fence to prevent a group of immigrants, including some Afghans, from getting in.

"Poland defended itself against the wave of refugees in 2015, and it will defend itself again now," Polish deputy prime minister Piotr Glinski declared.

Germany had played the ideal host to immigrants fleeing the Syrian conflict, feeding and providing shelter and temporary jobs to close to 900,000 of them. The benevolence almost led to the collapse of the Berlin government as the volume of immigrants put a strain on the economy and fomented racial tensions.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/08/24/opinion/editorial/bracing-for-the-afghan-refugee- wave/1812095

Baseless policy

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:07 AM August 24, 2021

“The air purifier is a mere band-aid solution.”

ADVERTISEMENT With that remark, Greg Perez, chair of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide-Cebu (Piston-Cebu), hit the nail on the head in protesting Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s directive for drivers and conductors of public utility vehicles in the province to wear personal air purifiers.

Garcia issued two executive orders last week, one requiring the wearable air purifiers for drivers and conductors, and the other mandating transport operators to install high efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters in their PUVs. The policy was to take effect on Aug. 16 but was moved to tomorrow (Aug. 25), to allow the transport sector to buy the air purifiers.

This policy is one of those knee-jerk pandemic directives devoid of science that only unduly burdens sectors already struggling to cope with the crippling effects of the pandemic, reminiscent of that silly requirement by the national government’s COVID- 19 task force in July last year for the mandatory use of plastic barriers in motorcycles.

Despite warnings from various experts that the contraption was not only ineffective but would also even pose risks to riders, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año rebuked critics then with a classic non sequitur:

“Assess the issue before making comments, and wait until you get infected with COVID before you comment.’’

Eventually, the government came to its senses and peremptorily abandoned the policy—but not before some motorcycle riders had already shelled out money for the pointless barriers.

https://opinion.inquirer.net/143419/baseless-policy

Depoliticize the Pandemic, Please!

Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

The ongoing U.S.-China competition has been intensified by the efforts of the United States in recent months to trace the origins of the coronavirus, with a push to blame China. The U.S. is pressuring the World Health Organization to continue its investigation of Chinese science research institutions that some in the U.S. think might have spread the virus to the world.

China has allowed WHO experts to visit Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in December 2019. But it has rejected the second stage of a WHO plan to investigate the origins of the virus in China and has criticized the U.S. for politicizing the pandemic.

What are the considerations behind China s tough stance on the U.S. request for a second wave of investigation in China? How do Southeast Asian states see the U.S. push to trace the ’ origins of the virus? Scholars from China and around Southeast Asia respond.

What are the real intentions of U.S. second phase of virus origins tracing?

Nian Peng: From the Chinese perspective, the U.S. is attempting to smear China by initiating another WHO investigation. The U.S. has from the beginning tried to politicize the pandemic, stigmatize the virus and use origin-tracing as a tool. Moreover, the U.S. investigation of China has been perceived as a key element of a grand strategy for containing China in the context of the intense geopolitical and geo-economic competition between the world s two great powers. In addition, China feels that it is unfair to investigate Chinese labs, as more evidence shows that the virus may have first escaped ’ from the U.S. Fort Detrick laboratory, which has a history of storing many deadly viruses, including Ebola and anthrax. So the government s authority would be seriously challenged if China allows the U.S. to conduct further investigations in China. ’ Chow-Bing Ngeow: The current deteriorating state of the U.S.-China relationship has reduced mutual trust significantly. The U.S. does not trust China, or even the WHO, to identify the origins of the virus. Likewise, China does not trust any investigation presumably reflecting or serving U.S. viewpoints. Science has been politicized. This matter will never be satisfactorily resolved as long as the geopolitics behind it is not resolved.

Putri Rakhmadhani Nur Rimbawati: I think that it is political. The U.S. is trying to undercut China s image in the international community. The U.S. feels insecure about

’ China s rising contribution to the global community through its increasing trade volume, investment projects and aid to developing countries. China has been able to share its ’ prosperity with many, and by that U.S. primacy is being challenged. By continuing to scrutinize China as the source of the virus, the U.S. is trying to degrade China s established image so that it's seen as the one responsible for the massive economic downturn and “ ” ’ many lives lost during the global pandemic.

How would tracing the virus to China affect Southeast Asia’s relations with the country?

Nian Peng: It depends on whether the U.S. puts pressure on the Southeast Asian states to support its investigation. Currently, the U.S. has successfully got support from the European Union, Australia and Japan. It is unlikely the U.S. can force Southeast Asian states to take sides. Nonetheless, the U.S. wants to interrupt the close anti-Covid cooperation between China and Southeast Asian states and promote anti-Chinese feelings in Southeast Asia by vigorously agitating and pursing an investigation that targets China.

Chow-Bing Ngeow: So far, I think the impacts on Southeast Asian governments are minimal. Southeast Asian governments have been much less interested or eager to blame China, or any other country (if let s say it started from somewhere else). There is a recognition that it s not easy to get a clear picture of what s going on at the initial stage of ’ an outbreak. Countries in Southeast Asia, of course, have other issues with China here and ’ ’ there (the South China Sea dispute, for example), but the origin of the virus is not one of them, and there is no interest in adding this one to further complicate relations between China and Southeast Asia.

https://www.chinausfocus.com/energy-environment/depoliticize-the-pandemic-please

Why is the US investigating the origins of the coronavirus? as health authorities globally struggle to subdue the ever-evolving contagion. Why was the investigation ordered?

The move grew out of frustration over restrictions placed on a probe conducted by Chinese and international scientists, organised by the

World Health Organization (WHO), which resulted in a report in March that said it was extremely unlikely that the virus came from a lab – a theory linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s study of coronaviruses. The report failed to present any solid conclusions about the contagion’s origins other than an assessment that it most likely spread to people via an intermediary animal.

A handful of nations at the time – including the United States, Britain and Japan said the findings were flawed by a lack of independence from the Chinese government and access to all data related to early Covid-19 cases in China.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3146102/why-us-investigating-origins-coronavirus

Commentary: A new prime minister appointed but Malaysia politics still on knife’s edge

Ismail Sabri must hold together a fractious political coalition and shore up confidence from a public weary with the COVID-19 fight, says RSIS’ Dr Johan Saravanamuttu.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Malaysia's new prime minister. (File photo: AP/Vincent Thian)

Johan Saravanamuttu 23 Aug 2021 04:45PM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 04:50PM) BookmarkShare SINGAPORE: Malaysia s king announced on Friday (Aug 20) that United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) vice-president Ismail Sabri will be Malaysia s new prime minister. ’ ’ Ismail s unexpected ascendancy to Malaysia s highest office occurred after a series of political machinations which saw the former defence minister gain the support of some 114’ parliamentarians. ’

Appointed deputy prime minister just weeks ago, he beat opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to the finishing line in a replay of the Sheraton move of February 2020 when Muhyiddin Yassin was chosen to be premier under a Perikatan Nasional (PN) government after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition unravelled.

And yet, Muhyiddin himself resigned after only 18 months at the helm. SLIPPERY SLOPE POLITICS REVOLVING AROUND UNMO The reality is Malaysia entered a slippery period of power-sharing politics which arguably began after UMNO's collapse in the 2018 General Election (GE14).

But one thing has been constant Malaysian politics continue to revolve around UMNO. – To some extent, PH only won in 2018 because UMNO splintered with former party stalwarts Mahathir and Muhyiddin joining forces to form the PH, together with the Democratic Action Party and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). They crossed the finishing line to oust the Barisan Nasional after it has held onto power for about six decades.

Even Muhyiddin s downfall happened because the UMNO court cluster of parliamentarians, namely those implicated in ongoing corruption charges, and their allies withdrew their’ support. “ ”

Muhyddin s last-ditch appointments of Ismail Sabri as deputy prime minister and Hishammuddin Hussein as senior minister could not stop the pull-out of 15 UMNO parliamentarians’ from the PN coalition. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/malaysia-ismail-sabri-prime-minister-implications- impact-2130326

Commentary: What happened to Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine?

For a country that was first off the blocks, Russia has a long way to go if it wants to catch up with China and the United States in the game of vaccine diplomacy, says a ISEAS-Yusof Ishak researcher.

FILE PHOTO: A vial labelled "Sputnik V coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" is seen in this illustration picture taken May 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Ian Storey 23 Aug 2021 06:03AM (Updated: 23 Aug 2021 06:03AM) BookmarkShare SINGAPORE: As China and America trade barbs over the South China Sea, and coronavirus infections surge across the region, Southeast Asia now has the dubious distinction of being at the epicentre of both great power competition and the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Unsurprisingly, the contestants in this geopolitical power play have been using vaccine diplomacy to score points off each other.

The principal protagonists are, of course, the United States and China. A war of words has erupted between them over the efficacy of their respective vaccines and which country has been more generous towards Southeast Asia.

Late from the starting blocks, America seems to have taken the lead: Its cutting-edge mRNA vaccines appear to be more effective against the more transmissible Delta variant than China s inactivated vaccines like Sinovac and Sinopharm.

And while Beijing boasts’ it has delivered more vaccines to Southeast Asia than America (190 million doses versus 20 million), Washington has pointed out that most of its doses have been provided free of charge. Another player in Southeast Asia s game of vaccine diplomacy is Russia. It considers itself to be a great power and has been trying to up its game in the region. ’ Yet despite developing an effective vaccine, it has fared poorly compared to China and the US. What went wrong?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/russia-vaccine-sputnik-china-diplomacy-2125706

Do not give the Taliban the legitimacy it craves

Azadah Raz Mohammad Lawyer View all comments In 1998, my family decided to leave Afghanistan for good. The Taliban had emerged four years earlier and in 1996 had taken control of Kabul, Afghanistan s capital, imposing an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic sharia law. The Taliban s rule was noted for its cruel corporal punishments, including public executions,’ the suppression of freedom of religion and expression, and the destruction of ’ Afghanistan s historical heritage. The year we left, the Taliban massacred 2000 Hazara men and boys in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. ’ Seventeen years later, I decided to go back to live and work in Afghanistan. The Taliban had been driven from power by the US-led war on terror, but Taliban insurgents had resurfaced and organised frequent suicide attacks targeting schools, educational centres, universities, mosques, and hospitalsand indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

Kabul fell to the Taliban without a formal transfer of power.CREDIT:AP In 2014, I started my assignment with a foreign donor agency in the country. My return coincided with the Afghan administration and its US and NATO allies signing a new bilateral military agreement. The Taliban retaliated with intensive attacks on civilians. I vividly remember the day we had four massive explosions close to my office targeting aid workers and civilians. I was newly arrived, and it was one of the hardest days for me in Afghanistan. Soon after, daily and weekly bombing of civilians was something I adjusted to as part of my new normal. The Taliban insurgents took direct responsibility for those attacks.

Advertisement On August 15, Kabul fell to the Taliban once again, without resistance or a formal transfer of power. Overnight, my country s name changed from Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and its flag changed to the Taliban s. ’

But, while’ the Taliban has managed to take a de facto control of the country, formal international recognition of its Islamic emirate remains elusive.

During its previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban s emirate received recognition from three countries: Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The international community faces the difficult question’ of whether or under what conditions it will formally accept this new Taliban government.

Recognition of a state or government under international law is not straightforward. Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention sets out the requirements for recognition of a state as follows: The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a permanent population; a defined territory; government; and capacity “to enter into relations with the other states.

” https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/do-not-give-the-taliban-the-legitimacy-it-craves- 20210822-p58kyg.html