Inappropriate and hostile
The Korean Peninsula, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and the DRC.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
KOREAN PENINSULA. Another ally is dunked for a despot.
IRAN. Trump’s backflips fail to open Hormuz.
AFGHANISTAN. PAKISTAN. Signs of stability re-emerge.
INDIA. Modi tries to win back the young.
DR CONGO. Ebola reaches an inflection point.
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KOREAN PENINSULA. Kim's ransom
Another ally is dunked for a despot.
Donald Trump ordered bilateral drills with Seoul to be “substantially” reduced due to their “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to an “unthreatening and respectful” Pyongyang. Trump earlier posted a photo of him with Kim Jong Un.
INTELLIGENCE. A day after the Koreas marked their independence from Japan (whose defence minister used the occasion to visit the Yasukuni shrine), Trump’s move will do less to encourage conciliation in Pyongyang than rearmament in Seoul. And with the Seventh Fleet’s last aircraft carrier having left for the Middle East, it won’t be just Iran – against whom Trump said he had asked South Korea to “join us” – to reappraise the North’s nuclear deterrence.
FOR BUSINESS. The US still maintains a big presence in Japan and South Korea, and even without the USS George Washington in theatre, the US’s Pacific Command is only second to China in terms of estimated regional firepower. But Tokyo and Seoul have good reasons to debate military autonomy, and pressure Washington as it looks for help on missiles and shipbuilding. This will be in mind for China’s foreign minister when he visits Seoul on Wednesday.
IRAN. Strait 180
Trump's backflips fail to open Hormuz.
Oil futures rose as Hormuz shipping data from Kpler recorded only five ship transits over the weekend, down from 31 the one before. Trump said he was "very happy" to see Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey form their own defence alliance.
INTELLIGENCE. Trump is without good options to reopen Hormuz and his allies know