South East Asia

When President Trump travels to Beijing early next year to finalize a new trade deal, China will deploy one of its favorite pressure tactics: restricting exports of rare earth elements.

Last month, The New York Times’s Thomas Friedman warned that China’s threat to cut off rare earth exports could “trump Trump’s tariffs tenfold.” He’s right that Beijing sees these minerals as strategic leverage, but the real story is more complicated. The market is small, innovation is closing the gap, and allied countries are building alternative supply chains faster than many realize.

Pakistan’s military on Tuesday issued a cautious response to Taliban accusations of deadly airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, saying it does not conduct undeclared military operations and “never targets civilians”.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that Pakistani strikes hit parts of Khost, Paktika and Kunar provinces overnight, killing at least 10 civilians. Mujahid described the attacks as “violations and crimes” and said Afghanistan would issue a “timely” response.

Pakistan’s military denied on Tuesday it had struck neighbouring Afghanistan, rejecting accusations by the Taliban government that it was behind an overnight air raid that killed 10 people near the border.

“Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan,” army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in comments carried by state broadcaster PTV, adding that “the allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless.”

Pakistani security forces killed 20 Pakistani Taliban insurgents in raids on hideouts in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan, the military said Monday, as tensions between the two countries escalated.

Separately, militants including a suicide bomber tried to storm a cadet college in Wana, a city in the South Waziristan district also in the northwest, triggering a gunbattle that killed at least two of the attackers, the military said.

At the Xi-Trump meeting, China paused rare-earths curbs for a year and pledged to refine detailed plans, offering a cautious sip of a bitter cup ahead.

On 10 October, a remark made by China’s former leader Deng Xiaoping was recalled around the world, becoming a focal point of commentary across Europe.

Pakistani authorities said Friday they had arrested four suspected militants allegedly involved in a deadly suicide bombing outside a district court in Islamabad earlier this week, a rare attack in the capital that killed 12 people and wounded 28 others.

The suspects are believed to be members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. In a statement posted on social media, the government identified one of the suspects, Sajid Ullah, as the individual who handled the explosives used in Tuesday’s attack.

The convergence of interests between the US, Pakistan, and the Taliban means that a compromise between them to this end can’t be ruled out no matter how unlikely it might appear to be right now.

Trump’s recent reaffirmation of his plans to return US troops to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase was rejected by the Taliban, which was to be expected for appearance’s sake at this point while talks are reportedly underway, but another obstacle comes from Pakistan’s opposition. It recently released a joint statement with China, Iran, and Russia condemning the US’ plans. Nevertheless, since Pakistan would benefit from them and openly backs his Gaza plan, its statement shouldn’t be taken at face value.

Fortifying the Durand Line, eliminating sleeper cell threats on Pakistan’s side, and dividing-and-ruling Afghanistan through hybrid means can ensure Pakistan’s national security in lieu of the invasion that the US might be putting Pakistan up to in advance of America’s geopolitical and mineral-related goals.