South East Asia

Retrograde From Afghanistan Continues as U.S. Officials Protect Troop Numbers

The retrograde from Afghanistan is going well, but U.S. officials are being careful as the effort is still in its early stages, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said today.

U.S. Central Command officials estimate that they have completed between 6% and 12% of the retrograde process. Airlifters have flown out the equivalent of 104 C-17s worth of materials; U.S. personnel have turned over more than 1,800 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction; and the U.S. has officially handed over one facility to the Afghan National Army.

EU Suspends China Trade Deal as Tensions Grow Over Xinjiang, Hong Kong

European and Chinese leaders are urging swift ratification of the trade deal they agreed to in December, after tensions over accusations of human rights abuses in China delayed approval of the deal by European Union lawmakers.

The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) took seven years of negotiations and was finally agreed to in principle December 30, 2020, following a virtual summit between EU and Chinese leaders. Europe said it was the most ambitious trade deal China had ever undertaken with a third party.

The ideological basis of the new Cold War is clear, and this time the Western powers look set to be on the losing side

The ideological divisions of today involve the organization of the international system of states. One side, led by the USA, UK, EU and NATO, subscribes to something it calls the “rules-based international order.” (India claims to follow this.) The other side, led by Russia and China, subscribes to “international law…The principles of this system are set out in the United Nations Charter.

The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels and of China and Russia’s foreign ministers in Guilin brought into stark relief the ideological differences that divide the leading protagonists of the new Cold War.

Austin, Milley Discuss Progress of Retrograde From Afghanistan

American service members will move out with professionalism and dedication to fulfill the newest mission in Afghanistan, ending the U.S. presence in the country by September, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today.

Austin and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held their first joint press conference at the Pentagon.

US is whipping up fear of China because Washington simply cannot contemplate a world it does not dominate

According to research by Stop Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Hate, there were nearly 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021, not including those that have occurred the most recently.

America’s annual threat assessment has highlighted the dangers posed by China. The manufactured hysteria about Beijing’s supposed intentions reveals a country unnerved at the prospect of losing its global preeminence.

Reports from Afghanistan: General’s comment, blast, cost

U.S. general: Afghan forces could face ‘bad possible outcomes’

A May 2, 2021, Washington datelined AP report said:

Afghan government forces face an uncertain future and, in a worst-case scenario, some “bad possible outcomes” against Taliban insurgents as the withdrawal of American and coalition troops accelerates in the coming weeks, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.

Even After Withdrawal, U.S. Retains Leverage Over Taliban

President Biden’s announcement that U.S. troops would withdraw by September 11 has many Afghans and observers warning of a quick collapse of the Afghan state and a new phase in the country’s civil war. Without minimizing the challenges ahead, the United States should avoid any self-fulfilling prophecy of imminent collapse by insisting that the only future for Afghanistan is one that advances the gains of the past 20 years. As troops begin to depart, it is an opportune time to examine three forms of leverage the United States has to promote a political settlement.