Thread: Eurasia Topics

Originally Posted by OhOh

Myanmar approves Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine despite post-coup crisis

Poor Myanmar.

Originally Posted by OhOh

One presumes the athletes, themselves may boycott these Olympic Games, if they can withstand the media pressure.

One presumes athletes with any conscience would willingly boycott these. Leaving the chinkies and their rag tag supporters to go up against the steroid-enhanced Russians in probably the biggest fucking joke of an olympic games in history.

Originally Posted by OhOh

China arrests Australian journalist for ‘illegally supplying state secrets overseas’

8 Feb, 2021 10:29

Tranlsation: Mr. Shithole drums up some charges against an Aussie they've had in custody for six months and then pretends they have "arrested her".

Originally Posted by OhOh

No, mention of the "commercial vessel's" nationality, any listing ameristani warships, or any ameristani submarine crew members being involved or injured in the area, so far.

If it's a commercial vessel it's not going to be military is it?

Perhaps a parasitic chinky trawler trying to snaffle up some more fish that doesn't belong to it?

Originally Posted by OhOh

It appears that both Iran ans ameristan desire an end of their mutual stand-off:

Want Iran back to its nuclear deal commitments? Lift all the sanctions, Ayatollah Khamenei tells US

http://7 Feb, 2021 11:39

Want Iran back to its nuclear deal commitments? Lift all the sanctions, Ayatollah Khamenei tells US — RT World News

Biden puts US in standoff with Iran, says sanctions won't be lifted until country stops enriching uranium

7 Feb, 2021 16:00

Who will step up to the job and assist the impasse?

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and suggest the JCPOA.

Originally Posted by OhOh

What China-New Zealand free trade agreement upgrade means | govt.chinadaily.com.cn

Not much to worry about, the kiwis don't have much by way of IP worth nicking.

No-one will give a fuck if the chinkies nick the Steinlager recipe, it's piss anyway.

^ Thank you for your comments above.

Business Confidence Survey: Positive Development for German Businesses in China and High Expectations for EU-China Investment Agreement

"Beijing/Guangzhou/Shanghai, 2 February 2021 - The German Chamber of Commerce in China, in cooperation with KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, presented the results of the annual “Business Confidence Survey” today. The results show that German companies in China are currently optimistic for the coming year and have a strong commitment to the market, even though, complex regulatory challenges remain and competition with Chinese companies is increasing.

02/02/2021 | Press Release

• High expectations for the EU-China Investment Agreement: Improved market access for 40 percent of respondents and equal treatment of foreign companies in the Chinese market for 39 percent of companies as key topics for CAI
• Continuous recovery of German companies’ China Business: 77 percent of German companies expect the market to develop significantly better in China than in other economies
• China remains an important investment location for German companies: Turnover expectations and profits forecasts for 2021 are mostly optimistic; 96 percent of respondents have no plans to leave the Chinese Market; 72 percent plan further investments
• Decoupling tendencies accelerate localization trend: Concerns about the risks of rising costs due to different standard requirements (37%) and a slowdown of business in the long term (35%); German companies in China react with increasing localization of research and development (43%) as well as procurement (34%) and alignment of key technologies with different standards (33%)
  

CAI: Expectations of German Companies in China Are High

Expectations for the upcoming EU-China Investment Agreement (CAI) are high: the companies surveyed by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and KPMG stated that market access (40 percent) and equal treatment of all market participants in China (39 percent) were the main expectations for the agreement. However, the study results also showed quite positive assessments of formal market access. Compared to the previous year, fewer companies reported encountering restrictions at this first hurdle (30 percent). “The CAI makes China’s efforts and measures in terms of market opening to European companies irreversible," says Dr. Stephan Woellenstein, Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce in North China. On the other hand, the challenges remain considerable at the indirect level. Summing up the regulatory challenges of German companies in China, administrative and bureaucratic hurdles are among the biggest obstacles: Customs regulations and procedures, obtaining the necessary licenses, the requirements of the Cyber Security Law, the Corporate Social Credit System, as well as capital transfers and cross-border payments. “The agreed institutional framework of the CAI also creates a permanent communication channel to monitor the commitments made and to address the existing challenges of our member companies. German firms expect from the CAI more legal certainty and improvements in regards to leveling the playing field" explained Woellenstein.

Continuous Recovery of German Companies in China

Despite Covid-related declines in turnover in the first half of 2020, 39 percent of German companies in China managed to increase their turnover and 42 percent their profits in 2020, according to the survey. In addition, in 2020, around 25% of the surveyed German companies in China managed to achieve turnover and profits roughly at the same level as in the previous year. “China is the only major economy that has managed to grow - even if only by about 2 percent - in 2020. German companies also benefited from this and could partially compensate for the declines in the EU and US markets due to the recovered business in China in the second half of the year," commented Andreas Glunz, Managing Partner International Business of KPMG in Germany.

China Remains an Important Investment Location

Optimism for 2021 is evident: 77 percent of respondents expect their industry to perform better in China than in other markets. As a result, 72% of respondents expect rising turnover in China and 56% higher profits in 2021. This is also reflected in a strong commitment to the Chinese market: Almost all companies surveyed (96%) stated that they had no plans to leave China and 72 percent planned further investments in production facilities (44%) and machinery (34%) as well as in research and development (32%). According to Andreas Glunz, "many key industries in China are setting the course for future developments. A local presence is important to generate sales in the Chinese market, enter into local partnerships, or closely observe tomorrow's competitors in their home market. The German companies surveyed see great business opportunities in China, especially with innovative technologies (58%) and digital solutions (51%).”

Decoupling Tendencies Accelerate Localization Trend

The growing tensions between the US and China created additional uncertainties for German companies in China in the
pandemic year 2020. In a decoupling scenario, the German companies in China are mainly concerned about the risks of rising costs due to catering to various standard requirements in the markets (37%) and a slowdown of business in the long term (35%). German companies in China respond to this development with increasing localization of research and development (43%) as well as procurement (34%) and alignment of key technologies with different standards (33%) “The economic impact of the pandemic and decoupling scenarios have accelerated the localization trend," commented Dr. Stephan Woellenstein."

Business Confidence Survey: Positive Development for German Businesses in China and High Expectations for EU-China Investment Agreement

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Poor Myanmar.

Why Harry?

Lancet has given it the thumbs up. The European Union is giving it positive reviews. i saw a list of around 25 countries where it has been approved for "emergency" use.

Perhaps you know something I don't. Please share.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Not much to worry about, the kiwis don't have much by way of IP worth nicking.

But the Kiwis will be the loudest whiners when China gives them their 'Australia-treatment' at the drop of a hat - or should that be at he flap of a bat - eggs in baskets and all that for the greedy and dense producers

Originally Posted by russellsimpson

Why Harry?

Lancet has given it the thumbs up. The European Union is giving it positive reviews. i saw a list of around 25 countries where it has been approved for "emergency" use.

Perhaps you know something I don't.

That's quite fucking obvious.

Russian scientists say the country's Sputnik-V vaccine appears safe and effective against COVID-19, according to early results of an advanced study published in a British medical journal.

<snip>
Data sharing

Anonymous participant data will be available upon completion of clinical trials and publication of the results of the completed study upon request to the corresponding author.

I'll wait until they publish their data for peer review, thank you.

They've already been caught publishing dubious data before, which probably explains why they are holding it back now so they don't repeat their mistake.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

They've already been caught publishing dubious data before

Only the Russians eh.

Originally Posted by russellsimpson

Why Harry?

Lancet has given it the thumbs up. The European Union is giving it positive reviews. i saw a list of around 25 countries where it has been approved for "emergency" use.

Perhaps you know something I don't. Please share.

Why?
Normally, Harry would explain anything concerning China and/or Russia (to name just few) very matter-of-factly and unbiased, won't he?

(BTW, if you would look for the yesterday remarks re the late Shultz's gentlemanship, they are no longer there, neither the wiki quotes...)

Originally Posted by OhOh

Only the Russians eh.

Nah, I expect the chinkies have been at it as well, they're lying fuckers too.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Only the Russians eh.

Nah, you Chinese as well, as Harry said . . . just like the Russians - lying fuckers . . . and we have two splendid representatives here

Originally Posted by panama hat

Nah, you Chinese as well, as Harry said . . . just like the Russians - lying fuckers . . . and we have two splendid representatives here

Ironically I'm watching "True Evil: The Making of a Nazi", the episode about Goebbels. The techniques he adapted from the advertising world are exactly the same as those employed by Vlad and Mr. Shithole: Control of all media, suppression of any criticism of their regimes, etc. It's quite chilling how well these scum deploy it really.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

It's quite chilling how well these scum deploy it really.

. . . and you'd think that with the 'open-info' world we live in, despite restrictions, that this sort of propaganda mixed with extreme nationalism wouldn't work anymore, but here we are

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Vlad and Mr. Shithole: Control of all media, suppression of any criticism of their regimes, etc.

Why they do not allow it freely aired like in (please no names here)...

^Over to you, pH- ... with some funny pictures... something like Jack-in-box ...

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Control of all media, suppression of any criticism of their regimes, etc. It's quite chilling how well these scum deploy it really.

Only the countries that have demonstrated their ability to pull themselves together and deliver improvements to their citizens in the world eh.

Allow those scales to fall from your eyes.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Only the countries that have demonstrated their ability to pull themselves together and deliver improvements to their citizens in the world eh.

Allow those scales to fall from your eyes.

"Deliver improvements to their citizens"...

Why HooHoo that's almost as amusing as

Originally Posted by Klondyke

Over to you, pH- ... with some funny pictures

It's odd . . . no-one finds them funny other than you and your Chinaman bestie, which shows how detached from reality you are

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

If it's a commercial vessel it's not going to be military is it?

Chinese allegedly:

"The commercial ship is believed to be the Ocean Artemis, a Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier, carrying around 20 Chinese crew members, according to coast guard sources.The vessel is scheduled to arrive at Kobe Port in Hyogo Prefecture, the regional coast guard headquarters said Tuesday. Coast guard divers will check the condition of the vessel's hull"

Japan submarine collision left more extensive damage than first thought | The Japan Times

Connected to the colour revolution being played out in Myanmar?

US reboots Quad in unseemly hurry

Posted on February 10, 2021 by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR

"The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported from Washington Sunday quoting “a source” that the Biden Administration had proposed to New Delhi, Tokyo and Canberra the idea of holding an online summit meeting of the leaders of the “Quad”. The report added, “Whether the talks will materialise soon is up to India, which is known for its relatively cautious stance on the (Quad) framework. It is the only Quad member that shares a land border with China and operates out of US-led security alliances.”

President Joe Biden called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and the topics discussed centred around close cooperation for “a stronger regional architecture through the Quad” in the backdrop of the developments in Myanmar.

According to the White House readout, Biden and Modi noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the US-India relationship and “resolved that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld in Burma.”

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to discuss the coup in Myanmar. The White House readout said, “Both sides look forward to expanded regional cooperation, including through the Quad.”

The decision to “upgrade” the Quad to the highest level of leadership is a major initiative by the Biden administration. The Quad overnight becomes the tip of the spear in the Indo-Pacific strategy. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently signalled during an online event that Quad will play a key part in US policy in the Indo-Pacific region facing China’s rise.

Sullivan said, “I think we really want to carry forward and build on that (Quad) format, that mechanism, which we see as fundamental, a foundation, upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific region.” Interestingly, Robert O’Brien, former national security adviser for Trump, also said at the same event that the Quad may be the “most important relationship we’ve established since NATO at a high level.”

Conceived in 2004 in response to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami but lying dormant for a decade thereafter, Quad was revived in 2017 by the Trump administration and has since rapidly grown, focusing on efforts to advance a “free and open ” Indo-Pacific region. Indeed, the revival of Quad can be seen as a foreign-policy achievement of the Trump administration on an otherwise bleak foreign-policy landscape.

The Biden administration is moving quickly to build on Trump’s legacy. The upgrade of Quad becomes the new administration’s first major counter-offensive against China, consistent with Biden’s promise that diplomacy will be at the centre of his foreign policy. The strengthening of the Quad signifies that the US hopes to create a more united — and enlarged — front of American allies to face China.

The military coup in Myanmar has come timely for the Quad to position itself as the platform to galvanise the restoration of democracy in that country and the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Asia-Pacific in general. This has profound implications.

China has brilliantly succeeded through the past decade in dominating and shifting the narrative in the Asia-Pacific to the economic agenda. The US cannot possibly retrieve that lost ground. But, in the US assessment, by positioning the Quad as the flag carrier of human rights and democracy in the Asia-Pacific, Washington could carve out a political domain where China is doomed to remain an outsider.

Put differently, Quad becomes a platform for rallying the ASEAN countries that have shown wariness so far to take sides between Washington and Beijing. Meanwhile, the Quad platform could potentially attract the US’ European allies as well, such as Germany, who may otherwise have strong economic relations with China. Indeed, a whole lot of possibilities arise to turn the table on China and to isolate it in the region.

In short, the Myanmar situation will test the Quad’s efficacy as the fountainhead of democratic change in the region. Faced with the coup in Myanmar, the ASEAN has so far held on to the core principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of any member country. But ASEAN is a divided house on the Myanmar question.

The pro-western governments in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have expressed deep concern, while Thailand and Cambodia, the two countries bordering Myanmar adhere to the cardinal principle of non-interference and Laos and Vietnam, the two communist countries in the region, are in empathy with the latter.

The US National Security Advisor Sullivan called up the Thai National Security Council General Natthaphon Narkphanit Monday to express “concern over both recent arrests of Thai protestors and several lengthy lese-majeste sentences in recent weeks” as well as to convey “President Biden’s deep concern regarding the coup in Burma.” In effect, Sullivan warned the Thai military leadership against lending any form of support to Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The Quad faces a formidable challenge to get the ASEAN on board over the situation in Myanmar. If it succeeds, the regional balance may tilt in favour of the US. But as things stand, the ASEAN may prefer to steer clear of geopolitics and seek a consensus favouring reconciliation between the military and the opposition. Indeed, the Myanmar military is also seeking a way out of the impasse and may be open to the good offices of ASEAN.

Similarly, the Biden administration also seeks to “lock in” India, which has traditionally followed a policy of constructive engagement of the Myanmar military. The Indian analysts underscore the criticality of cooperation and support that the Myanmar military has been extending to the security agencies to counter trans-border activities of militant / separatist groups operating in the country’s north-eastern region.

But, there is more — much more — to the impact on Indian interests. Fundamentally, Myanmar’s political economy is strikingly similar to India’s, being a multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural society that attained independence from colonial rule and attained nationhood for the first time in modern history. The country encompasses eight main ethnic groups and further 135 indigenous ethnic groups.

The majority group Burman make up anywhere between half and two-thirds of the country’s population of 55 million. Succinctly put, the largest ethnic minority groups groups — Shan, the Karen, the Arakanese, etc. — stand outside the pale of power-sharing in Naypyitaw between the military and the democratic opposition (which largely represent the Burman).

Now, there is also a regional divide, since the majority Burman mainly live on the central plains, including the cities of Yangon and Mandalay, while ethnic minority groups live around the country’s mountainous borderlands. To compound matters further, the central valley of Myanmar inhabited by the majority Burman is surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped mountainous periphery that controls Myanmar’s overland access to neighbouring countries.

Besides, the periphery, which is home to the indigenous ethnic minorities, accounts for more than half of the country’s area and coastline, and holds most of the natural resources. Again, the Burman Buddhists in the central plains view Christianity as a threat, whilst the tribes on the periphery embraced Christianity as a counterweight to the majoritarian state in the post-colonial period. It is useful to recall that the two segments (Buddhists vs. non-Buddhists) fought on opposite sides during World War 2.)

It does not need much ingenuity to figure out that if constitutional rule breaks down due to protracted social unrest, almost inevitably, the ethnic minorities who possess highly distinctive national, cultural and language identities will begin to assert — especially, if the steel frame of the military were to weaken or disintegrate. In fact, no ethnic group will be able to assert as a unifying force. Meanwhile, the country is also awash with weapons.

Suffice to say, those who are charioting the Quad are unrealistic to show impatience with Myanmar’s transition to a flourishing democracy and are visualising the military coup in a rather textbook fashion. They betray a lack of understanding of the country’s complex institutional and ethnic topographies and the indigenous origins of its turn to democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi’s stubborn refusal to play the western game or to be party to the weakening of the Myanmar military during the Rohingya crisis — her strident nationalism — must be put in the above perspective. (This also partly explains why Suu Kyi drew close to China, much to the frustration of the West.)

Clearly, Myanmar’s ethnic cauldron is like a tinderbox. The Muslim Rohingya activists already sense that a defining moment is coming for their struggle for independence. The spectre of dismemberment of the former Yugoslavia haunts Myanmar.

The US’ geopolitical considerations dictate that Thailand and Myanmar do not allow land corridors for China to the Indian Ocean to mitigate its so-called “Malacca Dilemma”. But, for the ASEAN countries — or India, for that matter — a dismemberment of Myanmar will almost certainly have domino effect.

The Quad is overreaching in the Biden Administration’s unseemly hurry to proclaim that “America is back.”

https://indianpunchline.com/us-reboo...nseemly-hurry/