Author: Ibitinga

TAIPEI — China’s expansionist drive is sparking alarm across Asia and needs to be checked by U.S.-led alliances, Taiwan’s security chief has warned. National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo Li-hsiung said he backed AUKUS, a security partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., and pointed out that it was necessary for NATO to help Asia counter Chinese military threats. “The security pact is an important power to respond to China’s expansionism and military buildup,” the cabinet heavyweight told Nikkei Asia in an exclusive interview. “It is wrong to put the blame on AUKUS for an arms race in the…

New Delhi: The commerce ministry on Monday said that a special round of negotiations for the India-Peru trade agreement is set to take place during 10-11 October and will include an investment chapter. Talks for the India-Peru trade agreement commenced in 2017, with the fifth round concluding in August 2019. The sixth round is slated to be held in December 2023 in Lima, Peru. The negotiations had come to a pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the India-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations have come to a halt due to a diplomatic standoff. Trade experts said that New Delhi…

During the August 5 crisis at Second Thomas Shoal, the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs tried to contact its Chinese counterparts through a bilateral hotline. Manila’s effort to de-escalate the standoff despite being the victim of Chinese aggression was laudable. Unfortunately, the calls went unanswered. Officials in Washington have shared the same experience on many occasions — when communication is needed most, Beijing can’t be reached. Only days after the incident, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Stratbase ADR Institute convened international experts to discuss ways Washington and Manila can coordinate as alliance partners during future crises to prevent escalation into…

(Bloomberg) — A subsidiary of American Lithium is betting it can defy the odds in Peru and open the country’s first lithium mine in speedy fashion despite a sluggish permitting system that can keep projects on hold for years. That’s according to Ulises Solis, the chief executive officer of Macusani Yellowcake, the local subsidiary that is developing the Falchani lithium project in Peru. Solis said the goal is for Falchani to begin operations in 2027, which would mark an incredibly fast turnaround time for a mining project that hasn’t submitted its main environmental impact assessments yet for review. “It is…

Finance and Economy Minister Alex Contreras has affirmed that Peru’s economic policy has two challenges: to stabilize the economic cycle, which means moving to the recovery phase in a context in which the country prepares to face Global El Niño, and the great legacy of this administration will be to boost the potential GDP, that is, to increase the economy’s growth capacity. “We are facing a challenging economic scenario in the international context and a positive one at the local level, after having experienced important shocks that affected the economy, but the relevant aspect is that we are recovering,” the high-ranking official said. The remarks…

Beijing is prepared to speed up talks with Asean on a long-delayed South China Sea code of conduct, the Chinese foreign minister said on the weekend while warning against external interference in the region. “China is willing to work with Asean countries to … make effective and meaningful regional rules that can make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation,” Wang Yi told his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, in Beijing on Saturday. A new round of talks is scheduled to get under way in the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday. The Chinese foreign ministry quoted Don as saying he supported…

Peru’s investment promotion agency ProInversión qualified six groups for the concession process of power transmission projects in the center and north of the country. The potential bidders are Alupar Perú, Celeo Redes, Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, Conelsur, Consorcio OA (Acciona Concesiones de Infraestructuras-Omega Perú Operación y Mantenimiento) and Interconexión Eléctrica. The planned infrastructure comprises 500kV links Huánuco-Tocache-Celendín-Trujillo and Celendín-Piura along with expansions and associated substations. Huánuco-Tocache-Celendín-Trujillo will span the regions of Huánuco, San Martín, Cajamarca, and La Libertad, and includes lines Nueva Huánuco-Tocache (193km), Tocache-Celendín (295km) and Celendín-Trujillo Nueva (174km). Estimated investment totals US$531mn. Celendín-Piura Nueva will cross the regions of Cajamarca, Amazonas, Lambayeque and Piura, and includes a 381km line.…

The visits to China by climate czar John Kerry and other senior U.S. officials are welcome relief from recent darker days in U.S.-China relations. But during my recent visit to Beijing and Tianjin, it became clear that a chasm separates the sides’ views of an acceptable bilateral relationship. The U.S. seeks rules of the game to govern military policies in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea; Beijing will have none of it. In that context, next January’s presidential election in Taiwan has the potential to trigger a crisis. China has strong reservations about the front-running, pro-independence candidate, current Vice…

The supply, made by the Joint Command of the Armed Forces to support the National Police, included 540 shotguns, 540 pistols, 540 M4 assault rifles, 540 tear gas grenade launchers, among others, as revealed last week by La Republica newspaper. In this regard, journalist Jo-Marie Burt, author of a book on human rights violations in Peru, stated that the arm supply was made by private companies and urged the United States to investigate into such operations. Jo-Marie Burt considered the investigation necessary because international human rights organizations have condemned serious human rights violations and possible extrajudicial executions during the police…

China said Wednesday it has dispatched navy ships in preparation for joint exercises with Russia’s sea forces, in a sign of Beijing’s continuing support for Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The move comes despite the growing economic and humanitarian repercussions of the bloody 16 month-old air, sea and ground assault. China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but has accused the U.S. and its allies of provoking Russia and has maintained robust economic, diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow. The exercise involves more than 10 ships and 30-plus aircraft, according to China’s Xinhua News Agency. The ministry and Xinhua gave no…