International
NATO wraps up its main partners in the Indo-Pacific to exert pressure on China
The NATO summit in Washington has made clear the Alliance’s support in its main partners in the Indo-Pacific -Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand-, with whom it shares the interest of stopping China and North Korea as their relations with Russia increase the risk on the interests of the bloc.
NATO, born 75 years ago to provide security to the North Atlantic area in a context of cold war with the Soviet Union, has been strengthening its cooperation with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, known as the IP4 group, for years, but that relationship has intensified and its leaders participate significantly in a summit for the third consecutive year against the background of an increasingly militaryly powerful China.
The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, yesterday made some harsh statements against China for its “responsibility” in the war in Ukraine, today he expressed concern about the strengthened relationship between Russia and North Korea, which is the reason for “usual discussions” between the two groups.
Stoltenberg accused China yesterday of “steering up the Russian war economy” by supplying Moscow with technology and microchips used to attack Ukraine, something that Beijing described today as an “unfounded” denunciation of NATO, which seeks to “establish an imaginary enemy to justify its expansion and power.”
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, China has assumed an ambiguous and equidistant position with both parties and that adds to the growing tensions between the Asian country and NATO due to other factors such as Chinese military expansion, its economic influence and its relationship with Russia.
This morning, when receiving South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Stoltenberg emphasized the fear of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, strengthened after the agreement they signed last month and which, he suggested, could result in “support for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.”
The importance of the Indo-Pacific partners for the Alliance was also reflected in the meeting of their leaders on the sidelines of the summit with the host, US President Joe Biden, where they “viercally condemned” the “illicit” transfers of weapons from Pyongyang to Moscow.
The leaders of IP4 also participated in a session with the 32 heads of state and government of NATO, plus the European Union, focused on China’s role in the “Russian war economy.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, future head of European diplomacy, warned there that the cooperation or relationship between the allied countries and their partners in the Pacific with Beijing could be “very damaged if China continues to support Russia in this war.”
“In the context of an interconnected environment of threats, which is characterized by the deepening of the Russia-North Korea military partnership and China’s support for Russia’s industrial defensive base, NATO benefits from exchanging knowledge and experiences” with IP4, the White House explained in a note.
The first meeting of the Alliance with IP4 was in 2016 and was raised to the level of leaders at the Madrid summit in 2022, when NATO for the first time included China among its strategic priorities because Beijing’s ambitions and its “coercive policies,” he said, challenge its “interests, security and values.”
In addition, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States participate in the AUKUS military partnership since 2021, very focused on this first phase on the development of defense capabilities with submarines and technological development, with a clear focus of deterrence against Chinese expansionist ambitions in its area of influence in the South China Sea.
In the Washington summit statement on Wednesday, the allies reiterated that statement about China, included their concern about its partnership with Russia and warned that they face “hybrid, cyber, spatial threats” and “malicious activities of state and non-state actors.”
The Alliance is not aware that Beijing is supplying weapons directly to Russia, unlike North Korea or Iran, but considers that it sends it the technology and microelectronics necessary to create armaments, hence the hard turn in language over the Asian country.
International
Chile enters runoff campaign with Kast leading and Jara seeking a last-minute comeback
Chile’s presidential runoff campaign for the December 14 election kicked off this Sunday, with far-right candidate José Antonio Kast entering the race as the clear favorite in the polls, while left-wing contender Jeannette Jara faces an uphill scenario, hoping for a comeback that some experts describe as “a miracle.”
The final polls released in Chile—published before the mandatory blackout on survey dissemination—give Kast, an ultraconservative former lawmaker running for president for the third time, a lead of between 12 and 16 points. His opponent, the communist former minister in Gabriel Boric’s current administration, is weighed down not only by the government’s low approval ratings but also by a fragmented electorate.
Although Jeannette Jara received the most votes in the first round with 26.9%, her lack of alliances beyond the left makes it difficult for her to expand her support. Kast, who secured 23.9%, has already brought key figures on board: ultralibertarian Johannes Kaiser (13.9%) and traditional right-wing leader Evelyn Matthei (12.4%), both now backing his candidacy.
Analysts note that although Kast’s support base consolidates more than 50% of the electorate, it does not guarantee an automatic transfer of votes. Populist economist Franco Parisi, who placed third with 19.7%, emerges as the major wildcard. His party, the People’s Party (PDG), is set to decide this Sunday through an internal consultation whether to endorse one of the two finalists.
International
Trump says asylum decision freeze will remain in place “for a long time”
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the suspension of decisions on asylum applications—implemented as part of his order to “halt” immigration from third-world countries following Wednesday’s shooting in Washington—will remain in effect “for a long time.”
The president declined to specify how long the freeze, imposed last Friday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would last. The suspension affects individuals waiting for an asylum ruling from that agency, though it does not apply to cases handled by U.S. immigration courts.
The delay is part of a series of measures enacted by the Trump Administration after a shooting on Wednesday in which an Afghan national allegedly opened fire on the National Guard in Washington, D.C., killing one officer and leaving another in critical condition.
Trump has ordered a permanent halt to immigration from 19 countries classified as “third-world.” He also indicated on Sunday that “possibly” more nations could be added to the list.
“These are countries with high crime rates. They are countries that do not function well… that are not known for success, and frankly, we don’t need people from those places coming into our country and telling us what to do,” Trump said, adding: “We don’t want those people.”
USCIS had already announced on Thursday a “rigorous review” of green cards held by migrants from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti.
International
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploy military as deadly asian floods kill over 1,000
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to assist victims of the devastating floods that have killed more than a thousand people across Asia in recent days.
A series of weather events last week triggered prolonged torrential rains across Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Monday in North Sumatra that “the priority now is to deliver the necessary aid as quickly as possible.”
“There are several isolated villages that, with God’s help, we will be able to reach,” he added. Subianto also stated that the government had deployed helicopters and aircraft to support relief operations.
Floods and landslides have claimed 502 lives in Indonesia, with a similar number still missing.
This marks the highest death toll from a natural disaster in Indonesia since 2018, when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people.
The government has sent three military ships carrying aid and two hospital vessels to the hardest-hit regions, where many roads remain impassable.
In the village of Sungai Nyalo, located about 100 kilometers from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, floodwaters had receded by Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles, and crops coated in thick mud.
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