
The Take: Why is Taiwan training for war with China?
In this episode:
William Yang (@WilliamYang120) – Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker, Noor Wazwaz, and Amy Walters with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Kisaa Zehra, Marya Khan, and our guest host, Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Sarí el-Khalili.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
North Korea says it has ‘no interest' in dialogue with South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister has rejected the possibility of dialogue with South Korea amid Seoul's outreach efforts under its new left-leaning president. In a statement issued by state-run media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's efforts to mend ties with Pyongyang, including the cessation of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the tense inter-Korean border. Kim, who oversees propaganda operations within the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, called Lee's decision to halt the broadcasts a 'reversible turning back of what they should not have done in the first place.' If South Korea 'expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words', nothing could be a 'more serious miscalculation', Kim said in the comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim also accused the Lee administration of 'spinning a daydream' after its unification minister, Chung Dong-young, earlier this month expressed support for Kim Jong Un being invited to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in October. The Lee administration's 'blind trust' in South Korea's security alliance with the United States and 'attempt to stand in confrontation' with Pyongyang are little different from the policies of the previous conservative administration of Yoon Suk-yeol, Kim said. 'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed with the ROK,' Kim said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Lee, who took office last month following Yoon's removal over a short-lived declaration of martial law, has expressed his desire to improve relations between the divided Koreas, which have been technically at war since the 1950-1953 Korean War. Lee's left-leaning Democratic Party and its predecessors have traditionally favoured closer ties with North Korea, in comparison with Yoon's conservative People Power Party and its precursors. Earlier this month, South Korea announced that it repatriated six North Koreans who had been rescued at sea earlier this year after their vessels drifted across the de facto maritime border.


Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
China calls for global consensus on balancing AI development
Agencies China's Premier Li Qiang cautioned on Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing U.S. dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to 'remove red tape and onerous regulation' that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasized the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. 'The risks and challenges brought by artificial intelligence have drawn widespread attention ... How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society,' the premier said. He gave no further details about the newly announced organization, though state media later reported 'the preliminary consideration' was that it would be headquartered in Shanghai. The organization would 'promote global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits,' Xinhua News Agency reported, without elaborating on its set-up or mechanisms. At a time when AI is being integrated across virtually all industries, its uses have raised major questions, including about the spread of misinformation, its impact on employment and the potential loss of technological control. In a speech at WAIC on Saturday, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Geoffrey Hinton compared the situation to keeping 'a very cute tiger cub as a pet.' To survive, he said, you need to ensure you can train it not to kill you when it grows up. The enormous strides AI technology has made in recent years have seen it move to the forefront of the U.S.-China rivalry. Premier Li said China would 'actively promote' the development of open-source AI, adding Beijing was willing to share advances with other countries, particularly developing ones. 'If we engage in technological monopolies, controls and blockage, artificial intelligence will become the preserve of a few countries and a few enterprises,' he said. Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu warned against 'unilateralism and protectionism' at a later meeting. Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that they can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and erode U.S. tech dominance. Li, in his speech, highlighted 'insufficient supply of computing power and chips' as a bottleneck to AI progress. China has made AI a pillar of its plans for technological self-reliance, with the government pledging a raft of measures to boost the sector. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems despite using less powerful chips. In a video message played at the WAIC opening ceremony, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said AI governance would be 'a defining test of international cooperation.' The ceremony saw the French president's AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, underscore 'an urgent need' for global action and for the U.N. to play a 'leading role.' Bouverot called for a framework 'that is open, transparent and effective, giving each and everyone an opportunity to have their views taken into account.' Li's speech 'posed a clear contrast to the Trump administration's 'America First' view on AI' and the U.S. measures announced this week, said WAIC attendee George Chen, a partner at Washington-based policy consultancy The Asia Group. 'The world is now clearly divided into at least three camps: the United States and its allies, China (and perhaps many Belt and Road or Global South countries), and the EU, which prefers regulating AI through legislation, like the EU AI Act,' Chen told Agence France-Presse (AFP).


Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Urgent need for global approach on AI regulation: UN tech chief
Agencies The world urgently needs to find a global approach on regulating artificial intelligence, the United Nations' top tech chief said, warning that fragmentation could deepen risks and inequalities. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU) agency, told AFP she hoped that AI 'can actually benefit humanity'. But as concerns mount over the risks posed by the fast-moving technology -- including fears of mass job losses, the spread of deepfakes and disinformation, and society's fabric fraying -- she insisted that regulation was key. 'There's an urgency to try to get... the right framework in place,' she said, stressing the need for 'a global approach'. Her comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump last week unveiled an aggressive, low-regulation strategy aimed at ensuring the United States stays ahead of China on more than 90 proposals, Trump's plan calls for sweeping deregulation, with the administration promising to 'remove red tape and onerous regulation' that could hinder private sector AI development. Asked if she had concerns about an approach that urges less, not more, regulation of AI technologies, Bogdan-Martin refrained from commenting, saying she was 'still trying to digest' the U.S. plan.'I think there are different approaches,' she said.'We have the EU approach. We have the Chinese approach. Now we're seeing the U.S. approach. I think what's needed is for those approaches to dialogue,' she said. At the same time, she highlighted that '85 percent of countries don't yet have AI policies or strategies'.A consistent theme among those strategies that do exist is the focus on innovation, capacity building and infrastructure investments, Bogdan-Martin said. 'But where I think the debate still needs to happen at a global level is trying to figure out how much regulation, how little regulation, is needed,' she said. Bogdan-Martin, who grew up in New Jersey and has spent most of her more than three-decade career at the ITU, insisted the Geneva-based telecoms agency that sets standards for new technologies was well-placed to help facilitate much-needed dialogue on the issue.'The need for a global approach I think is critical,' she said, cautioning that 'fragmented approaches will not help serve and reach all'. As countries and companies sprint to cement their dominance in the booming sector, there are concerns that precautions could be thrown to the wind -- and that those who lose the race or do not have the capacity to participate will be left behind. The ITU chief hailed 'mind-blowing' advances within artificial intelligence, with the potential to improve everything from education to agriculture to health care -- but insisted the benefits must be shared. Without a concerted effort, there is a risk that AI will end up standing for 'advancing inequalities', she warned, cautioning against deepening an already dire digital divide worldwide.