Nato chief says it must build Indo-Pacific ties to meet China's military challenge
The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has warned that China's growing military and its close alignment with Russia, Iran and North Korea meant that Nato should further develop Indo-Pacific partnerships to meet the challenge Beijing posed.
Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary general, made his remarks at Chatham House in London, coinciding with the US-China ministerial-level trade negotiations in the city.
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New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Investors on edge over Israel-Iran conflict, anti-Trump protests
NEW YORK: Dual risks kept investors on edge ahead of markets reopening late on Sunday, from heightened prospects of a broad Middle East war to US-wide protests against US President Donald Trump that threatened more domestic chaos. Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday and Saturday, saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed a swathe of military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon. Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country's two biggest cities. On Saturday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli strikes would intensify, while Tehran called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. Israel on Saturday also appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. The strikes knocked risky assets on Friday, including stocks, lifted oil prices and prompted a rush into safe havens such as gold and the dollar. Meanwhile, protests, organized by the "No Kings" coalition to oppose Trump's policies, were another potential damper on risk sentiment. Hours before those protests began on Saturday, a gunman posing as a police officer opened fire on two Minnesota politicians and their spouses, killing Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband. All three major US stock indexes finished in the red on Friday, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.14 per cent. Oil and gold prices soaring. The dollar rose. Israel and Iran are "not shadowboxing any more," said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical analyst at BCA Research. "It's an extensive and ongoing attack." "At some point actions by one or the other side will take oil supply off the market" and that could trigger a surge in risk aversion by investors, he added. Any damage to sentiment and the willingness to take risks could curb near-term gains in the S&P 500, which appears to have stalled after rallying from its early April trade war-induced market swoon. The S&P 500 is about 20 per cent above its April low, but has barely moved over the last four weeks. "The overall risk profile from the geopolitical situation is still too high for us to be willing to rush back into the market," said Alex Morris, chief investment officer of F/m Investments in Washington. US stock futures are set to resume trading at 6pm (2200 GMT) on Sunday. With risky assets sinking, investors' expectations for near-term stock market gyrations jumped. The Cboe Volatility Index rose 2.8 points to finish at 20.82 on Friday, its highest close in three weeks. The rise in the VIX, often dubbed the Wall Street 'fear gauge,' and volatility futures were "classic signs of increased risk aversion from equity market participants," said Michael Thompson, co-portfolio manager at boutique investment firm Little Harbor Advisors. Thompson said he would be watching near-term volatility futures prices for any rise toward or above the level for futures set to expire months from now. "This would indicate to us that near-term hedging is warranted," he said. The mix of domestic and global tensions is a recipe for more uncertainty and unease across most markets, BCA's Gertken said.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Editorial: Indonesia must avoid economic gunboat diplomacy
Don't panic: Even if time is running out, states must avoid premature concessions because US trade policy remains in flux, with legal challenges ongoing. — 123rf THE clock is ticking as a deadline nears for Indonesia to hash out a trade deal with the United States or risk punishing tariffs imposed on almost all Indo-nesian goods shipped to the world's largest economy. These are not your usual trade negotiations, where two or more countries come together as equals to reduce import tariffs on each other's export goods. Instead, Washington unilaterally imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries and is now seeking concessions to lift them. There is no mutual aspect here, where both sides agree to open their markets for imports from the other, thereby unlocking the economic benefits of comparative advantage. The US aims to strong-arm Indonesia to import more from them even while they would import less from this country, and because that runs counter to economic logic, Washington is relying on tariffs to subdue market forces. The crude case the US has put forward to justify its policy is that trade partners export more to the US than they import from it. Indonesia has enjoyed a trade surplus with the rest of the world for several years running, and bilateral trade with the US accounts for a major chunk of that. Data published by Statistics Indonesia last week showed that the country's overall trade surplus shrank to almost zero in April, with a particularly stark drop in the surplus vis-à-vis the US. That could be a one-off, however, and it won't take the pressure off negotiators in talks with Washington. But the bigger question is why Indonesia should have to justify itself at all. If a country makes shoes and clothing and other products and offers them at prices appealing to US consumers, what is wrong with that? We are not forcing our products onto anyone. For Washington to just look at the bilateral trade balance and point to a US trade deficit as supposed evidence of unfair practices is overly simplistic and unfair. If the administration of US President Donald Trump wants to make a case against Indonesia, it is going to have to be more specific. Indeed it could, because we are certainly not beyond reproach when it comes to trade practices. Far from it. Washington could legitimately point to local content requirements and food import restrictions as the two most salient areas of Indonesian protectionism. On the other hand, we could point to the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, the Build America, Buy America Act, and steel import tariffs as US protectionism. These, not the trade balance, are issues we should negotiate around, in good faith, with the aim to improve mutual market access. With one month to go until America's reciprocal tariffs are to enter into force, the US piled pressure on foreign negotiating teams last week by urging them to present their best offers. We must avoid premature concessions, because the US trade policy remains in flux, with legal challenges ongoing. South Korea's newly elected President Lee Jae-myung said last week his administration was in no rush to clinch a deal with Washington. That appears to be the smart way to go about it. Coordinating Indonesia's approach with Asean and other regional trade partners will maximise leverage. The tariff threat is part of Trump's negotiating tactics. No need to be intimidated by something as trivial as a ticking clock. — The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Macron to Greenland in show of support after Trump threats
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Greenland on Sunday carrying a message of 'European solidarity and support' for the Danish autonomous territory coveted by US President Donald Trump, located at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Arctic. Macron will be the first foreign head of state to set foot on the vast territory -- roughly nine times larger than the UK, with 80 percent of its area covered in ice -- since Trump's annexation threats. Trump has repeatedly said the US needs the strategically located, resource-rich Arctic island for security reasons, and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it. The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica are 'not for sale', Macron said Monday at a UN oceans summit, remarks clearly directed at Trump's expansionist claims. 'I'm going to say: 'We're here, and we're ready to reinvest ourselves so that there is no preying'' on it, Macron said a few days ahead of his trip. Following his arrival in Greenland's capital Nuuk at 11:30 am (1230 GMT), the French leader will visit a glacier, a hydroelectric power plant and a Danish frigate. He will be accompanied throughout his visit by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Macron's trip will be 'a signal in itself made at the request of Danish and Greenlandic authorities', his office said. 'Not for sale' The Danish invitation to Macron contrasts sharply with the reception granted US Vice President JD Vance, whose one-day trip to Greenland in March was seen as a provocation by both Nuuk and Copenhagen. During his visit to the US Pituffik military base, Vance castigated Denmark for not having 'done a good job by the people of Greenland', alleging they had neglected security. The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Polls indicate that the vast majority of Greenland's 57,000 inhabitants want to become independent from Denmark -- but do not wish to become part of the United States. Denmark has also repeatedly stressed that Greenland 'is not for sale.' The Arctic has gained geostrategic importance as the race for rare earths heats up and as melting ice caused by global warming opens up new shipping routes. As a result, Copenhagen in January announced a $2-billion plan to boost its military presence in the Arctic region. NATO also plans to set up a Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Norway above the Arctic Circle, as Russia aims to bolster its military presence in the region. During his visit, Macron plans to discuss Arctic security and how to include the territory in 'European action' to contribute to its development, while 'respecting its sovereignty', his office said. Mount Nunatarsuaq Macron will also see firsthand the effects of climate change when he visits a glacier on Mount Nunatarsuaq, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Nuuk. Greenland's ice sheet melted 17 times faster than the historical average during a May 15-21 heatwave in Greenland, a recent report showed. France intends to 'massively reinvest in the knowledge of these ecosystems,' following the footsteps of famed French explorer Paul-Emile Victor who carried out multiple expeditions to Greenland, Macron's office said. Greenlandic authorities recently designated Victor's hut, built in 1950 in Quervain Bay in the north, as an historic structure. At a hydroelectric power station in Buksefjorden, located 600 metres inside a mountain and funded by the European Union, the three leaders will discuss Greenland's decarbonisation and energy supply. Unlike Denmark, Greenland is not part of the European Union but is on the list of Overseas Territories associated with the bloc.
