Latest news with #foreignPolicy
Reuters
an hour ago
- Business
- Reuters
REFILE: Trump praises Saudi's bin Salman, hails ties at Riyadh meeting
(THIS STORY HAS BEEN REFILED TO CORRECT THE AMOUNT IN TRUMP'S SOUNDBITE FROM $600 MILLION TO $600 BILLION) Donald Trump praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday (May 13) and hailed their "tremendous relationship" during a bilateral meeting in Riyadh, as the U.S. president begins his first official overseas visit since taking office for a second time.
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Under Trump, State Department questions Europe's commitment to democracy
The Trump administration is stepping up its criticism of long-standing U.S. allies in Western Europe over free speech and other democratic ideals, even as President Donald Trump has pledged to stop lecturing foreign nations and dramatically softened Washington's approach to the world's autocracies. In recent days, Trump officials have made a series of head-spinning moves signaling the foreign policy shift that's underway, with the State Department leading the charge. The administration intends to establish a new office within the department that is focused on 'natural rights' and what officials characterized as 'free speech backsliding' in Europe. It sent a delegation to the continent to scrutinize freedom of expression there, and announced new visa restrictions for European officials whom Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused of targeting American citizens through efforts to police social media discourse.
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
To Counter Beijing, Try a ‘Many Chinas' Policy
Most American foreign-policy experts fundamentally misunderstand China. They think of it as a singular, homogeneous country, when in reality it is a patchwork of linguistic, cultural, religious, and political identities, often defined by centuries of uneasy tension. These fissures extend beyond ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs. Significant divisions exist within the Han majority, which includes groups whose local dialects are mutually unintelligible. The central government is affected by rivalries among these competing factions. The Cantonese, centered between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, are an economic juggernaut. Yet they are the most underrepresented of all major Han subgroups in the senior ranks of the Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army. Northern Chinese, including the current party and military leadership, have long distrusted the Cantonese as rebellious and disloyal.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
South Korea's presidential election set to reshape policies for key U.S. ally
SEOUL, May 30 (Reuters) - South Korean liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win next week's snap presidential election, a result that could reorient a major U.S. ally on policies ranging from China to nuclear weapons and North Korea. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who was impeached and removed from office over December's short-lived martial law decree, had gone all-in on supporting Washington, taking a hard line on North Korea, and repairing ties with Japan. Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 election, has long taken a more sceptical view of the U.S. alliance, vowed to engage with North Korea, and was bitterly critical of Yoon's rapprochement with Japan. He made waves on the campaign trail by saying South Korea should keep its distance from any China-Taiwan conflict, later insisting he is not pro-Beijing. Tacking toward the centre in an effort to win moderates, however, Lee has taken to praising the U.S. alliance and said he would continue trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States, seen in Washington as pivotal to countering China and North Korea. "The Yoon administration claimed to uphold democratic values in foreign policy while pursuing authoritarian tactics domestically," Wi Sung-lac, a lawmaker who advises Lee on foreign policy, told Reuters. "In contrast, if the Democratic Party wins, the incoming government will be prepared to genuinely defend democracy and lead a foreign policy grounded in those values, proven by its long history of struggle for democratic rights in Korea." Some in Washington wonder if Lee's pivot on a range of issues will last, and how his views might clash with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has slapped South Korea with tariffs, pressed it to pay more for the 28,500 troops stationed there, and upped competition with China. "Great scepticism remains that Lee would actually stray from his previous advocacy for conciliation with China and North Korea, nationalist antagonism toward Japan, and more independence in its alliance with the United States," said Bruce Klingner, a former CIA analyst now at Washington's Heritage Foundation. While this pivot has expanded Lee's appeal, "it also raises concerns about future policy and governing consistency," Darcie Draudt-Vejares, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in a report. Much has changed in the three years since South Korea's last liberal president, Moon Jae-in, left office, after overseeing a trade and political clash with Tokyo over historical disputes related to Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula, and an ultimately failed attempt to broker lasting diplomatic deals between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. One Western diplomat, who asked not to be named, said China's assertiveness, doubts about U.S. commitments, and North Korea's new cooperation with Russia means Lee may be unlikely to return to some of his earlier stances. Lee has vowed to cooperate with Japan on security, technology, culture and environment, but he criticised Yoon for giving too many concessions with little in return. "While Lee may not actively walk back Yoon's reconciliation with Japan... his party will react more strongly to any perceived slight from Japan over history issues," Klingner said. Yoon and his conservatives raised the prospect of redeploying American nuclear weapons to the peninsula, or even developing their own arsenal to counter the North. But Lee has rejected those calls. In an interview with TIME released on Thursday, Lee praised Trump's "outstanding skills" for negotiation. He also compared himself to the American president, saying both survived assassination attempts and seek to protect the interests of their countries. "I believe the South Korea-U.S. alliance is the foundation of South Korea's diplomacy," Lee said at a debate on Tuesday. Still, he listed U.S. protectionism as a challenge and said he would not "unnecessarily" antagonize China and Russia. He is a savvy politician who will take a calculated approach to dealing with Trump, and given the lack of clarity on a number of Trump's policies on China and other areas, it is not certain that Lee will clash with the American president, said Moon Chung-in, a former foreign policy adviser to the previous liberal administration. "But if President Trump pushes too many demands, unlike other leaders in South Korea, Lee may not accommodate them all, which could be a source of friction," Moon said. North Korea is one area where Lee may see eye-to-eye with Trump. It may also be one of the toughest issues to tackle. Lee says he will reopen hotlines with North Korea and seek to engage with Pyongyang to lower tensions. However, Pyongyang has amassed a larger missile arsenal, forged a wide-ranging security pact with Russia, and taken the historic step of officially rejecting eventual unification with the South, labelling Seoul a main enemy. "It will be very difficult for Lee to reopen the hotlines with North Korea, and the North will not respond to his call for dialogue," Moon said.
The National
2 days ago
- Business
- The National
UK abandons 'pick-and-mix' approach to international law
The UK has abandoned a 'pick-and-mix' approach to international law and will support a rules-based order, the attorney general has said. Richard Hermer, the government's chief legal adviser, said that unless Britain fully abides by international law then it will lead to the 'disintegration' of the system. In the annual security lecture at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) defence think tank in London, Mr Hermer explained why the UK was taking the path of 'progressive realism' in its foreign policy. The approach combines a pragmatic approach to national interest with a principled commitment to a rules-based international order. It was recently outlined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Mr Hermer criticised former prime minister Boris Johnson, who set out to 'deliberately breach international law' concerning the UK's Brexit deal with the EU. The previous Conservative government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was deemed to be in danger of breaking international law by the UK's Supreme Court, imperilling the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Frustration with the convention prompted many Conservatives to call for the UK to leave the treaty it helped to establish more than 70 years ago. 'First, we need to be clear that a selective, or 'pick and mix' approach to international law by the United Kingdom will lead to its disintegration,' Mr Hermer said. 'The international rules-based order soon breaks down when states claim that they can breach international law because it is in their national interests. That is the exceptionalism argument that Russia makes.' Mr Hermer used his speech to position progressive realism among the competing strands of foreign policy thinking. On the one hand are 'romantic idealists who say that international law, conceived as the reign of moral principle, provides a complete answer to any question'. 'We should always call out our partners, with different types of governments, regardless of whether or not the criticism works or whether quiet diplomacy might more effectively produce results.' On the other are what he called 'pseudo realists' in the Conservative party who 'demand that in these volatile times we must abandon our long-standing commitment to international law and to moral principles'. Mr Hermer said by navigating a course through these two positions in 'good faith' the UK has been able to advance its interest through the mechanisms of international law. This has included new trade agreements with India, the EU, the US and Japan, and persuading Germany to change its law to stop the shipping of asylum seekers on 'small boats' across continental Europe and the English Channel to the UK. 'By contrast with the inconsistent, flamboyant and on occasion inflammatory rhetoric, this government is clear that the national interest is served by the restoration of our reputation not simply as a nation that respects its international law obligation but as a leader in the rules-based international order,' he said. Mr Hermer is a lawyer from a human rights and international background. He is close to Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer. Last year, Mr Hermer visited Israel for talks with senior officials to discuss the government's changing policies on the Gaza. Briefings have emerged in recent weeks that said Mr Hermer is taking a proactive approach to how the government is interpreting the law.
