39 h. ago Trump pick for South America command sidesteps China questions at Senate hearing

Days after the operation that abducted then Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump’s nominee to command US forces in Latin America dodged pressure from senators to endorse a military-first plan to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Lieutenant General Francis Donovan, who is nominated to lead US Southern Command (Southcom), repeatedly declined to say whether Washington should rely mainly on force projection to push back against Beijing’s expanding footprint. The...

Politics

3 d. ago Why the US may find Iran’s air defence system harder to break than Venezuela’s

A bit more than a week after the United States abducted former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas, US President Donald Trump is threatening military action against Iran, which is seeing a massive wave of anti-government protests. Yet a strike aimed at taking out the Iranian leadership could prove harder, given that Iran’s more sophisticated air defence system is also reported to be integrating China’s most advanced exported technology. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his social...

Politics

5 d. ago The US has played its hand in Latin America. Will China’s firms there cash out?

With domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter. In the days since Washington’s ousting and abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro – an event that sent shock waves through global markets – some...

Economics

6 d. ago Could China execute a special forces operation like the US precision Maduro abduction?

The extreme precision of the US in its Venezuelan operation shows why nations must be able to execute a complex special surgical strike, according to analysts who said China had long pursued the capability but had yet to master it. In a complex joint endeavour integrating its air force, navy, intelligence agencies and space and cyber units, the US military’s elite Delta Force special mission unit completed its precision raid in Caracas – from infiltration to exfiltration – in less than three...

Politics

7 d. ago How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Last weekend, following the US military operation in Venezuela abducting its leader, Nicolas Maduro, Brazil’s president denounced the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law” and having “crossed an unacceptable line”. “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on social media. Lula, who said attacking countries was “the first step towards a...

Politics

8 d. ago How far is China willing to go to help Cuba in face of increasing US pressure?

China is expected to be cautious about confronting the United States over Cuba as Washington ramps up its threats following the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Since the raid on Caracas, the White House has increasingly turned its attention towards the western hemisphere’s only Communist state, along with Colombia and Greenland, with President Donald Trump saying “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall”. Havana is also heavily reliant on subsidised Venezuelan oil and is...

Events

8 d. ago China says it is still ‘deeply committed’ to Venezuela as ambassador meets new leader

China said on Friday it would continue to offer its firm support to Venezuela after its ambassador met the country’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez. She described her meeting with Chinese ambassador Lan Hu as “cordial” and thanked Beijing for its condemnation of the abduction of former leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. “We value China’s firm and consistent stance in strongly condemning the serious violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty,” Rodriguez...

Politics

8 d. ago Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

US President Donald Trump has revived his ambition to take control of Greenland, whether by buying it or through military action, arguing that it would be in the interests of his nation’s security. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of US Nato ally Denmark and the idea of buying it was widely dismissed as absurd when Trump first suggested it in 2019. This time, in the aftermath of the weekend abduction of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, the proposition sent shock waves across Europe and...

Politics

9 d. ago North Korea’s Kim expected to cling to nuclear security blanket after Venezuela operation

The United States’ decapitation operation against Venezuela will reinforce North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, an aspiration that will continue to draw China’s “tacit tolerance”, according to analysts. After the US military abducted Nicolas Maduro during an attack on Venezuela on Saturday, Pyongyang criticised Washington’s actions as “wildly” violating the sovereignty of Caracas. It was one of a slew of countries that issued swift criticism of the US move. In a statement on Sunday, the North Korean...

Events

1 week ago Will Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland help bring China and Europe closer together?

Donald Trump’s renewed threats to take over Greenland could pose a direct challenge to China’s ambitions in the Arctic, but some observers say it may also open the door to increased cooperation with Europe. Following the abduction of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro, the White House swiftly turned its attention towards the self-governing Danish territory, adding that “of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal”. On Sunday, the US...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says Greenland is ‘surrounded’ by Chinese ships. What’s the real story?

Just 24 hours after abducting the former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife from Caracas, US President Donald Trump had already named his next potential target for military action: Greenland. Trump has been discussing “a range of options” – including the use of armed force – to acquire the self-governed Danish territory, the White House said on Tuesday. What would a US takeover of Greenland mean for China, if it were to really happen? The Post breaks down trade relations between the...

Politics

1 week ago The Maduro effect: US raid accelerates Asia’s drift away from Washington

The United States’ dramatic abduction of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro at the weekend has sent shock waves across Asia, where analysts say authoritarian rulers, now deeply wary of Washington’s erratic behaviour, are likely to draw closer to Moscow and Beijing. US special forces stormed Maduro’s residence in Caracas early on Saturday morning, seizing him and his wife before flying them to the US, where both face federal charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. Washington has...

Politics

1 week ago Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, counter

The US operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro serves as a reminder for China to bolster its air defences and counter-intelligence protections, observers say. Analysts in China described Venezuela’s air defences – which rely largely on Russian technology – as “full of flaws and slow to react” amid the modern surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare displayed by US forces in Saturday’s operation in Caracas. The operation could serve as a further case study for China, which has...

Events

1 week ago Chinese firm owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Eight years after leaving Venezuela, David Hou, a native of southern China’s Guangdong province, returned last year, pleased to find what he described as an improved economic environment. That optimism is now shrouded in uncertainty after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of narcoterrorism and possessing “destructive devices” – charges he has firmly rejected. While the full impact has yet to be felt, the situation is “making people anxious and very...

Events

1 week ago Chinese business owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Chinese business owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction  South China Morning Post

Events

1 week ago Why Iran may not be the next Venezuela despite twin threat from protests and Trump

The recent US strike against Venezuela is likely to deepen the Iranian leadership’s concerns about further intervention from Washington but analysts do not expect the leadership will be targeted directly in the same way as Nicolas Maduro. They pointed to the higher geopolitical stakes in the Middle East compared with Latin America and the greater role played by China, Russia and other countries. Before the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the leadership in Iran had already been...

Events

1 week ago BBC journalists reportedly told to avoid saying US ‘kidnapped’ Venezuelan leader Maduro

BBC journalists have reportedly been instructed not to describe America’s abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as a “kidnapping”, according to a British newspaper columnist. The editorial instruction was unveiled by Owen Jones on Monday, a commentator with more than a million followers on a social media platform. Jones said a memo from BBC management had been passed to him. According to an image Jones uploaded with his post, the guidelines told BBC’s journalists to use “captured” when...

Politics

1 week ago Maduro abduction: Why China sees Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ as an assault on international order

Maduro abduction: Why China sees Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ as an assault on international order  TRT World

Politics

1 week ago China’s sensitive technology at risk after Trump abducts Venezuela leader Maduro

China risks losing access to satellite tracking stations and other sensitive technology infrastructure in Venezuela after the United States seized control of the country’s leadership and transferred its president Nicolas Maduro to New York for trial. Beijing’s embedded assets – from satellite ground stations to oilfield systems and telecommunications networks – could be compromised after US President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela and “fix oil infrastructure” in the country...

Politics

1 week ago China’s sensitive technology at risk after Trump abducts Venezuelan leader Maduro

China risks losing access to satellite tracking stations and other sensitive technology infrastructure in Venezuela after the United States seized control of the country’s leadership and snatched its president, Nicolas Maduro, taking him to New York for trial. Beijing’s embedded assets – from satellite ground stations to oilfield systems and telecommunications networks – could be compromised after US President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” Venezuela and “fix oil infrastructure” in the...

Politics