Daily News Brief

August 22, 2023

Top of the Agenda

The group comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is debating growing its membership (FT) and discussing ways to reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar at a summit that begins in Johannesburg today. The presidents of all member countries are attending, except Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is barred by an International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment that could lead to his arrest if he enters South Africa. Leaders from aspiring members Indonesia and Iran are also among the attendees. 

Strains between China and India and differences over the prospect of group expansion have yielded tensions (France 24) within the bloc, with China eager for new members and India and Brazil wary of losing influence. A development bank founded by the group is also fielding a wave of new member applications, and today announced plans (FT) to begin lending in South African and Brazilian currencies. It already lends in Chinese yuan.

Analysis

“The disagreement about BRICS expansion also points to a deeper division within the club. India, Brazil and South Africa have used membership to craft non-aligned foreign policy in the face of growing tensions between the West on the one side and China and Russia on the other,” the Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s Oliver Stuenkel writes for the Economist. “For Brazil and India, adding countries such as Iran and Venezuela to the club would certainly make it more difficult to play their moderating role.”

“In the Global South, in fact, there is a growing perception that de-dollarization is a step towards a multipolar world in which new actors, interests and rules interplay. In that sense, it is becoming evident that a multi-currency trading regime is slowly emerging,” Brazil’s National Institute for Science and Technology Studies’ Monica Hirst and Torcuato di Tella University’s Juan Gabriel Tokatlian write for International Politics and Society.

In this Backgrounder, Anshu Siripurapu and CFR’s Noah Berman discuss why some nations are seeking to expand their non-dollar trade.

Pacific Rim

Prime Minister-elect Srettha Thavisin, a member of the Pheu Thai party, was the only nominee (Nikkei) in the latest round of voting. His ascent was supported by senators appointed by the country's powerful military, as Pheu Thai formed a coalition that includes pro-military parties after the pro-democracy Move Forward party candidate was repeatedly blocked by lawmakers.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick looks at Pheu Thai’s path to power.

Indonesia: Half of the civil servants in the country’s capital were ordered to work from home (Nikkei) for the next two months while the city endures intense air pollution. Jakarta has ranked as the world’s most polluted city in recent weeks.

South and Central Asia

Though the Taliban declared amnesty for officials of the U.S.-backed Afghan government when they took over the country in August 2021, more than eight hundred former officials have faced human rights violations (WSJ) including extrajudicial killings and torture, the United Nations said.

Afghanistan/Pakistan: The Taliban’s interior minister warned Pakistan (Bloomberg) not to use force against militants within Afghan borders after Pakistan leaders threatened to do so in retaliation to a bomb attack that killed sixty people. 

Middle East and North Africa

The visitors arrived to discuss ground cooperation (Reuters) between the two militaries, Russian state media reported. The West has placed sanctions on both countries and accused Iran of selling drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine, a claim which Iran denies. 

Libya: The governor of Libya’s central bank met with the country’s prime minister yesterday to mark the bank’s reunification into one institution (Al-Monitor). The country’s conflict had previously split the bank into two entities, with one controlled by the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and another by military forces.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Prosecutors are seeking war crimes charges (Reuters) against former Central African Republic militia leader Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka for violently targeting the country’s Muslim population in 2013 and 2014.

Europe

At a news conference in Athens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Greece will help train (WaPo) Ukrainian fighters on F-16 jets. He later attended a dinner with the leaders of Greece, the European Union, and Balkan nations.

UK: A United Kingdom (UK) plan to detain arriving migrants and send them to other countries such as Rwanda could cost as much as $8.15 billion (FT) in new annual government spending within five years, progressive think tank Institute for Public Policy Research calculated. The plan has stalled while the Supreme Court rules on whether or not the move is legal.

Americas

The vote is thought to be one of the first cases (The Guardian) of limits set on oil drilling through direct democracy. Oil is Ecuador’s leading export, but environmental and Indigenous groups have long opposed drilling in a sensitive area of the Amazon. 

Central America: At a meeting in Nicaragua, the Central American Parliament voted to expel Taiwan (Reuters) as an observer and add China in its place, signaling Beijing's increasing influence in the region. 

This Backgrounder by CFR’s Diana Roy looks at China’s growing influence in Latin America.

United States

President Joe Biden visited Maui (AP) following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Biden pledged that the federal government will contribute to recovery efforts for “as long as it takes.” 

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