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In this mailing:
* Con Coughlin: China Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic to Expand in Asia
* Jagdish N. Singh: Democracies Need to Back Taiwan's Bid to Join the World Health Organization


** China Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic to Expand in Asia ([link removed])
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by Con Coughlin • April 30, 2020 at 5:00 am
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* The incident prompted a furious response from the Vietnamese government, which accused Beijing of violating its sovereignty and threatening the lives of its fishermen. The US State Department said it was "seriously concerned"....
* The dispute concerns China's recent announcement that it intends to administer two disputed groups of islands and reefs in the waterway. One district covers the Paracel Islands, and the other has jurisdiction over the Spratlys, where China has built a network of fortified man-made islands. The Philippines has a presence of its own on at least nine islands and islets in the area, and bitterly opposes Chinese attempts to extend its influence.
* Despite the Trump administration's preoccupation with tackling the coronavirus pandemic, Washington is not prepared to tolerate China's aggressive actions. Three ships from the US Seventh Fleet, together with an Australian frigate, have responded by sailing through the disputed waters in a show of force.
* China's communist leadership may believe that they can take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to bully their Asian neighbours. But this show of force by the US Navy should send a timely reminder to Beijing as to which country is the real military power in the region.

China's gradual encroachment on the South China Sea and the surrounding area has been resisted by other countries in the region such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, which all have competing claims of their own. As the region's dominant power, China has shown little interest in seeking to resolve these conflicting claims peacefully. Pictured: An aerial view of Qilianyu islands, part of the disputed Paracel Islands chain in the South China Sea, which China claims are part of its Hainan Province. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

While the rest of the world is preoccupied with tackling the coronavirus pandemic, China is intensifying its efforts to extend its influence in the South China Sea by intimidating its Asian neighbours.

The arrival of China's Liaoning aircraft carrier, together with five accompanying warships, in the South China Sea earlier this month has resulted in a significant increase in tensions in the Asia-Pacific region as Beijing seeks to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to flex its muscles.

So far in April, there were claims that a Chinese coast guard vessel deliberately rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat operating close to the disputed Paracel Islands. All the fishermen survived and were transferred to two other Vietnamese fishing vessels operating nearby.

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** Democracies Need to Back Taiwan's Bid to Join the World Health Organization ([link removed])
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by Jagdish N. Singh • April 30, 2020 at 4:00 am
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* With a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, China has so far been able to impose its will and deny Taiwan entry into the WHO. Perhaps China should no longer be on the UN Security Council?
* Thankfully, the U.S. administration of President Donald J. Trump recently enacted the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, aimed at supporting Taiwan's international presence.
* As a member of the WHO, China had an obligation to provide accurate data to help the world learn more about the virus. China, however, still refuses to be transparent.
* It would also undoubtedly be better for the world if all 184 countries afflicted with Covid-19 and its ruinous economic aftermath would stop doing business with China: it has proven that it is not friend.

All democratic governments need to come together to develop a strategy to see to it that China is no longer able to stop Taiwan's entry into the World Health Organization. Pictured: Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (center) presides over a ceremony to donate Taiwanese-made thermal scanner devices to 15 of its diplomatic allies, in Taipei on April 15, 2020. (Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Recently, 127 European parliamentarians backed a bid by Taiwan (The Republic of China) to join the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO). All democratic governments -- in fact, every government: 184 have been ravaged by Covid-19 and its economic ravages -- need to make Taiwan's WHO membership a reality.

The WHO was founded in 1948 with a mandate to ensure that all peoples of the world attain the highest possible level of health. Ironically, the WHO excludes Taiwan and its more than 23.8 million people from its care. WHO shares little of its biomedical and health research information with Taiwan, which is not invited even to its emergency meetings.

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