In a bid to increase its economic clout in the Pacific, China filed an application (SCMP) to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). U.S. President Barack Obama had originally promoted the pact as a way to counter China, but President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2017.
 
Tensions between China and CPTPP member Australia have risen in recent months, and the pact requires unanimous consent to join. It has stricter requirements (FT) than another Asia-Pacific trade pact signed last year, and Canberra and Tokyo stressed these requirements (Kyodo) after the news of Beijing’s application. The United Kingdom (UK) applied to join the pact in February.

More than ten thousand migrants are at an impromptu camp (WaPo) in Del Rio, Texas, authorities said. Many are Haitians, and authorities said they expect more people to arrive in the coming days.
 
Mexico: Mexico City will host a summit (Reuters) of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) tomorrow.

The four candidates running for leadership of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have unusually diverse views, Nikkei reports. Liberal Taro Kono and establishment candidate Fumio Kishida are frontrunners in the race, the winner of which will become prime minister.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted that he told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Times of India) that military disengagement on the China-India border is crucial for better ties.
 
Armenia/Azerbaijan: Armenia sued Azerbaijan (Reuters) at the International Court of Justice, claiming it violated an international treaty on racial discrimination.

At the event with signatory countries Bahrain, Israel, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commented publicly (Times of Israel) on the accords for the first time since taking office, calling them “groundbreaking.” Under the accords, the Arab countries and Israel agreed to normalize relations.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Jeremy Pressman writes that on this anniversary, a stable peace still eludes the Middle East.
 
Saudi Arabia: The U.S. State Department sent a proposal (Reuters) for $500 million in military support for Saudi Arabia to Congress, the Pentagon said. It would be the first major U.S. defense package for Riyadh under U.S. President Joe Biden.

President Mohamed Farmaajo’s move escalates a dispute (Al Jazeera) with Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble that has plagued Somalia ahead of elections later this year.
 
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s Michelle Gavin unpacks Somalia’s ongoing political crisis.
 
Guinea: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will impose sanctions (Reuters), including a travel ban, on the leaders of Guinea’s recent coup.

France’s foreign minister said the announcement that the United States and the UK will help Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines was “brutal and unpredictable” (Politico). Paris canceled a reception in Washington planned for today.
 
Netherlands: Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag resigned after criticism (BBC) that her execution of evacuations from Kabul left behind Afghans and Dutch troops.

President Biden will press other leaders (NYT) to pledge to reduce their countries’ methane emissions at a meeting today of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change.
 
This In Brief explains how cutting methane emissions can help mitigate climate change.