Quad Leaders Announce Maritime Surveillance, Infrastructure Plans at Tokyo Summit |
At a summit of the so-called Quad, the leaders of the United States, Australia, India, and Japan said they will cooperate (FT) to track illegal fishing and maritime militias and invest more than $50 billion (Al Jazeera) in infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific over the next five years.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opened his remarks by denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and vowing to prevent (Nikkei) similar actions in the Indo-Pacific, but a joint statement released by Quad leaders did not name Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that his comment yesterday that the United States would defend Taiwan if China attacked did not represent a change (CNN) in the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity.”
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“Despite the real progress the Quad has made on issues including technology, health, cybersecurity, and climate change, it must do more to deliver on its core security goals,” the Observer Research Foundation America’s Dhruva Jaishankar and the Brookings Institution’s Tanvi Madan write for Foreign Affairs.
“A more confident India, a newly assertive Japan, a U.S. desperate to reengage in the Indo-Pacific region and a new Australian prime minister eager to make his mark. There are enough signs to suggest that the Quad’s incremental progress will continue in Tokyo,” journalist Lionel Barber writes for Nikkei. |
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Airbnb to Exit China Amid COVID-19 Lockdowns |
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Taliban to Give Emirati Company Control of Afghan Airports |
The Taliban government signed an agreement (WaPo) to allow shipping and logistics company GAC Dubai to manage airports in Herat, Kabul, and Kandahar. Taliban officials said they hope the move will encourage international investment in Afghanistan.
India/Pakistan: Climate change made the countries’ ongoing heat wave thirty times more likely, a new study from World Weather Attribution found. The heat wave is estimated to have killed at least ninety people. |
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Middle East and North Africa |
Report: U.S. Helping Negotiate Deal to Ease Egypt-Israel-Saudi Arabia Tensions |
The deal would transfer the sovereignty of two Red Sea islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. Unnamed U.S. and Israeli sources told Axios that the Biden administration hopes the deal will build trust among the parties and eventually help normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iraq/Kuwait: Flights were grounded (AFP) in Iraq and Kuwait due to the latest in a series of sandstorms that have hit the countries with unusual frequency. |
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Report: West Africa Insurgents Used Arms From Countries’ Stockpiles |
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Turkey’s Erdogan Refuses to Meet Greek Leader, Announces New Syria Operation |
At a cabinet meeting yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will cease communications (Hurriyet) with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis because the leader allegedly recommended that Washington not sell Ankara F-16 fighter jets. He also said Turkey will begin a new military operation in northern Syria to link areas already under its control.
This Backgrounder looks at Turkey’s growing foreign policy ambitions.
Russia: A diplomat at Russia’s mission to the United Nations resigned (WaPo) over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, saying he has never been “so ashamed” of his country. |
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Former Sao Paulo Governor Withdraws From Brazilian Presidential Election |
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Five States Hold Primaries |
Primary elections are occurring today (Axios) in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota, and Texas. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed multiple candidates. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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