China said Saturday (Jun 25) that communications with Taiwan had been suspended after the island's new government failed to acknowledge the concept that there is only "one China".
Relations between the two sides have grown increasingly frosty since President Tsai Ing-wen won Taiwan's leadership by a landslide in January and took office in May, ending eight years of rapprochement.
Beijing and Taipei have held regular, official communications since 2014, but that has now stopped, according to China's Taiwan Affairs Office.
"The bilateral communication mechanism has been suspended," TAO spokesman An Fengshan said on its website.
Although Taiwan is self-ruling after splitting with the mainland in 1949 following a civil war, it has never formally declared independence and Beijing still sees it as part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Beijing is highly suspicious of Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which replaced the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party in government, is traditionally pro-independence and has warned her against any attempt at a breakaway.
Beijing said it had cut contact because Taiwan had refused to acknowledge the "1992 consensus" - a tacit agreement made between Chinese officials and the KMT that there is only "one China" but each side is allowed its own interpretation.
Tsai's presidential predecessor Ma Ying-jeou recognised the consensus and oversaw an unprecedented thawing of ties from 2008 to when he left office in May.
But, while Tsai has said she wants to maintain peaceful relations with China, she has not backed the consensus or the "one China" concept.
Her presidential victory tapped into voter fears that Beijing was eroding Taiwan's sovereignty through closer ties, and that trade agreements with China were being made secretly, benefiting big business, rather than ordinary residents.
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UK’s leaving the European Union is the biggest crisis the union has ever experienced, President of the Strategic Outlook Turkish International Research Center Yusuf Cinar told Trend June 24.
“The withdrawal of such a major country as the UK from the EU will negatively affect the union’s strength,” said the expert. “This will reduce the US influence in Europe.”
The biggest risk for Ankara is the situation when the possibility of Turkey’s accession to the EU will be considered as the reason for Brexit, according to the expert.
“This can strengthen the negative attitude of France, Germany and the Netherlands towards Turkey’s accession to the EU and then the EU will make every effort to prevent the country’s accession.” he added.
The expert believes that after the Brexit, Europe can abandon its enlargement policy and as a result, Turkey will be left with a zero chance to join the EU.
Which about matches what their chances were prior to the Brexit vote...
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Security officers in Lamu are detaining three foreign boats that were found to have illegally crossed into Kenyan territorial waters. One of the vessels is from Yemen while the other two are from Somalia.
Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri confirmed to the Nation on Friday that the vessels are currently being held in Lamu. He said the crew are being questioned by police and would be arraigned in court.
Mr Kanyiri said Kenya Navy officers and Marine Police patrolling the Indian Ocean detained the boats after the crew failed to produce legal documents showing they were allowed to conduct any business in Kenyan waters. Mr Kanyiri also said the vessels were not properly registered as per the Maritime Authority regulations.
“The captains failed to justify what they were doing in Kenyan territory,” he said.
Smuggling either qat or ammo is my guess...
Earlier this week, Mr Kanyiri ordered boat operators in Lamu to conduct their smuggling business between 5am and 11pm. He also directed them to register their boats with the Kenya Ports Authority.
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A fierce fighting between militants and AU troops reported in Gedo region, south west of Somalia came under heavy attack on Friday night after Al Shabaab attacked KDF base. Armed Al Shabaab fighters have ambushed KDF military at Dhamase area, about 60Km away from El Wak town located near Somali border with Kenya, reports said.
The overnight attack began with heavy mortar bombardment on army base, and then fighters tried to infiltrate the base, after hours-long gunfire with KDF soldiers serving with AMISOM. KDF of AMISOM contingent have reportedly fended off the attack and managed to remain in control of their base at Dhamase village near the border town of El Wak following the firefight.
The Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab fighters destroyed a water well in the area that was used KDF to fetch drinking water. Telephone network in north east Kenya is out of service on Saturday due to Al Shabaab attack and shut down of Safaricom’s branch was raided and destroyed.
So if you call Gedo today and get a fast busy-signal, that's why...
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I believe that was a common refrain from Berlin in late 1940...
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on June 25 that the EU would weather the shock of the British vote to leave the union as he convened crisis talks.
"I am confident that these countries can also send a message that we won't let anyone take Europe from us," he said heading into a meeting in Berlin of his counterparts from the EU's six founding members.
His French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault urged quick negotiations on Britain's exit from the union, saying that the pressure would be "very strong" on British Prime Minister David Cameron at an EU summit on June 28 to speed up the process.
That is right and indeed should be the way it's done: if I were in charge of the negotiations I'd start them at the time the appetizers are served and would have them wrapped up by dessert...
Cameron, who on June 24 announced his resignation by October in the wake of the referendum, said it should be his successor who leads the complex negotiations under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty which sets out a two-year timeframe to leave.
Steinmeier called the European Union "a successful project of peace and stability"
...for the Germans...
and said that there was a "strong desire" within the bloc to defend and strengthen it.
You might ask the Greeks and Portuguese about that...
"I think it is absolutely clear that we are in a situation in which neither hysteria nor paralysis are permissible," he said.
"We must not rush headlong into hectic action, pretending we had all the answers. But we must also not fall into depression or inaction after the British decision."
Steinmeier hosted Ayrault, the Netherlands' Bert Koenders, Italy's Paolo Gentiloni, Belgium's Didier Reynders and Luxemburg's Jean Asselborn in a lakeside villa north of the city center.
Ayrault said he and Steinmeier, whose countries long represented the twin-engine of European integration, were working on joint proposals that could deepen cooperation among EU members that use the euro currency, or bolster security and defense coordination.
Steinmeier said the ministers would discuss joint action on the refugee influx, the unemployment crisis and security during their meeting.
If there is anything the EU does well, it's to hold discussions...
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At least five people, including pastoralists were killed when the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab militants attacked Ethiopian troops’ base in Gedo province on Friday night, reports said. The overnight ambush attack has sparked to flare up gunfight between Al Shabaab and Ethiopian soldiers stationed at Yurkud village, located some 40 kilometers away from Luq town.
The AU forces say are still in full control of the base and pushed back Al Shabaab fighters with heavy casualties, though the casualties of inflicted on the militants are yet to confirm.
Several peaceful, heavily-armed pastoralists died in the gun fight after they were caught in the cross fire.
After the attack, Ethiopian troops have launched an operation, to pursue of the attackers, but no arrests were reported. Situation of the area has returned to normalcy following the attack.
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Hillary Clinton held dozens of meetings with political donors and other operatives during her time as secretary of State that were left off of her official schedule, a new report found, and the State Department Friday refused to defend the apparent omissions.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press as part of a lawsuit involving the Obama administration showed at least 75 meetings with longtime backers of her political efforts, the Clinton Foundation or other interests that were either not included on her official calendar or whose names were not disclosed.
There were at least 114 nongovernmental officials who attended those meetings and meals with Clinton, the AP found.
On Friday, State Department spokesman John Kirby would not defend the discrepancies, citing both the AP's lawsuit and the passage of time.
“Regardless of the ongoing litigation I am not in a position — nor should I be expected to — to speak of the scheduling habits of a previous secretary of State,” Kirby told reporters. “I’m not able to do that.”
“It’s a case of ongoing litigation and I’m simply not able to discuss it further.”
The AP located the discrepancies with Clinton’s schedule by comparing a 1,500-page official calendar with separate plans compiled by Clinton’s aides each day. The omissions would not amount to violations of the law, and many can be explained by changing circumstances or differing levels of detail between the two records, according to Clinton’s campaign.
But Clinton’s critics correctly are likely to view the episode as an example of excessive secrecy and a questionable mix of government business with outside interests.
News of the differing calendars comes on top of the intense focus on Clinton’s exclusive use of a personal server to send and receive emails while in office, which is the target of a federal investigation. Critics have also viewed skeptically the web of relationships that Clinton had with outsiders while she was secretary of State and how they might have interacted with her family foundation.
During the State Department’s daily press briefing on Friday, Kirby said that Secretary John Kerry’s calendars “are being maintained and preserved as they should be.”
“I can’t speak to how it was done in the past,” he sad. “But the secretary’s calendars are being properly preserved and maintained, and that includes who he’s meeting with.”
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met the leader of Palestinian group Hamas, Khaled Mashal, in Istanbul on June 24, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Erdoğan and Mashal discussed how to resolve the disagreements among Palestinians as well as Turkish humanitarian assistance, the report said, citing an unnamed source from the Turkish Presidency.
The disagreements will be resolved with the use of Turkish humanitarian ammunition...
The Turkish leader emphasized during the meeting that Turkey was keen on easing the distress of Palestinians, the source, who was not named due to restrictions on speaking with the media, told Anadolu Agency.
The meeting came at a time Turkey and Israel are expected to announce a deal to normalize their ties.
Only if the Israelis concede an end to the embargo on Gaza, which they won't do...
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 22 that Turkey’s ties with Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel, was not a subject in the talks.
“Our discussions with Hamas were never a secret from the very beginning. Suggestions we have made to Hamas leaders are also not a secret. On one side, we are trying to make a contribution to the Middle East peace process. We know that we haven’t been able to make this contribution adequately because our relations with Israel went off track. But everybody who has been paying attention to the Middle East issue, all of the countries and Israel, today acknowledge that there can be no permanent peace or solution without Hamas,” Çavuşoğlu said.
There can also be no permanent peace with Hamas, so there will be no peace...
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At least eight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists militants were killed in northern Syria on June 24 during a military operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces and the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition, Turkish security sources said on June 25.
The sources, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said 31 ISIL targets had been hit in two airstrikes, while five buildings used by the jihadist group were also destroyed in the operation. ISIL was reportedly preparing to attack Turkey from northern Syria, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Turkish warplanes also carried out airstrikes on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in Iraq's Hakurk region and Turkey's southeastern provinces on June 24. According to Turkish General Staff’s statement issued on Jan 25, Turkish fighter jets bombed Hakurk region between 19:00 GMT and 19:46 GMT, and destroyed two targets.
Eleven PKK targets were also destroyed in Turkey's Kars, Şırnak and Hakkari provinces, the statement added.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
