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27 July 2022
Pelosi's Taiwan visit dials up US-China tensions
China’s war of words against the United States is escalating following reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan next month. Pelosi, who is third in US political seniority, would be the first serving House Speaker to visit the island in 25 years - the symbolism of which is not lost on China. "If the US side is bent on going its own way, China will take strong measures to resolutely respond and counteract," Chinese Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
China’s confrontational rhetoric is matched with rising aggression in the Indo-Pacific, causing concern among the US military who told President Biden Pelosi’s visit is “not a good idea right now”. On Monday Biden said he still plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week reflecting his administration’s record of extending diplomacy despite ongoing disputes.
In March, United States Studies Centre (USSC) CEO, Dr Michael Green joined former senior US defence officials on a visit to Taipei to send a message of reassurance on behalf of the Biden administration.
On the current situation Dr Green notes: “The administration now finds itself in a tight spot. Speaker Pelosi’s visit carries risk but pressing her to back down so publicly invites further pressure from Beijing down the road. The White House and the speaker will need to find a formula that shows support for Taipei but avoids unnecessary increases in tension."
NEWS WRAP
Kennedy debut tour
US ambassador meets PM | Ambassador Caroline Kennedy met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today as her warm welcome Down Under continues. Kennedy will travel with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to the Solomon Islands next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. READ MORE HERE
Biden recovers from COVID-19 | President Biden says he is “feeling great” and is expected to be back to normal working hours in the White House later this week after testing positive to COVID-19. Biden is being treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid and his doctor reports his symptoms have “almost completely resolved”. READ MORE HERE
Trump returns to Washington | Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday outlined a harsh justice agenda for the Republican Party in his first Washington speech since leaving office. Trump praised the Chinese justice system and pushed the death penalty for drug dealers. READ MORE HERE
One-third of Americans ready to take up arms against government | New polling shows most Americans say their government is corrupt and almost a third say it may soon be necessary to take up arms against it. The polling comes as a number of American political candidates use violent rhetoric in their campaigning. READ MORE HERE
Monkeypox now a global emergency | As the World Health Organization declares Monkeypox a global emergency, the United States leads the world with 3,846 confirmed cases and reported its first cases of the virus in children this week. READ MORE HERE
Trump only wanted one thing during that infamous afternoon: to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election of Joe Biden. He thought the violence of his loyal followers would make Pence crack, or delay the vote altogether...[and] to block the peaceful transfer of power. As a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again.
New York Post editorial | 22 July, 2022
ANALYSIS
Marles' Australia-US alliance focus: Integrate, integrate, integrate
Tom Corben
Research Associate, United States Studies Centre
Washington was the last of the Quad capitals that Richard Marles visited in his opening diplomatic salvo as Australia’s deputy prime minister and defence minister. But, as far as defence matters are concerned, the agenda that he took to Washington was arguably the most ambitious and complex of all.
If Marles’s excellent address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies was a tone-setter, then three words capture the essence of the agenda Marles would have sought to prosecute with Washington: integrate, integrate, integrate.
Marles repeatedly made clear over the course of his visit that his government wasn’t looking to reinvent the wheel when it came to the US–Australia alliance’s defence integration program.
Rather, his message was that the wheel needs to spin faster, whether in advancing defence technology cooperation or accelerating ambitious force posture plans—both longstanding objectives held by successive Australian governments.
This article was first published in The Strategist
LIVE EVENT
The crisis of American democracy - a discussion with Professor Stephen Macedo
The January 6 Select Committee hearings highlight points of crisis in American democracy, yet the roots of these challenges undeniably precede the Capitol riots given US economic, social and cultural trends. Princeton University professor and political scientist Stephen Macedo's authoritative work on immigration, liberalism, populism, and democratic theory explores such trends.
Please join us for an in-person event featuring Professor Macedo in conversation with USSC Director of Research, Jared Mondschein, and Director of Engagement and Impact, Mari Koeck.
WHEN
SYDNEY | Thursday, 18 August 2022 | 6pm-7pm AEST | USSC, Institute Building, City Road, Darlington.
COST
Free but registration is essential.
BY THE NUMBERS
Why the insurrection is FBI's biggest case
FBI prosecutors say their sprawling investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol is now the biggest probe in US history, both in terms of the number of defendants and the sheer quantity of evidence.
Thus far, the probe has resulted in 800 people arrests, 100 subpoenas and 1,000 witnesses interviewed.
VIDEO
Biden's first 100 days: Indo-Pacific policy dialogue featuring Matthew Pottinger
Shortly into the new Biden administration, the USSC and US-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group welcomed former US Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger for an event at Parliament House.
Mr Pottinger spoke about areas of policy continuity between the Trump and Biden administrations and the challenge of China's rising power in the region saying there are moral, national security and business cases against China.
On statements from China during Biden's inauguration, Pottinger said: "The loud subtext of all this messaging was: 'If you want to do business with China it must be at the expense of American values and Western values."
Catch more analysis on the United States on the USSC YouTube channel.
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University of Sydney NSW 2006
