China and the US Get Rowdy at Sea

The Ages of Globalization, a "Shecession", and Russian Assassins | #TC65

May 12, 2020

Welcome to Third Cultured, a Queer Reading of the American Empire through crisis-after-crisis — written by yours truly, Kyle Borland.

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Kyle (@kgborland)

“Everyone knows there are loopholes in our campaign-finance system. Why would we think that our adversaries, who have demonstrated a desire to muck around in our democracy, wouldn’t be using those loopholes, too?”
– Ellen Weintraub in The Atlantic’s, “The 2016 Election Was Just a Dry Run.”

American Empire & Other Wars (Graphic: NYT)

Ages of Globalization, according to Jeffrey Sachs:
The Paleolithic Age (70,000–10,000 BCE) gives way to the Neolithic Age (10,000–3,000 BCE) with the arrival of agriculture and trade between villages.
In the Equestrian Age (3,000–1,000 BCE), the domestication of the horse allows for long-distance overland travel. In the Classical Age (1,000 BCE–1,500 CE), vast empires form and compete.
The Ocean Age (1,500–1,800) brings genuinely global conquest and commerce, which accelerates as the Industrial Age (1800–2000) ushers in new technologies and the first truly global powers — the U.K. and then the U.S.
The Digital Age (2,000–present) must invent effective. new ways to govern a globally-connected world.
Argentina extended its $65 billion debt restructuring deadline to May 22 after the initial date passed on Friday without a consensus on how to avoid defaulting on a $500m interest payment.
China squashed the US’ allegations of manufacturing COVID in a lab over the weekend and emphasized that Beijing does not believe the US played any role in its development either. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also rejected the assertion in Germany’s Der Spiegel that China’s response cost the world 4–6 weeks of life-saving response time.
Chinese journalists in the US now face a limiting 90-day work visa. The Trump administration’s retaliation against Beijing for its recent restrictions on Western journalists. Similarly, calls are coming from inside China for the CCP to walk back its “Phase One” trade deal commitments.
Chris Buckley 储百亮 @ChuBailiang
Goodbye China — for now. My time here is ending after 24 years. I am filled with sadness at leaving, and gratitude for family and friends who have made this country my life as well as my work. I look forward to resuming reporting soon, and also to the day when we can return.
4:23 AM ∙ May 8, 2020
10,831Likes1,503Retweets
Czech mayors are convinced a Russian assassin is after them for removing a Soviet statue from a public park.
Homeland Security and the FBI are planning to accuse the CCP of deploying its most effective hackers and spies to steal American research to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus.
A draft of the forthcoming public warning, which officials say is likely to be issued in the days to come, says China is seeking “valuable intellectual property and public health data through illicit means related to vaccines, treatments and testing.” It focuses on cybertheft and action by “nontraditional actors,” a euphemism for researchers and students the Trump administration says are being activated to steal data from inside academic and private laboratories.
Hong Kong officials arrested 230 people on Sunday as the region’s protests reignited after a COVID-related pause. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, openly blamed the region’s education system for fueling the protests.
IED killed three UN peacekeepers in Mali.
India and China skirmished over a piece of their 2,100 mile-long border on Saturday in the border state of Sikkim. Seven Chinese and four Indian troops were injured. Local commanders resolved the dispute diplomatically.
Iran killed at least 19 of its own sailors and wounded 15 more after a training exercise missile struck a support vessel near its target in the Gulf of Oman. The incident is the latest in a string of setbacks, including accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran that killed 176 passengers, that put into question how ready Iran’s forces are for increased tensions with the US. Perhaps related, Iran has signaled it’s prepared for a prisoner swap with the US.
Iraq’s anti-government protests resumed over the weekend.
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is the frontrunner to be selected as Biden’s VP, but Joe has said he won’t likely confirm his selection until July. In the meantime, Harris seems comfortable in her status as she’s the only one not publicly running for the position during every media opportunity she’s given.
Kamala Harris @SenKamalaHarris
I’m proposing $2,000 monthly payments throughout the pandemic and for 3 months after, because rent and bills are still due during this crisis and people are going hungry. It’s that basic.
4:55 PM ∙ May 11, 2020
25,407Likes5,281Retweets
Tensions between China’s navy and its neighbors are increasing by the day. First, two US Navy ships sailed into the South China Sea in a show of support for a Malaysian drillship that’s been getting hassled by Chinese vessels. Then, in the East China Sea, Japan intercepted a group of Chinese coastguard vessels spotted pursuing a Japanese fishing boat in the contested waters. Since the start of the year, US aircraft have conducted 39 flights over the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the Taiwan Strait to increase pressure on Beijing. Additionally, the US Navy has conducted four freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea since the start of 2020. Unsurprisingly, the Pentagon is requesting more investment into US Indo-Pacific Command to counter China.
Tripoli was bombarded by rebel leader Khalifa Haftar on Sunday night, his latest offensive in his 13-month long siege of the city. Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) is supported by the UAE, Egypt, and Russia while the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is backed by Turkey and the UN. Turkey announced Haftar’s forces would be considered “legitimate targets” if attacks on Ankara’s interests continued.
UNSMIL @UNSMILibya
3/4 Today’s heavy shelling is one in a series of indiscriminate attacks, most of which are attributable to pro-LNA forces, killing more than 15 and injuring 50 civilians since 1 May.
5:40 PM ∙ May 9, 2020
38Likes22Retweets

“As Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
– The prologue of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s 30-page rebuttal to 24 “lies” spread by the US State Department about the origin of COVID-19.

“We’re not reopening based on science. We’re reopening based on politics, ideology and public pressure. And I think it’s going to end badly.”
— Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention