🌍 Taiwan’s first domestic sub is here

Hi there Intriguer. You can find anything on the internet these days, but even we were surprised to find footage of Hugh Jackman rescuing EU leader Ursula von der Leyen from a recycling bin.

Today’s briefing is a 4 min read:

• 🇹🇼 Taiwan unveils its own submarine.

• 🏦 What’s up with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank?

• ➕ Plus: An ancient microstate, how the papers are covering the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh government, and what to do if you’re in New York this weekend.

1. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: Plans to double Azerbaijan’s gas flows to Europe are reportedly on hold pending confirmation that the EU will actually buy the gas. Ties took a turn last week after Baku used military force to seize the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

2. 🇩🇪 Germany: The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan are in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Central Asian governments have moved to revive their links with the West since Russia invaded Ukraine.

3. 🇰🇭 Cambodia: Authorities have asked China’s local embassy not to screen a hit Chinese action film featuring Cambodia’s cyber-scam industry. According to the UN, at least 100,000 people have fallen victim to these cyber-trafficking schemes in Cambodia alone.

4. 🇺🇸 US: The price of Brent crude oil neared the $100 per barrel mark on Wednesday after a steep drop in US stockpiles exacerbated fears of tight global supplies. Oil prices have risen over 30% since July due to production cuts spearheaded by Saudi Arabia.

5. 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso: The country’s military junta has said it foiled an attempted coup against the transitional government on Tuesday. The current leader came to power in a military coup just last year.

🇹🇼 Taiwan | Defence & security

Taiwan unveils its first domestic submarine

Taipei unveiled its first domestically built submarine this week. President Tsai Ing-wen, who presided over the ceremony, said the vessel will play a key role in strengthening the Taiwanese Navy’s “asymmetric warfare” capabilities.

The ‘Hai Kun’ submarine is a notable feat for the self-governing island:

• There are only ~14 nations that can build their own subs, and

• China has long opposed any effort at helping Taiwan join the club.

But it seems Taiwan is just warming up: its fleet will eventually comprise eight new diesel-electric subs, plus its two Dutch vessels from the 1980s.

Why? Well yep, it’s about deterring China:

• Last year, China’s forces started regularly crossing the median line that had long functioned as an unofficial divide with Taiwan, and

• Two undersea cables connecting Taiwan’s Matsu islands were mysteriously severed earlier this year.

Why subs? Any invasion would require vast numbers of amphibious landing ships, which are vulnerable to submarine tracking and torpedoes.

For its part, a Beijing spokesperson called Taiwan’s deterrence strategy “idiotic nonsense”.

Intrigue's take: Bigger players than Taiwan have long struggled to design and build their own subs. The fact Taipei has pulled this off reflects well on its capabilities, but also on its partnerships: the weapons systems, electronics and sonar were imported, and the hull design shows clear signs of Japanese (et al) assistance.

The other thing worth mentioning: nuclear-propelled subs have been all the rage lately, but smaller diesel subs like this tend to be better suited for shallow waters (the average depth of the Taiwan Strait is only 60m).

So bravado notwithstanding, this new sub complicates Beijing’s calculations.

Also worth noting:

• US President George W Bush approved the possible sale of diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan in 2001, but no deals were ever closed.

• China’s submarine fleet currently counts around 60 nuclear and diesel-powered submarines.

• ‘Hai Kun’ translates loosely as ‘sea monster’ in English. The submarine’s official name in English is ‘Narwhal’.

📰 How newspapers covered…

The dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh

🎧 Today on Intrigue Outloud

Whose side will Canada’s allies choose: Canada or India?

🏦 Asia | Geo-economics

China’s development bank just got a tad bigger

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) wrapped its 8th annual meeting in Egypt this week. Notably, the AIIB approved three new members: El Salvador, Solomon Islands and Tanzania.

The Beijing-based AIIB began as an idea inside China’s finance ministry, culminating in its 2016 launch with 57 founding members. China holds 26.6% of the voting rights, and the constitution requires a 75% super-majority for any major AIIB decisions. So Beijing calls the shots.

Its mandate is to provide capital to support development projects like:

• 🇮🇳 road-building in India

• 🇪🇬 sanitation services in Egypt

• 🇵🇰 public transport in Karachi, and

• 🇴🇲 solar plants in Oman.

With its three prospective new countries, the AIIB will have 109 members.

Intrigue’s take: In its stated aims, the AIIB is similar to the US-led World Bank and Japan-led Asian Development Bank. But these and other incumbent lenders were long criticised as being too slow and too cautious in responding to the emerging needs of the developing world.

So the AIIB was partly born in that gap. And a little competition is probably a good thing when it comes to financing these kinds of basic human needs.

But the AIIB continues to face questions around its level of accountability and its relationship with Beijing. Still, the bank’s new members are a reminder that, for folks in El Salvador, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, and beyond, there are often more pressing concerns.

Also worth noting:

• In June, AIIB’s global comms chief (a Canadian citizen) resigned, claiming the Chinese Communist Party had undue influence over the bank. Canada suspended its AIIB ties shortly thereafter.

• AIIB also announced this week that it would triple its total climate financing to $50B for this decade.

➕ Extra Intrigue

🗽 Here are some recommendations from Team Intrigue for anyone in New York this weekend. If you’re looking to:

• Learn: Visit the Manet/Degas exhibition, and explore the fraught relationship between the two impressionist frenemies.

• Eat: Grab a quick hot dog from Crif Dogs for the quintessential NYC experience.

• Relax: Walk in the footsteps of famous 20th century artist Piet Mondrian by following the ‘Mondrian Route’, a 6.5km (4 miles) stroll past important landmarks in the artist’s New York life.

Do you have any weekend tips for folks in your city, anywhere in the world? Just hit reply and send them in! We’ll aim to spotlight a different city each time.

📜 Today in history

On this day in 1864, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Lisbon to demarcate their borders and formally abolish the 6.5 sq km microstate of Couto Misto, which had been founded seven centuries earlier. In recent decades, the 100 or so residents there have petitioned the EU to restore Couto Misto’s statehood.

🗳️ Quiz time!

Answers: 1-a, 2-b, 3-c.