๐ŸŒ The second US-Pacific Island Summit


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Todayโ€™s newsletter supported by:

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Hi there Intriguer.ย Showbiz and geopolitics do occasionally mix: Min Yoon-gi, a member of Koreaโ€™s boyband phenomenon โ€˜BTSโ€™, has just begun his mandatory military service. Heโ€™s the bandโ€™s third member to enlist.

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Todayโ€™s briefing is a 5 min read:

  • ๐Ÿค The US-Pacific Islands Summit is back.

  • ๐ŸŒŠ Ethiopiaโ€™s new dam is a problem for Egypt.

  • โž• Plus: Some huge asteroid samples just dropped, how the papers are covering accusations that a US senator took bribes from Egypt, and why Cubans are tweeting #NoAlTerrorismo.

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โฑ๏ธ Around the world in sixty seconds

  1. ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ทย South Korea: Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly considering a trip to South Korea, his first since 2014. He made the comments to South Koreaโ€™s prime minister, who was in China for the Asian Games in a bid to improve strained Seoul-Beijing ties.

  2. ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆย Ukraine: Ukraine’s special forces have said Friday’s missile attack on Russiaโ€™s naval HQ in Crimea killed Moscow’s top admiral in the region. This is reportedly the first admiral killed in combat since WWII.

  3. ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines: Manila has removed a floating barrier in the South China Sea, claiming the China-installed structure violated Filipino fishing rights. The area (Scarborough Shoal) falls within Manilaโ€™s exclusive economic zone, but itโ€™s been under Chinaโ€™s control since 2012.

  4. ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ทย Costa Rica: Homicide figures for this year have already surpassed last yearโ€™s record, making 2023 Costa Ricaโ€™s deadliest year ever. Authorities believe two-thirds of the killings have been due to gangs fighting over control of drug trafficking operations.

  5. ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ชย Niger: France will withdraw all its troops from Niger over the next couple of months, following Julyโ€™s military coup. The announcement follows similar French departures from Mali and Burkina Faso, in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

๐Ÿค Indo-Pacific | Geopolitics

The logo (centre) of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacificโ€™s main regional body

The second US-Pacific Islands Summit wraps up

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The second US-Pacific Islands Forum Summit wraps up in Washington today (Tuesday), as President Biden hosts leaders and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island nations.

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Hereโ€™s whatโ€™s on the agenda:

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Whatโ€™s behind all this? The summitโ€™s aim is to show Pacific leaders that they have options, as Beijing continues to build its influence in the region:

  • China and Timor Leste (a Pacific Islands Forum observer) just upgraded their bilateral ties over the weekend, and

  • The leader of Solomon Islands actually skipped this summit despite being nearby at the UN last week, in a move seen as reflecting his more China-aligned policy (he met President Xi in Beijing this July).

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Intrigue’s take: So why are two powers competing for influence in some of the worldโ€™s smallest and most remote nations?

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In part, itโ€™s the same reason powers fought over the islands in WWII: when a rival gets a foothold, it can control vast swathes of the surrounding ocean. The US has long anchored its Pacific security in this kind of island chain strategy, and China has long seen this all as an attempt to โ€˜containโ€™ it.

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But each sideโ€™s success or otherwise will depend on its ability to really hear and respond to the priorities of the Pacific Island nations themselves. That likely explains Bidenโ€™s repeated assurances that the US โ€œhearsโ€ the Pacific.

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Also worth noting:

  • The Pacific Island leaders also travelled to Baltimore to watch the Baltimore Ravens play the Indianapolis Colts (the Ravens lost). There are around 200 NFL players with Pacific Island ties.

  • Former US president JFK fought in the WWII battle of Guadalcanal, in what is today Solomon Islands. His daughter, the current US ambassador to Australia, retraced JFKโ€™s rescue swim there last month.

  • Tuvalu (pop: 11,000) amended its constitution this month. It now includes a new definition of statehood, declaring the nation will continue to exist even if its islands disappear due to rising sea levels.

๐Ÿ“ฐ How newspapers coveredโ€ฆ

A US senator indicted on charges he took bribes from Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

โ€œDemocratic Sen. Menendez says cash found in home was from his personal savings, not bribe proceedsโ€

Washington DC, US

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โ€œMenendez brushes off calls to resign from Senate after indictmentโ€

London, UK

โ€œUS urged to withhold military aid to Egypt in wake of Bob Menendez chargesโ€

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Todayโ€™s newsletter is supported by: Press Hook

Is anyone using Press Hook yet?

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If you havenโ€™t heard of it, itโ€™s designed as a platform to connect journalists looking for story sources with brands who want to showcase their products and experts. It also offers a suite of helpful workflow tools. Journalists can search by product and category, and participating brands get exposure and affiliate opportunities – so itโ€™s designed as a win-win for everyone!

๐ŸŒŠ Ethiopia-Egypt | Geopolitics

Ethiopia and Egypt are arguing over a dam

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The second round of trilateral negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) ended on Sunday (24 September) without a breakthrough.

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GERD, Africaโ€™s largest dam, sits on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. At full capacity, the $5B hydro-electric project is projected to double Ethiopiaโ€™s output of electricity (half the countryโ€™s 120 million people still lack access to electricity).

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But Egypt (where 97% of folks rely on the Nile for drinking water) fears the dam will reduce the share of water it gets. Itโ€™s repeatedly asked Ethiopia to hit pause until the three neighbours can figure out an arrangement.

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Intrigueโ€™s take: This dispute goes to the heart of sovereignty: Ethiopia says it ought to be able to decide what happens within its own borders. Egypt says the Nile is a shared resource, so decisions should be shared, too.

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The clock is ticking: the UN says Egypt could run out of water by 2025. And the stakes are high: Sudanโ€™s instability has partly been driven by water scarcity.

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Also worth noting:

  • Some researchers say GERD could be a net-positive for Nile water levels, due to less evaporation at Egyptโ€™s Lake Nasser.

  • According to a 1959 agreement that didnโ€™t involve Ethiopia, Egypt has rights to 75% of the Nileโ€™s water and Sudan has the remainder.

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โž• Extra Intrigue

Hereโ€™s what folks have been tweeting about around the world.

  • ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ People in Cuba were using #NoAlTerrorismo after Cubaโ€™s embassy in Washington was hit with Molotov cocktails on Sunday night.

  • ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ โ€œAttorney Generalโ€ (“ุงู„ู†ุงูŠุจ ุงู„ุนุงู…”) was trending in Libyaย after the Tripoli-based attorney general ordered the detention of the mayor of Derna, where floods killed thousands earlier this month.

  • ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Netizens in Hungary were tweeting about โ€œCanadaโ€ after the parliament in Ottawa unwittingly honoured a 98-year-old Ukrainian who had served in a Nazi unit during World War II.

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๐Ÿ—ณ๏ธ Poll time!

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Who do you think is ‘winning’ in the influence game over the Pacific?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

๐Ÿ“ธ Photo of the day

Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber/Reuters

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The Osiris-Rex capsule landed safely in the middle of the Utah desert on Sunday. It contained the largest ever asteroid samples, which scientists hope will help shed light on how rocky planets like our own were formed. Japan completed two similar (smaller) missions in 2010 and 2020.

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Extra fun fact: The team working on the Osiris-Rex mission included Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Sir Brian May.

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Yesterdayโ€™s poll: Do you think peak oil is now in sight?

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๐ŸŸจโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธ ๐Ÿ“‰ Yes, renewable energy is cheaper, so oil’s days are over (23%)

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๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸฉ๐ŸŸฉ ๐Ÿ›ข๏ธ No, it’ll take decades to transform our economies (74%)

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โฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธโฌœ๏ธ โœ๏ธ Other (write in!) (3%)

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Your two cents:

  • ๐Ÿ›ข๏ธ F.I.M: โ€œEmerging economies are not emerging with renewables… and demographics are exploding. We have an energy intensive, addicted world. I don’t reckon fossil fuels will begin declining until well after the 2050s.โ€

  • ๐Ÿ›ข๏ธ K.P.M: โ€œAlternate technologies are not close to being able to be deployed in scales necessary to have any real impact on oil demand.โ€

  • โœ๏ธ J.W.N: โ€œAs an energy source, peak oil might be on the horizon. But crude is the input for so many other products, and a lack of investment in these less-sexy material science areas is stalling progress.โ€