Wall Street Journal (May 5)
“With China now an economic and military powerhouse, Taiwan’s lack of preparedness is increasingly dangerous. Taiwan’s economy is two-thirds larger than Israel’s, but Taiwan spends almost two-thirds less as a percentage of gross domestic product on defense.” Especially in light of Ukraine’s invasion, this has to change and just an extra percent of military spending could prove decisive. “Through the force-multiplying miracle of modern weapons, we can help make Taiwan a porcupine and deter aggression that could have profoundly negative consequences for Taiwan, China and the world.”
Tags: Aggression, China, Dangerous, Economic, GDP, Invasion, Israel, Military spending, Porcupine, Powerhouse, Preparedness, Taiwan, Ukraine, Weapons
Professional Pensions (April 19)
“The response by pension schemes and other investors to the invasion was immediate and, in the days following Russia’s attack, a number of pension schemes announced they would reduce or sell all their holdings as soon as possible.” Exposure to Russia varied by scheme, but was low overall, at around “0.1% for many schemes, holdings that many managers have written down to zero.” All in all, the “market reaction to the crisis was surprisingly muted,” with fairly stable funding levels throughout the crisis.
Tags: Attack, Crisis, Exposure, Funding, Holdings, Immediate, Invasion, Investors, Market, Muted, Pension schemes, Reaction, Reduce, Russia, Sell, Stable, Zero
Washington Post (April 15)
“The world has been understandably transfixed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine,” but we must still stay alert to threats elsewhere. “President Xi Jinping has been quietly taking advantage of the West’s distraction by expanding China’s sphere of influence in the South Pacific. If Washington doesn’t wake up to this threat, China’s efforts to dominate the region will gain dangerous and perhaps irreversible momentum.”
Tags: China, Dangerous, Distraction, Dominate, Horrific, Influence, Invasion, Irreversible, Putin, Russia, South Pacific, Threats, Transfixed, U.S., Ukraine, World, Xi
CNBC (March 1)
“A run on Russian banks is underway.” In the wake of “unprecedented sanctions” imposed by the EU and U.S. for the invasion of Ukraine, the ruble “dropped dramatically in Monday’s trading. Lines at ATMs snaked down sidewalks and around buildings in Moscow and at Russian banks in Europe as depositors rushed to withdraw cash.”
Tags: ATMs, Banks, Depositors, EU, Invasion, Lines, Moscow, Ruble, Run, Russia, Sanctions, Trading, U.S., Ukraine, Unprecedented, Withdraw
Reuters (February 27)
“International companies with exposure to Russia are girding for further Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.” Among the most exposed companies in Asia are Japan Tobacco, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, SBI Holdings, and Toyota.
Tags: Asia, Companies, Exposure, Girding, International, Invasion, Japan Tobacco, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, Moscow, Russia, SBI Holdings, Ukraine, Western sanctions
LA Times (October 8)
“If Taiwan is to fend off a Chinese invasion, it will need reluctant recruits…to summon the patriotism that inspired older generations but these days doesn’t burn as passionately in the young” who increasingly regard the “mandatory four-month military service as an unnecessary burden, even as complaints persist that such stints are too short to protect the island compared with the two to three years that previous generations served.”
Tags: Burden, Inspired, Invasion, Mandatory, Military service, Passion, Patriotism, Protect, Recruits, Reluctant, Short, Taiwan
The Economist (November 2)
“Investors betting on Aramco as the last oil major standing in 30 years’ time will have to consider the risk of revolution or invasion. Aramco’s flotation is a sign that the end of oil could be in sight. But it is also a reminder that the black stuff’s capacity to cause economic and political havoc will be undiminished for decades to come.”
Tags: Aramco. Oil majors, Economic, Flotation, Havoc, Invasion, Investors, Political, Revolution, Risk, Undiminished
USA Today (May 25)
President Obama is right to visit Hiroshima and also not to apologize. “The bombings, as horrific as they were, saved the lives of millions of civilians and soldiers who surely would have died had the United States gone ahead with an invasion of Japan. Many of those lives were Japanese.” Instead Obama “should present an America that, while not apologetic, is empathetic. There is something appealing about the world’s only true superpower…showing a bit of humanity.”
Tags: Bombings, Civilians, Empathetic, Hiroshima, Horrific, Humanity, Invasion, Japan, Obama, Soldiers, Superpower, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (May 12)
“There’s zero reason to apologize for the atomic bombing, which forestalled invasion and saved lives…. Mr. Obama, as well as his Japanese hosts, should appreciate that Truman authorized the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both major military-industrial targets, to help win the gruesome Pacific War as quickly as possible and with the loss of the fewest American lives—and, as it turned out, the loss of the fewest Japanese lives.”
Tags: Apologize, Atomic bombing, Bombing, Gruesome, Hiroshima, Invasion, Japan, Lives, Nagasaki, Obama, Pacific War, Truman, U.S.
New York Times (September 2)
“More than anyone, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has set the agenda for NATO’s 65th summit meeting this week, which could well be the most consequential since the Cold War ended.” Ironically, his antics may serve to strengthen NATO. He “has forced on it a new and urgent purpose by effectively invading Ukraine and demonstrating his utter disregard for the international system.”
