Politics

The Philippines has suspended the planned termination of the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement with the US. But the alliance is not out of the woods yet.

In the face of domestic problems, the US is choosing to suppress China as a strategy to distract from issues such as the coronavirus, George Floyd riots, and a declining economy. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu traces the tit-for-tat exchanges between the US and China, with the latest round of salvos being over resuming passenger flights between both countries.

Han Yong Hong observes that the US, long thought to be a bastion of democracy, is going through a series of hard knocks these days. The way President Trump has conducted himself during the coronavirus crisis and major protests against racism and police brutality have raised some strong caveats about democratic systems. But what is the alternative for the world to hang on to? For now, a firm belief in democracy seems to be keeping the American spirit afloat, even as everything else seems to be falling down like a house of cards.

Han Dongping says looking back in history, one should not underestimate the tenacity of the CCP in achieving its aims. At the same time, no matter how determined each actor is, whether it is the CCP, Taiwan or the US, outcomes may not go as intended, and Taiwan may unwittingly be steered towards an end that no one wishes to see.

Anti-Chinese and anti-Indian sentiment have been stoked by recent escalating incidents along the Line of Actual Control between China and India. While tensions are still simmering, will they boil over into violent clashes if too many cooks spoil the broth?

Japan's support of Taiwan's participation in the WHO Assembly, Chinese military operations in the East China Sea, and Japanese thoughts of delinking Japan-China supply chains have been some of the key issues in Japan-China relations during the pandemic. But the Japanese public is most concerned with the national security law in Hong Kong, according to academic Shin Kawashima. What are the implications for Japan-China relations? And will President Xi Jinping become the first state guest to visit Japan “post-corona"?

Zheng Yongnian reminds political watchers of today that fascist regimes of the past grew out of once-democratic systems. What is to say that cannot happen in today’s world, even in mature democracies such as the US? Is the coronavirus crisis putting democratic systems to their greatest test yet? And despite what some think, China, where the pandemic first spread to the world, may not be Western democracy's biggest enemy after all. 

The Thai military has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to Chinese largesse, however, it will be able to secure the military kit it wants and continue its exercises with the People's Liberation Army.

The riots in the US following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white policeman have given the Chinese people a chance to gloat at US “double standards” in the terms it has used on the Hong Kong protests. In contrast, the Chinese authorities have been restrained and measured in its responses. Correspondent Yang Danxu speaks to academics to find out what this might mean.