Phelim Kine

TRUMP MULLS EXPORT CURBS, TAX WAIVERS TO CURB OIL PRICES

Beijing teases prospects for successful Trump-Xi summit Wang Yi’s sweet talk signals official charm offensive ahead of a summit between the two leaders later this month.

#GlobalEurope: #Beijing teases prospects for successful Trump-Xi summit.Wang Yi’s sweet talk signals official charm offensive ahead of a summit between the two leaders later this month, by @phelimkine.bsky.social | Politico
www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

I'm watching the migrant worker situation in the ME with dread, because many of the things happening there will happen to Taiwan's migrant workers when the PRC moves on Taiwan.

Video Shows US Tomahawk Missile Strike Next to Girls’ School in Iran - bellingcat New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footag...

"The footage would appear to contradict U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that it was an Iranian missile that hit the school., The US is the only participant in the war that is known to have Tomahawk missiles" www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

INTERVIEW: Japan’s involvement conditional, ex-minister says - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Documents disclosed online showed that Xi had considered invading Taiwan after the CCP’s third plenary session in 2024, he said.
www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/...

me paying $30 in gas to buy imported things that have been hit with tariffs bc joe rogan is learning about politics at age 58

China’s foreign minister touts 'big year' in US-China ties Wang Yi’s sweet talk signals official charm offensive ahead of a summit between President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping later this month.

"Beijing appears to be prioritizing the success of the summit over its concerns about U.S. military operations targeting Chinese allies Venezuela and Iran" @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi issues a death threat against Taiwan citizens who defy"reunification": "Resolving the Taiwan question is a historic process that cannot be stopped. Those who support it are on the right side of history; those who defy it shall perish" www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjbzhd/2...

Opinion | Trump’s Fantasy Is Crashing Down

"Trump seems to believe that he, like his fantasy America, exists on a different plane, utterly untouchable by the swirl of global events. The devastating consequences of his actions are not just someone else’s fault. They are someone else’s problem, too" www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/o...

Trump calls for more aggressive responses to cyberattacks in long-awaited cyber strategy The text includes lots of braggadocio — and little detail on actual plans to deter top cyber adversaries, including Russia and China.

"But absent from the text of both documents are direct mentions of China and Russia — Washington’s main cyber foes" via @politico.com @jsaks.bsky.social @maggiemiller.bsky.social Dana Nickel www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

don’t forget to destroy your clocks tonight, walk away from your mortgage, just start driving, you’re free

Trump’s food industry friends are warning him RFK Jr.’s agenda is bad for business

Premier Cho makes surprise visit to Japan for WBC - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Expect Chinese economic coercion of Japan to tick up a few notches next week. Taiwan state media: "Cho arrived in Japan earlier Saturday, marking the first known visit by a sitting Taiwanese premier since Taiwan and Japan severed diplomatic ties in 1972" www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/a...

Allies fear Iran war will leave them without US weapons they bought European and Asian countries worry the Pentagon is burning through munitions so fast that it won’t have enough to send the weapons they have purchased.

“It shouldn’t be a secret to anyone that the munitions that have been and will be fired are the ones that everybody needs to acquire in large numbers,” said one northern European official. @politico.com Jack Detsch @jsaks.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

PRC is teaching its drones to mimic aircraft signals. Such spoofing will help hide an attack.

The PLA has stopped flying aircraft close to Taiwan - I can't figure out why and that worries me I never expected to be worried by the lack of Chinese military coercion.

Drew Thompson: The PLA has stopped flying aircraft close to Taiwan - I can't figure out why and that worries me

chinadrew.substack.com/p/the-pla-ha...

NOEM TAKING QUESTIONS - DOES NOT APPEAR TO KNOW SHE WAS FIRED

A Company Plans 4,000 Orbiting 'Sky Mirrors' to Shine Sunlight on Earth After Dark, Worrying Astronomers A startup wants to light up the night sky using giant mirrors in space. The idea could extend daylight for solar farms and nighttime operations.

There's been so much going on that I missed this story. WTF are we doing? @banditelli.org

Inside the Trump administration’s scramble to support its own war One State Department official said too few people were read in on war plans.

How long will this war last? A clue in our story: "U.S. Central Command ... is asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Fla., to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September." www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Iran struck an oil tanker flying the US flag off the coast of Kuwait, which caught fire, according to the central headquarters of the Islamic Republic's army

GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER PISTORIUS: AIR DEFENCES AND AIR DEFENCE MISSILES ARE RARE, WE MUST NOT LOSE FOCUS OF UKRAINE OVER THE WAR IN MIDDLE EAST

DPP's analysis of the KMT's defense budget proposal: "excludes future procurement, co-production, and any defense-industrial investment. @MoNDefense warns their cuts would set back Taiwan's most urgent defense needs. "

mailchi.mp/aca945d08c5c...

Israel hacked Iranian traffic cameras to spy on Khamenei: Report Israel reportedly hacked nearly all of Tehran’s traffic cameras to spy on Ali Khamenei. Israeli spies spent years surveilling the ayatollah’s bodyguards by accessing the Iranian capital’s traffic came...

It turns out that when you put your entire nation under surveillance, you might not be the only one watching.

ground.news/article/61dd...

The other simmering conflict on Iran’s border A border spat between Pakistan and Afghanistan may add to the chaos unfurled by the U.S- Israeli joint assault on Iran.

"Malgoverned spaces where threats like that are festering will find a way to assert themselves onto the agenda. And when they do, it will be painful" @politico.com NatSec Daily www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Capitol Hill is losing patience with Taipei Amid a funding scramble and debates over DHS, Capitol Hill has also been wading into Taiwan’s internal politics this week.

Taiwan's opposition KMT ignores Capitol Hill calls to pass President Lai Ching-te's $40 billion special defense budget by proposing an $11 billion counter-budget. focustaiwan.tw/politics/202... Beijing will be well-pleased. The Trump administration... less so. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred Gov DeSantis from designating CAIR as a terrorist organization and punish those who associate with the group.

“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Judge Walker writes.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Is the US in decline? After Iran strikes, maybe not, Chinese analysts say The popular idea in China that American strength is waning may need a rethink, observers say.

The US is very obviously in decline. Probably tongue in cheek, or deliberate misinformation, these analysts' thoughts.
www.scmp.com/news/china/m...

Israel's UN Envoy: Give us a few more days, and it will be much harder for Iran to disrupt vessels coming through Strait of Hormuz.

Imagine a world in which the State Department held a public press briefing so we can figure out what the heck is going on with our embassies and citizens overseas... but they don't do those anymore.

Opinion | Now is the time for China to show it’s serious about opening up The ‘two sessions’ is Beijing’s chance to demonstrate reliability as nations reassess their ties with China and the US in an increasingly fragmented global order.

The Groundhog Day narrative of Chinese engagement advocates. Beijing is always just around the corner from — it's soooo close, just be patient! — finally prying open its economy and markets to unimpeded foreign access. A ritualistic triumph of hope over experience. www.scmp.com/opinion/chin...