Trump world: What The Donald inherits

Trump world: What The Donald inherits

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Chaos, Conflict and Crisis are some of the words describing the combustible global situation the new American President Donald J. Trump inherits from his predecessor. Far from a stable world order, Donald Trump is entering a complex foreign maze in which he must decipher, decode […]

Snowden plays Snowden: Time to take the show on the road?

Snowden plays Snowden: Time to take the show on the road?

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk As Donald Trump is inaugurated in Washington, it may be timely to wonder what if anything did Edward Snowden, in Moscow, have to do with his election. Would Snowden be letting his skills go to waste? Might he be sharing notes with Russian friends on cyber-sleuthing and cyber-espionage ― […]

China praises Obama as ‘most pacifist’ U.S. president, hails ‘failure’ of Asia Pivot

China praises Obama as ‘most pacifist’ U.S. president, hails ‘failure’ of Asia Pivot

Special to WorldTribune.com By Geostrategy-Direct.com China’s state media has not obsessed about President Barack Obama’s “legacy” to the degree America’s 44th president has. It has not however missed the opportunity to celebrate the “failure” of his celebrated “Asia Pivot” strategy while finding other positive things to say about the exiting leader. However, unlike Mr. Obama […]

Taiwan scrambles fighter jets as China carrier enters strait

Taiwan scrambles fighter jets as China carrier enters strait

by WorldTribune Staff, January 11, 2017 Taiwan’s military was on placed on high alert as a group of Chinese ships, led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier, transited the Taiwan Strait on Jan. 11. According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, Beijing’s Soviet-built aircraft carrier, returning from exercises in the South China Sea, had not entered Taiwan’s territorial […]

Greatest hits, No. 5: Pentagon gives Beijing ultimatum on militarizing the South China Sea

Greatest hits, No. 5: Pentagon gives Beijing ultimatum on militarizing the South China Sea

Special to WorldTribune.com By Geostrategy-Direct.com U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told the Chinese defense delegation in Singapore that the U.S. will take appropriate action if China crosses the red line, i.e. further reclamation and militarization of the Scarborough Shoal in the Spratlys chain. The Philippines and China have fiercely clashed over the Scarborough Shoal […]

Trump names China critic as U.S. trade envoy

Trump names China critic as U.S. trade envoy

by WorldTribune Staff, January 4, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 3 named a former Reagan administration official and current critic of Chinese trade practices to be his chief trade negotiator. Trump said Robert Lighthizer, a veteran steel industry trade lawyer, will help “fight for good trade deals that put the American worker first.” “He […]

China angered at change in name of Taiwan embassy in Japan

China angered at change in name of Taiwan embassy in Japan

by WorldTribune Staff, January 3, 2017 Japan drew angry protests from China after changing the name of its Taiwanese embassy, a move Beijing saw as Tokyo taking a step toward recognizing Taiwan as a separate country. The name of Japan’s Taiwanese embassy in Taipei was officially changed in a ceremony on Jan. 3 from “The […]

China to re-brand itself in new year with ‘soft power’ media offensive

China to re-brand itself in new year with ‘soft power’ media offensive

by WorldTribune Staff, January 1, 2017 China’s largest television network has re-launched its international on-air and online presence in an effort to promote “positive propaganda” overseas. Central China Television (CCTV) launched the new overseas offensive on Jan. 1 via the newly-named China Global Television Network (CGTN). The move is part of Beijing’s push to extend […]

2016 was then: World stage set for more dramatic tension

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — It’s once again time to consult the crystal snow globe and peer ahead into what events 2017 may bring. After a surprising, tumultuous and truly roller-coaster year just past, we certainly can hope for a more stable period. But should we? Despite the unprecedented electoral […]

The new ‘Race to the moon’ does not include the U.S.

The new ‘Race to the moon’ does not include the U.S.

Special to WorldTribune.com By Dr Joan Vernikos, Space Correspondent, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) new White Paper on the next five years of its space strategy, released by the China National Space Administration on Dec. 27, 2016, raised new questions about the economic and natural-resource goals of space exploration, and […]