Trump’s Taiwan call seen pre-empting Chinese provocation early in his administration

Trump’s Taiwan call seen pre-empting Chinese provocation early in his administration

by WorldTribune Staff, December 6, 2016 Did Donald Trump beat China to the punch? The President-elect’s interaction with Taiwan’s president was seen by some observers as a pre-emptive hit on Beijing, which some analysts suggested was intent on delivering a testing Trump early in his administration. Trump’s 10-minute phone conversation with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, […]

Trump’s call with Taiwan sparks international crisis . . . with U.S. ‘experts’ on China

Trump’s call with Taiwan sparks international crisis . . . with U.S. ‘experts’ on China

by WorldTribune Staff, December 4, 2016 “Donald Trump took the call. The voice on the other end of the line was Taiwan’s president [Tsai Ing-wen] congratulating him,” wrote the Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Browne in Taipei, Taiwan. Why the furor that subsequently erupted in the U.S. media? “No president-elect, or president, has spoken to a […]

China conducts tourism war on Taiwan and its first female president

China conducts tourism war on Taiwan and its first female president

Special to WorldTribune.com President-elect Donald Trump ignited a firestorm of controversy by confirming on Dec. 2 that he had accepted a congratulatory call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. By Geostrategy-Direct China is turning up the heat on Taiwan’s independence-leaning new government under President Tsai Ing-wen who was sworn in May as the island democracy’s first […]

Shi’ite militia seizes air base near Mosul, cutting ISIL supply route to Syria

Shi’ite militia seizes air base near Mosul, cutting ISIL supply route to Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iraqi Shi’ite militia fighters say they have driven Islamic State extremists from an air base to the west of Mosul, threatening the supply route from Syria for extremist militants in the northern Iraqi city. Yusif al-Kallabi, a spokesman for a coalition of mostly Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias […]

Ex-Turkish intelligence official charges Turkey using ISIL as ‘geopolitical tool’

Ex-Turkish intelligence official charges Turkey using ISIL as ‘geopolitical tool’

Special to WorldTribune.com By Geostrategy-Direct.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sponsoring Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), using the terror group as a “geopolitical tool to expand Turkey’s regional influence and sideline his political opponents at home, a former top Turkish counter-terror official said. Ahmet Sait Yayla, in interviews with a crowdfunded journalism […]

German intel official cites ‘hundreds of reports’ of ‘hit squads’, sleeper cells

German intel official cites ‘hundreds of reports’ of ‘hit squads’, sleeper cells

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Last year’s mass influx of refugees from Syria and Iraq triggered a series of security, social and political troubles throughout Europe, reaching as far as Sweden. But while the refugee numbers have been reduced, major nations such as Germany and Italy face new problems. In Germany, Chancellor […]

After disastrous Carter and Clinton administrations, time to reset U.S.-Taiwan relations

After disastrous Carter and Clinton administrations, time to reset U.S.-Taiwan relations

Special to WorldTribune.com By Parris H. Chang In recent months, both chambers of the U.S. Congress have passed the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the “six assurances” as cornerstones of U.S.-Taiwan Relations. The six assurances, which were given to Taiwan by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan in July 1982, include U.S. pledges not to set a […]

France — Summer of terror now and in the 1960s

France — Summer of terror now and in the 1960s

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — Imagine for a moment arriving at Sunday morning religious service only to see the doors of the church guarded by camouflage-clad soldiers with automatic weapons. Well, this was the stark reality when we arrived at our neighborhood church, a structure dating from the 15th century, but […]

Beijing responds to landmark ruling on the South China Sea by landing airliners on militarized islets

Beijing responds to landmark ruling on the South China Sea by landing airliners on militarized islets

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a major legal setback for Beijing, an international tribunal has rejected and rebuffed many of Mainland China’s claims regarding exclusive sovereignty and rights in the disputed South China Sea. The landmark ruling in the Hague, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration stated there was […]

View from Taipei: U.S. ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy will require muscle, not just diplomacy

View from Taipei: U.S. ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy will require muscle, not just diplomacy

Special to WorldTribune.com By Parris H. Chang Foreign policy is an integrated structure of assumptions, objectives and means. Critics of American foreign policy contend that the decisive factor of the failure of U.S. policy toward China has been the imbalance between political ends and military means. Professor Tang Tsou’s classical study “America’s Failure in China […]