Worldwatch 12 January 2022

 International Relations

China/Russia/North Korea/Iran

China continues to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan; although, at this stage has stopped short of enforcing such sovereignty.

North Korea claims to have tested a hypersonic missile. (Reuters).

Russia is engaging in military activity on the Ukrainian border raising fears of an imminent invasion.

Hong Kong continues to move toward resembling Chinese political culture with opponents arguing that freedom of the press and democracy itself are being restricted by government.

United States/Japan/India/Australia (Quad)

Japan and Australia sign an historic bilateral military cooperation agreement and Australia orders tanks from the US in addition to its recent submarine order. The closer links between Australia and Japan and the US are only going to further antagonise China.

UK/New Zealand/Pacific


Australia

Novak Djokovic was detained as he attempted to enter Australia for the Australian Open tennis tournament. After a period in immigration detention he was released by court order which quashed the decision to cancel his visa. Although the government consented to the order it reserved the right of the Immigration Minister to still deport Djokovic. The Immigration Minister has said there would not be a decision today as they review additional material provided by Djokovic.

Indonesia placed an export ban on coal which would have had significant impacts on China. Some were hoping that China may reverse its unofficial ban on Australian coal; however, Indonesia has now reversed its export ban. (Financial Review).

COVID

Australia continues to deal with Omicron by claiming that it is endemic, we just have to live with it, whils retaining much of the zero covid approach, although in a limited way. The combination of the endemic/pandemic approach has caused chaos to the supply chain and the ability of businesses to staff their enterprises. Rapid Antigent Tests (RATs) have largely replaced PCR tests and states are now requiring, or moving towards requiring, the mandatory reporting of a positive RAT. One major issue is that supply of RATs is problematic with most people unable to source them. The federal government has regulated the sale of RATs so that it is illegal to charge more than a 20% markup.

Booster shots are being rolled out around the globe with the claim that two shots of the various vaccines are insufficient against Omicron and that at least one booster is required. Children as young as 5 are now eligible for the vaccines.

Mandatory vaccination and the general erosion of fundamental liberties continues to create fault lines around the world, largely between conservatives concerned about the erosion of fundamental freedoms and the modern liberals who see it as the governments responsibility to keep everyone safe even at the cost of individual rights. This classic clash between liberal freedoms and utilitarianism, the balance between individual freedoms and public interest, is not likely to be resolved anytime soon.

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