World View: Japan, China Exchange Threats as Relations Deteriorate

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Japan and China exchange threats as relations deteriorate
• Iran exacts deadly revenge after border guards are killed by jihadists
• UAE signs new $4.9 billion aid package for Egypt
• Fear of a paralytic polio epidemic in Syria

Japan and China exchange threats as relations deteriorate

Shinzo Abe last week (Reuters)

The dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku / Diaoyu islandshas not been in the news for a few months, but tensions have continuedto grow. On Friday, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that manynations in the region are looking to Japan to counter China’s attemptto use military force to change the status quo in Asia:

“I’ve realized that Japan is expected to exertleadership not just on the economic front, but also in the fieldof security in the Asia-Pacific.

There are concerns that China is attempting to change the statusquo by force, rather than by rule of law. But if China opts totake that path, then it won’t be able to emerge peacefully.

So it shouldn’t take that path, and many nations expect Japan tostrongly assert that. And they hope that as a result, China willtake responsible action in the internationalcommunity.”

China’s Defense Ministry spokesman responded on Saturday:

“Don’t underestimate the Chinese army’s resolute willand determination to protect China’s territorial sovereignty. IfJapan does resort to enforcement measures like shooting downaircraft, that is a serious provocation to us, an act of war.

We will undertake decisive action to strike back, with everyconsequence borne by the side that caused thetrouble.”

Reuters and WSJ

Iran exacts deadly revenge after border guards are killed by jihadists

A Pakistan-based group by the name of Jaish al-Adl (the Army ofJustice) has claimed responsibility for the deaths of at least 14border guards, and took three hostages, on the border between Pakistanand Iran late Friday. A local prosecutor immediately responded byordering the swift execution of 16 prisoners already in Iran’s jails.It’s unclear what the relationship is between Jaish al-Adl and theprisoners, but it’s assumed that they’re also jihadist terrorists, andIran want to send a message of revenge.

It seems that there are always new al-Qaeda linked terrorist groupsspringing up in the Pakistan neighborhood. There’s Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) that targets Pakistan’s government, Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT) targets India, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) wants to exterminate allShias and Hazaras in Pakistan, Jundullah (Soldiers of God) perpetratedmajor attacks on Shia mosques and Revolutionary Guard stations insoutheastern Iran, and now we have Jaish al-Adl (the Army of Justice)also targeting southeastern Iran. BBC andTasnim News (Iran)

UAE signs new $4.9 billion aid package for Egypt

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an agreement on Saturday toprovide Egypt with $4.9 billion in aid. This includes the $1 billiongrant that UAE already sent to Egypt immediately following the armycoup that removed president Mohamed Morsi and the governing MuslimBrotherhood on July 3. When Morsi was deposed, Saudi Arabia, UAE andKuwait pledged a total of $12 billion, an amount that dwarfs the $260million in planned aid that the U.S. recently announced that it woulddelay. Reuters

Fear of a paralytic polio epidemic in Syria

At least 22 babies and toddlers are now believed to have contractedparalytic polio in Syria. If confirmed, it would be the firstoutbreak of polio in Syria in 14 years. When Syria’s civil war beganin 2011, some 95% of children were vaccinated against polio, butbecause of the war, some 500,000 children have not been immunized.More than 100,000 children, all under age 5, are now at risk of polioin the Deir Ezzor province, which has been the site of fiercefighting, and with the large flow of refugees, the World HealthOrganization (WHO) fears a possible epidemic. Polio has been largelyeradicated in developed countries but remains endemic in Nigeria,Pakistan and Afghanistan. BBC

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