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Oct 2, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Zoria Petkoska |Chris Russell |Peter Martin
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is ramping up its efforts to recruit Chinese citizens as it seeks to capitalize on what U.S. officials say is growing discontent with President Xi Jinping’s rule. The agency issued Chinese-language instructions on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Telegram, and X on Wednesday, detailing how individuals can securely contact it on its public and dark websites.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Alex Martin |Nithin Coca |Peter Martin |Daniel Flatley
Thousands of pagers and other devices exploding in Lebanon this week mark a new and deadly escalation in the use of supply chains against adversaries, giving new urgency to global leaders’ drive to reduce their dependence on technologies from rivals. Lebanese officials believe the gadgets were rigged with explosives as part of an elaborate attack allegedly by Israel on Hezbollah, penetrating the Iran-backed group’s procurement chain with links from Taiwan to Hungary.
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Sep 6, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Alex Martin |Annelise Giseburt |Peter Martin
The U.S. is assembling an economic and security assistance package for Gabon in a bid to prevent China from establishing a military footprint in the strategically positioned Central African nation, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement will include training for Gabon’s special forces and $5 million in funding for the country’s democratic transition, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
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Sep 3, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Alex Martin |Annelise Giseburt |Peter Martin
When Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes African leaders to Beijing this week, he’ll be holding a smaller checkbook and will have a clearer sense of what China wants in exchange: bigger returns and fewer headaches. From Angola to Djibouti, for over a decade, China poured more than $120 billion of government-backed loans through its Belt and Road Initiative to build hydropower plants, roads and rail lines across the continent — as well as unparalleled influence.
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Jul 27, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Josh Wingrove |Peter Martin |Eric Martin
As Kamala Harris prepares to take on Donald Trump, her advisers as Joe Biden’s vice president provide a window into her style and priorities. Two threads are emerging in the short time since launching her White House run: Many Harris aides have worked primarily or entirely for her, not Biden. And she’s said to be considering several veterans from the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who on Friday endorsed her, as well as some Biden-era heavyweights.
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Jun 19, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Peter Martin
U.S. spies believe China’s leaders see little or no upside to the looming electoral showdown between President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump. Ahead of next week’s first debate of the presidential campaign, U.S. intelligence agencies assess that China has no clear preference between the two candidates, according to American officials, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic assessments.
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May 10, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Peter Martin
U.S.-Philippines ties are as strong as they’ve been in decades, with soldiers from both sides just wrapping up three weeks of joint military exercises that resemble the kind of preparations necessary to help repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Yet in the northern Philippines, near a military base the U.S. recently won access to that is crucial to any defense of Taiwan, Beijing has made inroads with key politicians.
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May 10, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Iain Marlow |Peter Martin |Sam Dagher
One key American official is quietly keeping Washington’s lines of communication open across the Middle East as the U.S. and Israel endure their worst falling-out in decades over the war in Gaza. CIA Director William Burns, a veteran diplomat and Arabic speaker, was in Cairo alongside Qatari and Egyptian mediators this week as U.S. President Joe Biden set off a political firestorm by halting the shipment of about 3,500 bombs to Israel.
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May 1, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Alberto Nardelli |Jennifer Jacobs |Peter Martin
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are nearing a historic pact that would offer the kingdom security guarantees and lay out a possible pathway to diplomatic ties with Israel if its government brings the war in the Gaza Strip to an end, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement faces plenty of obstacles but would amount to a new version of a framework that was scuttled when Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel triggered the conflict in Gaza.
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Apr 28, 2024 | 
japantimes.co.jp | Peter Martin |James Mayger
When South Korea decided to host a U.S. anti-ballistic missile system, the lucrative flow of tourists from neighboring China suddenly dried up. When Australia accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic politics and demanded answers over the origins of COVID-19, China stopped buying exports like coal, wine and beef. It wasn’t until Beijing tried to punish Lithuania for opening a liaison office with Taiwan in 2021 that Washington intervened.
