Good morning. Here’s your Situational Awareness for Thursday, 01 September 2022.
JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA ON TRACK FOR PROBABLE NUCLEARIZATION: In an interview with Singapore’s former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bilahari Kausikan, The Straits Times reported Japan and South Korea are on track to become “reluctant” regional nuclear powers. According to Kausikan, both Japan and South Korea have taken a lesson from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in that smaller countries without nuclear weapons cannot deter larger, nuclear-armed powers.
CHINA AND U.S. REACH AGREEMENT ON AUDITS OF U.S.-LISTED CHINESE FIRMS: The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CRSC) have reportedly reached an agreement on auditing Chinese-based firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Analysts said there were inconsistencies between statements of the U.S. PCAOB and CSRC that could create further obstacles for implementation of the agreement.
GERMANY EXPANDS MILITARY PRESENCE IN INDO-PACIFIC: Citing China’s “enormous build-up” of military force, German defense officials announced it would join other western nations in building allied military capabilities in the region. Germany announced increased deployments of military forces in support of multinational exercises in Australia and the deployment of a naval fleet to the region in 2024.
In today’s Early Warning, Mike provides his Weekly Economic Outlook, focusing on the developing de-globalization crisis, plus the team provides additional domestic intelligence reporting. Stay ahead of the curve of change here: https://forwardobserver.com/susbcribe