Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Tuesday, 07 May 2024.
- U.S. PRESSING FOR TAIWAN PARTICIPATION IN UN: China and the U.S. are moving to potentially bring two new states recognition and participation at the United Nations. China intends to help Palestine, and the U.S. is openly questioning Resolution 2758, which recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole governing entity of China.
- Mark Lambert, the State Department’s China Coordinator, participated in a panel discussion on this issue last week and claimed that the Resolution does not resolve the Taiwan issue or preclude Taiwanese participation in the UN. Lambert also claimed that the world would be better served if Taiwan were a participant in the UN.
- China previously backed a resolution to recognize Palestine as an independent state.
- UN participatory status can be placed in a General Assembly vote. This particular method was used for Resolution 2758, which China relies on to declare its “one-China policy” on the entirety of the UN.
- In response to a question from Taiwan on using participatory status to underscore a referendum for independence, the international lawyer on the panel said it was technically doable but politically fraught.
Why It Matters: The U.S. could use Palestinian recognition as a bargaining chip for passing a resolution authorizing Taiwanese participatory status in the General Assembly. Thispotentially violates China’s 2005 Anti-Secession Law clause that states “A major event that may cause Taiwan to secede from China” and the COVID-era policies from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office stating “Organizing an independent referendum” are justifications for “non-peaceful reunification.” – J.V.
- Global Rollup
- China’s Ministry of National Defense is blaming Australia for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter launching flares in an Australian Navy helicopter’s path over the weekend. China claims they were too close to China’s airspace but not that they were violating it.
- The Chinese and French Presidents released a joint statement calling for an Olympic Truce to open a diplomatic window for the Middle East during the summer 2024 Olympics.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday that troops near Ukraine would conduct nuclear launch drills at an unspecified future date. The same day, he said he would strike U.K. targets abroad if Russia found their weapons had been used to strike inside Russia.
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.