Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

CHINA/TAIWAN

US undersecretary of State Keith Krach is on a three-day visit to Taiwan to attend a memorial service for late president Lee Teng-hui. He also plans to meet with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and join President Tsai Ing-wen for dinner at her official residence Friday. Krach is the highest-ranking State Department official to visit the island in 40 years. Chinese military jets in recent weeks have stepped incursions into Taiwanese air space. Beijing announced that it is hold “actual” military exercises off Taiwan in response to what it calls the “situation” in the Taiwan Strait. China objects to the Trump Administration holding China accountable for its actions and what it calls “interference in its domestic matters,” in a reference to Taiwan.

JAPAN

The “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance which currently includes the US, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand is considering admitting its first non-English speaking member. Japan, the 2^nd largest economy in the Pacific and a long-term western ally, is “under consideration” according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The US entered into the secret treaty establishing the group after World War II. It serves as a mechanism to share intelligence with each other in a secure environment and was one of the most significant documents of the Cold War era.

COLOMBIA

Columbia, once a staunch ally of the United States, is collaborating with China in return for financial and engineering assistance in building a subway system in Bogota and a 5G network for the country. A senior State Department official called on Colombia’s government to “make China deal with you on your terms, on transparent, open, above-board, labor-rights-respecting, environmental-standards-respecting terms.” China has not been transparent to date and the State Department warned Colombia to be careful.

VENEZUELA

None of the conditions necessary for a free and fair election exist in Venezuela scheduled for this December 6^th. According to Elliott Abrams, the US Special Representative for Venezuela: “Opposition parties have been stolen and regime agents appointed to run them; the national elections commission is completely under regime control; freedom of the press does not exist; repression and intimidation by the police and colectivo gangs continues.”

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Venezuela does not have reliable and tested voting machines in the country. “The rules of the game were recently changed by the regime, which created over 100 new National Assembly seats and changed voting district lines,” added Abrams. This is why, he added, “Interim President Juan Guaido and a coalition of 37 parties has said they would not legitimize this fraud by participating in the election. Needless to say, those conditions will not be cured merely by postponement; fraudulent elections are no less fraudulent if held a few months later.”

RUSSIA

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the State Department “…in a coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Russian nationals for their involvement in a sophisticated phishing campaign in 2017 and 2018 that targeted customers of two U.S.-based, and one foreign-based, virtual asset service providers, commonly known as cryptocurrency exchanges. American citizens and businesses were among the victims of this malicious cyber-enabled activity, which resulted in combined losses of at least $16.8 million. In recent years attacks against American citizens by Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China have increased and become more complex.

IRAN

Iran will be allowed to buy and sell weapons in about 30 days, according to Pompeo. He said: “… the Islamic Republic of Iran will be permitted under international law to purchase weapon systems and to sell weapon systems. That’s what the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action permitted. And so while the EU has made a different decision about that agreement, they share our concern about the extension of that arms embargo. Unfortunately, they’ve done nothing yet that would lead us to being able to extend it, so the United States has taken the responsibility.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, Pompeo announced that the US is going to act in a way that will “prevent Iran from being able to purchase Chinese tanks and Russian air defense systems and resell weapons to Hizballah to undermine the very efforts that [French] President Macron is ably trying to lead in Lebanon.” He added that it is irreconcilable that one “…would permit Iran to have more money, more wealth, and more arms, and still be working to try and help disconnect Hizballah from the disaster that they have created inside of Lebanon.”

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay