Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

CHINA – COVID-19

China increased by 50% its total death count from the COVID-19 virus on Friday, April 17, 2020 – the typically news day of the week when there is a smaller audience. This provides additional evidence backing the growing concerns of other countries, including the United States, that China and its ruling Communist Party deliberately deceived the world about the disease. In a recent interview Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed China’s actions and what it cost the US and the world in terms of lives lost and the economic destruction of thriving economies.

“It’s very clear now that the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization didn’t put that information out into the international space as they’re required to do in a timely fashion, and the result of that is that we now have this global pandemic… We are still asking the Chinese Communist Party to allow experts to get into that virology lab so that we can determine precisely where this virus began. It’s not political. This is about science and epidemiology. We need to understand what has taken place so that we can reduce risk to Americans in the days and weeks and months ahead and get the global economy back on track,” Pompeo said.

CHINA – G5

When asked in an interview if America’s allies in Europe are reconsidering their position on allowing China to, in essence, control their information, Pompeo said that the Trump administration has been out telling the world about the threats that are posed from allowing the Chinese Communist Party to own the infrastructure whether it is Huawei or ZTE. The COVID-19 virus may be the single most significant point in this battle as it puts China’s behavior in the spotlight. Countries that were willing to overlook minor issues may not be doing so in the future.

“I am very confident that at this moment, this moment where the Chinese Communist Party failed to be transparent and open and handle data in an appropriate way, will cause many, many countries to rethink what they were doing with respect to their telecom architecture, and when Huawei comes knocking to sell them equipment and hardware, that they will have a different prism through which to view that decision,” he said.

IRAN

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While all eyes are focused on China Iran has felt free to act in a belligerent manner toward the US Navy in the Middle East. Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels have conducted what are labeled “dangerous and harassing approaches” to several U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, coming as close as 10 yards away. The United States has video showing what occurred which will make it difficult for Iran to deny its behavior.

“…we have seen this before where the Iranians behaved in ways that were inconsistent with international law,” said Pompeo. He pointed out that the current Administration is serious about protecting the country and the US military and its Navy and that it will be making decisions about how to respond.

NORTH KOREA

On April 15, 2020, the US Departments of State, Homeland Security, Treasury, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an advisory to raise the awareness of the cyber threat posed by North Korea. The advisory highlights North Korea’s malicious cyber activities around the world, identifies US government resources that provide technical and threat information, and includes recommended measures to counter the cyber threat. This past week North Korea launched missile off its east coast in a failed attempt to garner some of the world’s attention during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and conducted cyberwarfare against many western targets.

According to a statement issued by the US Department of States, “North Korea’s malicious cyber activities threaten the United States and countries around the world and, in particular, pose a significant threat to the integrity and stability of the international financial system. The United States works closely with like-minded countries to focus attention on and condemn disruptive, destructive, or otherwise destabilizing behavior in cyberspace.” It appears unlikely that the North Korean threat will diminish during the pandemic.

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