Struggle for Influence in the Western Pacific (I)

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – The US-led RIMPAC 2018, the world’s largest naval maneuver, began yesterday with German soldiers participating. According to the US Navy, the naval exercise will also include operations in the Western Pacific. The region of the Southwest Pacific islands will thus come into focus, which – even though largely ignored by the European public – has been gaining significant global influence. On the one hand, the influence of Western countries has shrunk recently, while that of their strategic rivals, such as Russia and China, has significantly grown. Some Pacific island nations have since then been seeking to pursue a foreign policy independent from the West. On the other hand, the Southwest Pacific has become even more important also for Australia and the Unites States: as the political economic backyard for Australia and “gateway to the Indo-Pacific” for the U.S.A. Germany is also attempting to increase its activities in the region.

Sealing off the Mediterranean

BERLIN/VIENNA/TRIPOLI (Own report) – To ward off refugees, the EU should completely seal off the Mediterranean and immediately force refugees, intercepted at sea, to return to their home countries, demands Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, stating an even tougher position than the EU’s current deportation agreement with Turkey, imposed by Berlin. Kurz also undermines the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and – taking Australia as a model – proposes to resettle those refugees, not immediately deportable, to islands. Refugees reaching the EU without a visa should be placed in detention camps on Lesbos or Lampedusa. Whoever attempts to enter illegally, loses their “right to asylum in Europe,” Kurz declared. Protest came from Libya. Fayez al Serraj, the “Prime Minister” installed from abroad, declared that his country would not take back refugees the EU has deported. In the meantime, the number of refugees, who have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean, is at a new high. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – which is itself participating in the global fight against refugees – between January and Mai 2016, at least 2,443 people have lost their lives on their way from North Africa to Europe – more than ever before.