CRINK rethink: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea are no 'axis of evil'
William Matthews is a senior research fellow for China and the world at Chatham House.
Dark forces gather at the borders of a Western world order under siege, its future at the mercy of a quartet of chaos: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Be alert. Be afraid. Beware of the "CRINK."
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Asahi Shimbun
an hour ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Rubio hosts U.S. Indo-Pacific partners amid strained bilateral ties
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of their meeting of the Indo-Pacific Quad at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on July 1. (REUTERS) WASHINGTON--U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted his Australian, Indian and Japanese counterparts on Tuesday, seeking to boost efforts to counter China even as trade and other bilateral disagreements introduce friction into the relationships. The four countries, known as the Quad, share concerns about China's growing power, but ties have been strained by President Donald Trump's global tariff offensive from which none of the members have been spared. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, nevertheless, said the meeting had been "very productive." "Today's gathering will strengthen strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific and keep it free and open," he said on X. In welcoming his counterparts, Rubio called the Quad countries important strategic partners and said it was time to "deliver action" on specific issues. He said 30 or 40 companies from Quad countries would meet at the State Department on Tuesday to discuss cooperation, including diversification of the supply chain for critical minerals, which is a sector currently dominated by China. The meeting offered a chance to refocus attention on the region seen as the primary challenge for the U.S. after Trump was distracted by issues elsewhere, including the recent Israel-Iran conflict. In January, the Quad said it would meet regularly to prepare for a leaders' summit in India later this year. Rubio was also to hold bilateral meetings with Japan's Takeshi Iwaya, Jaishankar and Australia's Penny Wong. Wong said on X that what was the second Quad ministerial this year was "a signal of the importance of our partnership and the urgency of the challenges we face." "We agreed that it's never been more crucial to take concrete actions that support peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," she wrote. Trump on Tuesday said Washington could reach a trade deal with India that would help American firms compete there and leave New Delhi facing far lower tariffs, although he cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan by a July 9 deadline for higher levies. Jaishankar said on Monday there were hopes of bringing the trade talks to a successful conclusion, which would require "give and take" to find middle ground. After the Quad meeting, Jaishankar went to the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he hoped India and the U.S. could build on their defense integration efforts. "We hope we can complete several major pending U.S. defense sales to India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and co-production efforts," Hegseth said. Other issues have put pressure on relations. India has differed with Trump's claims that his intervention and threats to cut off trade talks averted a major conflict between India and Pakistan after militants killed Indian tourists in the disputed Kashmir region in April. On Monday, Jaishankar restated India's position that trade was not a factor in bringing a ceasefire with Pakistan, while adding in reference to the U.S. that "relationships will never be free of issues," and "what matters is the ability to deal with it and to keep that trend going in the positive direction." TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS Japan, the key U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific, postponed an annual ministerial meeting with the U.S. State and Defense Departments that was supposed to be held on Tuesday. Press reports said this move followed U.S. pressure for it to boost defense spending further than previously requested. Nicholas Szechenyi, at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S.-Japan ties appeared to have lost momentum since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump hailed a new golden age in ties at a summit in February. "The tariff negotiations are all-consuming, and the Japanese appear exasperated by the administration's public lectures on defense spending," Szechenyi said. The Financial Times said last week the demands came from Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior Pentagon official, whom analysts say has also recently created anxiety in Australia by launching a review of the massive AUKUS project to provide that country with nuclear-powered submarines.
Asahi Shimbun
an hour ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump casts doubt on trade deal with Japan, says U.S. could reach deal with India
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after touring a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1. (REUTERS) WASHINGTON--The United States could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete in the South Asian country and leave it facing far lower tariffs, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, while casting doubt on a possible deal with Japan. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believed India was ready to lower barriers for U.S. companies, which could pave the way for an agreement staving off the 26% rate he announced on April 2, before pausing it until July 9. "Right now, India doesn't accept anybody in. I think India is going to do that, if they do that, we're going to have a deal for less, much less tariffs," he said. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the U.S. and India are nearing a deal that would lower tariffs on American imports to the South Asian country and help India avoid levies from rising sharply next week. "We are very close with India," Bessent told Fox News in response to a question about progress on trade negotiations. Indian officials extended a visit to Washington last week through Monday to try to reach agreement on a trade deal with President Donald Trump's administration and address lingering concerns on both sides, Indian government sources told Reuters. A White House official familiar with the talks said the Trump administration plans to prioritize securing trade deals with countries including India ahead of Japan in the days leading up to the July 9 deadline. India is one of more than a dozen countries actively negotiating with the Trump administration to try to avoid a steep spike in tariff rates on July 9, when a 90-day tariff pause ends. India could see its new "reciprocal" tariff rate rise to 27% from the current 10%. The U.S.-India talks have hit roadblocks over disagreements on import duties for auto components, steel, and farm goods, ahead of Trump's deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs. "We are in the middle -- hopefully more than the middle -- of a very intricate trade negotiation," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told an event in New York on Monday. "Obviously, my hope would be that we bring it to a successful conclusion. I cannot guarantee it, because there's another party to that discussion," said Jaishankar, who is in the U.S. for a meeting of the China-focused Quad grouping. He added that there "will have to be give and take" and the two sides will have to find middle ground. TRUMP SUGGESTS HIGHER TARIFF FOR JAPAN Bessent told Fox News that different countries have different agendas for trade deals, including Japan, which Trump complained about on Monday and again on Tuesday. Trump said he was not thinking of extending the July 9 deadline and would simply send letters notifying countries of the tariff rate they would face. "We've dealt with Japan. I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a trip to Florida. Trump suggested he could impose a tariff of 30% or 35% on imports from Japan - well above the 24% tariff rate he announced on April 2 and then paused until July 9. He said Japan was refusing to accept U.S.-grown rice, a demand made by Washington that he described as "an easy one," while selling millions of cars in the United States. "So what I'm going to do, is I'll write them a letter saying we thank you very much, and we know you can't do the kind of things that we need, and therefore you pay a 30%, 35% or whatever the numbers that we determine," he said. So far, only Britain has negotiated a limited trade deal with the Trump administration, accepting a 10% U.S. tariff on many goods, including autos, in exchange for special access for aircraft engines and British beef.
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Putin, Macron discuss Iran, Ukraine in first phone call in nearly three years
FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a video conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 26, 2020. Michel Euler/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "substantial" phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Iran-Israel conflict and Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, the first such exchange between the two leaders since September 2022. In Paris, Macron's office said the call lasted two hours and that the French leader had called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of negotiations on ending the conflict. A French diplomatic source said Macron had talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before and after his call with Putin to brief him on the talks. Macron also talked to U.S. President Donald Trump about the exchange. According to the Kremlin press service, Putin said it was necessary to respect Iran's right to the peaceful development of nuclear energy as well as its continued compliance with its obligations under the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The French president's office said Macron, who sees the Iranian nuclear threat as sufficiently serious to justify the involvement of all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, had also stressed the need for Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran's parliament approved a bill last month to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, after Israel and the United States bombed Iran's nuclear sites, aiming to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied seeking one. Macron "expressed his determination to seek a diplomatic solution that would lead to a lasting and rigorous resolution of the nuclear issue, the question of Iran's missiles, and its role in the region," his office said, adding that the two leaders had decided to "coordinate" their efforts. France and Russia are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. On Ukraine, Putin reiterated his position to Macron that the war was "a direct consequence of the West's policy," which he said had "ignored Russia's security interests" over the past few years. Any possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine should have a "comprehensive and long-term character" and be based on "new territorial realities," the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying. Putin has previously said Ukraine must accept Russia's annexation of swaths of its territory as part of any peace deal. Macron has said Ukraine alone should decide on whether or not to accept territorial concessions. During Tuesday's call, Macron's office said, "the president emphasised France's unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity." Macron and Putin aim to continue their discussions on Ukraine and Iran, the French president's office said. Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was criticized by some European allies, with Macron also visiting Putin in Russia shortly before the invasion in February 2022. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
