The strategy behind Operation Olive Branch

NEWS TURKEY
The strategy behind Operation Olive Branch
ECE GOKSEDEF

After US attempts to mediate, Russia deployed troops to the area to stop an operation on the YPG in Afrin last year. On January 20, Turkey started the operation. Here is the importance of their strategy.

Operation Olive Branch will continue "until the last terrorist is neutralized," said Turkey’s army chief Hulusi Akar (AA)

Afrin, in northwest Syria bordering Turkey, used to be a city with a population of 80,000. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the civil war in Syria, the YPG took control of it in 2012. During the years of civil war, since there are no clashes in Afrin, its population increased up to 300,000. And finally, after the evacuation of Aleppo in December 2016, people fled to Afrin, increasing the population to around 750,000. Around 60 percent is Arabs, five percent on the Turkish border in the northwest of the city is Turkmen, and the rest are Kurds. Hundreds of its original residents, who could flee the YPG after 2012, are in Turkey.

Afrin is located between two strategic Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA)-held areas: Azaz and Idlib. The two FSA commanders who talked to TRT World, tell of the geographical importance of Afrin in these words: We need to connect two opposition areas to support each other. But using the road in Turkey along the border from Kilis to Reyhanlı takes five hours. If we drive directly from Azaz to Idlib through Tel Rifat, it would only take less than two hours.

That makes the Tel Rifat front of upmost importance to the operation.

Here is the information TRT World has obtained from the opposition commanders on the field:

1- Azaz, Tel Rifat and Minagh Airport in the east

In total, around 10,000 FSA fighters are ready for the Afrin operation, some already actively taking part. More troops are being deployed to Azaz from Idlib. The troops in the Euphrates Shield area are not deployed for the Afrin operation, as they are mostly on patrol for any attacks from the YPG-held Manbij.

One of the first air bombardments by Turkish fighter jets have been conducted on this area. Also, FSA troops are ready to move ahead to Afrin on the ground.

The area’s strategic importance comes from its location, if the FSA will take control of the area, that will prevent the YPG from getting reinforcements from regime-held territories. And also, it will connect the Turkish army’s monitoring points in northern Idlib in the Euphrates Shield area.

On the first day of the operation, Russian troops in Afrin relocated to Tel Ajar, a town in northwestern Tel Rifat. The regime’s military training camp in Qafrjannah was also moved in Tel Ajar.

On Wednesday, when the clashes intensified in Tel Rifat, most of the Russian troops in Tel Ajar withdrew to the regime-held areas in the south, Nubl and Zahraa.

Nubl and Zahraa are two Shia villages, and Iranian-backed Shia militias are also on the ground.

The reinforcements coming from the YPG-held Manbij and Kobane are being taken to Afrin via those two villages. The regime supports the reinforcements.

2-Dar Jammal, south of Afrin

In the south, four Turkish army monitoring points were set up in Idlib, which prevents any YPG moves. There is no active fighting in this area. Turkish troops retaliate against the YPG’s shelling from time to time.

From Tel Rifat to Dar Jammal, there are 14 Arab villages, on which Turkey has been planning an operation against the YPG for more than a year.

Four paths going to Afrin 

1- Barsaya Mountain, Sharran, Qatmah, Qafrjannah in the northeast

North of Azaz, along the Turkish border, lies the Barsaya mountain. It has been the base for the YPG’s armories and ammunition, and Turkish fighter jets destroyed most of it in the first couple of days. The FSA, on the other hand, has been shelling the area since last year.

It’s now an active frontline. Difficult to pass through, the mountain is the first challenge for the FSA. From the Barsaya Mountain up to Qafrjannah, its a hilly area where the largest number of YPG militants are based, and is also the path to Afrin.

After Qafrjannah, the next stop is Afrin city’s countryside.

2- Bulbul, Qarababa on the north

The first bombardment by Turkish fighter jets started in the Bulbul area. Starting from the border up to the mountains, most of the villages have been taken by the FSA. After those villages, there are mountains, which stand in front of the way to Afrin in the south. The mountainous area sees active fighting now.

3- Rajo, Seikh Haddad in the west

Rajo is also a mountainous area, where the YPG is based on the exit points of the straits. Up to the mountainous area, the FSA now controls 10 km of Raco. From Rajo to Seikh Haddad, Turkish troops and FSA fighters are waiting for the mines to be cleared.

4- Jandaris in the southwest

The YPG positions in Jandaris have been heavily bombarded by Turkish fighter jets, since the start of the operation. The plains of Jandaris continue with hills and straits towards Afrin. That’s why the FSA on the ground is supported by intensified air operations.

After the defeat of Daesh, YPG’s objective revealed

Weeks after the fight against Daesh in Syria was mostly over, Russia called on all parties to gather in Sochi to talk about the future of Syria, including the YPG. Turkey harshly opposed this.

And then the US plans on permanent support for the YPG were revealed, despite their promises that co-operation with the YPG would be only until Daesh was defeated. On January 13, the US-led coalition declared that they were creating a new "border defence force" again, including the YPG.

The same day, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the signal for the country’s plans to start an operation in YPG-held Afrin, Syria’s border town with Turkey at its north.

And the air operation started a week later from three different points. The next day, ground troops started their move towards Afrin.

Afrin operation were discussed since 2016

Turkey first deployed its troops to its border with Syria near Afrin in July 2017. The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), on the other hand, was ready in the east.

Back then, the plan was to take control of Tel Rifat and Minagh Airport from the YPG, to cut their way to another YPG-held territory in the east, and to connect the opposition groups in the north and in Idlib. Before the talks come up with a solution, Hayat Tahrir al Sham, an al Qaeda-affiliated group, took control of most of Idlib, and plans changed. In Astana, talks led by Russia, Turkey and Iran, lend to the decision to set up military monitoring points in Idlib, before starting the operation.

Russia stops another possible operation in September

Two months later, the operation on Afrin was still on the table. And on September 4, Russia deployed troops and Syrian regime forces to east Afrin, to prevent clashes by creating a buffer zone between Turkish-backed opposition forces and the YPG.

According to the Moscow-based news website Sputnik, in a briefing to reporters, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, Commander Sergei Rudskoy said, “In order to prevent provocations and possible clashes between detachments of Free Syrian Army formations in the north of Syria and the Kurdish militia [YPG] with the assistance of the Russian reconciliation center, a de-confliction zone has been established in the Tel Rifat area.”

The situation on the ground back in July, and the practical buffer zones by Russia in Syria.

The US’ mediation efforts

Turkey’s plans for Tel Rifat and Minagh Airport did not only begin last July. At the end of 2016, Turkey was getting ready for an operation in the area, for the FSA to take over 14 Arab villages there. 150,000 Syrian refugees who took shelter in the camps in Azaz were also set to be sent to the area after the operation.

But the US took a mediation role between the FSA and the YPG, in a bid to stop Turkey’s possible operation against its ally. According to Mustafa Sajari, an opposition representative who holds talks with the US, the YPG promised to leave those villages and Tel Rifat to the FSA after weeks of negotiations. A promise that was never kept.

The YPG also didn’t keep its promise to leave Manbij, a city it took control of with the support of the US in August 2016. The same month, Turkey started its first military operation in Syria, Euphrates Shield, to defeat Daesh from its borders and also to prevent the creation of any corridor between YPG-held Manbij and Afrin.

The US has never cut its support for the YPG, in an excuse of using them in the fight against Daesh, which led the YPG to claim a quarter of Syria which was once controlled by Daesh.

Turkey’s reaction to the partnership is because of the YPG’s affiliation with the PKK, a designated terror group by Turkey, the US and the EU, and which has been fighting the Turkish state for more than 30 years.

https://youtu.be/Zlqo7IfjXlk

Source: TRT World

Oil price history explained-You Tube

Oil price history explained

Oil Price Explained

Oil cartel’s hand in high petrol prices

Oil cartel’s hand in high petrol prices
Ashwini Mahajan | September 22, 2017

In the last few days, steep hike in the prices of petrol and diesel is creating doubts about the legitimacy of recently introduced pricing mechanism for these products. It is notable that prior to June 2010, prices of petrol, diesel, LPG, Kerosene etc. were all determined and controlled by governments.

Under this administered price mechanism, upheavals in international crude prices did not affect domestic prices on a day-to-day basis. Further, it is notable that for the most part drilling, refining and marketing of petro products has been in the hands of public sector giants like ONGC, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum etc., though some private companies like Reliance have also entered this field in recent years. After June 2010, government left the pricing of petrol, diesel etc. on petroleum companies.

After the decision of the government to decontrol prices, these started changing very frequently. This led to instability in retail petro prices. After 1 May 2017, government allowed daily fixation of prices on experimental basis in five cities and the same was extended to the whole country later. It is notable that before this, petrol and diesel prices were announced on 1st and 16th of every month. In the first month, prices of petrol and diesel declined slightly; however, in later months there was a steep hike.

The reason for questioning the pricing mechanism is evident. In May 2014 international price of crude oil was $107 per barrel and the price of petrol in Delhi was Rs.71.47 per litre. Now 2017, when the price of crude is only $54 per barrel, the price of petrol in Delhi is still Rs.70.39 per litre.

The benefit of low international price of crude oil has not been passed on to consumers. The general perception is that by allowing companies to change the price daily, government has given them the right to exploit consumers. People feel that central and state governments and petroleum companies are exploiting them.

Ashwani Mahajan

The Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan believes the new price mechanism is transparent and that there is no mistake. According to the minister, increase in petrol and diesel prices is due to increase in crude prices, which is obviously short lived. He has also ruled out any possibility of re-imposition of price control.

It is true that recently there has been some increase in international crude prices, due to which petroleum companies have hiked prices of petrol and diesel. To that extent, the minister is right. However, if a comparison is made between 2014 and 2017, nobody would be able to justify the current prices.

After May 2014, nation benefitted hugely due to steep fall in crude prices. Government used its prerogative to divide this benefit into three parts. First part was transferred to governments (both at the Centre and states); second was granted to petroleum companies and they were allowed to raise their profits and only a small fraction was transferred to consumers.

If we look at central and state governments’ revenue we find that it increased three times between 2013-14 and 2016-17, to 5.24 lakh crore. Profits of three petroleum companies, namely Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum; increased by 66 per cent in 2015-16 and 160 per cent in 2016-17. However, if we look at the consumer’s perspective, price of petrol came down from Rs.71.40 (in Delhi) to Rs.56.61 per litre in March 2016, before it started to rise and reached Rs.70.4 this month. Data shows that in May 2014 only 33 per cent of petrol price went into taxes and dealer commission, but now it has reached 58 per cent.

In case of diesel, taxes and dealer commission was 20 per cent of the price, it has reached nearly 50 per cent now. It is inescapable therefore that decline in international crude prices has given huge bonanza to the central and state governments and also to the petroleum companies. However, the government has been miserly in passing on the benefit to consumers. It appears that petroleum companies are not ready to reduce their profits.

New mechanism to determine oil prices has given them a weapon to exploit consumers. In fact, the new system to determine petrol and diesel prices does not benefit consumers, industry and agriculture. Daily changes in price are becoming the cause of instability. Those who advocate daily changes in prices argue that international crude prices change daily, therefore it is legitimate to change prices daily.

However, this argument may not hold good for India, as deals for purchase of oil by large companies are made well in advance and daily changes in oil prices do not affect them. If it is argued that this happens even in America and Europe, it will not hold water, as oil prices there are decided based on competition and each company decides its own price.

In India, they are decided by an industry cartel. Therefore, these companies can keep prices high at their will.

(The writer is Associate Professor, PGDAV College, University of Delhi)

Tamil Nadu govt hikes bus fares by 20 to 54 percent

Protests Continue Against Bus Fare Hike In Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu govt hikes bus fares by 20 to 54 percent, says move inevitable on account of 'rising fuel prices'

India PTI Jan 20, 2018 13:43:21 IST

Chennai: After a hiatus of six years, Tamil Nadu government on Friday hiked the fares of buses under state run transport corporations and private entities approximately by 20 to 54.54 percent, saying it was inevitable.

Significantly, the government also announced a fund for accident compensation and prevention, besides a panel to go into restructuring of bus fares in future.

Effective from tomorrow, the fare has been hiked for buses across categories viz moffusil, city, ordinary, express, deluxe, bypass-non-stop, ultra deluxe, air-conditioned and Volvo modes, an official release said.

While the minimum hike is in moffusil ordinary category, where the fare of Rs 5 for 10 km would now be Rs 6 (20 percent hike), the highest is in Volvo buses, where the fare of Rs 33 for 30 km will now go up to Rs 51 (54.54 percent hike).

In town buses the fare has been hiked from a minimum of Rs 3 to Rs 5 and the maximum from Rs 12 to Rs 19.

Representational image. PTI Representational image. PTI

The government cited a host of factors for the hike, including increase in fuel price and maintenance, annual increment in salaries, pension and purchase of new buses to increase efficiency.

Defending the hike, it said the last time fares were increased was on 18 November, 2011 when diesel cost Rs 43.10, whereas the price now was Rs 65.83.

The government also cited data to claim that the fares, despite the increase, was lesser than in neighbouring states, including Andhra Pradesh.

A recent interim direction of the Madras High Court in a transport related petition was also cited to support the decision to effect a hike in fares.

The government quoted the interim order as saying, "data furnished in the supporting affidavit shows that the present bus fare is inadequate to meet,even the operational cost."

The court had also said "with the existing funds and resources, maintenance cost, debt, loss and such other economic factors ...the need to revise bus fare, appears to be inevitable, though it may cause inconvenience."

The government said that since 2000 till date, Karnataka had hiked the fare 16 times, while Andhra Pradesh and Kerala had done so eight times.

In the past seven years, the Tamil Nadu government gave Rs 12,059.17 crore subsidy to State-run transport corporations to help them tackle the fund crunch.

These corporations have so far incurred a recurring loss of Rs 20,488 crore, the government said.

"Though the increase in fare was avoided so far,it is now inevitable so as to tackle the fund cruch and to continue to give the people a good transport service," the release said.

In a significant step, the government said an integrated 'Accident prevention, compensation and toll fee fund' would be set up, under which speed governors would be installed in long distance express buses as part of accident prevention efforts.

Private transport entities will be permitted to establish similar funds.

Unlike neighbouring states, the fare in Tamil Nadu presently does not cover insurance and toll fee components.

Henceforth, the fare will cover an integrated component of accident insurance and toll fee as well, it said.

From a minimum of Rs 1 (upto Rs 25 fare) a maximum of Rs 10 will be levied (for fares above Rs 501) for this purpose.

Defending its decision, the government said since timely compensation for accidents was not provided, as many as 652 State-run transport corporation buses were under court attachment proceedings. Also, the state transport corporations spent an average of Rs 12 crore per month towards toll fee.

A new accident compensation fund will ensure that victims (or their kin in case of death) would be provided compensation ranging between Rs 2.5 to Rs five lakh immediately, it said.

For those injured, it would be between Rs 10,000 to Rs two lakh depending upon the nature of injuries and duration of hospitalisation. For those who suffer permanent disability or head injury, the compensation will be Rs five lakh, it said.

The government said restructuring of fares in future would be done by a committee of senior government officials based on computation involving indices covering fuel price hike,changes in maintenance and repair cost and increment in salaries.

There are eight State run transport corporations in Tamil Nadu with 22,509 buses, employing 1,40,615 personnel.

Workers of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) owing allegiance to 17 trade unions,including those affiliated to DMK and Left parties, had gone strike on January 4 after failure of talks with the government on wage revision.

While unions wanted a 2.57 times hike, the government offered only 2.44, resulting in a stalemate.

The strike severely crippled public sector bus services, causing immense hardship to public, including office-goers in cities though the government tried to maintain services by roping in temporary drivers and private buses.

The AIADMK backed union, besides some others, had not participated in the protests.the unions had called off the strike on 11 January after the Madras High Court appointed an arbitrator to settle their wage dispute with the government.

Published Date: Jan 20, 2018 13:43 PM | Updated Date: Jan 20, 2018 13:43 PM

Riot police break up anti-pope demos in Chile

 "Francis, accomplice of pedophile crimes."

Riot police break up anti-pope demo near Santiago mass

SANTIAGO (AFP) - 16 January 2018

Anti-riot police used water-cannon to disperse hundreds of people protesting sexual abuse by priests as they tried to disrupt an open air mass by Pope Francis in Santiago on Tuesday.

Police moved in on the demonstrators as they headed towards the city's O'Higgins Park, where Francis was presiding over a huge open-air mass for some 400,000 pilgrims on the first day of his visit to the South American country.


Police used armored vehicles to fire water cannon at the demonstrators and arrested around 50 people, bundling them into vans.

Many of the demonstrators chanted "pedophile accomplices" as they approached the park.

A man dressed as the pope and two other people dressed as nuns unfurled a banner from the balcony of a nearby building that read: "Francis, accomplice of pedophile crimes."

Other demonstrators walked under a banner saying, "The poor of Chile are marching"

Francis' visit -- his first to Chile as pope -- has been overshadowed by a report outlining the depth of sexual abuse in the local Church, and his appointment of a bishop who many here believe covered-up the country's most prominent sex abuse scandal.

The US-based NGO Bishop Accountability said ahead of the visit that almost 80 Roman Catholic clergy members had been accused of sexually abusing children in Chile since 2000.

In Chile, Pope Met by Protests, Threats, Burned Churches

In Chile, Pope Francis was greeted with protests, threats and the burning of at least 11 churches _ hostility unheard of for a papal visit in modern times.

Jan. 19, 2018, at 12:09 a.m.        The Associated Press

Pope Francis loses his skull cap, as he holds up a cross that reads in Spanish "I give you my peace" upon arrival to meet with youths at the Shrine of Maipu in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The Associated Press

By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — As he does during every papal visit, Pope Francis produced plenty of surprises in Chile: He married a couple during a flight, stopped his motorcade to help a fallen police officer and wept with victims of sex abuse by priests.

But the pope also faced protests and a level of hostility unheard of in modern times for a papal visit. Anti-pope protests had to be broken up with tear gas, attackers burned at least 11 Roman Catholic Churches and pamphlets were found threatening Francis that the "next bomb would be in your cassock."

"This kind of violence during a papal visit is absolutely unprecedented. And Chile is historically a very solidly Catholic nation," 

said Andrew Chesnut, the Catholic Studies chair at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ENB FILE PHOTO

Pope Francis' video message to Chile, Peru ahead of Apostolic Visit

Pope Francis sends this video message to the people of Chile and Peru ahead of his Apostolic Visit to the countries on 15-22 January. 

This is the full text of the message.

Brothers and sisters of Chile and Peru:

As my journey to your countries draws near, I greet you with affection. I will visit you as a pilgrim of the joy of the Gospel, to share "the peace of the Lord" with all and "to confirm you in the same hope". Peace and hope, shared among all.

I want to meet you, to look into your eyes, see your faces and be able to experience the closeness of God among all of you, His tenderness and mercy that embraces and comforts us.

I know the history of your countries, shaped with perseverance and tenacity. I wish to thank God together with you, for the faith and love you have for Him and for your brothers and sisters in need – especially the love you demonstrate towards those who are discarded by society. The culture of waste dominates us more and more. I want to share your joys, sorrows, difficulties and hopes. I want to tell you that you are not alone, that the Pope is with you, that the whole Church embraces you, that the Church sees you.

With you I want to experience the peace that comes from God, and that we need; only He can give it to us. It is the gift that Christ gives to everyone, it is the basis of our coexistence and of society. Peace is founded on justice and allows us to find opportunities to share communion and harmony. We must constantly ask the Lord for this peace and He will give it to us. It is the peace of the Risen Lord who brings joy and urges us to be missionaries, reviving the gift of faith that leads to encounter, to the shared communion of the same faith that we celebrate and spread.

This encounter with the risen Christ confirms us in hope. We do not want to be attached to the things of this world. Our gaze goes much further, our eyes look to His mercy that heals our suffering. Only He inspires us to get up and keep going. Feeling this closeness of God makes us a living community that can be moved by those who are with us and take concrete steps of friendship and fraternity. We are brothers and sisters who come out to meet others to confirm one another in the same faith and hope.

I place this Apostolic Journey and all the intentions we bring in our hearts, in the hands of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of America, so that she, like a good Mother, may embrace them and teach us the way to her Son.


See you soon! And please do not forget to pray for me. 
---------------
குறிப்பு:புகைப்படங்கள் Agencies, இணைப்பு ENB

சமரன்: சாதிக்கலவர எதிர்ப்பு சென்னை சேம்பாக்க கழக ஆர்ப்பாட...

சமரன்: சாதிக்கலவர எதிர்ப்பு சென்னை சேம்பாக்க கழக ஆர்ப்பாட...: தமிழக அரசே! தருமபுரி-நல்லம்பள்ளி  சாதிக்கலவரத்தைத் தடுத்து நிறுத்து!   கழக கண்டன முழக்க ஒளிப்பதிவு சாதிமறுப்பு க...

China's new 'Silk Road' cannot be one-way- Macron

China's new 'Silk Road' cannot be one-way, France's Macron says
Michel Rose

XIAN, China (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday China and Europe should work together on Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative, a project aiming to build a modern-day
“Silk Road” he said could not be “one-way”.

Macron began his first state visit to China with a stop in Xian, an eastern departure point of the ancient Silk Road, hoping to relaunch EU-China relations often strained by Beijing’s restrictions on
foreign investment and trade.

“After all, the ancient Silk Roads were never only Chinese,” Macron told an audience of academics, students and business people at the Daming Palace, the royal residence for the Tang dynasty for
more than 220 years.

“By definition, these roads can only be shared. If they are roads, they cannot be one-way,” he said.

Unveiled in 2013, the Belt and Road project is aimed at connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Central Asia, and beyond to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Xi pledged $124 billion for the plan at a summit in May but it has faced suspicion in Western capitals that it is intended more to assert Chinese influence than Beijing’s professed desire to spread
prosperity.

Macron, who pledged to visit China at least once every year during his mandate, said the new infrastructure and cultural projects promoted by China could also be in France’s and Europe’s interest if done in a spirit of cooperation.

“These roads cannot be those of a new hegemony, which would transform those that they cross into vassals,” Macron said.

Alice Ekman of the Paris-based IFRI think-tank said: ”For the moment, considering how extensive and unclear the Chinese project continues to be, several European countries including France have
shown caution about it.

“For China, the new Silk Roads are also a tool to promote new international standards, rules and norms that are different from those currently used by France and other European countries,”

British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said in December Britain, which is quitting the European Union, wanted closer cooperation with China over the Belt and Road scheme.

Macron, 40, has said Europe should not be “naive” in its trade relations, pushing in Brussels for more stringent anti-dumping rules against imports of cheap Chinese steel.

In June, he urged the European Commission to build a system for screening investments in strategic sectors from outside the bloc, which drew criticism from Beijing.

In Xian, Macron said he hoped EU-Chinese relations could have a new start, based on “balanced rules”, after acknowledging there had been mistrust and “legitimate questions” in China as well as
fears amongst Europeans.

Europe was now united and ready to cooperate with China after years of crisis-management and economic stagnation, Macron said.

“What I came to tell you, is that Europe is back,” he added.

The French president, who is travelling with a delegation of 50 businessmen, is hoping to gain more access for French companies to Chinese markets.

Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Paul Tait and Robin Pomeroy Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

What Does France's President Want to Achieve in China?

What Does France's President Want to Achieve in China?
On the eve of President Macron’s visit to China, the relationship is caught between expectations and frustrations.

By Valérie Niquet
January 03, 2018
   
President Emmanuel Macron has chosen: He will go to China for his first visit to Asia. To those around him, who argue for a strengthening of ties between Paris and Beijing, it is an obvious choice.

China is the second largest economy in the world; its overwhelming “Belt and Road” project seems to offer unlimited opportunities. And of course, for France, which has the ambition to play a global role on the international scene, China seems to be the right partner: a nuclear power and permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with a veto right that weighs on all major decisions. Moreover, for a French president who wants to assert himself as the antithesis, if not the equal of U.S. President Donald Trump, “mighty China” offers the opportunity to play that role.

Beijing knows all this, and needs allies to face an American power that, contrary to the initial hopes of the Chinese leadership, might be unpredictable but has not given up its engagement in Asia. And
not everyone in Paris appreciates the growing uneasiness and tensions in the region, far beyond the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula, around China’s future role. Confident in this lack of awareness, Chinese leaders look forward to a reception where flattering could win the support of a French president whose model is de Gaulle, and who hitherto has tended to focus — and know —
much more about Europe and its environment than about faraway Asia.

The ambition of the Chinese leadership is to persuade the French president to position himself on issues like North Korea as a “go-between,” defending “dialogue” against the more “aggressive”
posture of the United States, and to implicitly recognize by his choices the pre-eminence of China in the region. Macron may be all too ready to welcome that role.

Yet, everything might not be that simple in this first visit. Opportunities and commonalities do exist. However, mutual expectations are far from coinciding perfectly. And the frustrations that also
characterize the Sino-French relationship have not disappeared.

For Beijing, France is never better than when it confines itself to its role of “old friend of China.” This role should be that of the constant supporter of “multipolarism,” against the “hyperpuissance”
(a French concept) of the United States. This, without stressing the fact that, if China is favorable to the “democratization of international relations,” its only objectives are actually to increase its room for maneuver by driving a wedge between like-minded liberal democracies, and to establish itself as the uncontested leader of the Asian pole.

This ambition however, does not correspond to the evolution of the contemporary world. It cannot serve the interests of France in an area where the will to find support against a destabilizing and too
assertive Chinese power is the common point of all of Beijing’s neighbors. In other words, for Paris, which indeed is not an irrelevant player in the region, the question of “siding” with or against China,
and its strategic and economic consequences, cannot be avoided.

France is the only European country with direct territorial interests in the Asia-Pacific. By multiplying military cooperation deals, with Australia, Indonesia, or India for example, or maybe tomorrow with Japan, France also plays a major role in defense capacity building in the region. As such, and because of its position in a post-Brexit European Union, and at the UN, what France does is of interest to countries whose primary strategic objective is to balance a Chinese power obsessed by its own strategy of “rejuvenation” through assertiveness.

The second factor of frustration, of which the French president seems much more conscious as it directly relates to France socio-economic issues, is that of the persistent lack of balance in economic
relations and trade. China may be perceived as an economic superpower; however, it still needs high growth to try to preserve political stability. Beijing is not ready to give up any export market, nor
any strategy of division between individual members of the European Union to gain better access to benefits.

In terms of investments, the PRC, whose party-state has the capacity to act without checks – contrary to norms-abiding democratic governments – is also ready to seize all opportunities that can feed
its own development, particularly in advanced technologies, at the fringe of the civilian and the military.

Faced with these undisguised ambitions, Macron is the first to plead with such clarity for more reciprocity, and France supports the strengthening of regulations for Chinese investments in sensitive
sectors. Similarly, with regard to the Belt and Road Initiative, the flagship project of President Xi Jinping to achieve his “China dream,” France remains cautious and aware of its many financial and
governance pitfalls.

Beijing – as with any other partners – would like the Franco-Chinese relationship to be entirely at the service of its own priorities. On the contrary, the strategic and economic interests of France in Asia
are multiple and cannot be limited to an exclusive partnership with the People’s Republic of China. The successes of the new French presidency’s “Asian policy” will be appreciated only in light of the
capacity that Paris will demonstrate — by concrete actions — to maintain a necessary balance between the powers of the region.

Valérie Niquet is a senior visiting fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs and head of the Asia department at FRS (Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique), Paris.

`புதிய வெளிச்சத்தில்` உள்ளூர்சபைத் தேர்தல்!

https://youtu.be/r6VUIsbq61g

யார் இந்த ஐ.நா.பாதையின் ஆதரவாளர்கள்?

யார் இந்த ஐ.நா.பாதையின் ஆதரவாளர்கள்?

Tamils from across Europe demonstrated in Geneva on 15 September 2014, demanding justice against genocide and a referendum on independence, organised by the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC).

https://youtu.be/hOAZE9ay7Vo