China has secured an oil drilling rig in waters in the South China Sea that is disputed territory. The rig is 17 miles from an island also claimed by the Vietnamese, and the action has precipitated 4 days of naval confrontation between the two states. The decision to place an oil rig is a step above simply claiming the territory–it signals an intention to extract resources that could be potentially very valuable. It is unlikely that the Vietnamese, who have a long history of tension with China, will back down from its claim.
In the face of Western sanctions (which will likely increase if the planned referendum in eastern Ukraine goes on as scheduled), Russia is turning to China as an investment partner. The shift makes sense for both countries: Russia exports raw materials, and China needs raw materials. The Chinese must be worried about the rule of law in Russia and how their investments may be handled by the Russian government. The Western sanctions have clearly affected the Russian financial sector, but not its exports of raw materials: “The world’s largest energy producer shipped 2 percent more gas to Europe in the first three months of 2014 than a year earlier, government data show. Diesel production for export increased, while cargoes of grains, palladium and nickel either climbed or were at similar levels.”
President Salva Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar have signed a cease-fire in South Sudan. The violence in South Sudan is a struggle over political power between Kiir’s ethnic Dinkas and Machar’s ethnic Nuers, and millions of people have been displaced in the violence and thousands have been killed. The cease-fire gives an opportunity for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the country, but the UN has evidence that points to gross violations of human rights which makes the aid difficult to deliver fairly. There are 8,500 peacekeepers in South Sudan, but they have been impotent in the face of the savage violence.
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