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China Opposes South Korea-Japan Intelligence Sharing
Deal
On Wednesday,
China’s defense ministry voiced its concerns over the newly minted
agreement between South Korea and Japan that would see the two
countries share intelligence on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and
missile activities. A spokesman for the ministry said the deal promoted
a “Cold War mentality” for Northeast Asia and went on to say that China
would remain committed to protecting its ally North Korea as well as
regional stability and security.
The Cipher Take:
Beijing is often
wary of defense agreements in its immediate neighborhood, especially
ones that concern North Korea. In addition to the intelligence
agreement, Beijing has also been critical of the U.S.-South Korean deal
to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea as a hedge
against North Korean hostility. Though it is still willing to defend
its prickly ally, Beijing has backed UN sanctions that target North
Korea’s nuclear program. As North Korea advances its nuclear weapons
and ballistic missiles—which China has also labeled as a threat to
regional stability—Beijing’s alliance with Pyongyang is becoming harder
to justify.
Indian Supreme Court Mandates that All Cinemas Play the
National Anthem
On Wednesday,
India’s highest court ruled that all cinemas in the country must play
the national anthem with an image of the Indian flag on the screen, and
all in attendance must stand and listen. The court stated that all
cinemas must comply within ten days and that the measure is meant to
“instill a sense of committed patriotism and nationalism.” The ruling
also proclaimed that the anthem could not be played in “undesirable” or
“disgraceful” places.
The Cipher Take:
This ruling is the
latest example of the uptick in nationalism in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and
the measure is not without controversy. Critics say the ruling is
anti-democratic and that it is part of the Modi government’s initiative
to clamp down on free speech. It is not the Indian government’s only
controversial policy recently levied: in an effort to limit the black
market economy, Modi made a surprise announcement that eliminated the
country’s two largest denominated bills. With little time to exchange
bills, India’s citizens—many of whom keep savings in cash—had to
scramble to banks or risk losing their livelihoods. However, Modi has
never been one to shy away from controversial policies if he thinks the
long term benefits are worth the price.
Dutch Government Calls to Freeze EU-Turkey Talks
The Dutch
government added its voice to a number of EU countries calling to
suspend Turkish accession talks with the EU in response to alleged
human rights and civil rights abuses. The Netherlands, a founding
member of the EU, suggested a 6-month delay until Turkey addresses
these issues. Previously, the European Commission and major members,
including Germany and France, have blocked requests from the European
Parliament to censure Turkey.
The Cipher Take:
Dutch Foreign
Minister Bert Koenders said Wednesday that the Netherlands would seek
to build an EU consensus around the issue of Turkish rights abuses,
possibly signaling new momentum for a suspension of the talks. However,
this will probably not matter terribly for Turkey’s actual chances of
joining the Union. Though relations between Turkey and the EU have hit
a new low, Ankara has been in these accession talks for over a decade.
Moreover, European and EU Commission officials are wary of halting the
negotiations and further destabilizing relations with Turkey for two
reasons. First, they fear the consequence that such a move might have
on the delicate migration deal signed with Ankara earlier this year
and, second, they worry that the subsequent flow for Syrian migrants
into Europe might further fuel a series of insurgent populist parties
across the Union.
Russia Ready to Open Humanitarian Corridors
The Head of
the UN’s Humanitarian Task Force for Syria, Jan Egeland, said on
Thursday that Russia is ready to “sit down with our people there to
discuss how we can use the four [humanitarian] corridors to evacuate
people.” Over the past week, Syrian and allied ground forces, with
Russian support, have made sudden gains in the battle for Aleppo,
capturing nearly a third of the rebel-held east. The intensity of that
offensive has compelled Aleppo’s remaining rebels to join under one
umbrella group called “Jaish Halab” which continues to resist
government advances. But relentless shelling and aerial bombing
continues, and many civilians have been killed trying to flee the
besieged city,
The Cipher Take:
Similar to Russia’s
unilaterally imposed “humanitarian pause” following a rising
chorus of international criticism of bombing and human rights abuses in
Syria, this new suggestion of humanitarian corridors should be taken
with a grain of salt. The October ceasefire also included humanitarian
corridors but they were not respected by either side, and the entire
“pause” seems to have been little more than a delaying tactic in
preparation for this final assault. However, UN officials say there are
signs that these new corridors may be honored by both rebel and regime
forces as humanitarian conditions for civilians within Aleppo have
become truly dire. As for Aleppo’s rebels, they can do little besides
hunker down and fight for their last major urban foothold in Syria.
Expect intense fighting and rebel counteroffensives ahead.
Saudi Arabia Confirms Cyber Attack against Aviation
Authority
The Saudi
government confirmed that the country’s aviation agency was the target
of a disruptive cyber attack in mid-November, where thousands of
computers at the headquarters of the General Authority of Civil
Aviation were damaged with a virus erasing critical data and
delaying the organization’s operations for several days. However,
it seems operations at Saudi airports were not affected by the breach.
Iranian state-sponsored hackers are believed to be behind the attack,
but there has been no official attribution at this time.
The Cipher Take:
Iran and Saudi
Arabia have been targeting each other with cyber attacks for nearly
five years and both are entangled in proxy conflicts throughout the
region. In 2012, Iran’s primary oil export terminal and the oil
ministry’s headquarters in Tehran experienced computer issues. Four
months later there was a cyber attack on Saudi Aramco with a computer
virus known as a wiper, which erased three-quarters of the data on the
Kingdom’s largest company’s computers—replacing the files with an image
of a burning American flag. This most recent cyber attack on the Saudi
aviation agency seems to be a version of the Shamoon wiper malware that
targeted Saudi Aramco four years earlier.
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