Central Asia earthquake and floods
In Central Asia, two earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and 5.2 shook the Kunar Valley in Afghanistan. With 1400 dead and 3000 injured, the quake is one of the most deadly and destructive in decades in the region.
Life in the Kunar Valley is nothing short of difficult. The harsh mountainous terrain renders the people living there isolated in small villages, relying on herding animals and farming for survival. Near the valley is the large city of Jalalabad, just 30 kilometers away from the epicenter of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake. The city is the 3rd most populous in the country, with roughly a million residents.
The Taliban government estimates suggest that upwards of 1500 have died, 3500 have been injured, and 5400 homes have been destroyed. As more rescue efforts are ongoing across the region to search for possible survivors, more quakes hit the region. Multiple 5 magnitude earthquakes have hit the area, and many smaller ones are making rescue efforts a hard task.
Recently, US cuts to global funding have hit the war-torn nation hard. Therefore, the Afghan government has called for international aid to be sent to the region. In response, the UK and India have sent money and supplies, while the EU and other countries in Asia have pledged to send help and support.
Rubio goes to Mexico
Yesterday, on Tuesday, September 2nd, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew to Mexico for a meeting between the two states. Before the meeting, Mexican President Sheinbaum had been in a delicate balance between cooperating with or appeasing the US. Following the pressure tactics that US President Trump is using on nations such as Mexico, one likely reason for Rubio’s visit is to quell tensions. His official reasons and talking points are on drug cartels, migration, and security issues.
Both Rubio and Trump believe that President Sheinbaum is not being tough enough on Mexican cartels. In addition, Trump has said that she is not doing enough to stop the flow of migrants into the southern US. The two have also blamed the cartels for creating and smuggling drugs into the US. The US seems to want intervention and military action in Mexico. Sheinbaum has steadfastly maintained her belief in Mexican sovereignty and has rejected Trump’s request for troops to go into Mexico. Together, Rubio and the Mexican government hope to work out a cooperation deal this week.
In turn, Sheinbaum has some reasonable criticisms of the United States that she will likely raise in the meetings. She has called for the US to do more to stop the smuggling of weapons out of the US and into the hands of the Mexican cartels. In Mexico, the cartels have been utilizing military-grade weapons like guns, armored cars, grenades, machine guns, and land mines. This brings up the question of how, because surely smuggling drugs is easier to do than smuggling an armored truck with a mounted machine gun.
Because of Mexico’s “weak stance on cartels”, Trump has threatened 30% tariffs on Mexico if they don’t capitulate to the US.
a “bloody threat” from Maduro
Rubio’s trip to Mexico was only one of Trump’s actions against cartels in the Americas.
This past week, Trump sent US air and naval forces, including 4500 sailors and Marines, to the Caribbean near Venezuela. It is yet another assertive attempt at combating the South and Central American cartels. Among the ships deployed, 8 are warships and 1 is a submarine. The current administration justifies this military action because of the belief that Venezuela is sending “vast” amounts of cocaine into the US. Although “Venezuela’s role in the drug trade is overstated, experts say.“
In response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that Venezuela is at “maximum preparedness” and “ready to respond if attacked by forces that the United States government has deployed to the Caribbean” (AP). He also warned the US of a bloody threat in response to the escalation, and claims that the US is seeking regime change in Venezuela. In one last warning, Maduro said that a war with Venezuela would stain Trump’s hands with blood.
In a final, dramatic escalation, a US strike hit a Venezuelan boat in the Caribbean. The precision strike, ordered by Trump, caused 11 deaths. Trump and Rubio claimed that the ship was carrying drugs, therefore a threat to the US, and liable for destruction. If that was the real case, the US ships could have easily stopped the ship and searched it. Many people have questioned the legality of the strike, considering it was a hostile act killing 11 civilians in international waters with no armed conflict currently transpiring.
When Rubio was asked about the strike, he praised the President and said that “it’ll [the strike] happen again.”
the Asia meeting
From August 31st to September 1st, Asia leaders met in Tianjin for the 25th SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). Surprisingly, traditional Asian rivals India and China got together with Russia to discuss peace and a system to rival the US. The three leaders smiled, enjoyed their company, held each other’s hands, and even Putin and Modi took a 45-minute ride in a limo alone together! Wait a minute…
The three leaders bonded in a way that hasn’t been seen for a while. Modi and Xi, with an ongoing border dispute, were basically good friends. One thing the leaders had in common was that they were all being pushed around and threatened by tariffs. The main point that the states wanted to display to the US was that if you keep alienating us, we will find alternatives. China argued that it could be a better world stabilizer in comparison to the US. Xi wants to create a global order in which the global south (a term for countries primarily described by colonized, economic dependency, and challenges in the southern portion of the world) is the emphasis.
On the other hand, however, the summit and its members remain questionable. They denounce attacks on Iran (a participant in the SCO) but fail to denounce the Ukraine invasion by Russia (a participant in the SCO)
This SCO summit poses a very real threat to Washington. The standing of the US on the world stage is quickly falling. A world order of Asia is devastating for the US. Only more worries are sure to come for Washington. Xi has an entire week of political displays and meetings planned for the more than 20 world leaders in attendance.
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