ITK Daily | December 17

Happy Saturday.

Here’s today’s ITK Daily.

To be ITK, know this:

‘How Asia Found Herself’ review: Defining a continent and an identity: The term ‘Asia’ was adopted with the arrival of European maps. Wildly diverse cultures were thus yoked into a single idea.?WSJ

Reuters: Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two

Japan approves new defense strategy to boost self-reliance: China slams Tokyo's plans to increase spending and add counterstrike capability.?Nikkei

+ Russia's war on Ukraine and the risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan highlight the need for Japan to build an independent system of defense that is not solely reliant on the US military, according to three documents approved by the government

+ The NSS describes Japan as being "in the midst of the most severe postwar security environment" and emphasizes that it faces threats from North Korea and China... The paper says that Japan will "prepare a firm foundation for the worst-case scenario."

+ Cooperation with the US will remain essential to enhance the effectiveness of deterrence.

+ The documents include for the first time the creation of a "Permanent Joint Command," which will be responsible for coordinating between the ground, maritime, and air branches of the Self-Defense Forces and the US military.

Japan to build a more powerful military, citing China as its No. 1 menace: Tokyo plans to spend 2% of GDP on defense and says its missiles will be able to hit other countries.?WSJ

Wary of China, Japan unveils sweeping new national security strategy?WP

+ Kishida “has put a capital ‘D’ next to Japan’s deterrence,” said US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in a statement. “The Prime Minister is making a clear, unambiguous strategic statement about Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific."

Japan scraps pacifist postwar defense strategy to counter China threat: Tokyo to acquire counter-strike capabilities under national security strategy that seeks assertive regional role.?FT

+ Japan will overturn six decades of postwar security policy and arm itself with one of the world’s largest defense budgets to counter “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” posed by China’s rising military aggression.

Japan announces major defense overhaul?VOA

+ Recent polling showing 51 percent of the Japanese public favored an increase in defense spending.

Japan puts off tax hikes for defense until '2024 or later': Nikkei reports the ruling bloc adopts PM Kishida's plan to generate $7.3bn a year.

US upgrades ways to arm Taiwan against China with new legislation: WSJ reports provisions in an annual defense bill let the US finance weapons sales and transfer armaments from stockpiles to the self-ruled island.

Biden launches ‘China House’ to counter Beijing’s growing clout: State deems the new section essential to avoiding blind spots in the US-China relationship.?Politico

+ China House — formally known as the Office of China Coordination — replaces the China Desk in the State Department’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau.

+ The new entity will employ roughly 60 to 70 personnel, including liaisons from other parts of the department such as the Africa and Latin America bureaus, as well as people detailed from other departments and agencies who may focus on topics such as technology or economic policy.

+ “China House will deepen our capacity to share information, sharpen our messaging, and adjust to breaking developments in real-time,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is due to tell State Department staffers on Friday, according to a draft note.

+ China House will be physically located inside the State Department. It will have three main teams: one focused on traditional bilateral affairs; one that deals with strategic communications; and one dubbed a “global” team, which focuses on Chinese activity beyond China.

TikTok’s efforts to distance itself from Chinese parent stumble over talent: WSJ reports the short-video app is trying to reduce ties with ByteDance but is still hiring staff in China for key functions.

Bloomberg: TikTok crackdown gathers steam in US Congress on national security risks

+ Senators in both parties press the Biden administration to act

+ The Senate passed a bill to ban the video app on government devices

+ Nancy Pelosi supports banning TikTok on government phones as part of a spending bill.

Chinese interference: What Canadian government documents tell us about election meddling?Global News

India tests long-range missile for nuclear deterrence: AP reports India on Thursday successfully test-fired a long-range “Agni-5” intercontinental nuclear-capable ballistic missile, a government minister said, that is expected to strengthen its deterrence against long-time rival China.

India's new corporate chiefs are thinking bigger and more boldly: Speed of economic change will accommodate even their audacious plans of conquest.?Arvind Singhal

How Xi’s Saudi Arabia visit shows rise of new world order beyond US hegemony?Andrew Leung

+ The liberal world order the US-led after World War II is falling apart and taking the credibility of US leadership down with it

+ Xi Jinping’s warm reception in the Middle East underlines the appeal of its vision of a multilateral, fairer, and more inclusive world

Reuters: Indonesia expands central bank mandate to support stability, growth

Moscow welcomes Turkey's call for trilateral Syria diplomacy: Reuters reports the RIA Novosti news agency also reported that Syria's position on the idea - which could involve a summit between the leaders of the three countries - was not yet known, but that Moscow was in contact with officials in Damascus.

How Putin’s technocrats saved the economy to fight a war they opposed: Once thought of as reformers, the president’s economic confidants have ended up as enablers of an invasion they warned against.?FT

The UN is sending Ukrainians aid in crypto. Should it??The United Nations ’ refugee agency has decided to send USD Coin to displaced Ukrainians for things like rent and heat. It’s sparking concern from crypto critics amid broader market turmoil.?WP

+ To receive funds, people must download a virtual wallet app. Money, in the form of USDC, will be transferred to their account. From there, they can exchange the crypto into fiat currency at one of roughly 4.5k MoneyGram locations in Ukraine.

Reuters: UK's Sunak takes first trip to Northern Ireland as PM

The top 10 UK political quotations of the year: The turbulent events of 2022 summarised in words that will live long in memory.?John Rentoul

My suggestion made the list.

Number 7.

Inflation, social movements: Will 2023 be a dangerous year for Macron??The start of the new year could see a surge in discontent, as gas and electricity prices rise and the government presents its pension reform.?Audrey Tonnelier

France confirms contract to develop next-generation fighter jet: AFP reports the French army on Friday officially awarded the contract to develop a new European combat jet, a key project in the push to integrate the continent's military capabilities and reduce its reliance on American equipment.

Rich Norwegians flee to low-tax Switzerland as wealth levy bites: FT reports business leaders voice concerns over taxes imposed by the center-left government in Oslo.

No confidence vote topples Slovakia coalition government: DW reports Slovakia's parliament has narrowly voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Eduard Heger. This could trigger early elections. A last-ditch offer of the finance minister's resignation did not assuage the opposition.

Musk’s suspension of journalists on Twitter spurs EU officials to warn of ‘sanctions, soon’: WP reports that Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists on Thursday night. Elon Musk later accused the reporters of posting “basically assassination coordinates” for him and his family — although he provided no evidence.

Suitcases of cash, luxury holidays, and secret accounts: Qatar bribery scandal rocks Europe: Unprecedented corruption investigation shakes Brussels’ establishment to the core.?FT

Peru: The country's congress voted against a constitutional reform to hold early presidential elections.

Jan. 6 panel to vote on urging DOJ to prosecute Trump on at least three criminal charges: Politico reports the report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential referrals.

+ Subcommittee recommended Trump could also be referred for conspiracy to defraud the United States, sources say

Grassroots support for Donald Trump starts to crack after midterms: Ron DeSantis emerges as a chief rival while Republicans blame the former president for poor results.?FT

The great Republican freak-out: How the 2012 election was misunderstood.?Charles Cooke

Binance outflows hit $6bn as Mazars halts ‘proof of reserves’ work: FT reports the accounting firm was hired by Binance and other crypto exchanges to conduct key reports.

Bitcoin?dropped back below $17,000.

Vint Cerf helped create the internet on the back of an envelope: Forty years after the internet was born, one of its pioneers calls for more critical thinking about how we use it.?WSJ

Tech industry layoffs are copycat behavior: Why are so many tech companies laying large numbers of their workforce off??Jeffrey Pfeffer

‘Luddite’ teens don’t want your likes: When the only thing better than a flip phone is no phone at all.?NYT

+ The Luddite Club's slogan: “Don’t be a phoney.”

高盛 ?may cut as many as 4,000 jobs, or roughly 8% of its workforce, to battle a slump in profit.?

亚马逊 ?signed a deal with Games Workshop to make films set in its Warhammer 40,000 universe as the tech giant looks to spend $1 billion a year to create movies to release in theaters.

The golden age of the streaming wars has ended: For a few years, there was a boon of content, and we were all wonderfully spoiled. And now that’s over.?The Verge

Bio-based plastics aim to capture carbon. But at what cost??Growing crops to make plastic could theoretically reduce reliance on fossil fuels and even pull carbon out of the atmosphere, but at an enormous environmental cost.?Wired

‘Bottling the sun’: Is this a new dawn for the fusion industry??This week's breakthrough is good news for renewable energy, but it could take decades to come into effect.?John Thornhill

The future of work is lunch: Remember a certain midday meal, the one where you build meaningful relationships with colleagues and business partners? Let’s do that again.?Bloomberg

What must leaders do differently: The role and texture of leadership in an AI world?David Gillian + David Livingston

+ The term “AI” evokes a fascinating concoction of emotional responses from any given group of people – excitement, confusion, fear, reluctance, anticipation, uncertainty, skepticism, dread, expectancy, hope.

+ The most compelling is that AI directly impacts our purpose on this planet. Humans have been the lone stewards of information for millennia. Our ability to capture, transmit, and use that information has been the key to our dominance as a species

+ There is something almost primeval that both intrigues and terrifies us about some “thing” encroaching on our territory.

How a cocaine-smuggling cartel infiltrated the world’s biggest shipping company: As MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company grew into a dominant force in global trade, it also became a prime drug-trafficking conduit for Balkan gangs.?Bloomberg

Wild.

+ In total, the haul consisted of more than 15,000 bricks of cocaine, weighing nearly 20 tons and with an estimated street value exceeding $1 billion.

The World Cup reaches its conclusion on Sunday:?

+ France seeks to be the first country to win back-to-back championships since Pele's Brazil in 1962.?

+ Lionel Messi will try to lead Argentina to its first trophy since 1986.?

Is the World Cup still the greatest show on earth??Gideon Rachman on the good, the bad, and the Messi of Qatar 2022.?FT

Who wins a World Cup final between France and Argentina? Qatar: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé headline Sunday’s final, and are also teammates on Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain.?WSJ

France is now football’s ultimate producer of talent: Despite the reverence for the national academy in Clairefontaine, the origins of the world champions’ deep, diverse squad go beyond the chateau in the Rambouillet forest.?The Times

Messi business: How ‘sportswashing’ could land Saudi Arabia the 2030 World Cup: Qatar has written the playbook on how to further geopolitical aims by hosting a FIFA event. Riyadh is taking notes.?Alex Lawson

Global leaders mix sports and diplomacy at the World Cup: Dozens of top officials have flown to Qatar to cheer for teams while talking shop. The event has magnified the tiny Gulf nation’s role as a diplomatic broker.?NYT

Sport.

Diplomacy.

Geopolitics.

"Making athletes choose not to compete due to ideological or political battles would be a disservice and accomplish little in the way that less savory nations govern in the short term." -- Caracal Insights | The geopolitics of World Cup 2022 Qatar - Full post here.

World Cup 2022: Gianni Infantino, FIFA's 'monarch' and big-money man: The Swiss-Italian president of FIFA is the only candidate in next year's election. He has secured his position by handing out subsidies and left his mark on the Qatar World Cup by aggressively criticizing the West.?Le Monde

+ "The Super League is not dead, far from it; it is alive and well," Bernd Reichart, head of a company set up to promote the breakaway European football competition, said Friday.

It's going to happen, one day.

The Detroit Lions are the NFL’s most lovable team. Yes, the Lions.?After long stretches of misery, the team has won five of its last six games and is improbably making a playoff push while playing a fun brand of football.?WSJ

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc?

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