WORLD ROUNDUPFor Orban, Ukraine Is a Pawn in a Longer Game | China Is Quietly Expanding Its Land Grabs in the Himalayas | Why Biden’s LNG Pause Has Allies Worried, and more
· For Orban, Ukraine Is a Pawn in a Longer Game
His real aim is to lead a populist and nativist rebellion against Europe’s liberal elite, though that campaign is showing signs of faltering.
· Biden Imposes Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence
The executive order comes after years of American frustration with Israeli settlers, whom they view as a source of violence and instability and a threat to a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians
· In the West Bank, Palestinians Struggle to Adjust to a New Reality
The volatile mix of violence, tensions and Israeli restrictions has had a stultifying effect on the West Bank
· China Is Quietly Expanding Its Land Grabs in the Himalayas
As the world worries about an invasion of Taiwan, Beijing is methodically continuing its seizure of territory in Bhutan.
· The West Did Not Invent Decoupling—China Did
Beijing has long sought to gain a free hand by untangling its economy from the West
· Israel and Lebanon Are Prepping for a War Neither Wants, but Many Fear It’s Becoming Inevitable
Such a war could be the most destructive either side has ever experienced
· Japan Wants Both Taiwanese Security and Chinese Trade
Politicians celebrate Lai Ching-te’s victory but fear an upset Beijing
· Why Biden’s LNG Pause Has Allies Worried
The regulatory about-face has raised questions about the long-term future of the world’s newest energy powerhouse
· A New Korean War Is Not Imminent. Accidental Escalation Might Be.
The United States should try to mitigate Seoul’s offensive impulses, calm Pyongyang, and take steps to bring back dialogue and negotiation.
For Orban, Ukraine Is a Pawn in a Longer Game (Andrew Higgins, New York Times)
After months of bluster against financial aid for Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary on Thursday yielded to intense pressure from fellow European leaders, but not before he tried to change the topic in Brussels by meeting with angry Belgian farmers beside a convoy of tractors and voicing support for the protests roiling Europe.
In what amounted to a campaign stop ahead of European elections in June that he hopes will shift Europe’s balance of power in his direction, Mr. Orban skipped a dinner with European leaders on Wednesday evening and went to talk to the farmers who had gathered outside the Brussels venue for Thursday’s make-or-break summit meeting on Ukraine.
For Mr. Orban, whether to send billions of dollars to Ukraine has never been a question of immovable principle, and he folded Thursday when told that some member states were serious about isolating him, even stripping him of his vote, if he continued to block the aid. Rather, it is just one of many issues on which he has sought to establish himself as the leader of a pan-European movement in defense of national sovereignty and traditional values against what he scorns as out-of-touch urban elites.
It is far from clear, however, whether Mr. Orban can persuade Europeans to join his populist quest, which has had far more success attracting fervent support in the United States, where Donald J. Trump is a big fan, than in Europe. Budapest, the Hungarian capital, which has been declared the “capital of the anti-woke resistance” by officials there, will in April host American supporters and the far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders at a gathering of the Conservative Political Action Committee.
“European politics is not about kicking in the door and shouting,” said Zsombor Zeold, a former Hungarian diplomat and foreign policy expert in Budapest. “It is about making coalitions and reaching compromises.”
