ASEAN member states’ divergent responses to the AUKUS alliance aside, the organisation is now competing with yet another regional forum – it must work to protect its centrality, Lukas Singarimbun writes. While Australia’s media, especially in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron’s criticisms of its handling, has focused on Australia’s announced acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines as part of its new trilateral arrangement between the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia, AUKUS is not simply a weapons deal. The agreement also focuses on enhancing coordination on undersea security, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region, opening the door to a wide range of potential cooperation. As it did with the French president, AUKUS has attracted a reaction from many states, but one response that has flown under the radar is that of ASEAN member states. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ASEAN member states’ responses have been quite varied. Singapore and the Philippines are openly supporting the implementation of the AUKUS, probably viewing it as balancing against China’s increasing assertiveness in the region and hoping that it will constructively contribute to maintaining peace. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia have been less positive, worrying that AUKUS will encourage military competition in the region, and that it could even trigger an arms race. Vietnam, for its own part, has chosen to sit on the fence, with the country’s officials taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.