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Climate Change and the Philippines: A Key U.S. Ally Under Threat?
The Philippines has long been a self-described staunch ally of the United States. This alliance is critical for the U.S., particularly as the Philippines straddles the South China Sea, a place of huge strategic significance for global security (see the recent CNAS report, Cooperation from Strength: The United States, China and the South China Sea). Essentially, the Sea presents a test of U.S. power and influence. The degree to which the U.S. and its allies in the area, including Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, control the trading routes that pass through the Sea and the resources that lie under it, is a measure of how strong the U.S. is in the Asia-Pacific, and vis-a-vis a rising China. In this context, the security of the Philippines, from a conflict and humanitarian perspective, is very important to the United States. (more…)
New Chatham House Report: Is the U.S. Prepared for Future Threats in the Asia-Pacific?
Chatham House has just released a very interesting report titled Prepared for Future Threats? US Defence Partnerships in the Asia-Pacific Region. The report highlights the growing importance of the region to U.S. interests, explores U.S. defense partnerships with Asia-Pacific nations, assesses whether or not the U.S. is adequately prepared for the threats most likely to emerge in the region (no surprise that the South China Sea looms large in these scenarios), and offers concrete recommendations for mitigating and preparing for those threats. (more…)
Building a New Libya in a New Climate: Water as a Key to Cooperation
This blog also appeared on the humanitarian news site, AlertNet
Libya Hurra. Free Libya. This was one of the main rallying cries for the Libyan opposition last year, which with NATO assistance, toppled the brutal 40-year reign of Muammar Gaddafi. But four and a half months after Gaddafi’s downfall, Libya under the leadership of the interim National Transitional Council (NTC) is facing the problem of reconciling the many different “free Libyas” envisioned by different publics, and addressing allegations of some “not-so-free” practices. The eastern region of Cyrenaica, with its capital at Benghazi (the heart of the anti-Gaddafi movement) has declared itself a semi-autonomous region, prompting major protests in both Benghazi and Tripoli. Despite recent successes by the central government, armed militias still roam the country, and the capacity of the government in Tripoli to keep them in check has been questioned. Indeed, the city of Misrata has been described as a virtual “armed city-state” in opposition to the central government. Furthermore, reports of human rights abuses committed against suspected Gaddafi sympathizers, including black African migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, abound.
But while the Libyan government currently seeks in earnest to address these conflicts, it may be less overtly political issues, such as climate change and water resource management, that hold the key to building unity. (more…)
Rear Admiral Morisetti on Climate Change and Conflict
Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, the Climate and Energy Security Envoy of the UK Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, spoke with California’s Orange County Register on Thursday about the relationship between climate change and international conflict, and the role of climate change as a “threat multiplier.” (more…)