Auckland small business owner. Retired NZ diplomat. Former Ambassador to China, CT Amb, Amb to Argentina, C-G in Hong Kong, and Chargé in Washington DC.
New Zealand
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Carl Worker retweeted
Xi never "pledged the PRC would not militarize the South China Sea." He said "China does not intend to pursue militarization." And what that meant at the time depends in part on the definition--and perhaps more importantly, the connotation--of "militarization."
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Brings to mind the old saying, be careful what you wish for.
US announces the inaugural US-Pacific Islands Conference of Pacific Police Ministers (COPMIN) a few months after the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau agrees in principle to the inclusion of the Pacific Police Ministers Meeting in the regional architecture. Crowded and complex is an over-used description of the Pacific's regional security architecture but increasingly apt.
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Carl Worker retweeted
US announces the inaugural US-Pacific Islands Conference of Pacific Police Ministers (COPMIN) a few months after the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau agrees in principle to the inclusion of the Pacific Police Ministers Meeting in the regional architecture. Crowded and complex is an over-used description of the Pacific's regional security architecture but increasingly apt.
The United States stands with our Pacific friends and neighbors to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Our commitment to the security and prosperity of the Pacific Islands is steadfast, enduring, and a key pillar of our America First Foreign Policy. The United States and Palau will co-chair the inaugural U.S.-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers (COPMIN). COPMIN will focus on maritime security, drug trafficking, and cybercrime, and illicit finance.
In the words of @DeputySecState Christopher Landau: “When the United States works with sovereign nations to protect fish stocks, train law enforcement, or build infrastructure, we do so as true partners.”
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Carl Worker retweeted
This is just straight up 1930s fascist boilerplate from Rubio. Almost literal quotes from the “Hellenism and Germanity” chapter in Mein Kampf
nytimes.com/2026/10/07/world…
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Carl Worker retweeted
BREAKING: Iran appears to have struck a vessel in the middle of the Gulf of Oman east of Fujairah, with NASA FIRMS showing the vessel on fire. It would be the first hit in the area in more than 6 months.
US aircraft have been circulating over the exact area of the fire for roughly two hours, including two KC-46 tankers, a KC-135, a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters.
It is the second strike in an unusual location tonight, after Iran struck a tanker with multiple projectiles off Qatar's northern coast earlier, with casualties reported. Both sit well outside the Strait itself.
The USS George Washington, the only US carrier left in the region, is now in the Arabian Sea, roughly 500 km from Fujairah, which likely explains Iran's targeting of more vessels outside the strait.
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Carl Worker retweeted
Story here on US sanctions imposed on Zhao Fugang. Incidentally, it sounds like Fiji was effectively blindsided by this (even though some in Australia had, by all accounts, been expecting it for quite some time) abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/u…
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There is indeed an enormous amount to be proud of in western civilisation but unfortunately this guy and his gang are subtracting, not adding.
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A reminder of the damage caused by the openings provided by the intellectual vacuum of the Trump administration for grifters, charlatans and crackpots like Miles Yu and Peter Navarro to worm their way into positions of influence totally out of proportion to their merits. Very destructive.
My latest #ThoughtoftheDayonChina: I’ve turned my latest article into a video! I break down a recent Harvard talk by Miles Yu, former China advisor to Trump and key architect of Washington’s shift from engagement to containment with China. youtu.be/F6D9hje4zuY?si=v-uh… via @YouTube
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Congressional clown show.
Today, the Select Committee on China released a new bipartisan report titled, “Free Trades, Hidden Ties: Exposing Webull’s China Links.”
The investigation found the stock brokerage exposed American investors’ data to surveillance risks in China. The report documents how the company is controlled by China-linked executives and its China-based subsidiary receives subsidies and cash rewards from Chinese government authorities.
The report’s findings include how:
•Webull’s data practices expose American investors to legal and surveillance risk from China.
•Misrepresentations about where key employees worked and how they were supervised.
•China-linked control over the company’s governance.
•Weak regulatory controls that fell short of the company’s assurances.
•Chinese government funding to a subsidiary conditioned on CCP loyalty.
Read the full investigation and policy recommendations here: chinaselectcommittee.house.g…
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Starting at the top.
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Carl Worker retweeted
BREAKING: Large numbers of oil tankers are now moving toward the Middle East as intense U.S. air activity builds around the Strait of Hormuz, coming directly after Iran’s Fars News reported that Washington is “normalising air activity around Iran” as part of an effort to preserve the element of surprise for a possible attack on Iran.
The reported U.S. air activity comes as tanker attacks around the Strait hit their highest weekly level since the war began, with at least 12 incidents recorded between September 28 and October 5.
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Carl Worker retweeted
An interesting take on the declining importance of the Malacca strait as a choke point for China.
China has resolved its ‘Malacca Dilemma,’ argues @abrownepek.
Read his full view:
semafor.com/article/10/06/20…
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More of costs from climate change.
The number of ships taking the long and expensive way round between the Atlantic and Pacific, through the stormy Magellan Strait, has gone up 70% in the last months, mainly thanks to the increasing drying up of the Panama Canal through drought.
briefs.co/news/strait-of-mag…
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Carl Worker retweeted
The number of ships taking the long and expensive way round between the Atlantic and Pacific, through the stormy Magellan Strait, has gone up 70% in the last months, mainly thanks to the increasing drying up of the Panama Canal through drought.
briefs.co/news/strait-of-mag…
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Carl Worker retweeted
“Hong Kong remained the world’s most economically free jurisdiction in 2024 (the latest year for which we have data). It was followed by Switzerland (2nd), Singapore (3rd), New Zealand (4th), and the United States (5th).”
fraserinstitute.org/studies/…
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Easy for some to miss the wood for the trees. NZ still way up there at number four in the world for economic freedom and, despite all the anti-China fear mongering, Hong Kong remains top of the pops.
nzherald.co.nz/business/new-…
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“Hong Kong remained the world’s most economically free jurisdiction in 2024 (the latest year for which we have data). It was followed by Switzerland (2nd), Singapore (3rd), New Zealand (4th), and the United States (5th).”
fraserinstitute.org/studies/…
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Well he would, wouldn’t he.
Exclusive | Trump urged Xi to talk to Takaichi and lift export curbs on Japan, sources say scmp.com/news/china/diplomac…
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