Briefs

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Their two-day summit marks the first time a Chinese leader has travelled to North Korea since former president Hu Jintao did so 14 years ago. It is also only the second time in history that another head of state has met Kim on his homeground.

Xi’s visit takes place as tensions between China and the US rise. China is North Korea’s closest ally, providing food and fuel amid harsh sanctions from the United Nations against the North’s nuclear ambitions. Xi and Kim have met four times previously, two of which were before Kim was due to meet US President Donald Trump. Trump is expected to sit down with Xi at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28 and 29.

Middle East tensions rise

The US has confirmed that one of its maritime surveillance drones has been shot down by Iran. It had reportedly been flying near the Strait of Hormuz, but in international airspace. This is the latest development in a series of events that observers fear could edge the two countries into military conflict.

Earlier, the US deployed an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East. Former acting defence secretary Patrick Shanahan said it was a “defensive” measure.

The deployment comes as the US accuses Iran of orchestrating attacks on oil tankers travelling through the Gulf of Oman on June 13. Two vessels, a Japanese and a Norwegian tanker, were seriously damaged after mines blew through their hulls.

Japanese authorities have expressed doubt that the attacks were carried out by Iranian agents, and asked for more proof. The Pentagon has since released photos and videos purportedly showing Iranian involvement in the attacks.

In May, four commercial ships were hit near the port of Fujairah. They include two Saudi Arabia-registered oil tankers, another Norwegian tanker and an Emirati-registered bunkering ship. The US has also blamed Iran for the attacks.

Tehran has rejected the US’ allegations.

Separately, under pressure from the sanctions that have been imposed on it by the US, Iran has announced that it will soon breach the limits of enriched uranium. The limits form part of the 2015 nuclear deal struck under the Obama administration, along with Russia, the UK, France, Germany and China. This would bring Iran closer to possessing weapons-grade uranium.

Singapore faces recession

The ongoing trade war between the US and China is taking its toll on the economy.

According to the latest trade data from Enterprise Singapore, non-oil domestic exports have fallen nearly 16% in May, from a year ago, and following on from the 10% decline in April. The decline was attributed mostly to a slump in exports to China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Exports to China dropped 23.3% from a year ago — the fourth decline in five months. Exports to Taiwan and Hong Kong fell 34.7% and 24.8%, respectively.

Exports of electronics slumped 31.4% y-o-y in May, after a 16.3% decline in April. It marks the third consecutive month of decline, and is at the lowest level since 2009. It also echoes the troubles seen in South Korea and Taiwan.

On a y-o-y basis, total trade decreased 2.1% in May, after a 3.2% growth in the preceding month.

The official growth forecast for Singapore’s economy in 2019 is 1.5% to 2.5%. For the first quarter of the year ended March 31, the city state’s economy grew 1.2% from the year before. That is a jot lower than the 1.3% growth seen in the previous quarter.

Trump runs for America again

US President Donald Trump has launched his 2020 re-election bid. At an event in Orlando, Florida, he told thousands of supporters, “We will keep America great again.” He also pledged to continue his crackdown on illegal immigration. Earlier, Trump stunned US officials by tweeting that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is starting to deport “millions of illegal aliens” from the US.

Trump also took the opportunity to disparage Democrat opponents in the race, calling the party a “radical left-wing mob” that will bring socialism to the US.

Florida is one of the US’ biggest election battlegrounds, given a diverse electorate and a significant number of electoral-college votes.

Charges filed for MH17 crash

International prosecutors have charged four Russian and Ukrainian military and intelligence officers in relation to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. In a press conference at The Hague on June 19, prosecutors said the four men are charged with murder under Dutch law, even as they did not “push the button” that fired an anti-aircraft missile into the plane. A trial is to be held in March next year in the Netherlands. The men are expected to be tried in their absence as there is no allowance for extradition under the countries’ laws.

On July 17, 2014, while enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, the Boeing 777 carrying 298 people crashed in Donetsk, in rebel-held eastern Ukraine at the height of an armed conflict between the government and separatists.

Since then, investigators have pointed to Russian-backed forces in the area as being responsible for the downing of the aircraft. In 2015, the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the plane had been hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air Buk missile, which caused the aircraft to break up in mid-air. The joint team of air crash investigators, which includes officials from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, reached a similar conclusion in 2016. In May 2018, they concluded that the missile system belonged to the 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile Brigade, which was based in the Russian city of Kursk.

Jet orders fly at Paris Air Show

Despite the troubles surrounding its 737 Max aircraft, manufacturer Boeing has received interest for its single-aisle jet. International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Aer Lingus, is considering an order of 200 of the planes, in a deal valued at US$24 billion ($32.6 billion) at list prices. IAG, whose single-aisle fleet is currently almost exclusively Airbus A320 aircraft, signed a letter of intent with Boeing at the Paris Air Show. The 737 Max, which was the manufacturer’s best-selling plane in its history, was involved in two fatal air crashes. Boeing has nearly 4,600 orders for the Max on its books.

Separately, Boeing has received an order for 30 787s from South Korean ­carrier ­Korean Air. The deal is valued at nearly US$9.7 billion.

Meanwhile, its cross-Atlantic rival ­Airbus unveiled a new jet at the show. The single- aisle A3241XLR, a longer range variant of the A321neo, is expected to enter commercial service in 2023.