Hi Global Recap readers,

Get ready for a deep dive into the recent dramatic showdown between China and the Philippines. This story was quite fun and intriguing to prepare.

🤔 There are still many unanswered questions about its past and future. But here’s an appetizer question to pique your curiosity:

📈 Top News

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🇫🇷 France Dumps Niger After Coup. President Macron has had enough of Niger’s military junta and is pulling out his troops from the African country. The full pullout will be completed by the end of the year.

France had around 1,500 soldiers in Niger to tackle terrorism in the Sahel region, but after the military junta’s takeover of the country, the junta and its supporters have been calling out for the French troops to leave the country.

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🇨🇦🇮🇳 Remember the recent spat between Canada and India? It all began when the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, expelled a high-ranking Indian ambassador due to “credible allegations” of India’s involvement in the assassination of a Canadian citizen.

Brief overview

What is this “credible source?” The US ambassador to Canada confirmed that the intelligence was shared with Canada by the “Five Eyes.”

What is “Five Eyes?” The Five Eyes is an alliance that shares intelligence, consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

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🚀 Biden to Send Long-Ranged Missiles to Ukraine. US officials have revealed that President Biden promised to supply Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, capable of striking the enemy backline up to 190 (300km) miles away.

Ukraine’s months-long request for these weapons had been previously stalled by the US to avoid escalation. To mitigate this risk, Ukraine commits not to target Russian territory.

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✍️ In-Depth

Philippines
Fishing War: Philippines vs. China

🌊 China’s Sea Barrier. The Philippines is outraged by China’s installation of a “floating barrier” near a disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

So why not just remove the barrier?

Well, spoiler alert: it did. But the situation is much more complex - involving months of military standoff and an international tribunal.

You’ll enjoy this brief background:

🇵🇭🇨🇳 Philippines vs China. The two countries have been at odds over the sovereignty of the Scarborough Shoal, a coral reef that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. China seized control of the shoal in 2012 and has since blocked Filipino fishermen from accessing it. This incident is known as the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

⚓️ The Scarborough Shoal Standoff. Here’s the gist of the story. It started in April 2012, when the Philippine Navy tried to detain Chinese fishing boats that were fishing illegally in the region. However, the situation escalated when the Chinese Coast Guard stepped in, effectively stopping the Philippine Navy from capturing the fishing boats. After two months of both countries withdrawing and reentering, the US stepped in to broker a mutual withdrawal deal.

The result? The Philippines withdrew first, but China stayed. Some say it was a communication error. Others say China simply broke the deal last minute. Hmm…

👩‍⚖️ The Hague’s Ruling: Ignored by China. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines and invalidated China’s expansive claim to 90% of the South China Sea, and that it violated the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

However, China rejected the ruling and continued to assert its rights over the area by sending patrols.

🎣 Why It Matters for Fishermen. The shoal is a rich fishing ground that provides livelihood for many Filipino fishermen. However, they have been harassed and blocked by the Chinese coast guard, who also installed a long, ball-buoy barrier to prevent them from accessing the shoal’s lagoon.

And this is exactly what happened again last Friday. The Philippine coastguard discovered another 1,000-foot-long “floating barrier.”

👊 Philippines Takes Action. Today, the Philippines Coast Guard said it executed a “special operation” to remove the barrier, following the orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his special task force on the South China Sea. The coast guard said it was protecting the country’s sovereignty and the fishermen’s rights.

🔥 Tensions Flare Up Again. China defended its actions as “necessary measures” after a Philippine fisheries vessel “intruded” into its waters on Friday.

What will happen now? Another standoff?