US President Joe Biden intends to “recalibrate” the US’ relationship with Saudi Arabia and would emphasize outreach to Saudi Arabian King Salman, a move that signals a downgrade in ties with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the nation’s de facto ruler.
In Biden’s first few days in office, the US put a hold on some key weapons sales to the kingdom and announced new efforts to bring an end to the Saudi Arabian-led war in Yemen.
Biden has also called on Riyadh to improve its human rights record.
Photo: Reuters
“We’re going to recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
“Part of that is going back to engagement counterpart-to-counterpart. The president’s counterpart is King Salman,” she said.
Instead of engaging primarily with Biden, the crown prince’s most appropriate counterpart is US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a person familiar with the matter said.
While Prince Mohammad’s official role is deputy prime minister and defense minister, he has a vast range of responsibilities as heir to the throne his father has held since 2015.
The changes suggest that relations would return to “more structured, routine channels,” said Aaron Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former Middle East official at the US Department of State.
“This is a slapdown of MBS, who the administration views as reckless and ruthless,” Miller said, referring to Prince Mohammad.
Separately, Biden said that China would pay a price for its human rights abuses.
Responding to queries at a televised event on Beijing’s handling of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, Biden said that “there will be repercussions for China and [Chinese President Xi Jinping, 習近平] knows that.”
Xi has drawn global criticism for holding Uighurs in internment camps and other human rights abuses.
The US would reassert its global role in speaking up for human rights, Biden said, adding that he would work with the international community to get China to protect them.
“China is trying very hard to become a world leader and to get that moniker and be able to do that they have to gain the confidence of other countries,” he said.
“As long as they are engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it is going to be hard for them to do that,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
MAKING A MOVE: Starting on Monday, short-term business travelers can apply for shorter quarantine periods, while transits of up to eight hours would be allowed The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced an easing of restrictions that would from Monday next week allow foreigners to visit or make a transit flight in Taiwan. A policy allowing short-term business travelers from countries with low or medium risks of COVID-19 infections to apply for shorter quarantine periods is also to resume that day. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to be extended after the end of this month, special conditions for foreign nationals to enter Taiwan would be restored from Monday. Foreign nationals
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We
CHIPS: Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua said Taiwan and the US have a track record of working closely together, of being ‘undeniably trustworthy partners’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered a review of US supply chains, seeking to end the country’s reliance on China and other adversaries for crucial goods. However, the process could take months, offering no immediate solution for a shortfall of semiconductors that has idled vehicle production at several US factories. The Biden administration’s 100-day review is to cover chips, but also large-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals and strategic materials, such as rare earth elements, a White House statement said. Although Biden did not specifically mention Taiwan on this occasion, the US last month appealed to Taiwan to help with the semiconductor shortages. Media outlets such
RSS