The Chinese are already using their new Coast Guard law to pressure the Japanese over the Senkaku Islets:
Chinese government vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the flash point Senkaku Islands on Saturday — the first time since China passed a new law earlier this month that allows its coast guard to use military force in waters the country claims — including those around the Senkakus.
Two China Coast Guard vessels, including one from its second-largest class of ships, entered the waters around the Japanese-administered Senkakus, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu, around 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, approaching two Japanese fishing boats operating in the area, the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Japan Coast Guard said it had sent vessels to the area to protect the fishing ships while repeatedly urging the Chinese ships to leave the area. Two other Chinese government ships, including one sporting a cannon-like weapon, were spotted in the so-called contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters, it added.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
As expected, it appears the Biden administration is going to fast track a new cost sharing agreement with South Korea:
The United States is committed to quickly reaching a defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea that will be acceptable to both and help strengthen their alliance, an official from the U.S. Department of State said Friday.
Korea Times
The remarks came after Seoul officials said the sides agreed to seek an early conclusion to talks on Seoul’s share of the cost in maintaining 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula in a meeting held Friday (KST).
“We decline to comment on or confirm any specific details of our ongoing diplomatic conversations, but I can tell you that U.S. and ROK negotiators agreed to continue negotiations in the near future and are committed to expeditiously concluding an updated Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that will strengthen our alliance and our combined defense posture,” the department official told Yonhap News Agency in an emailed response to related questions.
You can read more at the link, but getting a new cost sharing agreement signed should be an easy win for the Biden administration.
This is a huge drug bust in Busan:
The Coast Guard has seized 35 kilograms of cocaine from a container ship in the southern port city of Busan, officials said Saturday.
Korea Times
The drug has an estimated street value of 105 billion won (US$93.94 million), the authorities added.
The packages were found on a Liberia-flagged ship, which departed from Colombia Dec. 15 and arrived at Busan New Port, Jan. 19. Their exteriors had a scorpion-shaped logo, which is usually used by Colombian drug cartels.
You can read more at the link.
Some further relief for business owners in South Korea:
The government said Saturday it will allow businesses outside the greater Seoul area to operate until 10 p.m. starting next week, relaxing the distancing rules amid growing discontent over the prolonged virus curbs.
The revised measure will permit businesses like restaurants and fitness clubs to extend their operating hours by one hour under Level 2 distancing currently imposed on the provincial regions, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a government response meeting.
“After careful deliberation based on the various opinions from all walks of life, we are adjusting the business hours for publicly used facilities,” he said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
