Bonnie Glaser s Testimony: Chinese Maritime Coercion in East Asia: What Tools Can be Used to Respond?
May 13, 2021
On April 29, 2021, Director of GMF’s Asia Program Bonnie Glaser testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation, and the House Committee on Armed Services subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces on “Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Chairmen Bera and Courtney, Ranking Members Chabot and Wittman, distinguished members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation, and the House Committee on Armed Services subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, thank you for the opportunity today to testify at this joint hearing on “Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback (L) greets Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) before he makes his introductory remarks at the State Department s second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C. on July 16, 2019. | State Department
Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback is âencouragedâ by the Biden State Department s statements on international religious freedom thus far as Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called religious freedom a co-equal right.
Brownback, who served for three years as the head of the State Department s International Religious Freedom Office during the Trump administration, praised the release of the State Department s annual report on international religious freedom and expressed some optimism about how the Biden administration will promote the topic.
Ethiopia Must Set Right Environment for Election, US Says
Voice of America
11 May 2021, 16:05 GMT+10 WASHINGTON - The United States said it strongly supports democratization in Ethiopia as it nears a national election June 5, while noting a free, fair, and credible election can happen only with a conducive electoral environment.
The statement comes amid a humanitarian crisis and conflict in Ethiopia s northern Tigray region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed for Ethiopia s and Eritrea s commitments to withdraw Eritrean troops from Tigray immediately, in full, and in a verifiable manner. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in late March that Eritrea had agreed to withdraw its forces from Tigray. Abiy Ahmed then traveled to Eritrea and met with President Isaias Afwerki, but despite assurances from Abiy that Eritrea would withdraw U.S. officials said there is no evidence to date that such a withdrawal has occurred.