US Audio: Sarah Palin and "Our North Korean Allies"

Mark this moment because it may be the only time I defend former Vice Presidential candidate and resigned Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

The Internet is afire because of Palin's statement in a radio interview, "We're bound to stand with our North Korean allies", with critics holding up another example of her outstanding cluelessness about seeing anything --- except Russia --- from her house.

For me, drawing from experience, it's a verbal slip. What is more significant is the other 57 seconds of the passage, in which Palin foregoes any comprehension of the issue for her "Administration is Bad, Standing with Our Allies [Whichever One It Is] Good" posture.

Korea Update: North Threatens New Attacks, South to Bolster Military Arsenal, US Asks China to Step In

UPDATE 1730 GMT: The spin out of Seoul is that the President's inner circle of ministers, in their emergency meeting,decided that old rules of engagement put too much emphasis on prevention of escalation. In future, South Korea will implement different levels of response, depending on whether the North attacked military or civilian targets, but the new rules call for retaliation "with shots two to three times more powerful than the enemy artillery".

UPDATE 1420 GMT: China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has cancelled a visit to Seoul on Friday. Chinese officials claimed a scheduling conflict, but South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun indicated Seoul has concerns.

UPDATE 1115 GMT: President Lee Myung-Bak has accepted the resignation of South Korea's Minister of Defense,Kim Tae-Young.

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Korea Update: Bodies of 2 Civilians Found, Seoul Emergency Meeting, US-South Korea Joint Drill

UPDATE 1715 GMT: The US force for Sunday's joint exercise with South Korea will include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and four other ships, carrying 6,000 sailors and 75 aircraf

“These [exercises] are not a direct reaction [to Tuesday's North Korean artillery attack],” USFK spokesman David Oten said. “Basically, they’re unrelated.”

UPDATE 1640 GMT: North Korea's Foreign Ministry has again blamed South Korea for the artillery barrage: "The enemies, despite our repeated warnings, eventually committed extremely reckless military provocations of firing artillery shells into our maritime territory near Yeonpyeong Island beginning 1 p.m. Tuesday." 

There has been no resumption of conflict since yesterday's North Korean artillery barrage against Yeonpyeong Island; however, the bodies of two civilians killed in the assault have been found this morning. Two South Korean soldiers died of wounds on Tuesday.

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Breaking: North Korea Shells South Korea Island; Seoul on Highest "Non-War Alert"

UPDATE 1220 GMT: The South Korean President's office says Lee Myung-bak has ordered the military to strike North Korea's missile base around its coastline artillery positions if it shows signs of additional provocation.

The spokeswoman added that, in a video conference with Gen. Han Min-koo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President ordered "multiple-fold retaliation" against North Korea for its artillery attack today.

UPDATE 1130 GMT: The South Korean military has confirmed its two-day exercise on Yongpyeong Island before the North Korea attack, but it says South Korean forces fired west and not north.

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China This Week: President Hu at APEC; Investment Promises to Wal-Mart; Anti-Inflation Measures

Hu Urges Trade Liberalisation at APEC:  Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies to promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

Addressing the second session of the 18th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Hu said, "APEC should continue to uphold the spirit of the Bogor Goals [of free and open trade and investment], adapt to the changing situation and actively tackle new challenges, leverage its own strengths and further improve itself."

Hu also defended the role of newly emerging markets in world economic recovery and gave assurances that China seeks to expand domestic demand growth and remains committed to reforming its exchange rate.

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Saturday's US-China Economic Lesson: Obama and Hu's Video Rap Fight

Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao throw down over the economic clash between Washington and Beijing: "They're not enemies but Frenemies/With co-dependent economies". Courtesy of New Media Animation:

US Foreign Policy: Why Obama's Outreach to Muslim World is Still Valuable (Lynch)

President Obama's visit to Indonesia this week has received relatively little attention in the US. While --- somewhat ironically --- opponents such as Bret Stephens and Charles Krauthammer have hailed the Obama speech in India for promoting the free market and an alliance to "face the common threat of radical Islam and the more long-term challenge of a rising China", the President's address in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world came and went.

Marc Lynch, writing in Foreign Policy, tries to fill in the gaps and provide a wider context for the Obama speech....

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China This Week: Hu, Sarkozy Prep for G20; Stronger Ties with Europe; Beijing Tells US to Stay Out of Dispute with Japan

Hu, Sarkozy Prepare for G20:  Chinese President Hu Jintao and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy met in the French Riveria last Friday to discuss reforms to the international monetary system, trying to coordinate their stance before the Seoul G20 summit.

France, which takes over the chair of the G20 group of leading economies in mid-November, has placed reform at the top of its agenda during its one-year tenure.

Chinese President Calls for Stronger Ties with Europe: Hu said on Tuesday that China attaches great importance to its relations with Europe and wants to strengthen ties with the region.

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China Update: Celebrating Ai Weiwei (Despite House Arrest)

EA reported yesterday on the house arrest of artist and architectural designer Ai Weiwei, imposed on the social activist when he protested the destruction of his Shanghai studio.

Despite his detention, hundreds of people visited the studio on Sunday for a "River Crab Feast" --- a word play on the Government's declaration of "harmony" --- before its demolition.

Authorities in Shanghai said the structure had not gone through the proper application procedures, but critics believe that the studio was condemned because of the discomfort caused by Ai's activism.

Zhou Shuguang, 29, traveled from his home in Changsha in Hunan Province in central China to visit the studio.

"Although I heard that Ai was under house arrest, I wasn't scared because as a visitor, I just come to the party to have fun by myself. We are not being investigated by anyone. I don't believe the police will detain us," he said.

Each participant was served with a river crab, and also received two ceramic sunflower seeds, replicas of the hundred million ceramic sunflower seeds currently on exhibition at the Tate Modern Gallery's Turbine Hall in London. 

China Economy Weekly: Beijing-ASEAN Trade; Rare Earths “Not Bargaining Instrument”; 12th Five-Year Plan

China and ASEAN Trade: Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking at the 13th China-ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam has said China is determined to develop economic ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Wen proposed that bilateral trade be increased to $500 billion by 2015, promising that China will make an effort to buy more from ASEAN countries. He also suggested setting up an Industrial Cooperation Mechanism within the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area framework to handle any problems and differences that arise.

Rare Earths “Not Bargaining Instrument”:  Beijing has said that it will not use rare earths as a diplomatic "bargaining tool", in response to challenges against its management of the vital metals.

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