National security wrap
Posted By
Neal Reddan and Edward Boettcher
on November 3, 2016 @ 12:30
The Beat
International tax cooperation high on the agenda
Six months after the scandalous
Panama Papers leaks, the Republic of Panama has signed the
Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, becoming the 105th jurisdiction to join the tax transparency pact. The OECD and the Council of Europe have jointly developed the convention and aspire for it to become the ‘
leading global instrument for tax co-operation around the world’, facilitating standardised information sharing to combat corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. The signing comes ahead of the
Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Tbilisi, Georgia from 2–4 November.
Cracking down on corruption
South African President Jacob Zuma is
taking heavy fire from the usually non-partisan Nelson Mandela Foundation, which has accused his administration of ‘
compromising our democratic state and looting its resources.’ The non-profit issued the sharp rebuke following Zuma’s latest attempt to
suppress an anti-corruption
report, which is investigating allegedly corrupt ties between the
powerful Gupta family and those in the senior echelons of South Africa's government.
Ukrainian
anti-corruption reforms have produced some disquieting disclosures. Over 50,000 public officials completed the
mandatory online declarations, revealing a considerable wealth disparity between themselves and the general public. Items declared included land, cash reserves, luxury cars and even
Fabergé eggs. Unsurprisingly, Ukrainian MPs elected to
forego a pay rise following the embarrassing revelations.
CT Scan
Far-right resurgence
Alleged Australian far-right extremist Phillip Galea
faced court on Monday after being
charged under terrorism laws in August. According to Andrew Zammit, while violent
right-wing extremism is nothing new in Australia, ‘the current case appears to be the first time, since terrorism offences were introduced in 2002, that authorities had the sort of evidence against a suspected far-right violent extremist that would enable terrorism charges’. We’ve also seen the resurgence of the far-right further abroad. For a Euro-centric take see Raffaello Pantucci’s
article for
The Guardian, and for an examination of how the American far-right has rallied behind Donald Trump, check out
this piece by J.M. Berger.
Eye on the ball
As Iraqi forces
break through the outskirts of Mosul, US policymakers are already
eyeing a push on Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State. Officials are
worried Raqqa will be used as a staging point for Daesh attacks further abroad as the group loses its grip on territory. Analysts are also concerned that efforts to divert Iraq’s predominately Shi’a
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), away from Mosul and to the town of Tal Afar may
cause additional problems. The town sits on a key route connecting Syria and Iraq, and was the scene of
intense sectarian violence from 2005–2007. The Wilson Center’s Gareth Stansfield
explains Tal Afar’s strategic importance to Daesh, and how the town’s large Sunni Turkmen population could stoke Turkey–Iraq tensions, particularly if fighting takes a sectarian turn.
Checkpoint
Turkey–Iraq border build-up
Turkey is amassing
heavy armour, including tanks and armoured vehicles, in the town of Silopi, close to its border with Iraq. Turkey’s defence minister Fikri Işik has stated that the deployment is in response to ‘
important developments in our region,’ citing the ongoing fight against Kurdistan Workers’ Party militants in the region. Another crucial factor is the abovementioned PMF offensive to retake Tal Afar. President Erdoğan has cautioned that Ankara will have a ‘
different response’ if the militias ‘
cause terror’ in the city. In response Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued a stern warning against Ankara’s mobilisation, saying ‘
the invasion of Iraq will lead to Turkey being dismantled’.
Australia’s latest round of border security
The Coalition government is moving to implement a
lifetime ban on asylum seekers in Nauru and Manus Island from entering Australia. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stated that the new law will ‘
send the strongest possible signal… the door to Australia is closed to those who seek to come here by boat with a people smuggler’. Immigration minister Peter Dutton has sought to allay
fears on how the law would affect asylum seekers with families, stating that
ministerial discretion could be used to prevent family separation on a case-by-case basis.
First Responder
Air pollution’s no mist-demeanor
On 31 October the United Nations Children’s Fund released its new
report (PDF), titled
Clear the Air for Children. The report’s findings indicate that ‘around 300 million children currently live in areas where outdoor air pollution exceeds international guidelines by at least six times.’ The authors recommend further pursuing green energy options, improving ventilation throughout living areas, providing affordable healthcare to improve children’s resilience, and better monitoring the air for signs of pollution. The report’s release comes as New Delhi’s Diwali festival firework celebrations
caused the level of air pollution in the city to skyrocket (!) and as ongoing fighting in Iraq continues to contribute to
high levels of air pollution.
Fault lines
Italy has suffered another round of earthquakes over the past week, including a
6.6 magnitude quake on Sunday and a
4.8 magnitude quake on Wednesday. Remarkably, no one was killed, though several historic buildings in the city of Norcia were
damaged or destroyed. The Apennine Mountains in Italy sit atop a series of complex fault lines, and analysts are concerned that earlier quakes in August have
damaged two faults in the Apennine system (Laga and Vettore), increasing the
likelihood of additional tremors.
Neal Reddan and Edward Boettcher are ANU research interns at ASPI. Image courtesy of Flickr user Quentin Bruno.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/national-security-wrap-45/
[1] Panama Papers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers
[2] Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20161028/business-news/Panama-joins-international-efforts-against-tax-evasion-and-avoidance.629267
[3] leading global instrument for tax co-operation around the world: http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/taxation/the-multilateral-convention-on-mutual-administrative-assistance-in-tax-matters_9789264115606-en#.WBlAcdV95hE
[4] Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/ninth-meeting-of-the-global-forum-on-transparency-and-exchange-of-information-for-tax-purposes-2-4-november-2016-in-tbilisi-georgia.htm
[5] taking heavy fire: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37833372
[6] compromising our democratic state and looting its resources: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/media-release-time-to-account-for-crippling-the-state
[7] suppress: http://ewn.co.za/2016/10/31/Des-van-Rooyen-files-another-urgent-application-to-halt-state-capture-report
[8] report: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37845606?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MB%20Nov%202&utm_term=%2AMorning%20Brief
[9] powerful Gupta family: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22513410
[10] anti-corruption reforms: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-corruption-idUSKBN12V1EN
[11] mandatory online declarations: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/world/europe/ukraine-banks-corruption.html
[12] Fabergé eggs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faberg%C3%A9_egg
[13] forego a pay rise: https://www.ft.com/content/210393c2-a02f-11e6-891e-abe238dee8e2
[14] faced court: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/31/victorian-extremist-phillip-galea-planned-to-bomb-leftwing-premises-police-say
[15] charged: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/09/alleged-rightwing-extremist-phillip-galea-to-face-court-on-terror-charges
[16] right-wing extremism is nothing new in Australia: https://andrewzammit.org/2016/11/01/far-right-violent-extremism-in-australia-whats-new/
[17] article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/28/brexit-europe-far-right-rightwing-extremists-politics-terrorism?CMP=share_btn_tw
[18] this piece: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/donald-trump-2016-white-nationalists-alt-right-214388
[19] break through: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37832819
[20] eyeing: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/31/politics/us-special-forces-syria-iraq/
[21] worried: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/26/isis-islamic-state-us-raqqa-mosul-syria
[22] Popular Mobilization Forces: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/10/28/how-to-resolve-iraqs-shiite-militia-problem/
[23] cause additional problems: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/world/middleeast/tal-afar-iraq-isis.html
[24] intense sectarian violence: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/04/10/the-lesson-of-tal-afar
[25] explains: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-looming-problem-tal-afar
[26] heavy armour: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-deploys-tanks-to-silopi-across-from-iraq.aspx?PageID=238&NID=105629&NewsCatID=352
[27] important developments in our region: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-deploys-tanks-military-vehicles-border-iraq-43214181
[28] different response: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/turkey-sends-tanks-to-iraq-border-as-erdogan-shuts-down-15-media-outlets-35181507.html
[29] the invasion of Iraq will lead to Turkey being dismantled: http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/iraqi-prime-minister-warns-turkey-as-ankara-deploys-troops-116110200049_1.html
[30] lifetime ban: http://www.news.com.au/national/turnbull-to-propose-law-that-bans-boat-asylum-seekers-from-australia-permanently/news-story/793919195011e35c15471918b007c8a1
[31] send the strongest possible signal… the door to Australia is closed to those who seek to come here by boat with a people smuggler’: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-30/manus-nauru-refugees-asylum-seekers-to-be-banned-turnbull-says/7978228
[32] fears: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/world/australia/refugee-asylum-seeker-lifetime-ban.html
[33] ministerial discretion: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/31/new-asylum-laws-third-country-resettlement-peter-dutton
[34] report: http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_Clear_the_Air_for_Children_30_Oct_2016.pdf
[35] caused the level of air pollution in the city to skyrocket: http://www.undispatch.com/heres-happens-thousands-fireworks-set-off-worlds-polluted-city/
[36] high levels of air pollution: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/22/iraq-children-health-cost-war-induced-air-pollution-study-toxic-waste-birth-defects
[37] 6.6 magnitude quake: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-01/italy-surveys-earthquake-wreckage-thousands-displaced/7982338
[38] 4.8 magnitude quake: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37834162
[39] damaged or destroyed: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/oct/31/italy-earthquake-norcia-basilica-st-benedict
[40] damaged two faults: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37816711
[41] likelihood: http://www.livescience.com/56715-italy-earthquake-science.html