Foreign Affairs Committee News

Taiwan was keeping a close watch on a Chinese aircraft carrier and threats to inspect ships in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday after Beijing condemned a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.McCarthy - the third highest ranking official in the U.S. leadership hierarchy - and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers met Tsai on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.The meeting took place at a low ebb of U.S.-China relations and despite threats of retaliation from Beijing…

U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, underscoring strong bipartisan support for a move that he acknowledged would drive up U.S. energy prices."We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas energy," Biden told reporters at the White House. "That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable in U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war machine."Oil prices jumped on the news…

The Biden administration on Friday identified a Russian ship and a company it believes are helping to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but the entities had already been sanctioned by the Trump administration and the project's opponents in Congress said the move would do little to halt work on it.The State Department said in a report to Congress that the Russian ship, the Fortuna, and its owner, KVT-RUS, had been designated, a process that starts new sanctions, two lawmakers said.Both entities had been sanctioned by former President Donald Trump on his last full day in office last month for helping to build the natural gas pipeline to bring Russian gas to Europe via Germany."Simply put…

The United States on Monday rejected China’s disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea, a move that Beijing criticized as inciting tensions in the region and which highlighted an increasingly testy relationship.China has offered no coherent legal basis for its ambitions in the South China Sea and for years has been using intimidation against other Southeast Asian coastal states, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful…

The United States announced a $12.1 million economic aid package for Greenland on Thursday aimed at strengthening mutual ties and boost a renewed U.S. push for a greater military presence in the Arctic.The move to improve ties with Greenland drew criticism from Denmark, which less than a year ago rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to buy the vast Arctic island as “absurd.”Greenland, which on Thursday welcomed the money, is becoming increasingly important for the U.S. military and for the U.S.

An Iranian tanker sailed through the Mediterranean towards Greece on Monday after it was released from detention off Gibraltar, and Tehran said that any at U.S. move to seize the vessel again would have "heavy consequences".The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, left anchorage off Gibraltar about 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Monday that the vessel was heading to Kalamata in Greece and was scheduled to arrive next Sunday at 0000 GMT.The seizure of the tanker by British Royal Marines near Gibraltar in July 4 on suspicion it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions led to a weeks-long stand-off between Tehran and the West.

Six U.S. senators urged their colleagues on Friday to support legislation reaffirming U.S. support for freedom of navigation, saying they consider China's recent actions in the South China Sea troubling. China this week accused Vietnam of intentionally colliding with its ships in the South China Sea after Vietnam asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels during the weekend near an oil rig China deployed in a disputed area. "These actions threaten the free flow of global commerce in a vital region," Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, Jim Risch ofIdaho and John McCain of Arizona said in a joint statement.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Report on “Piracy off the coast of Somalia”, published today, sets out the findings of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) enquiry into the efforts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the UK Government to combat increasing levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia. As part of their enquiry, the FAC invited Ince & Co partner Stephen Askins, who has provided legal advice to the owners and underwriters of a number of vessels hijacked by pirates, to appear before the Committee and provide evidence in connection with some of the legal issues that arise in dealing with the threat of piracy. Among other things, Stephen's input related to the (i) use of private armed security guards (PASGs) and the (ii) payment of ransoms.

Statement from the shipping industry’s SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign with reference to the U.K. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee’s Report “Piracy off the coast of Somalia”. The shipping industry’s SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign welcomes the U.K. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee’s Report “Piracy off the coast of Somalia”. As the FAC observes, gathering evidence against pirates  is challenging. But SOS notes FAC’s comment that not all claims made by the government about the difficulty in securing evidence were wholly convincing.

Rolls-Royce announced the appointment of Dennis J. Jarvi as President, Defense North America. He will join the company on July 12 and will lead the company's defense business in North America, succeeding Steve Dwyer, who was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Rolls-Royce Corporation earlier this year. Mr. Jarvi will report directly to James M. Guyette, President & CEO, Rolls-Royce North America Inc. and, as a member of the company's global defense executive team, receive business direction from Colin Green, President - Defense Aerospace, Rolls-Royce. "We are delighted to have Dennis join the Rolls-Royce team," said Mr. Green. "The breadth of his industry and leadership experience will provide fresh perspective for our defense business and help position Rolls-Royce for the future…