The Philippine coastguard called on its country’s fishing fleets to keep operating around the Scarborough Shoal (known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Dao in China) despite the large Chinese presence in the disputed South China Sea area.
Coastguard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said while Philippine government vessels can’t maintain a constant presence, they are committed to protecting the country’s fishing rights in what it sees as its Exclusive Economic Zone.
Category: Critical Minerals
$1.3 Billion Chinese Investment in Zambian Copper Sector as EU Readies Competing Deal
The Chinese mining giant China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (CNMC) announced a plan to invest $1.3 billion in Zambia across a range of sectors. The agreement, announced by CNMC chairperson Xi Zhengping, includes a $400 million investment in the Chambishi copper mine, run by its subsidiary Non-Ferrous Corporation ...
U.S. Acknowledges It Can’t Cut China Out of the EV Battery Supply Chain
For much of the past year, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to remove China from the critical minerals supply chain used, among other things, to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. ...
Climate Change Dilemma: How Can the Global South Get Rich from Their Own Minerals?
This week, the Democratic Republic of Congo convened its inaugural DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum in Kinshasa. Under the theme “Creating Wealth for the DRC and Africa’s Battery Metals Industry Value Chain,” the event tackles an issue that has preoccupied many Global South countries. Considering that everyone wants their minerals, ...
Indonesian Nickel: Chinese Investments Must Heed Ecological Risks, Avoid Repeating European Colonialism Sins
Indonesia has a deep wound from colonialism. For centuries, Indonesia was a European colony forced to dig and provide raw materials for the European market. This practice was even maintained during the second president Soeharto’s New Order regime under the disguise of economic development. That is why, ...
Japanese Minister’s Africa Tour Riles China as Tokyo Looks to Build Its Own EV Battery Metal Supply Chain
Japan's Economy and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi arrived in Namibia on Sunday for the first leg of a five-nation Africa tour that focuses specifically on securing new supplies of critical resources needed to power electric vehicles. Nishimura will also visit Angola, the DR ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Philippine Fishing Fleets Urged to Maintain Presence at Disputed Shoal as Tensions Build
China Doubled Investment in Critical Minerals Last Year, Says International Energy Agency
China made some big moves last year to expand its already formidable presence in the critical minerals mining sector and diversify where it gets those resources that are so crucial to powering next generation transportation. Chinese companies doubled their investment in ...
Timing of China’s New Germanium Export Restrictions Couldn’t Be Better for the DR Congo
China's announcement this month that it would limit the export of two metals used to manufacture semiconductors and other defense technologies could provide a huge opportunity for DR Congo's state-run mining company Gécamines which is planning to open a new mining facility for one of those resources.
Lots of Pomp, Little Substance: DRC President Didn’t Get Much Out of His Trip to China
DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi is wrapping up his near-week-long visit to China with a two-day stopover in Hong Kong before returning home later Monday. The president will meet with Chief Executive John Lee ka-chiu and members of the territory's powerful business community.
Q&A: Chinese-Dominated EV Supply Chains in Southeast Asia Grapple With Abuses
Since the 2010s, China has moved swiftly to secure mineral resources around the world to feed its gigantic electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing industry. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China was reported to own 15 of the 17 cobalt operations in the country, producing ...
The U.S.-China Cobalt Test in the DR Congo
There's a lot of talk these days in Washington policy circles about the urgent need for the United States to "de-risk" or "de-couple" itself from Chinese supply chains needed to manufacture batteries required to power the green mobility revolution. A lot ...