Somalia - China Competing with Israel

Somaliland is an autonomous region in northern Somalia that has sought independence since the 1990's. Declaring its own secession from Somalia, yet without being recognized by international organisations like the United Nations.

Recently, Israel recognized Somaliland as an independent and sovereign country and established diplomatic relations on December 26, 2025. However, this move was widely condemned by the international community (such as China, the Arab League, the African Union, and the United Kingdom), reiterating its support for Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and emphasizing that any status change requires dialogue. Therefore, international mainstream views still regard Somaliland as part of Somalia, not as an independent and sovereign country.

Israel might have its reasons for that, possibly hoping to increase its military presence in a region which is strategically important to ensure Israeli ship traffic in the southern Red Sea, namely in the Strait of Hormuz where Israel's enemy Yemen is quite near.

On its 2nd page for December 30, 2025, China's official paper "People's Daily", overseas edition, expressed concern and opposition to Israel's step to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland, a step that simultaneously raised the suspicion of other regional players.

This comes shortly before China's foreign envoyee Wang Yi is starting his traditional visit to African states at the beginning of the year, this time first visiting Somalia's capital Mogadishu. China's interest for Africa makes part of a global initiative to extend its economic and political ties.

Declaration of China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian
at the ministry's regular press conference on Dec. 29, 2025:
外交部发言人—中方坚决反对以色列承认索马里兰
China firmly opposes Israel's recognition of Somaliland.

Quotation:
Dr. Amani al-Taweel, the Director of the African Program at Al-Ahram Center for Studies, believes that the step reflects an Israeli insistence on pursuing policies that ignore the African and regional contexts, even if it leads to a clash with countries with direct interests in the region.

She considered that this was taking place under American cover. She adds that the most dangerous thing is a transformation of the 'Normalization with Israel' into a tool that grants political legitimacy to separatist entities, which may encourage similar movements at the Horn of Africa and Sudan.

وترى مديرة البرنامج الأفريقي بمركز الأهرام للدراسات، الدكتورة أماني الطويل، أن الخطوة تعكس إصرارا إسرائيليا على انتهاج سياسات تتجاهل السياقين الأفريقي والإقليمي، حتى لو أدت إلى صدام مع دول ذات مصالح مباشرة في المنطقة

واعتبرت أن ذلك يجري في ظل غطاء أميركي. وتضيف أن الأخطر هو تحوّل التطبيع مع إسرائيل إلى أداة تمنح شرعية سياسية لكيانات انفصالية، بما قد يشجع حركات مماثلة في القرن الأفريقي والسودان

.........................

Further News of the Day:

While searching the Arabic networks for additional material on Israel's approach of Somaliland, I stumbled over the Latest Trump Cheese. It is about his announcement to fight Mexican drug gangs on the ground. Same goes with Colombia. And Cuba isn't even worth dealing with. All Trump could do to Cuba, so he said, is to seize or destroy it. If my readers argue the above quoted paper stems from Yemen, I can assure you that the same information is just being disseminated by serious Western media like Deutsche Welle DW.
Trump is simply going on a rampage and he seemingly doesn't need any drugs for that.

US Navy Seized Russian Flagged TankerSuspected of Carrying Venezuelan Oil

Footage posted by US Southern Command and Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, appears to show the US military intercepting a Venezuela-linked tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday, January 7. It was released on the same day US forces also intercepted and seized the Russian-flagged Marinera in the north Atlantic.

The Marinera, also known as M/V Bella 1 should have been accompanied for a certain time by other Russian ships and observed by a Russian submarine in the North-Eastern Atlantik. Moscow protested the seizure.

Tonight: Heavily armed U.S. Hellbirds storm Britain as a surge of American military power descends on RAF bases in Suffolk & Gloucestershire. Eleven C-17 Globemaster troop carriers and two lethal AC-130J Ghostrider gunships have touched down in what eyewitnesses and flight trackers confirm as one of the heaviest U.S. air deployments in Europe in years. The world watches tensely as this unprecedented projection of force raises urgent questions: Will allies be drawn into a broader confrontation as the Denmark-Greenland issue intensifies? Geopolitics is shifting, and the consequences are only beginning to ripple across the globe.

BREAKING Trump ordered Kidnapping ofVenezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

Continuously Updated (Last: Jan. 07)

=> 委内瑞拉绑架时间线 <= A Timeline of the Venezuelan kidnapping incident [Chinese]

Maduro arrives at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 4, 05:00 CET

International media are reporting the kidnapping of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in the frame of a nightly attack on Venezuela's capital Caracas. US Delta forces should have carried out the operation on behalf of US president Donald Trump who intends to put him to trial "for his crimes" before a NY court. At the moment, Maduro and his wife are being held aboard US warship "Iwo Jima" but nobody knows for sure. Even Maduro's vice-president didn't know their whereabouts during the first hours.

This comes even before a probably planned attack on Iran discussed earlier today on my last blogspot.

And who will be next ? Maybe the Canadian Prime Minister to enforce a US-Canadian unification, or the Queen of Denmark because of raw materials and a cold-resistant Inuit workforce expected on Greenland ?



Video: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia says Maduro’s capture is not ‘America First’. => Full interview

Former CIA director Brennan: This U.S. invasion of Venezuela is all about oil, wealth and regime change. And this is not an isolated voice from the US center of power ...


Video: Speech of Venezuela's Vice-President Rodriguez opposing Trump's stances, while Trump declares María Corina Machado, prominent leader of the Venezuelan opposition and laureate of the Nobel Prize, as not being legitimate to follow Maduro in office.
[France 24 in English, January 3].

On January 4, media reported that VP Rodriguez was officially named successor to Nicolas Maduro as a President of Venezuela. The ruling political party, presenting "La Revolución Bolivariana", seems to be still in power.


Only hours after the inauguration of Rodriguez as the new president of Venezuela, regional media reported "shots, anti-aircraft fire and sighting of drones among confusion in the neighbourhod of Miraflores Palace (Presidential Palace)". [A24 com, Argentinian TV station on Jan. 6]

US Embassy and Consulates in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia issued warning of restricted access to their offices due to expected anti-US manifestations during the weekend.
[Demócrata, Spanish paper on January 3]

Protesters unite during a demonstration in Paris, France, directed
against US incursion into Venezuela. [Huffington Post on Jan. 3]

It should be noted that anti-Maduro protesters from Venezuela took to the streets, as well, in order to celebrate the Maduro kidnapping, but that depends much on the place of their exile in neighbouring countries. In Bogotá, Colombia, they succeeded in blocking the local traffic and, thus, triggered a regional traffic warning from the authorities. Some time later, that manifestation allegedly should have been dissolved by its participants. In Buenos Aires, Argentine, Venezuelan refugees are celebrating the Maduro kidnapping. Yet, there are Argentinian protesters, as well, opposing the US incursion and further Trump plans "to run Venezuela". No wonder, this is the country of "chainsaw president" Milei.

On the contrary, Mexico came about with a clear stance of Mexico's President Sheinbaum against the US kidnapping. After a Trump statement on Mexico that "something will have to be done about Mexico", the Mexican Senate cancelled a meeting allowing US military to enter the country. [Mexico Solidarity Media on Jan. 3]

China, Russia, Iran, Brazil and Cuba are further countries opposed to US action against Venezuela. [Anadolou, Turkish News Agency, on Jan. 3]

This is a developing Trump Story !

Iranian Protests - US Pretext for Military StrikesAre Trump & Netanyahu Planning Joint Action ?

Beginning on 28 December 2025, mass demonstrations erupted across multiple cities in Iran amid a deepening economic crisis and widespread dissatisfaction with the government. While initially sparked by frustration over skyrocketing inflation, rising food prices, and the severe depreciation of the Iranian Rial, the protests quickly evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the Islamic Republic's rule.

Beginning with shopkeepers and bazaar merchants in Tehran, the demonstrations soon spread to universities, drawing in large numbers of students from across the country.

US president Trump immediately reacted on his own platform Truth Social and announced "military help for the protesters" to achieve their goals. As severe economic problems in Iran can be related not only to administrative problems of the regime, but for an essential part, as well, to the sanctions imposed on the country in the frame of an alleged development of nuclear weapons, Trump's interference could therefore be seen as a pretext to continue bombing further nuclear facilities.

[Voice of America VOAin Chinese, on January 3, 2026]

Trump Warns of Possible Airstrikes Against Iran - Russia Urges Restraint

The Kremlin on Tuesday (December 30) called on all parties to avoid escalating tensions over Iran, after US President Trump stated that Washington would support another large-scale airstrike against Iran.

Reuters reported that the US military joined Israel in a 12-day military operation against Tehran in June, attacking three major Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump stated at the time that the operation had "destroyed" Iranian nuclear facilities, but later US assessments found that the attack primarily damaged one of the facilities, named Fordow.

Trump held a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, December 29. He stated that Tehran might be trying to restart its weapons program after the US airstrikes in June. Iran denies possessing a nuclear weapons program.

Trump said, "I've seen reports that they're expanding weapons facilities, etc., and if that's the case, they're probably using somewhere else, not the facilities we destroyed."

Pezeshkian: Iran Will Respond Strongly to Any Attack.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Iranian President Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that Iran would respond strongly to any attack. This appears to be a response to Trump's warnings about Iran resuming its nuclear program.

Pezeshkian wrote on the social media platform X, "The Islamic Republic of Iran's response to any brutal aggression will be severe and deterrent." However, he did not elaborate further.

Russia, however, called for de-escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media, "We believe it is necessary to avoid any actions that could escalate regional tensions, and first and foremost, dialogue with Iran is essential."

He stated that Russia will continue to deepen its close relationship with Iran.

[Asia TV News on December 31, 2025]