Iran truce diplomacy, Japanese arms exports and Chinese pressure on Taiwan feature in 22 April update

Off Leash update 22 April

IRAN •Pres. Trump announced an extension to the temporary ceasefire with Iran that was set to expire last night. The truce will now remain in effect until Iran's "proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other." •Trump said the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports will remain in place, which presents a challenge to forward progress on a lasting peace deal. Iran considers the U.S. blockade a violation of the temporary ceasefire and refused to submit its proposal or engage in a second round of discussions over the matter. •The latest U.S. proposal that the U.S. wants Iran to respond to reportedly contains the same sticking points on nuclear issues as before, making it unlikely that Iran will suddenly agree to accept the U.S. position.

JAPAN •Japan relaxed post-World War II restrictions on exporting lethal weapons in a bid to support allies embroiled in wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Exports will still be restricted to 17 countries with which Japan has defense agreements. •Growing numbers of Japanese - especially the young - oppose the move to erode their country's postwar pacifism. Tens of thousands turned out to protest in front of the Diet yesterday, shouting chants like "stop sucking up to America" and holding signs with anti-war slogans like "Cats, not bombs."

CHINA •Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te cancelled a planned trip to Eswatini (fka Swaziland) this week after China pressured three other African countries - the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar - revoked overflight permission for his presidential aircraft. •Lai blamed China, saying that "the actual reason [for the revocation of flight permits] was intense pressure exerted by Chinese authorities, including economic coercion." Taiwanese officials say Beijing threatened to impose economic sanctions on and cancel much-needed debt relief for the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar unless they revoked the flight permits. •Eswatini is one of only 12 countries that still recognize Taiwan's independence from China, and the only African country still doing so. Many other nations - like the three that cancelled Lai's flight permits - have been enticed by Belt and Road perks or coerced by economic threats into siding with Beijing.

UKRAINE •Ukraine's Pres. Zelensky said repairs to the Druzhba pipeline have been completed and the pipeline can resume carrying Russian oil to Europe. •Zelensky hopes that reopening the pipeline can unlock a €90 billion ($106 billion) European Union (EU) loan to Ukraine that Hungary and Slovakia had been blocking over pipeline repair delays.

LEBANON •Israel accused Hezbollah of violating the temporary ceasefire that Israel and Lebanon agreed to by firing rockets at Israeli positions in south Lebanon. •Hezbollah wasn't a party to the 10-day truce but until this incident had mostly respected Lebanon's pleas to uphold it.