Hacker News with Generative AI: Geopolitics

TikTok could bypass US blockade by making a PWA (lukaszolejnik.com)
The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is a significant moment for both technology and geopolitics.
Taiwan clears TSMC to make 2nm chips abroad – country lowers 'Silicon Shield' (tomshardware.com)
China building new mobile piers for possible invasion of Taiwan (ft.com)
How China could quarantine Taiwan: Mapping out two possible scenarios (csis.org)
China has significantly increased pressure on Taiwan in recent years, stoking fears that tensions could erupt into outright conflict.
What the TP-Link Ban in the US Means for You (thedefendopsdiaries.com)
The potential ban on TP-Link routers in the United States has sparked significant concern and debate, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions and cybersecurity challenges.
Petrostate USA vs. Electrostate China: Who Will Win the Climate Race? [video] (youtube.com)
Why Greenland is of growing strategic significance (twz.com)
Donald Trump wouldn’t categorically rule out using the U.S. military to take control of Greenland, saying that America needs it — as well as the Panama Canal — for “economic security.”
Greenland and the Coldest War (palladiummag.com)
Greenland has returned to the global spotlight as President Trump renews his interest in acquiring the northern island during his second term.
How Iran moves sanctioned oil around the world (reuters.com)
Despite some of the West’s toughest sanctions, Iran has built a roaring global trade for its oil. It relies on a shadow fleet of tankers that conceal their activities to skirt sanctions, and willing buyers in Asia to keep its economy afloat and to finance anti-Western militias in the Middle East.
Trump declines to rule out using military to control Greenland, Panama Canal (theguardian.com)
Donald Trump refused to say that he would not use military or economic measures to bring the Panama Canal and the island of Greenland under US control.
Moscow court orders Yandex to hide oil refinery on maps after drone attacks (pravda.com.ua)
A court in Moscow has for the first time ordered Yandex to block access to maps and photographs of the infrastructure of one of Russia's largest oil refineries due to the threat of attacks by Ukrainian drones.
The Stakes of the AI Race (foreignaffairs.com)
A sense that global technology competition is becoming a zero-sum game, and that the remainder of the twenty-first century will be made in the winner’s image, pervades in Washington, Beijing, and boardrooms worldwide.
Finland Says Vessel Suspected of Cutting Cable Part of Russia's 'Shadow Fleet' (nytimes.com)
The Finnish authorities seized an oil tanker on Thursday on the suspicion that it was involved in cutting vital undersea cables and said the ship might have been part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” aimed at evading Western sanctions.
Finland-Estonia power cable hit in latest Baltic Sea incident (theguardian.com)
An undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia broke down on Wednesday, Finland’s prime minister said, the latest in a series of incidents involving cables and energy pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
The Swedish cabin on the frontline of a possible hybrid war (theguardian.com)
At the end of an unmarked path on a tiny island at the edge of Stockholm’s extensive Baltic Sea archipelago lies an inconspicuous little wooden cabin, painted a deep shade of red.
Google to suspend payments for Russian app developers (kyivindependent.com)
Assad's Collapse Is a Blow to Russia's Middle East Strategy (nationalinterest.org)
Putin made three crucial miscalculations that could rupture Russia’s web of regional influence.
Satellite Photos Show China's Warships in Naval Standoff (newsweek.com)
Chinese and Taiwanese warships were spotted in a standoff in the contested waters near Taiwan on Tuesday as China continued its "extremely rare" large-scale exercises at sea.
Russia Tests Cutting Off Access to Global Web (pcmag.com)
Russia has reportedly cut some regions of the country off from the rest of the world's internet for a day, effectively siloing them, according to reports from European and Russian news outlets reshared by the US nonprofit Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and Western news outlets.
Russia Hits China with Trade Tariffs (newsweek.com)
Russia has imposed a new tariff on a category of imports from China, an ally that has been a crucial lifeline for Moscow since President Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
China's Critical Minerals Embargo Is Even Tougher Than Expected (nytimes.com)
Alarm is rising among multinational companies doing business with China about Beijing’s decision last week to order a trade embargo on the export of four critical minerals to the United States.
Protecting undersea internet cables is a tech nightmare (ieee.org)
A recent, alleged Baltic Sea sabotage highlights the system’s fragility
China Announces a Ban on Rare Minerals to the U.S. (msn.com)
China Bans Rare Mineral Exports to the U.S. (nytimes.com)
China said on Tuesday it would begin banning the export of some rare minerals to the United States, in an escalation of the tech war between the world’s two biggest powers.
South Korea may become the first country to disappear from the face of Earth (indiatimes.com)
Inside The AI back-channel between China and the West (economist.com)
Computer scientists are reaching out across the geopolitical divide to try to stop an apocalypse
TSMC Stops Advanced Chip Shipments to Chinese Customers (nytimes.com)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the maker of most of the world’s cutting-edge computer chips, discovered last month that one of its chips had ended up precisely where policymakers in the United States did not want it: in a processor made by Huawei.
The Evolution of China's Semiconductor Industry Under U.S. Export Controls (americanaffairsjournal.org)
Since I last wrote about China’s responses to U.S. export controls in these pages, in February 2024, much has changed, both in terms of U.S. export control measures and the situation on the ground in China.
Russia's rouble plunges to lowest rate since early weeks of Ukraine war (theguardian.com)
Russia’s rouble has plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar since the early weeks of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the wake of new western sanctions and growing geopolitical tensions.
Europe is under attack from Russia. Why isn't it fighting back? (politico.eu)
Western countries have shied away from reacting to Kremlin acts of sabotage and terror.