Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:
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An interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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Behind Trump’s truce with China
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Why Japan is mining the Pacific Ocean floor
We have an exclusive interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, as Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
What to know: Zelenskyy said Russia and Ukraine were at the “beginning of the end” of Europe’s biggest conflict since the second world war, but urged Washington to see through Vladimir Putin’s negotiating “games”. The Ukrainian president warned that without firm western security guarantees Moscow would use a ceasefire to rebuild its forces for another assault.
Zelenskyy also urged the EU to stop prevaricating and to fix a date for Ukraine’s accession to the bloc, saying it should be as early as 2027. “I want a date. I am asking for it,” he said. “Let us not allow the next leaders or the next generation to face a situation where Russia blocks Ukraine’s EU membership for 50 years.”
Putin’s ‘games’: Speaking from his presidential office in Kyiv, Zelenskyy accused Russia’s leader of using overtures to Donald Trump to weaken Kyiv’s negotiating position. Asked how peace talks were progressing, he said the “Russians are playing games” and not serious about bringing the war to a close. Read the rest of the wide-ranging interview here.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
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Economic data: South Korea reports January PPI and the consumer sentiment index for February.
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China: Markets reopen after the Lunar Year holiday.
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Thailand: The Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, an annual UN intergovernmental forum to review progress on sustainable development goals regionally, begins in Bangkok.
Five more top stories
1. US software stocks were hit with a fresh burst of selling yesterday as investors fretted that AI will upend the industry, in a sell-off that cascaded to private capital groups that have lent heavily to tech companies. Read more about Wall Street’s latest AI jitters.
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Related: New AI models pose a long-term threat to enterprise software companies, according to Franklin Templeton chief executive Jenny Johnson.
2. Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following claims he leaked confidential UK government memos to Jeffrey Epstein and received cash from the paedophile American financier. His arrest marks a dramatic fall from grace for a politician credited as one of the architects of New Labour.
3. Danish shipping giant Maersk and Swiss-based MSC are to temporarily take control of two key ports on the Panama Canal after their Hong Kong-based operator was ejected last month, the Panamanian government said yesterday. Panama’s Supreme Court last month annulled a contract with conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings as operator of the ports after legal challenges.
4. Mexico’s military intelligence followed a girlfriend of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera to locate the cartel kingpin, who then died after a shootout with security forces. The killing of Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, is a major coup for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
5. Washington ordered the departure of non-essential diplomats and their family members from Lebanon as concerns mount of a potential US military conflict with Iran. Trump has threatened to strike the Islamic republic unless a deal is reached curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The Big Read
What’s behind Trump’s trade war truce with China? US allies are trying to work out if the White House is pursuing a tactical détente related to the country’s dependence on rare earths or if it is placing less emphasis on security issues. Demetri Sevastopulo spoke to administration officials and US-China experts to find out.
We’re also reading . . .
Map of the day
Japan is embarking on an ambitious effort to retrieve rare earth elements from the ocean floor near Minamitorishima, an atoll 1,900km south–east of Tokyo that is part of the country’s exclusive economic zone. The project could help loosen China’s grip over the metals vital to missiles, radar systems and drones.
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Take a break from the news . . .
Can AI liberate us from the tyranny of email? Electronic mail is fast becoming a test bed for AI’s much-touted productivity-boosting power. Clara Murray reviews a suite of new tools to help us streamline inbox management.
