A series of confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in the South China Sea risks a wider conflict. The most recent flashpoint involved a World War II-era ship, the Sierra Madre, that the Philippines deliberately grounded on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, which now serves as an outpost. On March 23, China used a water cannon against a Philippine boat on a resupply mission to Filipino sailors deployed on the Sierra Madre.
(”South China Sea: Why Are China and the Philippines Tensions Heating Up,” Reuters, April 10, 2024; “Tensions Rise in the South China Sea,” Foreign Policy, April 2, 2024)
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs explained that her veto of a bipartisan affordable housing bill was due to objections from the U.S. military and other powerful interests. The Arizona Starter Homes Act would have prevented cities with over 70,000 people from using home and lot size minimums to stop construction of houses for first time homebuyers and ease the housing crunch.
(“Why Did the US Navy Kill Arizona’s Housing Bill?” Atlantic, March 29, 2024)
Access to safe, legal abortion is on the ballot in Florida this November, where voters can support a state constitutional amendment that would overturn an oppressive 6-week abortion ban, advocated by the state’s right-wing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and embraced by Florida’s extremist GOP legislature and state Supreme Court.
(“Clawing Their Way Back to Relevance,” American Prospect, April 8, 2024; “Florida Supreme Court Allows One of the Nation’s Strictest Abortion Ban to Take Effect,” Washington Post, April 1, 2024)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
