It’s crunch time for the debt ceiling

The main sticking point: government spending.

President Biden and Speaker McCarthy

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

By Neal Freyman

May 22, 2023


It’s understandable if you haven’t been following negotiations around the debt ceiling—it is “negotiations around the debt ceiling,” after all.

But it might be time to start paying attention, considering that the clock for the US defaulting on its debts is getting dangerously close to midnight. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated yesterday that the US likely wouldn’t be able to pay all of its bills beginning next Thursday, June 1, if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling from its current $31.4 trillion level by then.

China's aircraft carriers play 'theatrical' role but pose little threat yet: Analysts

A helicopter takes off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier, over Pacific Ocean waters, south of Okinawa
prefecture, Japan, in this handout photo taken Apr 15, 2023, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the
Defense Ministry of Japan, Apr 17, 2023.
(File photo: Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/HANDOUT via REUTERS)

05 May 2023 

HONG KONG: When China sailed one of its two active aircraft carriers, the Shandong, east of Taiwan last month as part of military drills surrounding the island, it was showcasing a capability that it has yet to master and could take years to perfect.

As Beijing modernises its military, its formidable missile forces and other naval vessels, such as cutting-edge cruisers, are posing a concern for the US and its allies. But it could be more than a decade before China can mount a credible carrier threat far from its shores, according to four military attaches and six defence analysts familiar with regional naval deployments.

Commentary: How to stop a war between America and China

In the militarised rivalry between China and the US, one side’s deterrence is another side’s escalation, says the Financial Times' Gideon Rachman.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts a routine Taiwan Strait transit on
Sunday, April 16, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)

Gideon Rachman

26 Apr 2023

LONDON: Visiting Washington last week, it was striking how commonplace talk of war between the United States and China has become. That discussion has been fed by loose-lipped statements from American generals musing about potential dates for the opening of hostilities.

Singapore, China hold joint naval exercise, amid routine port call by US submarine

Personnel from the Republic of Singapore Navy and People’s Liberation Army (Navy) conducted joint training at the
Damage Control Training Centre in Changi Naval Base. Ministry of Defence

• Singapore and China are holding a joint naval exercise between April 28 and May 1
• This comes after a US submarine made a routine port call in Singapore this week
• The Sino-Singapore drills will consist of a shore and sea phase at Changi Naval Base and the southern reaches of the South China Sea respectively

SUFIYAN SAMSURI

April 28, 2023


SINGAPORE — The Singapore and China navies are holding a joint maritime exercise from April 28 to May 1, which consists of a shore and sea phase, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a press statement on Friday (April 28).

This year’s drills will be the second in the bilateral series, called Exercise Maritime Cooperation, between the two countries, with the first taking place in 2015.

This comes as a United States submarine — the USS Columbia — made a routine port call at the Changi Naval Base this week.

Preparations for Singapore's leadership transition going 'as well as they can': Shanmugam

The fourth-generation leadership is "doing well", Mr K Shanmugam said when asked for his assessment on how the
new team is making their mark. TODAY file photo

• In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Law and Home Affairs Minister Shanmugam spoke about the training that Singapore's leaders go through as they rise up the ranks
• He noted, for example, how Singapore's fourth generation of political leaders have gained valuable experience through the Covid-19 crisis and current housing issues
• This is different from the process in many other countries, he said, where people do not need training before becoming prime minister
• Mr Shanmugam also touched on geopolitics, including the tensions between the United States and China, and the Russia-Ukraine war

April 8, 2023

PM Lee outlines 3 geopolitical storms Singapore faces

Jean Iau
19 April 2023

SINGAPORE - While Singapore’s relations with its immediate neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia are stable and encouraging, the situation further afield has become troubling and even dangerous.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this in Parliament on Wednesday as he outlined three major geopolitical tensions that make the current global situation graver than what Singapore has faced in a long time.

Singaporeans need to realise the gravity of the situation, he said. “We are facing not just one storm, but several.”

‘I’ll take cabs but eat hawker food most days’: Millennials’ spending choices spark debate

One millennial could spend up to S$800 monthly on Grab rides; another buys make-up using ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes. Talking Point finds out why younger Singaporeans may be more at risk of getting into more debt than previous generations.

Neo Chai Chin
Chan Luo Er

09 Apr 2023