Finbarr Bermingham
@fbermingham.bsky.social
Senior Correspondent for Europe at the South China Morning Post.
Tracking the shifting tectonic plates of global trade and geopolitics.
All posts should be heard in a Fermanagh accent.
Tracking the shifting tectonic plates of global trade and geopolitics.
All posts should be heard in a Fermanagh accent.
Pinned
As US-China rivalry redefines economic warfare, EU scrambles for its dictionary
The EU is preparing to unveil a new doctrine on economic security, but it’s a concept that officials and experts say has no clear definition.
www.scmp.com
As US-China rivalry redefines economic warfare, Europe scrambles for its dictionary
My report on the EU's struggle to define economic security, even as it prepares to launch yet another economic security initiative...
My report on the EU's struggle to define economic security, even as it prepares to launch yet another economic security initiative...
As suspected. Thanks @jwdwerner.bsky.social for flagging
February 13, 2026 at 9:06 PM
As suspected. Thanks @jwdwerner.bsky.social for flagging
I figured the same...
February 13, 2026 at 8:58 PM
I figured the same...
Ah fair enough, you're well versed then so. It is a bit strange that no hrvp meet at MSC. Maybe they'll find time tomorrow
February 13, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Ah fair enough, you're well versed then so. It is a bit strange that no hrvp meet at MSC. Maybe they'll find time tomorrow
Good Q, she is not at this point scheduled to meet Wang...
February 13, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Good Q, she is not at this point scheduled to meet Wang...
Seems like he basically read his article on the podium 😂
February 13, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Seems like he basically read his article on the podium 😂
I don't think AOC was advocating a return to the CP/TPP there but interesting choice of words there...
She will be speaking on another panel at 10pm specifically about US foreign policy (this was about populism)
She will be speaking on another panel at 10pm specifically about US foreign policy (this was about populism)
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
I don't think AOC was advocating a return to the CP/TPP there but interesting choice of words there...
She will be speaking on another panel at 10pm specifically about US foreign policy (this was about populism)
She will be speaking on another panel at 10pm specifically about US foreign policy (this was about populism)
AOC:
"... and it actually is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is our global alliances that can be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments."
"... and it actually is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is our global alliances that can be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments."
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
AOC:
"... and it actually is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is our global alliances that can be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments."
"... and it actually is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is our global alliances that can be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments."
AOC:
"... where Putin can sabre rattle around Europe and try to bully around our allies there . and for essentially authoritarians to have their own geographic domains....
"... where Putin can sabre rattle around Europe and try to bully around our allies there . and for essentially authoritarians to have their own geographic domains....
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
AOC:
"... where Putin can sabre rattle around Europe and try to bully around our allies there . and for essentially authoritarians to have their own geographic domains....
"... where Putin can sabre rattle around Europe and try to bully around our allies there . and for essentially authoritarians to have their own geographic domains....
AOC:
"...they are looking to withdraw the US from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarianism, of authoritarians that can carve out the world, where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox...
"...they are looking to withdraw the US from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarianism, of authoritarians that can carve out the world, where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox...
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
AOC:
"...they are looking to withdraw the US from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarianism, of authoritarians that can carve out the world, where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox...
"...they are looking to withdraw the US from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarianism, of authoritarians that can carve out the world, where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox...
She was then asked by the moderator if there was any particular institution a Dem presidency would restore
"First & foremost, I think we need to revisit our commitments to international aid. Not just USAID, but dozens of global compacts that Rubio + Trump have withdrawn from...
"First & foremost, I think we need to revisit our commitments to international aid. Not just USAID, but dozens of global compacts that Rubio + Trump have withdrawn from...
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
She was then asked by the moderator if there was any particular institution a Dem presidency would restore
"First & foremost, I think we need to revisit our commitments to international aid. Not just USAID, but dozens of global compacts that Rubio + Trump have withdrawn from...
"First & foremost, I think we need to revisit our commitments to international aid. Not just USAID, but dozens of global compacts that Rubio + Trump have withdrawn from...
AOC:
"... and so I think many of us are here to say: we are here and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership on, on greater and increased commitment to integrity to our values."
"... and so I think many of us are here to say: we are here and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership on, on greater and increased commitment to integrity to our values."
February 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
AOC:
"... and so I think many of us are here to say: we are here and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership on, on greater and increased commitment to integrity to our values."
"... and so I think many of us are here to say: we are here and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership on, on greater and increased commitment to integrity to our values."
AOC:
"... to act out these paradoxes, whether it is kidnapping a foreign head of state, threatening our allies to colonise Greenland, looking the other way in a genocide. Hypocrisies are vulnerabilities, and they threaten democracies globally...
"... to act out these paradoxes, whether it is kidnapping a foreign head of state, threatening our allies to colonise Greenland, looking the other way in a genocide. Hypocrisies are vulnerabilities, and they threaten democracies globally...
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
AOC:
"... to act out these paradoxes, whether it is kidnapping a foreign head of state, threatening our allies to colonise Greenland, looking the other way in a genocide. Hypocrisies are vulnerabilities, and they threaten democracies globally...
"... to act out these paradoxes, whether it is kidnapping a foreign head of state, threatening our allies to colonise Greenland, looking the other way in a genocide. Hypocrisies are vulnerabilities, and they threaten democracies globally...
AOC:
"... we identify that in a rules-based order hypocrisy is vulnerability. What we are seeking is a return to a rules based order that eliminates the hypocrisies around when too often in the West, we'd look the other way, for inconvenient populations...
"... we identify that in a rules-based order hypocrisy is vulnerability. What we are seeking is a return to a rules based order that eliminates the hypocrisies around when too often in the West, we'd look the other way, for inconvenient populations...
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
AOC:
"... we identify that in a rules-based order hypocrisy is vulnerability. What we are seeking is a return to a rules based order that eliminates the hypocrisies around when too often in the West, we'd look the other way, for inconvenient populations...
"... we identify that in a rules-based order hypocrisy is vulnerability. What we are seeking is a return to a rules based order that eliminates the hypocrisies around when too often in the West, we'd look the other way, for inconvenient populations...
AOC
"...There have been many leaders who said we will go back. We have to recognise we're in a new day & a new time. But that does not mean the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from rules-based order & that we're ready to walk away from our commitment to democracy...
"...There have been many leaders who said we will go back. We have to recognise we're in a new day & a new time. But that does not mean the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from rules-based order & that we're ready to walk away from our commitment to democracy...
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
AOC
"...There have been many leaders who said we will go back. We have to recognise we're in a new day & a new time. But that does not mean the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from rules-based order & that we're ready to walk away from our commitment to democracy...
"...There have been many leaders who said we will go back. We have to recognise we're in a new day & a new time. But that does not mean the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from rules-based order & that we're ready to walk away from our commitment to democracy...
AOC
"... and so I think one of the reasons why, not just myself, but many of our colleagues here, many Democrats is because we want to tell a larger story, that what is happening is indeed very grave, and we are in a new era domestically and globally...
"... and so I think one of the reasons why, not just myself, but many of our colleagues here, many Democrats is because we want to tell a larger story, that what is happening is indeed very grave, and we are in a new era domestically and globally...
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
AOC
"... and so I think one of the reasons why, not just myself, but many of our colleagues here, many Democrats is because we want to tell a larger story, that what is happening is indeed very grave, and we are in a new era domestically and globally...
"... and so I think one of the reasons why, not just myself, but many of our colleagues here, many Democrats is because we want to tell a larger story, that what is happening is indeed very grave, and we are in a new era domestically and globally...
She was asked by an audience member why she is at MSC and gave a glimpse to her foreign policy
"We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm, calling into Q the rules-based order that we have or do we have?
"We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm, calling into Q the rules-based order that we have or do we have?
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
She was asked by an audience member why she is at MSC and gave a glimpse to her foreign policy
"We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm, calling into Q the rules-based order that we have or do we have?
"We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm, calling into Q the rules-based order that we have or do we have?
We have a strange situation where AOC is on a Munich panel with Czech President Pavel (ex-Nato general), leader of European Parliament centre right Manfred Weber (whose EPP at times voted with far right) & Daiana Fernández Molero, whose party in Argentina has aligned with Milei
February 13, 2026 at 5:22 PM
We have a strange situation where AOC is on a Munich panel with Czech President Pavel (ex-Nato general), leader of European Parliament centre right Manfred Weber (whose EPP at times voted with far right) & Daiana Fernández Molero, whose party in Argentina has aligned with Milei
I'm not allowed in those rooms 😆
February 13, 2026 at 3:41 PM
I'm not allowed in those rooms 😆
Interesting little Munich tidbit.
The German and French foreign ministers will meet Wang Yi together in just over half an hour.
Idea is to present a common, EU centric front #msc2026
The German and French foreign ministers will meet Wang Yi together in just over half an hour.
Idea is to present a common, EU centric front #msc2026
February 13, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Interesting little Munich tidbit.
The German and French foreign ministers will meet Wang Yi together in just over half an hour.
Idea is to present a common, EU centric front #msc2026
The German and French foreign ministers will meet Wang Yi together in just over half an hour.
Idea is to present a common, EU centric front #msc2026
It quotes him as saying that, i tried to make that clear. You know how it works!
February 13, 2026 at 2:56 PM
It quotes him as saying that, i tried to make that clear. You know how it works!
Quotes Sybiha:
"Ukraine adheres to one-China principle & will take concrete measures to safeguard the safety & legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Ukraine. Ukraine appreciates China's consistent respect for the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries"
"Ukraine adheres to one-China principle & will take concrete measures to safeguard the safety & legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Ukraine. Ukraine appreciates China's consistent respect for the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries"
February 13, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Quotes Sybiha:
"Ukraine adheres to one-China principle & will take concrete measures to safeguard the safety & legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Ukraine. Ukraine appreciates China's consistent respect for the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries"
"Ukraine adheres to one-China principle & will take concrete measures to safeguard the safety & legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Ukraine. Ukraine appreciates China's consistent respect for the sovereignty & territorial integrity of all countries"
Chinese readout:
"Intensive progress in various dialogues surrounding the Ukraine crisis is gratifying... We are willing to maintain communication with Ukraine & work with international community to play a constructive role in achieving an early political solution to crisis"
"Intensive progress in various dialogues surrounding the Ukraine crisis is gratifying... We are willing to maintain communication with Ukraine & work with international community to play a constructive role in achieving an early political solution to crisis"
February 13, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Chinese readout:
"Intensive progress in various dialogues surrounding the Ukraine crisis is gratifying... We are willing to maintain communication with Ukraine & work with international community to play a constructive role in achieving an early political solution to crisis"
"Intensive progress in various dialogues surrounding the Ukraine crisis is gratifying... We are willing to maintain communication with Ukraine & work with international community to play a constructive role in achieving an early political solution to crisis"
Kallas:
"The board of peace charter doesn't refer to any of those. It does not reflect the UN security council resolution…"
Says it's good the US wants to reform the system, but it must "take into account the world as it is - where all states are equal"
"The board of peace charter doesn't refer to any of those. It does not reflect the UN security council resolution…"
Says it's good the US wants to reform the system, but it must "take into account the world as it is - where all states are equal"
February 13, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Kallas:
"The board of peace charter doesn't refer to any of those. It does not reflect the UN security council resolution…"
Says it's good the US wants to reform the system, but it must "take into account the world as it is - where all states are equal"
"The board of peace charter doesn't refer to any of those. It does not reflect the UN security council resolution…"
Says it's good the US wants to reform the system, but it must "take into account the world as it is - where all states are equal"
Kallas pushes back gently against Mike Waltz claim that the UN Security Council established Trump's board of peace
"It is true the UNSC resolution foresaw a BOP but also that it's limited in time to 2027, Palestinians have a say and also referred to Gaza...."
"It is true the UNSC resolution foresaw a BOP but also that it's limited in time to 2027, Palestinians have a say and also referred to Gaza...."
February 13, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Kallas pushes back gently against Mike Waltz claim that the UN Security Council established Trump's board of peace
"It is true the UNSC resolution foresaw a BOP but also that it's limited in time to 2027, Palestinians have a say and also referred to Gaza...."
"It is true the UNSC resolution foresaw a BOP but also that it's limited in time to 2027, Palestinians have a say and also referred to Gaza...."