Morsi continues to defy Egyptian military despite crumbling cabinet; tensions high at ASEAN meeting; Japan's LDP Party set to consolidate power; drones kill 17 in Waziristan; Bolivian plane suspected of carrying Snowden; and more

Top of the Agenda: Egypt Ultimatium Deadline Approaches

Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi continued to defy the military despite his crumbling cabinet, with six resignations since protests began Sunday (NYT). "There is no substitute for legitimacy," Morsi said in a televised speech late Tuesday. Opposition leaders rejected his proposals to install a technocratic government and charge a committee with amending the constitution (al-Jazeera). If a power-sharing agreement is not reached by Wednesday afternoon, the army will reportedly suspend the constitution, dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament, and install a primarily civilian interim council (Reuters). U.S. military leaders tried to dissuade their Egyptian counterparts from mounting a coup; under U.S. law, it would trigger the suspension of military aid (WSJ).

Analysis

"It is not just about the fuel shortages, power outages, deteriorating economy or soaring prices. Western media rarely, if ever, mention the Muslim Brotherhood's assault on Egyptian identity, culture and way of life as a core cause of protests," writes Wael Nawara for al-Monitor.

"Reliance on street mobilization and army intervention to bring down an elected leader who has support on the ground is unlikely to lead to a positive outcome. On the contrary, that pattern--seen in Spain in 1936, Iran in 1953, Chile in 1973, Turkey in 1980, Sudan in 1989, and Algeria and Tajikistan in 1992--usually leads to military dictatorships, civil wars, or both," writes Omar Ashour for Project Syndicate.

"The greatest force to be overcome in governments and societies everywhere is inertia. Demonstrations are easy. Lasting change is hard. Those who hope for it in the Arab world and elsewhere must focus more on training oppositions in the long game of getting and consolidating power and less on how today's chants are playing on CNN or in the Twitterverse," writes David Rothkopf for Foreign Policy.

 

PACIFIC RIM

Tensions Flare at ASEAN Meeting

Philippine and Chinese ministers exchanged tense remarks (Reuters) during a regional security meeting in Brunei despite China's agreement later that day to hold talks with ASEAN on maritime rules in the South China Sea. The talks, to be held in China, are relatively low-level.

This CFR Backgrounder delves into the territorial disputes riling the region.

JAPAN: Japan's LDP Party, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, looks set to consolidate power in a vote for the legislature's upper chamber this month (KyodoNews).

This CFR Backgrounder explains Abenomics, the prime minister's grand plan to jolt the country's economy out of decades of stagnation.

ELSEWHERE:

Drones kill 17 in Waziristan

Bolivian plane suspected of carrying Snowden

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.