The Internationalism

Internationalism No. 83, January 2026 Page 10 From the series Asian giants With the commissioning of the Fujian , China inaugurates the three-aircraft-carrier era . The building of the fourth, fifth, and sixth aircraft carriers is widely seen as just a matter of time. However, since the previous Liaoning and Shandong carriers are less advanced, the prospect of always having an advanced aircraft carrier deployed will only become possible with the launching of the fifth: three are needed to maintain a steady rotation with one in use, one in maintenance, and one in training. The real novelty is the capacity to launch the AEW&C Xi'an KJ-600 — Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, i.e., planes equipped with radars — from the ship's deck thanks to an electromagnetic catapult: this allows the carrier to operate beyond the range of AEW&C aircraft taking off from land bases. The Sichuan , a helicopter carrier amphibious assaul...

Internationalism No. 81, November 2025 Page 16 We left off last month at the strange head of the pro-Palestine march, seized by Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer. Heirs to the colonial rule that carved up the Middle East in the early 20 th century, the French president and British prime minister have now become supporters of the recognition of a Palestinian State. They have aligned themselves with Bin Salman, and his double — or triple — game: while the Saudi prince negotiates his petrodollars with Washington for the Abraham Accords , he reassures Paris with a display of support for the Palestinian National Authority and, with Islamabad, he secures himself Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella. It has since become clear that France and Britain sought to insert themselves into the folds and gaps of the American peace plan — twenty points that London helped to formulate through the back-room bargaining between former prime minister Tony Blair and Jared Kushner,...