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Geopolitics

Erdogan Issues Warning After Syrian Attack, NATO Weighs Response

Worldcrunch

AL JAZEERA, FRANCE 24,HÜRRIYET (Turkey)

BRUSSELS - NATO is holding a special meeting in Brussels on Tuesday at Ankara's request, after Syria shot down a Turkish warplane last week, an incident which Turkey has branded an "act of aggression."

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke for the first time about the incident Tuesday, saying the Turkish Armed Forces had changed its rules of engagement in the wake of the crisis: "The Turkish military will retaliate against border violations by Syria," the Turkish daily newspaper Hürriyet reports.

According to France 24, The Turkish prime minister called the act a "cowardly attack". In his speech, Erdogan said the Turkish plane was shot down in international air space and crashed into Syrian waters, adding that Syrian helicopters had violated Turkey's airspace five times, but were peacefully warned to leave.

It is only the second time that NATO will convene under Article 4 of its charter, which provides for consultations when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat. The only other time was in 2003 to discuss the Iraq war, which was also at the request of Turkey, Al Jazeera reports.

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Economy

Globalization Takes A New Turn, Away From China

China is still a manufacturing juggernaut and a growing power, but companies are looking for alternatives as Chinese labor costs continue to rise — as do geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

Photo of a woman working at a motorbike factory in China's Yunnan Province.

A woman works at a motorbike factory in China's Yunnan Province.

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — What were the representatives of dozens of large American companies doing in Vietnam these past few days?

A few days earlier, a delegation of foreign company chiefs currently based in China were being welcomed by business and government leaders in Mexico.

Then there was Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese subcontractor, which signed an investment deal in the Indian state of Telangana, enabling the creation of 100,000 jobs. You read that right: 100,000 jobs.

What these three examples have in common is the frantic search for production sites — other than China!

For the past quarter century, China has borne the crown of the "world's factory," manufacturing the parts and products that the rest of the planet needs. Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba.com platform is based on this principle: if you are a manufacturer and you are looking for cheap ball bearings, or if you are looking for the cheapest way to produce socks or computers, Alibaba will provide you with a solution among the jungle of factories in Shenzhen or Dongguan, in southern China.

All of this is still not over, but the ebb is well underway.

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