Want to stop a third world war? Pick up the phone
America’s and China’s defence ministers will meet in Singapore. They need to talk more
ON COMING to power Jim Hacker, the protagonist of “Yes, Prime Minister”, a British comedy series, asks about the hotline to the Kremlin. It works only “theoretically”, he is told; once they reached a switchboard operator who “didn’t seem to speak much English”. What’s more, using it “tends to create unnecessary panic at the other end”.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “High stakes on the high seas”
From the June 1st 2024 edition
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