text: Meanwhile, Japan announced plans to open a new office to manage Taiwan affairs, raising the stakes in Tokyo’s support for the self-ruled island in a move sure to further anger Beijing. The new position, to take effect next April, will handle maritime issues in the East China Sea, including Taiwan and the Senkaku Islands. The post, announced Friday, will be held by a senior diplomat. Japan also began construction of new hardened missile facilities on Ishigaki Island. Ishigaki is one of the southwestern-most islands in the Ryukyu island chain and only 200 miles from Taiwan. Japan is deploying PAC-3 antiaircraft missiles and Type 12 antiship missiles to Ishigaki as a defense against possible incursions by Chinese PLA forces in the nearby disputed Senkaku islands . On Yonaguni island, 60 miles from the Taiwan coast, Japan deployed a new early warning radar system that is tied into Ishigaki and three other missile bases along Japan’s Ryukyu island chain. (AC: The Hong Kong elections were held in trademark Chinese Communist Party fashion, with the results likely preordained through the new election laws and arrests of political opposition party members. Hong Kong under the PRC is a glimpse of what other Pacific Islands nations have to look forward to as China expands its presence in the Pacific. Japan’s decision to open a new Taiwan affairs office is a bold move meant to signal its support for Taiwan and its intention to resist any attempts by Beijing to repatriate Taiwan by force. Lithuania opened a similar trade office in November and has been embroiled in a trade and sanctions war with Beijing as a result. Japan has a vested interest in supporting Taiwan since Beijing has made clear it will eventually seek to take control of Japan’s Senkaku and southern Ryukyu Island chains. As a result of China’s claims to these southern island chains, Japanese Self Defense Forces (JSDF) are planning on purchasing and fielding new land attack missile systems capable of hitting targets in mainland China.– M.M.)Domestic SITREP: Americans to struggle with winter heating costsFOOD SUPPLY: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making available an additional $100 million in funding through the new Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, which is now running at about a billion dollars. The federal government will grant loans to smaller food processors looking to expand their operations, in an effort to shift some production away from a fewer number of giant processing plants to smaller, local poultry, pork, and beef processing facilities. (AC: COVID-related meat processing facility shutdowns in 2020 led to a supply crunch, which will again be a risk heading into winter. This loan program won’t have an immediate impact as the loan processing and construction progress will take months to years, however, decentralizing meat processing is a step in the right direction. – M.S.)BBB: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) over the weekend said he won’t support the $2 trillion Build Back Better Bill, tanking a key piece of legislation from the Biden administration. Unless significant changes are made, Manchin said he couldn’t support additional spending that would drive up inflation and expand federal debt. (AC: According to Gallup, roughly 70% of lower-income American households report facing hardships over inflation. In a similar poll from Wall Street Journal, 56% of households reported inflation-induced financial strain. Higher inflation is a major risk for Democrats heading into 2022 elections. This is so far very similar to the late 1960s, when President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society spending programs drove up inflation, and led to a landslide election for Nixon in 1972. – M.S.)