Ukraine, Russia, all roads lead to China!
If you are confused by the undue interest, and at times hysterical protestations on the part of Bidens America and other Western countries regarding the Ukraine Russia stand-off, then be assured you are supposed to be confused by all the chatter and saber-rattling of the past weeks.
The truth is a little more sobering once you have cleared the smokescreen. Anxiety about Russias intentions towards Ukraine and, by extension Poland and the Baltic states are to be found far away at the doorstep of the Middle Kingdom.
The West has no stomach to come out into the open and seriously oppose Chinas plans for Taiwan and the South China sea due to their addiction to Chinese markets and Chinese money as well as of their growing fear of Chinese burgeoning military might and the likely hood of them using that muscle should they be hampered in their international ambitions.
The West finds itself in a ‘Catch22’ scenario damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Seeking a way out of the conundrum at no immediate cost has been an exercise in shadow play.
By acting tough with Putin’s Russia, they hope to convince China of their resolve to confront adventurism wherever they find it i.e., Taiwan South China sea.
On the other hand, China is committed to dismantling the established concepts of domestic and international order. The entire institutional spectrum is under attack, and China quietly, for the moment, is leading that offensive. At the same time, more and more, it acts to accelerate the demise of the old order believing they hold the key that will serve as a precursor to the next level of Western disintegration.
Xi Jinping’s China is no longer content to sit in the shadow of the United States and is flexing its muscle claiming psychological and ideological superiority by defying rather than conciliating America as they emphasize their growing superior physical power.
China senses the United States growing ambivalence toward their leadership of the current international system, and for both countries, Russia and Ukraine have become pawns in the ‘Great Game.
Whatever the outcome in Eastern Europe, the effects will influence the next move from Beijing.
We certainly live in interesting times.
