China’s philosophy of peace
CONFRONTATION of geo-politics in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has exposed various faulty lines in the prevailing system of international politics.
Unilateral violations of international laws in the past by the US and its allies have now haunted them.
Regional economies have been in the line of fire since the start of this unfortunate tussle in which US, EU and NATO have played very destructive manoeuvrings and manipulations.
Its slipover ramifications have badly damaged chain supplies of various commodities and production channels around the world.
Moreover, unilateral impositions of sanctions against Russia have multiplier socio-economic, geopolitical and geo-strategic implications.
According to latest official figures (February 2022) intra-regional trade with Russia has drastically decreased in most of the Central Asian Region.
Even it has badly hit these economies in terms of foreign direct investments, remittances, and joint ventures.
It has dragged food and energy supplies into danger zone thus created immense insecurity of the same.
Now slowly but surely geo-economy and geopolitics of food & energy will change in the region and beyond.
It has forced the EU to search out new means of energy supplies other than Russian.
Norwegian LPG has become hot cake in the EU soil but it is mere a make shift arrangement.
Even Africa has now been pinpointed as new energy potential for the Europe.
EU and Turkey are seriously considering chalk-out a joint energy strategy to counter the backlash of Russian energy supplies.
Azerbaijan may be a reliable energy source for the Europe.The EU strategic switching from oil & gas to renewables will not be materialized very soon.
In this regard, despite rotary of the EU senior leadership, Germany has affected the most.Its industrialization process has been halted and dusted because of disruption in Russian gas supplies.
Moreover, miscalculations of the US, EU and NATO have ruined the mismatching expectations of Ukraine.
Obviously, US and EU sponsored Eastward march, the next door to Russia have altered Russia which considered this planned move as tactical danger for its territorial sovereignty and fall of Crimea was its ultimate result.
Even EU sugar-coated economic encroachment has now proved as scapegoat.Minsk peace agreement of 1997 between Russia and Ukraine once again proved ineffective because of ill deigns of the West and its strategic allies in the region.
Now ongoing Russia and Ukraine war has entered into its third week and seemingly it seems that Russia has now changed its military strategy to enclave Kiev gradually by capturing coastal areas and seaports.
It fears that it will face tough resistance in urban areas and there will be guerrilla war.
Global banking & finance sector has been mortared since the start of this war which has further compounded after the imposition of sanctions against Russia.
Bonds markets have become flat.Money markets have become monster.Upward increase in the US Federal Reserve System rates has produced havocs in the stock changes around the world.
Ultimately, international payment and clearing system have landed into a blind alley.
Oil markets have been sandwiched because of ongoing power politics in the region and beyond.
The US has now warned even India a strategic partner, not to purchase Russian oil.Saudi Arabian inclination towards Chinese Yuan has produced shock & awe in the international markets and its schemers.
It has rattled various capitals even Washington DC.Unfortunately, ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has also tested ASEAN and on the US hot persuasions many member countries have now imposed sanctions against Russia.
The ten foreign ministers of ASEAN stated they were ‘deeply concerned’ and called on the ‘relevant parties’ to ‘exercise maximum restraint’, pursue dialogue and de-escalate tensions.
Indonesia had called for Russia to resolve its dispute with Ukraine peacefully, warning that a conflict risked derailing the world’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
Most recent telephone conversation between Indonesian and China head of the states has now diluted it.
Pakistan current account deficit has now further deteriorated because of high oil prices in the world.
Even Pakistan’s energy costs double to $12billion during the seven-month period from July to January.
Pakistan is struggling to buy diesel from Russia as there has been a supply shortage due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has caused widespread disruption to the supply chain.
Interestingly, the top advisers to Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in Rome to discuss China’s alleged support for Russia, even as the Kremlin denied reports that it had requested Chinese military equipment to use in the war.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi spoke, with the Biden administration increasingly concerned that China is using the Ukraine war to advance Beijing’s long-term interest in its competition with the United States.
The US was seeking clarity on Beijing’s posture and was warning the Chinese anew that assistance for Russia including helping it avert sanctions imposed by the US and Western allies would be costly for them.
The US bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy.
We will not allow that to go forward, he said.Russia, however, denied it needed China’s help.The Biden administration is also accusing China of spreading Russian disinformation that could be a pretext for Putin’s forces to attack Ukraine with chemical or biological weapons.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the US has been spreading disinformation targeting China recently over the Ukraine issue.
It is malicious.China pressed that all parties should exercise restraint and strive to cool down the situation, rather than fueling the tension.
China promotes diplomatic settlements instead of further escalating the situation.Most recently China accused the United States of “raising tensions” and “creating panic” over the Ukraine crisis.
China slammed the US for supplying of weapons to Ukraine against a Russian invasion.China lashed out at Washington over the sanctions and said it was raising tensions by sending weapons to Ukraine.
China termed US behaviour as irresponsible and immoral.She said China had “called on all parties to respect and attach importance to each other’s legitimate security concerns, strive to resolve issues through negotiation and consultation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
” Chinese foreign ministry representative Hua added that Beijing believes “sanctions have never been a fundamental and effective way to solve problems”.Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi strived hard to persuade the EU leadership to give peace a chance.
Chinese peaceful persuasions to resolve the Ukraine crisis vividly reflects its century old philosophy of immortal peace which has comparative advantage over false and fake propaganda of the US and the West.
—The writer is Director: The Centre for South Asia and International Studies (CSAIS), Islamabad, Regional Expert: China, CPEC, BRI.
