What the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis have brought to the surface is the latent geopolitical reality that the Global South rejects the policies of neo-mercantalism pursued by the West in the garb of ‘liberal internationalism.’
The West is pursuing a hierarchical international order. None other than the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell blurted this out in an unguarded moment recently with a touch of racist overtone when he said from a public platform that ‘Europe Is a garden. The rest of the world Is a jungle, and the jungle could Invade the garden.’
Tomorrow, China could as well be challenging the US hegemony over the Western Hemisphere. The recent paper by the Chinese Foreign Ministry titled ‘US Hegemony and Its Perils’ tells us that Beijing will no longer be on the defensive.
Meanwhile, a realignment of forces on the world stage is taking place with China and Russia on one side and the US on the other. Doesn’t it convey a big message that on the very eve of the historic announcement in Beijing on Friday, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud landed suddenly in Moscow on a ‘working visit’ and went into a huddle with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who was visibly delighted? (here, here and here )
Of course, we will never know what role Moscow would have played behind the scenes in coordination with Beijing to build bridges between Riyadh and Tehran. All we know that Russia and China actively coordinate their foreign policy moves. Interestingly, on March 6, President Putin had a telephone conversation with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi.
To be sure, the geopolitics of West Asia will never be the same again. Realistically, the first sparrow of spring has appeared but the ice was melted for only three or four rods from the shore. Nonetheless, the sun’s rays give hope, signalling warmer days to come.
Conceivably, Riyadh won’t have any truck further with the diabolical plots hatched in Washington and Tel Aviv to resuscitate an anti-Iran alliance in West Asia. Nor is it in the realms of possibility that Saudi Arabia will be party to any US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
This badly isolates Israel in the region and renders the US toothless. In substantive terms, it scatters the Biden administration’s feverish efforts lately to cajole Riyadh to join Abraham Accords.
However, significantly, a commentary in Global Times noted somewhat audaciously that the Saudi-Iranian deal “set a positive example for other regional hotspot issues, such as the easing and settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And in the future, China could play an important role in building a bridge for countries to solve long-standing thorny issues in the Middle East just as what it did this time.”
Indeed, the joint communique issued in Beijing says, “The three countries [Saudi Arabia, Iran and China] expressed their kenenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security.” Can China pull a rabbit out of the hat? Time will tell.
For the present, though, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement will certainly have positive fallouts on the efforts toward a negotiated settlement in Yemen and Syria as well as on the political instability in Lebanon.
Besides, the joint communique emphasises that Saudi Arabia and Iran intend to revive the 1998 General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports, and Youth. All in all, the Biden administration’s maximum pressure strategy toward Iran has crashed and the West’s sanctions against Iran are being rendered ineffectual. The US’ policy options on Iran have shrunk. Put differently, Iran gains strategic depth to negotiate with the US.
The cutting edge of the US sanctions lies in the restrictions on Iran’s oil trade and access to western banks. It is entirely conceivable that a backlash is about to begin as Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia — three top oil/gas producing countries start accelerating their search for payment mechanisms bypassing the American dollar.
Anonymous
9 comments:
Panic on the Western Front:
'On Friday, Beijing brokered a historic deal to restore relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. These two superpowers cut ties in 2016 and have historically backed rivaling factions in regional conflicts.
The agreement was praised across the Global South. It was described by many as a significant power play by China in becoming a top power broker in West Asia at a time when US influence continues to diminish.
This reality was made evident during last week’s secret talks between Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing, where, per the WSJ, "all parties agreed not to use English in the negotiations, with speeches and documents conducted in Arabic, Farsi or Mandarin."
The agreement gives Riyadh and Tehran two months to hammer out all details before the countries’ foreign ministers meet to sign a finalized deal. Sources say the Iran-GCC summit would occur "sometime after that."
'Israeli officials are expressing dismay at the Iran and Saudi Arabia peace deal which was announced from Beijing last Friday, with an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling reporters that it's the result of American "weakness" as well as failings of the prior Israeli government.'
'Closely on the heels of Reuters reporting that Xi's trip to Moscow is likely to come as soon as next week, The Wall Street Journal writes that the Chinese leader has accepted Zelensky's request to meet, albeit virtually. The talk is expected to happen after Xi first meets with President Putin in Moscow.
"Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, likely after he visits Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter," WSJ reports Monday.
"The meetings with Messrs. Putin and Zelensky, the latter of which is expected to take place virtually, reflect Beijing’s effort to play a more active role in mediating an end to the war in Ukraine, some of the people said."
All of this suggests that Beijing's role as an influential mediator, at a moment Washington has remained resistant to seriously pursuing peace in Ukraine, is gaining traction in both Moscow and Kiev.'
Link to articles:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-host-major-middle-east-summit-after-success-iran-saudi-deal
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-official-blames-american-weakness-chinas-iran-saudi-deal
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/chinas-xi-visit-russia-soon-next-week
Thanks for this article. But unable to put it up as main article as Blogger would remove it for copyright reasons.
The Americans and Israelis are fuming as they are now unable to use the Arab/Muslim states to fight and kill each other, like they had always been doing.
The South Koreans are still being used to gang up with Japan to fight and kill the North Koreans, like using the Taiwan Chinese to fight mainland Chinese.
The Arab Muslim world has woke up and would not be manipulated by the white men to kill each other.
All the fighting going on around the world is all for the benefit of one country - the USA.
The Iran/Saudi Arabia standoff benefits only the USA and Israel. Without the Iranians posing a threat to the Saudis, and thus forcing the Iranians to support the Yemenis, no other country in the Middle East is posing a threat to the Saudis. But the USA sold the threat of Iran to the Saudis, so that they can station themselves inside the country to control the Saudis and at the same time confront Iran by hyping up its nuclear threat.
Likewise, in Ukraine, what benefit does the Europeans hope to achieve by taking on Russia? Let us say they succeeded in weaning themselves away from cheap Russian energy, then what? Ostensibly they are falling into the USA trap of now having to pay the price for energy four to six times what they could buy from Russia via pipeline. Is this not cutting their noses to spite their faces? Is it even logical? People in Europe are waking up to the reality of high energy prices, but that is still worth the price to pay for the EU leaders by supporting the USA agenda. Just like claiming that killing 500,000 Iraqi kids is worth the price to pay for the Iraq fiasco.
I just had a slow walk around the Marina Bay area, watching the tourists enjoying themselves in this oasis of peace, without a care for anything. Everyone enjoying their little moments in safe and secure Singapore.
This is what peace and life are all about. Hope Asean and Asia would not be dragged or coerced into any war by the evil warmongering savages in Washington. The Pinoys are getting very itchy on their backside and wanted to be roasted.
Taiwan Chinese better decide fast to get rid of the traitors or becoming another hopeless Ukraine, island totally destroyed all for nothing, but to be cannon fodder for the Americans and Japanese.
Without the evil warmongering white savages, the world would have peace.
https://youtu.be/mJdsTRQdz3I
Mr RB.
This video by Li JingLing of UAss plan war with China in 2025 and Taiwan people NOT happy with UAss Officals' visits.
This Taiwanese Think Tank sholar said b4 the UAssA can even pee in the morning and when China really invaded, we the Taiwanese used to joke that if the PRCs invaded us in the morning, we be lining up in the afternoon to change our ICs and passports.
No need the Americunts to come.
We are now PRCs.
The dangerous part is that the evil Americans would take the opportunity to bomb TSMC or even their own embassy, and Taiwan would be in pieces, with many bombed to death.
Red bean:
China would view it as an act of war 'cos Taiwan is recognised by both US and China as Chinese territory.
Yes.
The mad Americans are reckless and always thinking of attacking China without thinking that China is now able to hit back at them. They only think that they could plan to hit China and China is sleeping, not planning to bit them.
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