The Khalistan movement, a propaganda-driven campaign demanding a separate state for Sikhs, has long been a source of discord in India…reports Asian Lite news
The International Forum For Rights and Security (IFFRAS), in its comprehensive report on the Khalistan movement, has provided a valuable resource for understanding the complexities and global implications of this issue. More than just a challenge to Indian sovereignty, this movement also presents a significant threat to Western countries and ironically, to the very principles of Sikhism it purports to uphold, Khalsa Vox reported.
The Khalistan movement, a propaganda-driven campaign demanding a separate state for Sikhs, has long been a source of discord in India, the report stated. While the movement has largely been eliminated within India’s borders, it continues to thrive among some sections of the Indian diaspora, causing serious concerns.
Its implications, however, extend far beyond India’s sovereignty, posing a significant threat to Western countries and even the very ethos of Sikhism, Khalsa Vox reported.
The report talks about certain organizations as the key propagators of Khalistan ideology. These entities are not just ideological extremists, but they engage in real-world disruptions, from the vandalism of public property to strategic attacks on Indian diplomatic missions, such as those seen in Melbourne, London, and San Francisco.
Their actions don’t merely pose a threat to India’s territorial integrity but they also exploit the liberal laws of their host countries, using the power of social media to spread their divisive narrative far and wide. These entities have been proscribed by the Indian government as terrorist organizations, Khalsa Vox reported.
As per the report, the Khalistan movement bears an unsettling resemblance to the Muslim Brotherhood, in its demand for a state based on a narrowly defined religious doctrine and its disregard for democratic principles. Both celebrate illiberalism, advocating violence and displaying intolerance towards other religions, Khalsa Vox reported.
This subversive campaign is fueled by funds from Pakistani intelligence and Khalistani sympathizers in the West. Western governments need to recognize the gravity of this threat and take decisive action against this hateful agenda propagated through social media and obscure internet platforms.
It’s time for the West to secure the rights of the Indian diaspora, acting decisively to quell the communal tensions being instigated by foreign entities.
India, undoubtedly, has a significant role to play in educating Western nations about the complexities of South Asian geopolitics. However, the question remains if the West is willing to listen and understand.
The report states that pro-Khalistan outfits in the West have notorious connections with terrorists and banned organizations/entities. These individuals and groups are allegedly involved in training young Sikh youths in Canada with automatic and sniper rifles, pointing to a serious, and urgent, security concern.
The Western governments’ lack of urgency in addressing the Khalistan threat is worrying. Political sensitivity towards the Sikh minority, particularly in regions like British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta, seems to hinder a full-scale crackdown. It’s high time that this issue is confronted, not sidestepped, Khalsa Vox reported.
The era of foreign entities stirring up communal tensions in India is regrettably resurfacing in Western countries. The said report highlights incidents like those in Australia, where armed Sikhs attack the Indian diaspora, which is deeply concerning.
The collaboration of Pakistan’s Khalistani project runners with organized crime syndicates in the West further compounds this threat.
Perhaps the most tragic irony of this entire situation is that the Khalistani propaganda hurts Sikh sentiments and contradicts the principles of Sikhism, a religion that promotes peace, equality, and universal brotherhood. The manipulation of the faith for political gains is a grave injustice to millions of Sikhs worldwide.
The IFFRAS report has provided a much-needed lens to examine the multifaceted threat that the Khalistani propaganda presents, Khalsa Vox reported.
It’s clear that this issue extends beyond the boundaries of India, affecting Western nations and tarnishing the tenets of Sikhism. The report underscores the urgency for unified international action, grounded in an understanding of South Asian geopolitics and the principles of peaceful co-existence that Sikhism truly upholds.
These findings must be used as a catalyst for change, to counter extremist narratives, and to promote a global community that respects territorial sovereignty, religious tolerance, and the true essence of every faith, Khalsa Vox reported further. (ANI)
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (Photo:Xinhua/IANS)
PM Fumio Kishida will leave next week on the first multicountry trip to Africa by a Japanese leader since 2014.
The Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima is just a month away and in a bid to compete against China and Russia for influence in Africa, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is all set to embark on a multi-country trip, reported Nikkei Asia.
PM Kishida will leave next week on the first multicountry trip to Africa by a Japanese leader since 2014. His four stops – Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique – are all part of the Global South, a loosely defined collection of over 100 developing nations. The valuable natural resources acquired by many Global South countries, and their general diplomatic aversion to the United States, have brought overtures from Russia and China to Tokyo’s alarm.
Kishida has told his aides that Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials “have been going all over Africa and Latin America,” adding, “At this rate, we’ll lose to them,” as per Nikkei Asia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang made a visit to Egypt in January, a month after Xi met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Saudi Arabia.
Last year alone Kenya’s trade with China spiked 27 per cent, and polling there shows positive views of Beijing soaring to 82 per cent from 58 per cent in 2021.
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, In Mozambique, a resource-abundant place, a Chinese-backed liquefied natural gas project began production in November. And Ghana’s finance minister paid a visit to China last month to discuss debt restructuring after its default in December, read a report published in Nikkei Asia.
Support from the Global South will be crucial to the G7’s efforts to isolate China and Russia.
G7 foreign ministers, in a statement after their meeting this week, stressed reinforcing an “international order based on the rule of law,” calling out Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s negligence of international law in the East and South China seas.
But what G7 lacks is the economic dominance it once had. Members that accounted for more than 60 per cent of the global gross domestic product from the 1970s to the 1990s now have shares of less than 50 per cent.
Tokyo’s new outreach efforts go beyond Africa. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Foreign Minister, is planning a trip to Latin America later this month.
Peru and Chile are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement to which China has applied. Hayashi is expected to argue that new members must adhere to the CPTPP’s high degree of trade liberalisation, according to Nikkei Asia.
Japan seeks to strengthen ties with the Global South by providing finance, training, and other assistance to nations dealing with high energy costs, food shortages, and climate change, while also conveying Tokyo’s positions on the Ukraine crisis and the geopolitical situation in East Asia.
Japan announced plans last month to provide development assistance based on the needs of recipients, Nikkei Asia reported. (ANI)
Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Australia, said this in response to a question by an Australian journalist, who asked him whether India will reduce its reliance on Russian weapons…reports Asian Lite News
External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar on Monday said that due to the “Western countries’ preference for the military dictatorship in the neighbourhood”, India has a substantial inventory of Russian-origin weapons.
He said this during a joint press meet with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.
Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Australia, said this in response to a question by an Australian journalist, who asked him whether India will reduce its reliance on Russian weapons and rethink it’s relations with Russia owing to the Ukraine conflict.
“We have a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons. And that inventory actually grew for a variety of reasons. You know, the merits of the weapons systems themselves, but also because for multiple decades, Western countries did not supply weapons to India, and in fact, saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner,” Jaishankar said.
He was referring to the Cold War era when the US preferred supplying weapons to Pakistan, which was in the 1980s being ruled by military dictators.
The External Affairs Minister further said that India and Russia have a long-standing relationship that has certainly served New Delhi’s interests well.
“We all in international politics deal with what we have, we make judgments, judgments which are reflective of both our future interests as well as our current situation. And my sense is, in terms of this current conflict, like every military conflict, there are learnings from it, and I am sure my very professional colleagues in the military would be studying it very carefully,” Jaishankar said further.
Last month also Jaishankar, during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had said that India has a right to choose according to what protects it’s national interests, in terms of weapons it wants to purchase.
Presidential address on the occasion of signing the treaties on the accession of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to Russia. Photo Grigoriy Sisoev, RIA Novosti
Vladimir Putin was speaking after signing treaties on the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation, reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday fulminated against the West’s record, singling out the US use of nuclear weapons in the closing days of the Second World War, and then western nations’ centuries of “colonialism”, “slave trading” and the “plundering of India”.
In his speech after signing treaties on the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation – the start of the formal process of their accession – after the Russian-conducted referendums, he asserted that Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine, but “will defend our land with all the powers and means at our disposal”.
Hitting out at the US, he said that it is the only country in the world that has twice used nuclear weapons, destroying Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities, and setting a precedent.
PM Modi in a bilateral meeting with the President of Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.
“Even today, they actually occupy Germany, Japan the Republic of Korea, and other countries, and at the same time cynically call them allies of equal standing,” he said.
“The West… began its colonial policy back in the Middle Ages, and then followed the slave trade, the genocide of Indian tribes in America, the plunder of India, of Africa, the wars of England and France against China…
“What they did was hooking entire nations on drugs, deliberately exterminate entire ethnic groups. For the sake of land and resources they hunted people like animals. This is contrary to the very nature of man, truth, freedom and justice,” Putin said.
According to former British prime minister, who led the UK government from 1997 to 2007, “the biggest geopolitical change of this century will come from China not Russia”….reports Asian Lite News
For the first time in modern history, the East can be on equal terms with the West, as the global dominance of the US and its allies comes to an end, former British prime minister Tony Blair has said.
Due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, “for a large part of the Western population, living standards are stagnating”, Blair noted in his annual lecture at the Ditchley Foundation on Saturday, RT reported.
“Western politics is in turmoil – more partisan, ugly, unproductive; and fueled by social media,” which affects both domestic and international affairs, Blair said, arguing that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine “should become a pivot point reviving our [Western] sense of mission”.
However, according to the 69-year-old, who led the UK government from 1997 to 2007, “the biggest geopolitical change of this century will come from China not Russia”.
“We are coming to the end of Western political and economic dominance. The world is going to be at least bi-polar and possibly multi-polar,” he predicted, RT reported.
China, which is “already the world’s second superpower”, will compete with the West “not just for power but against our system, our way of governing and living,” the Labour politician warned. Beijing “will not be alone. It will have allies. Russia now for sure. Possibly Iran”.
“It is the first time in modern history that the East can be on equal terms with the West,” he added.
The former premier said the events in Ukraine have made it clear the West “cannot rely on the Chinese leadership to behave in the way we would consider rational. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying in the near term that China would attempt to take [the self-governed island of] Taiwan by force. But we can’t base our policy on the certainty that it wouldn’t”.
Kazakhstan’s predicament is understandable. In January this year it tasted the stuff that is the nightmare of the region’s regimes – mass popular and spontaneous uprising across the country, which then it reported was infiltrated by terrorists and radicals, writes Aditi Bhaduri
As Russia’s conflict with Ukraine drags on, its allies and partners in Central Asia are caught in a bind. So far Kazakhstan, the largest Republic in the region in terms of territory, has refused to follow the Russian example of recognising the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as sovereign states. Together they form the Donbass region which was part of eastern Ukraine at the time when war with Russia broke out in February.
In March, Kazakhstan refused to send troops for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. It then announced that it would not recognise the breakaway regions.
On February 21, Russia had recognized the breakaway regions, governed by Moscow-backed militias, as sovereign republics. President Vladimir Putin had announced recognition and signed a decree to that effect.
More recently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev reiterated his country’s stand vis-à-vis these breakaway republics at a discussion at St. Petersburg where he was attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to the president, two key principles in the UN charter — the territorial integrity of countries and the right of nations to self-determination — were at odds with each other in this case. However, if nations’ right to self-determination is exercised all over the globe, instead of the 193 current UN states, 500-600 states would be formed, creating chaos.
Yet Tokayev’s very presence at the conference was reflective of Kazakhstan’s ties with the Russian Federation. This year with most European countries boycotting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the presence of countries carried special symbolism. And Kazakhstan turned out to be a major presence. Tokayev even went on to say that he supported greater Eurasian integration – the Greater Eurasian Partnership, Putin’s pet project, which he announced in 2017. “Kazakhstan, being an active participant in the integration processes, is invariably in favor of mutually beneficial cooperation with other international organizations. …….. the topic of the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership is being discussed with interest at the St. Petersburg Forum……… It is expected that this concept will be oriented, including the creation of a common space of equal cooperation between regional organizations. Therefore, Kazakhstan maintains a positive attitude to the process of creating the Greater Eurasian Partnership,” the president said.
Kazakhstan’s predicament is understandable. In January this year it tasted the stuff that is the nightmare of the region’s regimes – mass popular and spontaneous uprising across the country, which then it reported was infiltrated by terrorists and radicals. In panic it called on Russian led troops from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). However, it also had to assuage genuine grievances and so had the CSTO troops removed as quickly and suddenly as they had been called. While relations with Moscow are crucial in terms of trade, economy, and energy sales – Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Forum, Russia is its largest trading partner and, and, in spite of the western sanctions of Russia, bilateral trade has actually increased since the commencement of Russia’s Ukraine invasion to 12 billion USD, an increase of almost 30 per cent from 2021; it uses Russian territory for access to the Arctic Sea and the Northern Sea Passage, which is important for this landlocked country, and Russian pipelines to transport its oil.
Yet, Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries, boasts of a “multi-vector” foreign policy, trying to do a balancing act between Russia, China, the European Union – a major trade partner -, and the USA. Beyond this, however, Kazakhstan shares a long border with the Russian Federation, almost 7,644 km. It also has a sizable ethnic Russian population.
Even though the community’s share has dwindled over the years since the disintegration of the USSR and emergence of Kazakhstan as a sovereign republic, it still forms around 17 per cent of the overall demographics of the country. They are concentrated around the Northeast of the country, contiguous to the Russian Federation. Though it is improbable that Russia would launch any similar operation on Kazakh territory, and neither have Kazakhstan’s Russian population been subjected to any serious existential threat, as it has done in Ukraine or earlier in Georgia, it is still an unsettling idea for the Kazakhs.
Tokayev’s tightrope walk is thus on expected lines. On one hand ties with Moscow are important, hence Kazakhstan abstained from a UN General Assembly vote condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and voted against the resolution which removed Russia from the Human Rights Council. And which explains Tokayev’s presence at the SPIEF, after cancelling the much-vaunted Victory Day parade at home in May this year – a hallowed Soviet legacy, and his support for the Greater Eurasian Partnership. On the other hand, the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic raises the spectre of a similar operation on Kazakh territory any time in the future. Young westernized Kazakhs, like elsewhere in the region, also held small protests in support of Ukraine, but for political stability Tokayev will always have to turn to Moscow as the events of January demonstrated.
Putin’s war has shattered the illusion of countries like Germany, forcing a profound rethink. The same needs to happen in Asia vis-a-vis China, but it is likely that too many will pay little heed to this lesson….reports Asian Lite News
In one fell swoop, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has forced a momentous change in thinking for Western leaders and strategists. Putin’s willingness to go to war demonstrates how other authoritarian leaders – like Xi Jinping in China – could also act in ways the West finds irrational and unexpected.
The consensus has been that China would not really invade Taiwan, that such a gamble would cost China too much militarily, economically and diplomatically. However, the calculus has now changed, for Xi is cut from the same cloth as Putin.
The bloody invasion of Ukraine – a democratic nation assaulted by an authoritarian state – must cause a reevaluation of assumptions about the risk appetite in both Russia and China. This soul-searching should have far-reaching implications for not only Europe and the USA, but for Asia too.’
Putin’s war has shattered the illusion of countries like Germany, forcing a profound rethink. The same needs to happen in Asia vis-a-vis China, but it is likely that too many will pay little heed to this lesson.
Xi and Putin have overseen strengthening bilateral ties, underscored when Putin met Xi during the Winter Olympics on February 5. The timing of Putin’s invasion, just four days after the Olympics concluded, perhaps indicates some degree of collusion.
It is impossible to know what was discussed at their meeting, but surely a potential war against Ukraine was high on the agenda. The two countries released an unprecedented joint statement where China expressed “sympathy” and “support” for Russian demands for “binding security guarantees in Europe”.
Some analysts draw a direct link. Angela Stent, a Russian specialist at Georgetown University, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies: “I want to underline that Vladimir Putin would not have embarked on this aggression against Ukraine at this time if he didn’t know that he would have Chinese support. It’s not the reason he’s done it, but I agree it’s the timing and the fact that he knew that whatever happened the Chinese would be there for him.”
Russia invaded Georgia just one week before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but now, as the two strongmen practice mutual support, Putin waited till a week after the Winter Olympics before attacking Ukraine.
Indeed, Stent noted: “Now that relationship…is much stronger … We have a different Chinese leader. We’re in a different world now. And so I think this is an essential backdrop for understanding what Putin is doing.”
Patricia M. Kim, a Fellow at the Center for East Asia Policy Studies of the Brookings Institution, commented: “Beijing has made a grave strategic miscalculation in aligning closely with Moscow at a time when states around the world are unequivocally condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
A senior official in the White House revealed, “The US in December 2021 warned China in a diplomatic exchange that Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine. Our information indicates that China then relayed that information to Russia, noting that the US was attempting to sow the division between China and Russia, and that China would not try to dissuade Russia from invading.”
If Putin did tell Xi of his plans at their Beijing meeting, then China helped establish a smokescreen. If Putin did not, then this suggests the USA is more trustworthy than Russia, an intolerable proposition for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is in Chinese leaders’ DNA to mistrust the USA, seeing the “rules-based international order” as an excuse for American hegemony.
Both Putin and Xi see each other as an ally in pushing back against the West, and neither will do anything to weaken the domestic position of the other. In common, they have perceived outstanding grievances and are seeking to reorder the global political landscape.
On February 25, China, along with India and the UAE, abstained from an attempted United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ian Easton of the Project 2049 Institute warned, “Let the record show, and let it not be forgotten, that China did not join the United Nations’ anti-war, pro-Ukraine vote. Xi Jinping is supporting his comrade Vladimir Putin. They are radical Marxists, allied in their campaign to destroy the liberal world order and democracy.”
While this may be true, China’s abstention rather than a “no” vote showed that it would not publicly give full support either. In fact, Beijing is in some degree of discomfiture, since this is a matter unrelated to China’s core interests. There is little to win, much to lose, so China is somewhat risk averse.
Stent acknowledged: “I do believe that the Chinese do not approve of this specter of the violation of another country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. But, as everyone has said, they’re still of course supporting Russia and blaming NATO and the United States for this crisis. So their talking points there are almost identical to the official Russian talking points.”
She further noted: “China will have to very carefully balance its support for Russia with not trying to jeopardize its own economic interests with the West. And it will help Russia, to some extent, get sanctions relief. But, again, this is going to be tricky. And particularly if the Russians go further and the military conflict extends in Ukraine, and there are the massive sanctions that are being threatened by the United States and the European Union.”
Beijing will want the war settled as quickly as possible, especially if it is not humiliating for Moscow and permits Beijing to keep its hands relatively clean. But nor does it want to see NATO and the US emboldened because China feels it is still top of the US hit list. That is why we see China prevaricating, walking a tightrope in areas which it has little experience.
Two Chinese state banks will now restrict Russian commodity purchases, perhaps a subtle hint of an adapting Chinese stance.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone call with British and French counterparts on February 25, outlined five Chinese positions, the first being that “the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and protected” in the “Ukraine issue” (China can still not bear to call it an invasion).
Wang’s second point was that “the security of one country should not come at the expense of the security of other countries,” and he warned off expanding military blocs. This is a return to the old Chinese canard of “discarding the Cold War mentality”. Beijing continually blames the USA and NATO, rather than Russia, for this war.
Thirdly, Wang encouraged all parties to “exercise the necessary restraint,” ignoring the fact that Russia is the aggressor and therefore needs to withdraw. Fourthly, Wang welcomed diplomatic efforts and direct dialogue. Finally, he said the UNSC “should play a constructive role,” even after China abstained from the vote to censure Russia.
One wonders whether Putin’s order to put his nuclear forces on a war footing took China by surprise. Protecting a small renegade like North Korea is one thing for China, but is Xi willing to pay an economic and public-opinion price for maintaining solidarity with Putin?
Social media posts in China include some pro-Ukraine and pro-peace sentiments, but these are mostly represented by thumbs-up emoji rather than verbal displays of support. One such comment was, “One can be indifferent to wars, but should at the very least not advocate wars, or worse, praise invaders.” This rather bland protest invited intense criticism, where one netizen said, “With what kind of state of mind did you write this piece?”
Later, four Chinese professors aired a petition backing the Ukrainian people and calling for Russia to stop. Censors promptly deleted it. Unfortunately, peaceable posts are overwhelmed by hawkish pro-Russian and anti-USA posts on the Chinese internet.
By one observer’s reckoning, about 90 per cent of social media posts are pro-Russia. This simply reflects CCP propaganda, which promotes the Sino-Russian partnership and demonizes the USA. Ultimately, the Chinese government controls the internet so, by allowing such messaging, it continues to stoke the flames of nationalism.
CCP at 100 (Source twitter@ChinaAmbUN) (5)
Adam Ni, a China watcher, commented: “Many Chinese nationalists are sympathetic to Putin’s actions. They reflect on these actions through the lens of modern China’s national humiliation. In their view, Russia was pushed to the wall by the West, and now it’s standing up for itself in the same way that China needs to.”
Fears are rising that, if Russia is willing to risk international opprobrium by invading Ukraine, then China could one day do precisely the same to Taiwan. Indeed, 77 per cent of respondents in a Nikkei and TV Tokyo survey in Japan fear there could be a spillover in Taiwan.
Taiwan has rejected this “today Ukraine, tomorrow Taiwan” narrative, with its defence minister saying the two are not comparable.
While it is true there is no direct link between a Russian attack on Ukraine and a Chinese one on Taiwan, Putin has nonetheless delivered a chilling reminder of a new geopolitical reality, that autocrats are willing to go to war to address their grievances. Putin has stunningly reversed the “peace dividend” after the Cold War ended, but Beijing continues to peddle the fiction that only the USA and NATO harbour a “Cold War mentality”.
There are similarities though. Taiwan and Ukraine are both democratic nations unfortunately positioned next door to nuclear-armed bullies with recidivist territorial ambitions. Russia and
China have both threatened their smaller neighbours for years.
Easton of the Project 2049 Institute again: “We should not downplay the threat facing Taiwan in the wake of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s very real and growing. Key assumptions our leaders made about deterrence and war prevention have been falsified by events. The invasion of Ukraine should be a wake-up call for us all.”
China, not Russia, has been named as the most serious long-term geopolitical challenge for the USA. Furthermore, Taiwan is the USA ninth-largest trading partner (compared to 67th for Ukraine), with the crown jewel being its semiconductor manufacturing. The USA signed the Taiwan Relations Act, but it only commits Washington DC to providing defensive arms rather than promising to come to its aid during a conflict. Nonetheless, President Joe Biden did confirm last year that the USA would defend Taiwan.
The USA and allies repeatedly emphasize the importance of respecting international rules and norms in places like the South China Sea. But at a stroke, Putin has shown what he thinks of such rules. China is no different, demonstrably proving disdain again and again for the rule of law in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
Why would Beijing treat Taiwan any different to the South China Sea, according to this mindset? China has convinced itself that Taiwan is its problem-child province, and not the democratically ruled nation that it actually is. China at least recognized Ukraine as a sovereign nation, something it does not do with Taiwan. There is thus a danger that China will act aggressively.
Xi and Putin are far removed from the man on the street, surrounded by sycophants who only say what their leaders want to hear. Most CCP leaders have minimal contact with the rest of the world, and few speak a second language. They are insular and isolated, and most have no idea what the average Taiwanese thinks of the prospect of living under Chinese jackboots.
What Russia calls “special military operations,” China would simply label “reunification”. The rest of the world would call them “invasions”. Alarmingly, Xi outdoes Putin in terms of his rhetoric for national rejuvenation and hyper-nationalism, plus he is convinced of the inevitable decline of the USA.
Whereas many Russians publicly protested Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, this would be inconceivable in China. Protestors would be swiftly rounded up by the internal security apparatus. Furthermore, there is no avenue for peaceful Chinese to vent their frustrations or disagreements online. China has one of the most tightly controlled internets in the world, and any divergence from the party line is swiftly deleted and punished.
Putin thrives on disorder and chaos, whereas China prefers greater predictability. Xi is not the risk-taker that Putin is, so his approach will be measured rather than foolhardy. He will ensure that the People’s Liberation Army has the weapons it needs, and that the political and propaganda foundations have been properly paid.
South China Sea
At this time, China will be looking to take salient lessons from Russia’s military operations, though an amphibious invasion is very different to one across land borders, as in Ukraine. With Kosovo already applying to join NATO in light of Russia’s actions, ongoing aggression by China could see military build-ups among China’s rivals in the Asia-Pacific region. It could also strengthen the US leadership role, the very thing China wants to diminish.
As in Ukraine, there is every chance the Taiwan populace would rise up to fight an invading Chinese force. There would obviously be major economic punishments and sanctions against China, and it would engender almost global condemnation, as well as perhaps multinational assistance to Taiwan to help it resist. China must add this to its calculations.
Will China use the world’s preoccupation with Ukraine to foment further trouble in its neck of the woods, perhaps along the Indian border or in the South China Sea? China will surely keep the heat on Taiwan for now, and perhaps one lesson it draws from Russia’s invasion is that it must use overwhelming force against Taiwan right from the start.
Incidentally, with Russia suffering heavy equipment losses, and with some international customers perhaps dissuaded from further purchases, this conflict could prove a windfall for China’s arms industry.
Russia will be crippled with severe sanctions, and this will likely mean it cannot maintain and support Russian-sourced equipment it has sold to other nations. There are enormous opportunities here for China in terms of arms sales, which would bring recipients more fully under Beijing’s orb of influence. (ANI)
Richards warned that it was time to accept that the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has been lost and that the United States must start working with the new leadership for the sake of the Afghan people…reports Asian Lite News
Britain’s former chief of defence David Richards on Tuesday said that the West will recognize Taliban sooner or later and urged governments to be “magnanimous in defeat.”
“I think the West is going to end up recognizing the Taliban government. If that’s the case, then we’d better get on with it quicker, sooner rather than later. There’s a great phrase to be magnanimous in victory. I think this is an occasion for us to be magnanimous in defeat,” said Richards to a UK-based media, reported The Khaama Press.
Richards warned that it was time to accept that the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has been lost and that the United States must start working with the new leadership for the sake of the Afghan people.
David Richards has also acknowledged that there are elements inside the Taliban that the UK can work with them and said that the Taliban are now leaders of Afghanistan and they are responsible for 40 million people, reported Tolo News.
“I think the West is going to end up recognizing the Taliban government. If that is the case then we better get on with it sooner rather than later,” former chief of British armed forces, General Lord David Richards. pic.twitter.com/x9QRTsgocn
The call for recognizing the Taliban comes as no country has yet come forward and the country is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis over half of the population in need of assistance and eight million more starving.
Taliban, who are desperate to seek international recognition, and have time and again been reminded that respect for women and human rights, establishing inclusive government, not allowing Afghanistan to become a safe haven of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community.
The former prime minister earlier slammed the US for an “imbecilic” decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in his first statement since the Taliban regained the control of the Asian country…reports Asian Lite News.
The west still faces the threat of 9/11-style attacks by radical Islamist groups but this time using bio-terrorism, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned, The Guardian reported.
In a speech to the defence thinktank Rusi marking the 20th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on the US, Blair, who was British Prime Minister at the time, and supported military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, insisted the terrorist threat remained a first order issue, The Guardian reported.
He insisted that “despite the decline in terrorist attacks, Islamism, both the ideology and the violence, is a first-order security threat; and, unchecked, it will come to us, even if centred far from us, as 9/11 demonstrated. Covid-19 has taught us about deadly pathogens. Bio-terror possibilities may seem like the realm of science fiction; but we would be wise now to prepare for their potential use by non-state actors”.
On Afghanistan, he stressed “our ‘remaking’ didn’t fail because the people didn’t want the country ‘remade’. For sure, we could have ‘remade’ better, but Afghans did not choose the Taliban takeover. The last opinion poll in 2019 showed them with 4 per cent support among the Afghan people.
“They conquered the country by violence, not persuasion. The barrier to ‘nation-building’ is usually not the people, but poor institutional capacity and governance, including corruption, over many years; and most of all the challenge of trying to build whilst internal elements combined with external support are trying to destroy.”
Blair does not name the external elements, but he has long believed Pakistan supported the Taliban, the report said.
The former prime minister earlier slammed the US for an “imbecilic” decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in his first statement since the Taliban regained the control of the Asian country.
“The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary,” Blair, who took Britain into war in Afghanistan alongside the US in 2001, wrote in an article published on the website of his Institute for Global Change last month.
“We didn’t need to do it. We chose to do it,” he said, noting that the military withdrawal was carried out “in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan” about ending “the forever wars”.
“The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by a grand strategy but by politics,” he said.
Blair broke his silence as chaos at the Kabul airport has worsened amid reports of stampedes and people being crushed to death.
