China, Geopolitics, and the Global South
Uwe Hoering, published first on 9 DashLine, 16 September, 2024
Several military manoeuvres in the Asia Pacific region like Pacific Skies were a demonstration of the growing military cooperation between European NATO members, the US, and their allies in East Asia. Closer cooperation between the transatlantic alliance and partners in the Pacific region is seen by its proponents as a contribution to greater security through deterrence and mutual reinforcement, not only against China but also against North Korea and Russia. However, all the fanfare about NATO’s “Asia-Pacificisation” or Beijing’s insinuation of an „Asian NATO“ should not be taken too seriously, at least not for the time being. More on 9DashLine
Update NATO: 15. September 2024
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius courageously “defied China’s wrath” by sending two German navy warships through the strait between Taiwan and mainland China. At the same time, this was another sign of the eagerness of NATO countries to engage in increasing confrontation and provocation alongside the USA. This is legitimized with the ‘freedom of navigation’ in international waters, which China naturally sees differently in the context of the One-China policy, according to which Taiwan belongs to China. At the same time, there are new pressure from the USA, as usual voiced as a threat by presidential candidate Trump, among others, to increase the defense spending of European NATO members to three percent of the gross national product. And it is questionable whether rumors that the current President Biden is allegedly preparing to expand the USA’s nuclear deterrence to include China are a contribution to easing tensions.
Just as the USA and its allies can demonstrate an impression of unity and military strength, so can China and Russia. As the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, they are also planning joint military maneuvers with naval and air forces in order to “deepen the level of strategic coordination between the armed forces and improve their ability to jointly respond to security threats” in East Asia. Daniel Rakov, a military expert, even envisages a Russian ‘pivot to Asia’, including strengthening the Russian navy in the Pacific region. In the light of the smouldering territorial conflict between Russia and Japan over some of the Kuril Islands, this does not exactly look like an easing of tensions either.
See also the AEPF-Webinar: ‚Global NATO: Implications and Resistance’, July 17, 2024