8 April 2022 0: 00
Western hegemony and power politics are a source of instability in the world
In an author's column for Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Chinese Ambassador to Russia discusses how the North Atlantic Alliance has been undermining the world's security sphere for years
"NATO is the root cause and tumor of all these conflicts"
More than three decades have passed since the end of the cold war, the dark clouds of conflict and war have not yet lifted, and turmoil and instability continue to haunt humanity. What is happening to the world? What disturbs people's peace and quiet? The Spanish newspaper Rebelión recently wrote that " NATO's insatiable pursuit of its goals is the root of the problems and the very cancer that underlies all these conflicts."
Thirty years ago, NATO, led by the United States, won the Cold War. But the victory did not stop the Alliance's expansion drive — rather, it only accelerated its expansion. Over the past 30 years, it has treacherously expanded eastward five times, with the result that the number of member states has increased from 16 to 30, and the "sword's edge" from the Berlin Wall has reached all the way to the Russian border. The sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union was eliminated by all means, a large number of modern strategic offensive weapons were sent to the countries of Eastern Europe, and the great power was mercilessly cornered.
Clearly, NATO's goals go far beyond containing former rivals. In order to establish a unipolar world, where one hegemon reigns, the members of the Alliance put the interests of America and the entire West first, and fight dissent on a global scale, and extremely harshly and in a spirit of complete permissiveness.
Armed with the idea of their own exclusivity, they attack the East in three dimensions at once.
First, NATO has provoked a series of wars against sovereign States. Guided by the "clash of civilizations" theory, members of the Alliance fomented war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the banner of "humanitarian intervention", they invaded Kosovo and dismembered Yugoslavia, during which operation they also brazenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in the FRY in 1999. Then, under the so-called "pre-emptive strike doctrine," they invaded Iraq, bypassing the United Nations, using a test tube of laundry detergent as evidence of "weapons of mass destruction." Under the pretext of "democratic transformations", they sent troops to Libya and Syria. In the name of "fighting terrorism", the war in Afghanistan was waged for twenty years. For years, NATO has wreaked havoc around the world. According to incomplete data, the wars waged and participated in by this bloc, only after 2001, claimed the lives of 900 thousand people, including almost 400 thousand civilians. Tens of millions of people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and other countries have lost their homes and become refugees, their countries have been devastated, and their families have been destroyed.
Secondly, NATO members are constantly provoking "color revolutions" around the world, pursuing their own geopolitical interests. The "Rose Revolution" in Georgia, the "orange revolution" in Ukraine, the" tulip revolution "in Kyrgyzstan, the" cedar revolution "in Lebanon, the" Arab Spring "initiated by the" jasmine revolution "in Tunisia, as well as the failed "color revolution" in Belarus and the " unrest over amendments to the Law on extradition from Hong Kong" - NATO, led by the United States, is behind all this. What they did not do to create chaos and upheaval, just to fish in muddy waters!
Third, under the guise of "democracy and human rights," members of the Alliance blatantly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries to restrain their development. Against Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and other "unyielding and disobedient" — NATO wielded a club of unilateral sanctions that are imposed in all areas, including politics, economics and science and technology. Similarly, to undermine China's development, they concocted the lie of the century about the" genocide "in Xinjiang, secretly supported the Dalai Lama's clique in its separatist activities, often sent the wrong signals to forces advocating "Taiwan independence", and repeatedly created trade tensions between China and the United States. The case even went as far as illegally detaining Huawei's chief financial officer, Ms. Meng Wanzhou, for almost 1,000 days in Vancouver. And in this war, the West does not disdain any means of disinformation and denigration, and uses the entire arsenal of methods to impose sanctions and exert pressure. However, in vain — all these unscrupulous plans are clearly visible.
The "defensive Alliance" has become an instrument of US hegemony
The first Secretary General of NATO, Lord Ismay, outlined its goals in the initial years after the founding of this bloc:
- Keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down" ("Keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down").
With the end of the cold war, all of these goals became meaningless, and there was no reason for NATO to continue to exist. But instead of disbanding, as the Warsaw Pact Organization — NATO-once did, this "cold War freak" turned into the "No. 1 assassin" running errands for Washington to establish a unipolar world.
Since then, the West has recklessly encroached on the sovereignty of other countries to the detriment of global security, opening one Pandora's box after another in its geopolitical interests, which creates bad precedents in the development of international relations, undermines generally accepted norms and seriously undermines peace and stability around the world.
However, NATO, regardless of the facts, not only promotes double standards, but also advocates the so-called "international order based on rules", which is a classic technique of manipulation and substitution of concepts.
The "rules" they talk about are set by Western countries and serve the interests of a world order dominated by the West itself. In fact, they replace the universal fundamental norms of international relations with some" rules " of their own making and crudely impose their will on others. This has nothing to do with conscious respect for security or democracy — this is some new "fist law". Selfish block politics and the solution of world issues by a "narrow circle of chosen ones" run counter to reality, promise insignificant prospects and will only lead to a complete historical impasse.
Our answer is the concept of shared, integrated, shared and sustainable security: this is the real torch of freedom, lighting the way for the whole world
Chinese civilization has always been committed to peace and harmony. As the ancient Chinese proverbs say: "morality and morality are necessary to preserve peace between kingdoms and mutual understanding between people", "peace is the highest value", "a noble person is in harmony with others while maintaining his own opinions".
For thousands of years, these ideas have become part of the flesh and blood of the Chinese people, and have become their genetic memory. The first great unification in the history of the Chinese state took place during the Qin Dynasty (almost 2200 years ago), which after that was at the peak of power, but did not go to war at all, but built the Great Wall and strengthened defensive structures.
Then, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), whose military power was second to none, China opened the Silk Road, which ran from east to west and connected Europe and Asia, becoming a global artery of friendly communication.
Further, under the Song Dynasty (960-1279), China's GDP was 40% of the world's, but it never led an aggressive expansion, spreading only the idea of friendship, peace and cooperation.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Chinese military technology dominated the globe, and Admiral Zheng He, who led the largest fleet of the time, made seven voyages West in the early 15th century, reaching the east coast of Africa. Instead of war and murder, he carried silk, porcelain, tea, and advanced Chinese technology.
Finally, the People's Republic of China has always maintained an independent and peaceful foreign policy since its establishment in 1949. China, as the initiator of the five basic principles of peaceful coexistence, always stands together with most developing countries and advocates that all countries of the world — large or small, strong or weak — are equal.
We oppose imperialist hegemonism and the policy of force, and firmly defend the international system centered on the United Nations and the world order based on international law. By consistently promoting the policy of reform and openness, we remain committed to the principles of mutual benefit and win-win, and seek consultation and cooperation.
Since 2012, when China launched the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative was launched, a huge amount of work has been done to create a multipolar world and promote the common values of all mankind, such as peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom, and tremendous efforts have continued to build a Community of common destiny for humanity.
Against the backdrop of the resurgence of the cold war mentality in the United States and other Western countries, which in every possible way provoke block confrontation, undermine the international legal order, are fond of promoting barriers, revel in hegemony and mockery of weak countries, China strongly opposes this, against the cold war mentality and the "zero — sum game". China strongly supports the new concept of common, integrated, shared and sustainable security.
Shared security means that the security of one State should not be achieved at the expense of the security of another, that regional security cannot be achieved by expanding military blocs — and that security is indivisible.
Integrated security involves the integrated maintenance of security in traditional and non-traditional areas, and involves the development of coordinated security management steps based on a comprehensive analysis of the historical background of the problem and the real situation.
Joint security means promoting security in all parts of the world and strengthening strategic mutual trust between all countries of the world through dialogue and cooperation, and resolving disputes through peaceful means.
Sustainable security-implies that development and security are equally important for achieving long-term stability. Development is the most important guarantee of security. Therefore, it is necessary to work actively to improve the well-being of the population and reduce the gap between rich and poor — that is, to promote sustainable security through sustainable development.
The new concept of security proposed by China is in line with the desire for peace, development, cooperation and common gain, which are the main trends of the era of globalization. It reflects the need for all countries to establish cooperation in order to adequately respond to security challenges, demonstrates cooperation in the spirit of solidarity and friendship, which is diametrically opposed to the "NATO security concept", imbued with block politics and military confrontation — and is an effective recipe that can truly contribute to the maintenance of peace and development around the globe.
You shouldn't mess with the Chinese people if you make them angry — it can end badly
Recently, the collective West, led by the United States, often plays the "map of Xinjiang", "map of Hong Kong [Hong Kong — ed.]" and the "Taiwan map", maliciously spreading misinformation and fakes to put pressure and hold back China's development. They use the dirtiest and most cynical methods, which go far beyond all the limits of morality.
For example, Washington and its allies came up with a monstrous absurdity: the so — called "genocide", "forced labor" and "religious oppression" in Xinjiang, a unique area in the north-west of China.
All this is an attempt to undermine China's national unity and hinder its development. Over the past 60 years, Xinjiang's economy has grown 160-fold, the Uighur population has increased from 2.2 million to 12 million, and the average life expectancy has increased from 30 years to 74.7 years. On average, there is one mosque for every 530 Muslims in Xinjiang, and the total number of mosques in Xinjiang alone is ten times greater than in the entire United States. What kind of "genocide" and "religious oppression" can we talk about here?
Similarly, the collective West has tried to undermine Hong Kong's prosperity and stability by betting on provoking a "color revolution" through "rioting over extradition amendments"-a law that would make criminals who have committed crimes in mainland China no longer able to find refuge on the island city.
Then the West imposed illegal sanctions, sheltering those who supported the anti-Chinese riots in Hong Kong, and even instructed several members of the Ukrainian "Azov battalion" * (recognized as extremist and banned in Russia — ed.) to come to this island city to provide leadership and support for provocations.
I would like to remind you that Hong Kong's affairs are exclusively an internal matter of China. The Chinese Government has taken a number of decisive and important measures in a timely manner, including the adoption of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the improvement of its electoral system, adhering to the "one country, two systems" principle and implementing the "patriots rule Hong Kong"principle. This made it possible to reverse the situation in the metropolis, which has successfully moved from chaos to law and order, and to destroy the conspiracy of the United States and other Western countries.
Recently, Washington and its allies have once again started to fan the noise on the Taiwan issue. They continue to supply weapons to the island, strengthen US-Taiwanese military ties, condone the "Taiwan independence" forces, continue to escalate the situation and show force in the South China Sea, and artificially provoke a geopolitical confrontation.
Whereas in the Constitution, in the Law on Countering Activities aimed at splitting the country, in the Law on State Security and in the Law on Countering Foreign Sanctions of the PRC, it is clearly written: there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an integral part of the sacred territory of China.
That is why China opposes any country's interference in China's internal affairs by any means and under any pretext. We call on the United States to respect the one-China principle and the relevant provisions of the China-US joint communiques and not to play with fire on the Taiwan issue.
As President Xi Jinping said, " The Chinese people do not create problems, but they are not afraid of them. No amount of difficulties and risks will make China bow ingratiatingly, much less kneel! The Chinese people cannot be intimidated or broken! We will never sit idly by while our national sovereignty, security and development interests are violated — and we will never allow anyone to encroach on the sacred territory of our Homeland and divide it. No country should expect us to give up our core interests or accept attempts by third parties to harm China's sovereignty, security, and development interests."
southfront.org
