Will China Stay Quiet on Ukraine?
Jagannath P. Panda
Introduction:
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “unprovoked” and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine (the so-called “special military operation”) has underscored the deeply problematic aspects of international politics today. The war on Ukraine has once again exposed the utter ineffectualness of global mechanisms like the United Nations (UN), where Russia could forward its own warmongering by simply employing its own vote. Of course, the abstentions by China, India, and the United Arab Emirates conveyed that even war-guaranteed death and destruction are not enough to unite the world. Even as Western leaders are horrified and have now imposed more sanctions on Russia, targeting banks, oil refineries, and military exports, the West’s delayed and inept response appears rhetorical, reeking of self-interest against collective good.
Not that the Asian powers have fared well either: China and India are conspicuously silent, though Japan has joined the West in sanctioning Russia. India’s neutrality or emphasis on “restraint on all sides” and “constructive diplomacy” is primarily driven by its traditional ties with Russia. China’s “chilling” silence, on the other hand, adumbrates President Xi Jinping’s long-drawn strategic maneuver in his hegemonic power play against the United States, as also his ambitions for an enhanced presence in Eurasia.
Related Publications
-
China: Can It Control Japan’s Taiwan Policy?
Introduction: China’s reaction to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was resolute. The military exercises with live-fire drill were a nearly Pavlovian reaction suggesting they were long pre-planned. […]
-
The Russia-India-China Trilateral After Ukraine: Will Beijing Take the Lead?
Introduction: At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in late July, which included China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, People’s Republic of China (PRC) State […]
-
Will India and China Escape the Thucydides’ Trap?
Introduction: About 10 days after the U.S. House of Representatives’ Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, India finally broke its studied silence over both the trip and China’s consequent unprecedented […]
-
Three Decades of India’s Eastward Engagement: China’s Perceptions and Responses
Abstract: This issue brief looks into China’s perceptions and responses to India’s Act East Policy. It argues that China sees India’s Act East Policy in three phases – the first […]
-
Did Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip Close the Thucydides Trap?
This article was originally posted on The National Interest’s website, you can find the article here. Chinese state media has declared the U.S. House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit […]
-
Chinese Influence Networks in Finland: A Preliminary Case Study
Summary: The Communist Party of China has established networks of influence and intelligence in Finland, very similar to those observed in other democracies. The networks under survey in this paper […]