AT A time of great geopolitical flux – decried by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a consequence of the “obsolete” global governance system – indications are that international peace efforts lags way behind a satiable appetite for conflict.
The UN was founded in the aftermath of WWII in 1945 in a noble effort to ensure no repeat of a global conflict that had left nations in ruins.
The UN Charter espouses the essence of a consensus-led international world order. The ethos of multilateralism has therefore formed a nucleus of the UN system, where debate and consensus triumphs over bullying and unilateralism. In a nutshell, the UN was formed in an endeavour to ensure that the powerful would not run roughshod over the weak.
However, the wealthy nations of the global north, led by the US that boasts the status as the world’s only remaining superpower since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union at the turn of the 1990’s, have steadily cemented their power and influence over their weaker counterparts in the global south.
The fragmentation of the global south itself by the West has been meticulous and systematic throughout history, characterised by deliberate colonial divide-and-rule system, thereby ensuring elongated periods of western dominance through their brand of “democracy”.
The ferocious power of the G7 – a group of western nations made up of the US, France, UK, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy, has dominated the global power architecture to the detriment of their opponents – real or perceived.
Recently, the UN chief Guterres lamented the notable defects in the UN system, saying that it was relevant 80 years ago and today, not anymore.
Being the world’s biggest economy and the only lingering superpower, the US has never been shy to assert its unilateral will on the rest of the international community.
Washington has been smart at its game, frequently using the G7 to create a sense of “collectivism” and pouring dollars into the coffers of the under-funded NATO - resulting in Washington’s foreign policy objectives being carried out willy-nilly as the “collective” objective of NATO.
The consequence of this destructive Washington’s foreign policy strategy has been perilous to the global harmony and peaceful co-existence.
At the whims of Washington, the G7 bought into a so-called “rules-based international order” – ostensibly implying that any state that does not subscribe to the US-framed form of democracy is invariably out of step with the dictates of the “rules-based international world order”.
The dominance of the US in forums such as the G7, NATO and to a certain extent the EU, WTO, the World Bank and the IMF, among others, has effectively positioned the US as the world’s most powerful “oversight officer” with the power to enforce “compliance” anywhere, and anyhow, in spite of the existence of the UN system notwithstanding its fault-lines as noted by Secretary-General Guterres himself.
Add to the above cacophony the fact that the US is one of the only five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) with a crucial veto power that is woefully susceptible to gross abuse.
A good example of this abomination is the recent vetoing of several UNSC-drafted resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the unfolding Israeli genocide in Palestine, particularly across the besieged Gaza Strip where more than 20 000 people have been killed in a relentless wave of US-supplied bombardment.
More than 9 000 of the fatalities have been children, more than 6 000 women and the rest innocent men killed as part of Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians in response to the October 7 attacks by resistance group Hamas.
The US has branded Hamas a terrorist group, and banned any public or private association with the group formed primarily to fight Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian land. The US describes Israel’s genocide in Gaza as “self-defence”.
Other narrow US foreign policy objectives behind which the West has been hoodwinked into blindly supporting are notably the Ukraine conflict. On the say-so of Washington, NATO, the EU and the G7 – really all synonyms – have imposed a barrage of unprecedented economic sanctions on the Russian Federation.
This is despite the fact that most of the sanctions regime has had boomerang effect on most European nations that used to buy cheaper oil and gas from their adjacent neighbour Russia and today purchase same goods all the way from the US at a much higher premium.
And then, “nicodemously”, the Washington’s European “allies” purchase cheaper Russian goods. No wonder the Kremlin asserts that instead of being on its knees, the Russian economy is on a sound-footing.
The US has drummed up support for its key Middle Eastern ally, Israel, across the West. But the international community has lately cast its colours to the mast – voting overwhelmingly during the recent UN General Assembly meeting for a cessation of hostilities and to allow desperately needed aid to flow into Gaza unhindered.
This vote by some 153 UN members was a slap in the face of the US. It hints to the growing international isolation of Washington, and Israel alike.
In a rapidly-changing international world order, it could be that either the US President Joe Biden lives on another planet, or simply wants to die like Samson – go down with the pillars of the temple!
But let’s turn to the other of Washington’s dubious foreign policy pursuit – the move to assist Taiwan to secede from China. To this end, the US is brewing Taiwanese rebellion to President Xi Jinping’s authority over the territory.
Washington openly undertakes to supply weapons to Taiwan, and additionally provide diplomatic cover a la Israel. Washington openly threatens China with military confrontation should Beijing embark upon any programme of law-enforcement over its territory of Taiwan.
The rest of the international community, led by the UN, recognises One China Policy where there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with Taiwan as an integral and inalienable part of mainland China.
The US has adhered to this policy for decades, and suddenly the Biden administration – never shy of triggering conflict in far-flung places – appear determined to dump that stance and destabilise China, the world’s second-largest economy that threatens to overtake the US economy within a few years, according to some economic scholars.
Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence, recently shared China’s concerns over Washington’s sale of weapons to Taiwan. Wu Said: “The arms sale has severely violated the One-China Principle and the three China-US joint communiques, especially the August 17 communique.”
Wu added: “Washington’s move has seriously undermined China’s sovereignty and security, posed a grave threat to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sent an erroneous signal to separatist elements advocating Taiwan independence.”
In a strongly-worded statement, Wu urged the US to immediately halt arms sales to Taiwan and “honour its commitment to not support Taiwan independence, and further cease interference in China’s internal affairs”.
Wu concluded with a stern warning to the US, saying: “Any attempt to use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail, and seeking Taiwan independence by military means will lead to nowhere.”
Washington’s provocative meddling in China’s internal affairs has led to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army intensifying military training and readiness to “resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and thereby “firmly maintaining peace and stability across the Strait”, Wu concluded.
The US has been unable to compete with China’s radical economic development programmes and growing influence in geopolitics and global economy.
For instance, China’s revolutionary Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) programme has resulted in mostly the bulk of the global south states benefiting economically from China’s brand of “shared growth” through intense programme that amalgamates various national and multinational economies without strings being attached.
The BRI has resulted in the world looking to the East to benefit from China’s well-thought out economic programmes that have resulted in more than 800 million people being catapulted out of poverty and into the middle class level, prompting the UN to heap praise on Beijing’s economic model.
Therefore, instead of electing to antagonise China, the US would be wise to pursue a policy of cooperation where the world’s two biggest economies could develop a shared prosperity for the sake of their own people and the peoples of the world.
Nefarious concoction of conflict and military confrontation benefits no one, and turn our beautiful universe into a large-scale Gaza that can be avoided. In my book, it’s never too late for common sense to prevail.