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pomppomp

On his visit to Taipei, Mike Pompeo,  advocated on 28 February 2022 that the US government should “immediately take necessary and long-overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country.” .

The situation in Russia and Ukraine has spooked the world. The stability of Sino-US relations, the two largest powers and economies, is more important than ever for the cause of world peace. One issue that can make things very much worse is provocative action relating to Taiwan.

The dominant western narrative on Russia-Ukraine is negative on China for not being openly critical of Russia. There is little explanation via media sources that China’s foreign policy is based of non-alignment which is embedded into its Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which are in turn stated in the Chinese constitution and are therefore binding on China’s diplomacy.

These principles consist of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, non-aggression against other states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, basing relations on equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

China is not the only country that has adopted non-alignment as its key foreign policy principle – so has India – which is why the latter is also cautious in its response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Other countries include Brazil, South Africa, and UAE. In fact, most developing countries subscribe to non-alignment.

Developing countries adopted non-aligned foreign policies originating in the 1950-60s because many of them were former colonies that had suffered under foreign domination. More than anything, they wanted to safeguard their newly gained independence and focus on developing their economies and advance their societies. They did not want to get sucked into the interests and punch-ups of the superpowers.

Just prior to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, was the 50th anniversary of the US president Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, which opened the door to improving relations of the two countries. The US wanted China to be a foil against the former Soviet Union as part of its Cold War strategy, as well as influence Vietnam for America to withdraw from war there.

The condition for Sino-US rapprochement centred on settling differences, especially over Taiwan. To the Chinese, the issue of Taiwan is one left over from China’s civil war and is a domestic problem to be resolved by the two sides.

The joint Shanghai Communiqué, signed during Nixon’s visit, started to redefine Sino-US relations by stating differences and areas of agreement between the two countries.

China reminds the US at the 50th anniversary that an area of agreement was the spirit of the five principles that countries with different systems could respect each other, work on common interests, not interfere in each other’s domestic affairs, and coexist in peace through mutual respect and cooperation.

In other words, the US agreed to the five principles as a proper way to conduct its foreign affairs. The Shanghai Communiqué was followed by several years of careful and extended negotiations over areas of differences that eventually resulted in the joint communiqués on the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979 and on restricting arms sales to Taiwan in 1982.

The three documents together provided the basis of the agreed “one-China” principle and established the political foundation of Sino-US relations. Boiled down, it means that both sides agreed that there is only one China, Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic is the sole legitimate government that represents the whole of China.

On the issue of reunification, the US agreed to support peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue as part and parcel of the one-China principle.

Hence, US and China may disagree on many things but the one issue that should not become a topic of contention is Taiwan. Departure from the one-China principle could lead to truly dire consequences and the US should not test Beijing’s resolve.

In recalling the diplomatic negotiations half a century later, the then secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, recently noted that “the safety of the world depends on the two most advanced countries to remain a permanent dialogue and achieve the settlement of disagreements in a collaborative attitude. Those are the key issues of our time”.

China has been unhappy with US naval ships frequent sailings through the Taiwan Strait, as well as arms sales to Taiwan which Beijing sees as violating the 1982 communiqué. While Beijing seems keen to use the occasion of the anniversary of Nixon’s visit to focus the US’s attention on the three communiqués, the US seems to prefer not to be reminded of them. Moreover, there lurks the danger among hawkish politicians in America that the US to use Taiwan to irk Beijing without consideration of risks and consequences.

On his visit to Taipei, Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state under the Donald Trump administration, advocated on 28 February 2022 that the US government should “immediately take necessary and long-overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country.” He emphasised that this “can no longer be ignored, avoided or treated as secondary”.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis should remind all sides that Taiwan is a potential flashpoint, and it is in the interest of all to keep things in check within longstanding agreed parameters.

 

READ MORE:

https://johnmenadue.com/us-provocation-of-china-over-taiwan/

 

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"anonymous officials"

 

Citing "anonymous officials" to release disinformation is an old trick that the US has been using to mislead the public. 

The Global Times learned from various sources that "anonymous officials" who previous reports cited to claim that China had asked Russia not to take action in Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics are from the US National Security Council, and their purpose was to shift the US' responsibility in the conflict to profit from it and smear China.

In two reports, published on 25 February and 2 March, the New York Times cited "anonymous US officials" saying that China had learned about Russia's plans in Ukraine and asked Russia not to take action before the end of the Winter Olympics. The reports accused China of standing with Russia to criticize the US and opposing US sanctions on Russia. 

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has refuted these reports and pointed out that the US fabricated information to smear China.

 

Citing "anonymous officials" to release disinformation to mislead the public is an old trick that the US has been playing. 

 

Through various sources, the Global Times has learned that the "anonymous officials" cited by the New York Times are from the National Security Council of the White House. 

 

Coincidentally, despite the Ukraine situation, the US seems to have increased its investment in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's increasing influence, which indicates the US attempt to shift problems related to the Ukraine situation and to profit from other countries' conflicts. 

 

Analysts said that the problems associated with the Ukraine situation are clear, and the US and NATO are together pushing Ukraine into the fire. As the initiator of the conflict in Ukraine, the US is adding fuel to the fire, while accusing China of not making an effort to help, which is irresponsible and immoral, the analysts said.

 

READ MORE:

https://sputniknews.com/20220309/sources-reveal-us-national-security-council-released-disinformation-on-ukraine-crisis-to-smear-1093714992.html

 

 

 

MEANWHILE:

 

90 percent of Ukraine's military aerodromes containing the majority of the country's Air Force have been knocked out of operation, and part of its fleet of aircraft has flown to Romania and is not taking part in any combat, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov has said.

 

"At the start of the special operation, the Ukrainian Air Force had as many as 250 serviceable combat aircraft and helicopters. Russia's Aerospace Fores have destroyed 89 combat aircraft and 57 helicopters on the ground and in the air," Konashenkov said in a briefing Wednesday.

 

Ukraine's Air Force has also nearly completely run out of first and second class military pilots, and is limiting flights to individual attempts to mount missions, according to Konashenkov.

 

Russia has destroyed 81 radar stations from Ukraine's air defence troops, causing a loss of battlefield control and a dramatic deterioration in the country's air defence capabilities, which have been reduced to only a local capability to resist, the MoD spokesman added.

Russian forces have destroyed a total of 2,786 pieces of Ukrainian military infrastructure since the start of the operation, Konashenkov said. 49 facilities, among them two command and control points, six air defence systems, four caches of ammunition and fuel, and 37 areas of concentration of military equpment were destroyed in the course of operations Wednesday. The MoD spokesman said Ukrainian losses include 953 tanks and other armoured vehicles, 101 rocket artillery systems, 351 pieces of artillery and mortar systems, 718 military vehicles, and 93 drones. He also indicated that 137 Ukrainian S-125, S-300 and Buk-M1 air defence systems had been destroyed, with these losses constituting over 90 percent of Ukraine's air defence systems.

Konashenkov has also reported on NATO's ongoing support for Ukraine, saying the alliance's reconnaissance aircraft are carrying out round-the-clock flights over Polish airspace looking into Ukrainian airspace and passing this information on to the Ukrainian military's leadership.

 

"The leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is trying to make up for a lack of information about the situation in the skies by obtaining data from a command post in Vinnitsa [west-central Ukraine] from E-3A aircraft from NATO's AWACs system," the officer said.

 

Commenting on the situation on the ground, Konashenkov said Donetsk People's Republic forces had advanced four km and established control over the settlements of Signalnoye, Taramchuk, Yelenovka and Trudovoe, and that Lugansk People's Republic troops advanced two km, taking control of the settlements of Toshkovka and Grachevo. Russian forces independently established control over the settlements of Krasnaya Polyana and Stepnoe, he said.

 

READ MORE:

https://sputniknews.com/20220309/russian-mod-90-of-ukraines-military-airports-containing-majority-of-its-air-force-knocked-out-1093721220.html

 

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The reason why the Donetsk People's Republic forces are only advancing slowly is due to the large number of Ukrainian forces placed near the Donbass for the Ukrainian "March assault" on the self-declared republics.

 

 

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follow the money...

 

During his presidential campaign in 2019, US President Joe Biden promised to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” in retaliation for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state oil company, announced on Thursday it would help build a massive new refining facility in northeastern China. The news comes a day after Riyadh snubbed a request by Biden to expand oil output to counteract a US ban on buying Russian oil.

 

Aramco said it would work with China’s North Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group to build a massive integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Panjin, Liaoning Province. The facility will be able to produce 300,000 barrels of oil per day and will have a 1.5 million metric ton-per-year ethylene cracker and a 1.3 million metric ton-per-year paraxylene unit.

 

Talks to build the industrial complex began in 2019 following a visit to Beijing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but were paused after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. They were revived in early February as the Saudis sought to capitalize on rapidly rising oil prices. At the time, the deal was valued at $10 billion, according to S&P Global.

 

Announcement of the deal follows two related developments. On February 4, Russian state-owned gas firm Rosneft signed a 10-year agreementwith China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) to ship 100 million metric tons, or 200,821 barrels per day of oil to refineries in northwestern China.

 

"In accordance with the agreement of Rosneft and CNPC, there are prospects of interaction worked out concerning a set of areas of low carbon development, particularly in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, technologies of energy efficiency, as well as CO2 capture and storage (CCS)," Rosneft said.

 

The deal came just two weeks before Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine aimed at neutralizing the country before it can become a launchpad for a NATO attack on Russia. The operation provoked massive sanctions from the United States and its allies aimed at gutting the Russian economy, including a March 8 decision to ban importing Russian oil into the United States.

As a consequence, already-rising oil prices spiked to $130 a barrel over the weekend, and gasoline prices in the US began rising sharply as well, severely damaging the US stock market. In response, Biden reached out to some of the world’s other oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Venezuela - two nations he has sharply criticized.

On Wednesday, the White House tried to arrange calls between Biden, bin Salman, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

“There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a US official who was part of the effort told the Wall Street Journal. “It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].”

 

Last year, Biden’s administration declassified files from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence claiming that bin Salman was directly connected to the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, which the crown prince has denied any involvement in. In 2019, Biden said he would“make them pay the price, and make them in fact the pariah that they are.”

 

In an interview with The Atlantic last week, the Saudi crown prince told the magazine “Simply, I do not care” whether Biden understands him or not. “It’s up to him to think about the interests of America. Go for it.”

 

Similarly, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday that while US diplomats had traveled to Caracas to try and woo Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro away from supporting Russia, so far no agreement had been reached.

 

Biden’s yearlong effort to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which his predecessor torpedoed, could also be on the rocks as Republicans attack Biden for continuing to work with Russian diplomats on the deal. Both the US and Russia are party to the deal, along with several other world powers. If revived, Iran would have to accept sharp limits on the quality and quantity of uranium it could refine for its civil nuclear power program in exchange for the lowering of US sanctions, which would allow Washington to buy Iranian oil.

 

READ MORE:

https://sputniknews.com/20220310/whos-the-pariah-after-snubbing-biden-saudi-aramco-agrees-to-build-massive-refinery-in-china-1093759364.html

 

 

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