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The Eurasian Equation
February 25th, 2005 at 10:04 Björn Hallberg
The US is upset that Europe is discussing ending the official arms embargo against China. But according to an AP story, the embargo is already toothless. And I can’t argue with that. I’m sure the fact are accurate, but I really object to this holier-than-thou attitude from the American side. As if they haven’t sold their fair share of weapons and defence technology themselves to China in the last decade. Hypocrisy! And why are they so concerned anyway? I can’t believe it has got anything to do with humanitarian issues, as they claim, because that is something the USA is completely oblivious to. They keep saying it’s sending the wrong message but what message is the US sending with its ongoing global ‘great game’ and transgressions of international agreements? That is the pot calling the kettle black. The chief reason behind recent hot air from the other side of the Atlantic is more a question of the balance of power on the Eurasian continent. Not only is Europe gaining momentum and increasingly defying the wishes of the US, they also stand poised to not only work with but also strengthen the other major power on the continent.
Here is what AP has to say implicitly and in an official story mind you:
The U.S. Congress is united against "this degree of arrogant, in-your-face, sale to a communist dictatorship of advanced military equipment," Lantos said in a telephone interview.
"People who advocate it in Europe should go down to the American military cemeteries and remind themselves of the lives we sacrificed to liberate Europe," he said.
Unlike the United States, Europe doesn’t have troops in that part of Asia and isn’t as attuned as Washington to China’s growing military potential, Ward added.
When did AP become Fox News? Fair and Balanced? Anyway … a lot of strong words.
They sure have made up their minds. And what arrogance they show. They think they know better. They think they have the historical right to do whatever they please. They think they have earned it. And they think they can label people and countries, push us around as they please. The irony is of course they I haven’t felt so threatened by any Chinese official … ever. China may be authoritarian but I have never heard anything as intimidating, arrogant and plain stupid originate from Beijing.
The Washington Times wrote a while back that …
Communist? Did the Times know the Cold War ended years ago? Or indeed stop to think what the Cold War was really about? Stop mislabelling China and stop using the word communist so arbitrarily. China is nothing of the sort. Only in name. We have rather strict definitions but of course that would serve no propaganda purpose. At least that is something the US and China has in common. Neither knows what communism is and couldn’t explain it in sociological terms even if their lives depended on it. And communism is still a loaded word in the US, a country prospers on lowbrow, overt and emotionally potent oversimplifications. It’s patriots and communists, just like five year old children would play cowboys and Indians and such primal role games. I just hope that the American senses haven’t been dulled irreparably.
And again the lofty talk of human rights is nicely wrapped in there. Well, they can talk the talk but they can’t walk the walk.
With such "allies" as the US, the question is if we, Europe, wouldn’t be better off with some new ones.
Australia wants no part in the lobbying.
It’s ironic how the US is always coming up with seemingly honourable reasons for doing things. Pointing at Taiwan for example, but fail to admit to the bigger picture. Could the US care less if Taiwan fell to military power? No. And I doubt it will. The fact of the matter is that the ethnic situation on the island means that nothing is certain.
And to give China a less militaristic image and one that more accurately explains the influence they are beginning to exert, Prospect Magazine has a new article up that they’ve dubbed China’s Chance.
In Thailand, polls taken in late 2003 showed that 76 per cent of respondents considered China to be Thailand’s closest friend. Only 9 per cent picked the US.
In Laos, Burma and parts of Cambodia, businessmen vote with their cash, making China’s renminbi de facto the region’s second reserve currency. New Chinese schools are springing up throughout southeast Asia and are even attracting some non-Chinese students.
Throughout the region, once scorned ethnic Chinese communities are celebrated, with Chinese New Year being made a public holiday and politicians revealing their ethnic Chinese backgrounds. Mainland Chinese films�not just Hong Kong productions�like the action epic Hero are popular, as are Chinese pop stars, who dominate the airwaves in Thailand, the Philippines and other nations.
The situation for the US agenda of staying on top of Eurasia seems hopeless. China is getting same kind of cultural influence that the US themselves has been enjoying for decades. And that is, as we know, a foe not so easy to defeat as one on the battlefield.
Finally, it should be noted that much of the talk about freedom and dictatorships is highly subjective and relative. China does lack some things that we consider basic freedom. But has anyone stopped to consider what they have that we don’t. I didn’t think so. For one they are one of the would-be champions against Intellectual Property. Another reason the US IP economy hates them I am sure.
At any rate it is highly ethnocentric, small-minded and arrogant to just assume that "our system" is so superior. Morally and technically. The truth of the matter is that no system is perfect. They are all shaped by necessities and the world hegemony decides what is fashionable and what is not.
Entry 34 filed under: New World Order. This entry was posted 3 years, 9 months ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.
