Upon passing the interview and undergoing regular army training for nine months, he was briefly posted to the 2nd Royal Ranger Regiment before he set his mind to enrol in February as a candidate in the commando unit, which is known through its Malay acronym GGK.
He was then put through the GGK’s basic training, an exercise that determines whether a candidate qualifies to make it as an elite member of the special forces before he is assigned to undergo other specialised skills in weaponry, parajumping and close-quarters combat to become a full-fledged commando.
Recounting his experience during his 12-week training stint at the Sungai Udang Army Camp in Melaka, Chan said it was the toughest moments he had ever undergone in his life despite his love for the military.
Soon after the exercise began, his body was in immense pain and aching all over and then riddled with blisters, bruises and torn skin.
He said the most difficult task he faced was a 160km run with other recruits that left the soles of his feet inflamed and torn.
“In the jungle, we were to survive on very little food, and went hungry. When we ran out of supplies, we had to feed ourselves with whatever we could find in the forest such as monitor lizards and pythons.
“It was beyond what I had ever imagined.
“The training will break you both mentally and physically but that is what it takes to be an elite member of the special forces and to make us resilient.
“I almost lost my mind and had thoughts of giving up halfway through the training but the comradeship of my fellow recruits and the constant support of my trainers kept me going.
“The camaraderie was amazing. We were united as a unit and there was no differentiating anyone by race.
“We were like brothers who watched over each other’s backs and ensured we stayed sane. This was the greatest thing I will never forget,” he said.
On Sunday, Chan received his green beret, blue lanyard and a dagger, which qualified him as commando, from 21st GGK commander Mejar-Jen Adi Ridzwan Abdullah in a graduation ceremony at the Sungai Udang camp.
Chan said his parents who were present were pleased to see him in good health.
“I know they are proud of me although all they asked me was if I had eaten and in good health. Those words were enough to affirm their support.
“During the tough training, my thoughts were also on my parents who had raised me and I just did not want to let them down.
“That too kept me motivated,” he said.
When contacted, Mejar-Jen Adi Ridzwan said Chan is the first Malaysian Chinese in decades to pass out as a commando.
“He had applied to undergo the tough training moreover, and was not assigned to it. This is very admirable and he proved himself very well.
“The last time we had Malaysian Chinese commandos was almost 20 years ago. There were many of them in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Hence, we are seeing a revival of Malaysian Chinese returning to serve the army like how their predecessors did.
“We are happy to see this and we hope more non-Malays will join the armed forces,” he said.
Artillery is fired during joint military drills at a firing range in northern Australia as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest combined training activity between Australia and the US, in Shoalwater Bay, Australia, on July 22, 2023. Photo:AFP
https://youtu.be/pcLmsx7eOBo
If there’s another outbreak of conflict on Korean Peninsula, S. Korea will be the first to suffer
The largest ever ongoing Australia-US joint military exercise, which involves 13 countries, has been deemed as a "paper tiger" by Chinese experts. Though impressive on paper, the exercise cannot really persuade all participants to serve the US' purpose, experts said.
The two-week-long military exercise, known as Talisman Sabre 2023, officially commenced on Friday. It is the largest since 2005, with more than 30,000 military personnel from 13 countries participating, according to media reports. Reuters described it as a "show of force and unity at a time when China has emerged as an increasingly assertive power in the Indo-Pacific."
"The most important message that China can take from this exercise and anything that our allies and partners do together, is that we are extremely tied by the core values that exist amongst our many nations," US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro was quoted as saying by Reuters during an opening ceremony in Sydney.
The US' purpose of roping in countries such as Australia and other allies in its Indo-Pacific military encirclement of China, as well as preparing for future military adventures, is evident through the "unprecedented" military exercise, Chen Hong, executive director at the Asia Pacific Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Saturday.
Chen criticized the US for continuously exacerbating regional tensions and insecurity.
The military exercise also coincides with the upcoming visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia next week, during which Austin plans to join US Secretary of State Blinken to attend Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) and observe military exercises.
However, the military excise that has been labeled by the West as "the largest in the 18-year history of the exercise" that is intended to send a clear message to China was more of a "paper tiger," Chen noted.
US officials often brag about the "core values" shared by their allies and partners. However, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times that the US has been trying to coerce these countries in the name of "defending their security and democratic values" and kidnap them by hyping up threats involving China, Russia and North Korea.
By playing word games, the US is only aiming to maintain its own global hegemony and participating countries also have their own petty calculations, Song noted.
Though impressive on paper, the exercise cannot really persuade all participants to serve the US' purpose, even Australia has certain reluctance, not to mention the rest, the two experts noted.
Media reports claimed this year is the first time that Germany has participated in the exercise, sending 210 paratroopers and marines. Chinese experts said since Merkel left office, Germany's diplomatic independence has been undermined, but they questioned whether Germany would really take more actions to back the US military adventure and the symbolic significance of Germany's participation in the exercise far outweighs the substantive significance.
For Australia, Chen said located in the South Pacific region where is safe and peaceful, Australia can be hardly challenged in terms of security, but unfortunately, it has been growingly pushed into a blind alley by the manipulation of the US and has become a pawn in the US' chess game. Australia will be equipped with nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS deal and has become more aggressive militarily by investing more in the development of military equipment, the expert noted.
Chen reminded Australia to maintain its strategic independence in order to protect its national interests. Excessive military adventurism will only put Australia on a more insecure position and hinder its own development, Chen warned.
Japan's Self Defense Force is scheduled to conduct a live fire demonstration of its Type 12 Surface-to-Ship missile (SSM) at a weapons range at Jervis Bay, south of Sydney on Friday, according to ABC.
South Korea has brought two warships and self-propelled howitzers as well as a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) known as Chunmoo to the exercise. It will showcase its rocket technology during the Talisman Sabre, the ABC report said.
Song told the Global Times that both Japan and South Korea have their own intentions in developing their military industries by attending the Talisman Sabre. Testing equipment in Australia is taken as a way to prove their equipment can well adapt to different climates and be utilized across the globe, which will boost their arms exports.
Chinese experts also slammed Western hype surrounding the sailing of a Chinese ship off the coast of Australia that labeled it as a spy ship.
Rebuking commentators from the US and Australia who described China's act of sending ships to regional waters as "aggressive," Chen said such claims are baseless and unfounded, and that the US and Australia should respect the right of other countries to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international seas and airspace,
The Chinese naval flotilla warships and ship-borne helicopters to participate in the "Northern/Interaction-2023" military drills have left military ...
China's J-20, J-16 fighter jets wow spectators at Zhuhai Airshow
China's J-20 and J-16 fighter jets impressed the spectators at the ongoing 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China 2022, on Tuesday in South China's Zhuhai City with thrilling performances.
C919 passenger jet debuts at Zhuhai air show, 300 new orders received for the jet
Highlights from Airshow China 2022 Editor: Feng Qingyin/GT Graphic: Xu Zihe/GT
J-20
fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force deliver dazzling flight performances at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in
Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 8, 2022. Photo:
Cui Meng/GT
J-20 fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force deliver dazzling flight performances at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 8, 2022.
A
Z-20 utility helicopter of the People's Liberation Army releases flares during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in
Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo:
Cui Meng/GT
A
YU-20 aerial tanker releases all three of its aerial refueling baskets during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in
Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo: Cui Meng/GT
When the six-day Airshow China 2022 kicked off on Tuesday in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, spectators were greatly amazed by the country's most advanced J-20 fighter jets' outstanding flight performances with challenging maneuvers of tactical significance in a very humid weather, as well as their landing before the general public for the first time, which experts said, together with flight performances of the YU-20 aerial tanker and the J-16 heavy fighter jet among others, constituted a confident and high-profile move that not only showed the capabilities of the aircraft, but also served as a deterrence to "Taiwan independence" secessionist and external interference forces.
After consecutive days of bad weather in Zhuhai, rainfall stopped on Tuesday, the first day of the airshow, blessing all the aircraft with a cloudy weather condition barely okay for the delivery, and maybe more importantly, the crowd's proper audience, of flight performances.
Despite some strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the spectators found it all worthwhile when four J-20 fighter jets of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force appeared from afar in a diamond formation and flew across the event site.
After some circling, two J-20s faded away into the clouds, and the other two dazzled the crowd with many challenging maneuvers with high Gs that tore the air apart, with the wakes distinctly visible because of the high humidity.
While people already know that the J-20s would land on the ground for the first time at an airshow due to an earlier rehearsal, the audience still stood on their toes to get a clearer view on them. Many gathered as closely as they can to take pictures of the J-20s or have their photos taken with the J-20s, as this was their first opportunity to do so.
"Thrilling, satisfying" are some of the words many spectators told the Global Times describing the event. When the J-20 performed its first landing at the show, many viewers shouted, "It is coming! It is like we are about to celebrate the Chinese lunar spring festival. Bravo! The Chinese PLA Air Force!"
One of the last moves in the J-20s' performance was a rolling while ascending, with the aircraft's nose kept changing the direction it was pointing to. This shows that the J-20 has excellent mobility and very flexible aim, which can give it advantages in air combat, Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday at the airshow site.
The J-20 can perform supersonic cruise and has subsonic super maneuverability at the same time. This is realized thanks to the J-20's unique aerodynamic design of lifting body with strakes and canards, plus domestically developed engines, Zhang said.
A four-aircraft formation of the J-20 is a large tactical unit with high combat-oriented significance, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The J-20's first static display at the airshow displayed China's confidence in the aircraft, reflecting that many warplanes of this type are already in service and have formed complete combat and logistics support capabilities, and that this advanced stealth fighter is no longer "mysterious," Song said.
Besides the J-20, the YU-20 aerial tanker also delivered its first flight performance to the public, as it released all three of its aerial refueling baskets, showing its capabilities to host aerial refueling for two small aircraft simultaneously or for a large aircraft.
The J-16 heavy fighter jet was another main combat aircraft of the PLA Air Force that performed at the airshow. The J-16 released flares while performing a combat roll, as the beautiful move led many on the ground to express admiration.
The PLA Army for the first time sent the Z-20 utility helicopter, the Z-10 attack helicopter and the Z-8L transport helicopter to conduct flight performances at the Airshow China.
Other equipment like drones also attracted attention.
"This is the third Airshow China I have visited. This year, I was looking forward to seeing new aircraft like the H-20 bomber or the J-35 fighter jet. Now that they did not come, what I'm interested next is drone development," Atsushi Okudera, chief of Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun's Guangzhou/Hong Kong bureau, told the Global Times at the airshow on Tuesday.
Photo: Cui Meng/GT
Sending a warning
Many of the aircraft on display at the airshow, including the J-20, the J-16 and the YU-20, participated in a large-scale military exercises around Taiwan island in August following US house speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative visit to the island that seriously violated China's sovereignty.
Other first-time exhibits, including the KJ-500A early warning aircraft with in-flight-refuel capability, a JH-7A2 fighter bomber carrying what seems to be a stealth air-to-surface cruise missile and an H-6K bomber carrying two what seems to be air-launched ballistic missiles that analysts said can target aircraft carriers, can also play vital roles over the Taiwan question, observers said.
The PLA Army's Z-20 utility helicopter, the Z-10 attack helicopter and the Z-8L transport helicopter are also a perfect combination in a potential horizontal landing mission when operated from a Type 075 amphibious assault ship of the PLA Navy, as the Z-20 will lead the assault under the escort of the Z-10, followed by the Z-8L, analysts said.
These weapons and equipment are not aimed at Taiwan compatriots, but "Taiwan independence" secessionists and external interference forces, Song said.
If it comes to that, the PLA will use the best weapons and equipment there are to counter Taiwan secessionists and end a potential military conflict with the smallest cost; it is also important to show external forces like the US what the PLA is capable of, Song said. "The PLA will put the moves, performances and capabilities displayed at the airshow into practice," he said.
Both new missiles carried by the H-6K bomber and the JH-7A2 fighter bomber are stand-off weapons that can contribute to the PLA's potential anti-access and area denial missions against external military interference, Song pointed out.
With the YU-20 aerial tanker that can extend the range and endurance of fighter jets, bombers and early warning aircraft, the PLA Air Force can more easily break the first island chain created by the US in an attempt to contain China, analysts said.
The PLA's main combat aircraft, including the J-10C fighter, the J-15 carrier-based fighter, the J-16 heavy fighter, the J-20 stealth fighter, the KJ-500A early warning aircraft and the H-6N long range strategic bomber, are capable of receiving aerial refueling, according to media reports.
The Chinese military's next-generation service rifle, which
used to be called the QBZ191 series, has been formally named the Type 20
series, and the spokesperson of the manufacturer said at ...
The Airshow China 2022 kicked off on Tuesday in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province with a higher-than-expected number of
exhibitors - more than 740 companies from 43 countries and regions - and state-of-the-art exhibits that cover land, sea, air, aerospace,
electronics and cyber applications. With China's latest achievements in aerospace and national defense on display, the expo demonstrated China's
strength, strategies, and wisdom in promoting the development of global aerospace science and technology, facilitating international exchanges
and cooperation, and safeguarding peace. Follow this infographic to check the most attractive exhibits at Airshow China
China sanctions US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members following her Taiwan visit
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Photo: VCG
Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Friday to sanction US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members because she disregarded China's serious concern and firm opposition and insisted on visiting China's Taiwan region.
It seriously interferes in China's internal affairs, undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, tramples on the one-China principle and threatens peace and stability in Taiwan Straits, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said.
Chinese netizens on Friday heatedly discussed the detailed maps of Taiwan island cities provided by Baidu and Gaode map
services, which allegedly became newly available since Thursday, the day the People's Liberation Army kicked off live-fire missile drills
surrounding the island following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reckless visit to the island.
US’ so-called rule-based order means international gangsterism
The United States’ so-called rule-based order is gangsterism while its sanctions on other countries are illegal, a renowned Canadian lawyer has said a recent interview. Christopher Black, a veteran Canadian lawyer who has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including defending former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, strongly condemned actions from the U.S. and the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which have repeatedly accused other countries of destroying postwar international orders, portraying themselves defenders of international order. The lawyer believes that U.S. sanctions on other countries are illegal and are a ploy to defend its economic wars against other countries.
China's challenge to the rules-based order
Top priority: The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war. — AFP
EVERYDAY, we are told we must defend the rules-based order. But whose order? What rules? Why should we defend an order if we did not have a say in shaping?
All this is in the realm of politics and geo-politics. The biggest thinker who shaped the current neoliberal order was Austrian philosopher Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), whose ideas of classical liberalism of freedom, democracy and self-order of markets dominated global relations.
Neoliberalism was put into practice in the 1980s, when US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pushed through the free market philosophy that swept away Keynesian state intervention of the 1950-1970s.
The deeper thinker on the whole question of constitutional law, politics and international order was German jurist Carl Schmitt (1888-1985), whose influence on conservative political circles in almost all the Big Powers has been growing.
I only became aware of Schmitt’s work when Noema magazine wrote an editorial on Schmitt’s Nomos of the Earth (1950).
Schmitt is controversial, because he essentially wrote the legal basis for Nazism in the 1920s, which accounts for his ostracisation (in today’s language “cancelled”) from academic circles for decades.
Main priority: A demonstration calling on the German government not to intervene in the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, in Berlin. The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war. — AFP
Schmitt was a brutally realist thinker who explored the legal foundations of European political theory. Schmitt argues that no order can function without a sovereign authority. A state is legally constituted when the politics distinguishes between friend and enemy and when the citizens are willing to fight and die for its identity. The state alone is given the power of violence (and enforcement) by the citizens to enforce the law.
Schmitt is considered an authoritarian supporter, because he saw sovereign power resting ultimately in the Executive (rather than the Legislature or Judiciary) because the sovereign (i.e. the President) decides on the exceptional situation, where he/she must suspend the law because of war or assume emergency powers in order to restore order.
Decisions by the Executive are either bound by law or bounded by his or her moral bearings.
The world is today watching on TV whether former President Trump is morally culpable for causing the Jan 6, 2021 riots, or legally culpable.
The Ukraine war is being supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or Nato on a matter of moral principle for a non-member, but if the war escalates to nuclear global destruction that kills all, how do we trade off the individual rights with the collective right of everyone else to survive?
Schmitt dissected the European constitutional laws and international order, dividing them into three phases: pre-1500, 1648 to 1919 (World War I) and thereafter.
Before the discovery of America, European powers fought each other under a religious cloak, since the Pope decided on disputes of rights on moral grounds.
Indeed, it was the Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493 that authorised the Portuguese and Spaniards to conquer all lands and seize and enslave Saracens and non-Christians in the Americas, Africa and Asia.The religious rationales comprised the Domination Code whereby Christians can rule over non-Christians and possess their property, as well as the Discovery Code, whereby land owned by non-believers are treated as terra nullius (empty land), meaning non-Christian indigenous peoples do not have rights.
But when the Dutch and English started fighting with the Portuguese and Spaniards over overseas territories, what was the legal justification?
Dutch jurist Grotius (1583-1645) provided the secular rationalisation that discovery alone is not enough, but since there was freedom in the seas, occupation by a sovereign state confirms rights seized through war.Schmitt argued that Jus Publicum Europaeum (European Public Law) emerged after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia to allow sovereign countries to have the right to go to war based on their own judgement of justice and necessity without interference in each other’s domestic affairs.
This changed after the end of the First World War, when the 1919 Treaty of Versailles treated the losing side as criminals, with their rights cancelled or confiscated.
While the Europeans were busily fighting each other, the United States rose in global power and imposed its 1823 Monroe Doctrine that asserted that it has its own sphere of influence, with the right to intervene in Central and South American states.That sphere of influence would spatially cover cultural, economic, military, political and today technology exclusivity beyond legal sovereign borders.
Schmitt was prescient in seeing that where war is fought on the basis of “good versus evil”, in which all rights of the other side are “cancelled” (like the foreign exchange assets of Afghanistan and Russia are frozen or seized), the situation may be an unstable equilibrium.
The unstable European security architecture was settled decisively by the United States in two World Wars because of her overwhelming military, economic and industrial power.
But in today’s multipolar situation, who decides on the rules of the international order? If both sides accuse the other side as evil and illegitimate, who decides other than the use of arms?
To cut a complex story short, the Nato military alliance, comprising nearly one billion people and 47.3% of the world’s gross domestic product or GDP (2020) assumes its status quo role as the final arbiter of the “rules-based order”.
The problem is that BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), plus Indonesia have 3.5 billion population with one quarter of world GDP in market terms (25.6%).
However, on GDP PPP terms, they are near parity with Nato and therefore may have their own views on the international order. What if the larger non-Western countries want their own version of the Monroe Doctrine?
The moral principle that we all should live peacefully on one planet should over-ride sovereign nations fighting over power and ego from turf to space, when humanity could be burned by climate warming or nuclear war.
For Nomos (or order) of the Planet, rather than the Earth, we should all rationally cooperate. If we truly believe in democracy, can the eight billion people in the world vote on the rules-based order, or do we still leave it to G-7?
No order is stable without true legitimacy on democratic principles. How to achieve that order remains a truly open question.
Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
Europe will certainly not become more secure after this round of NATO expansion
There is a lack of mutual understanding and compromise in European culture, where countries are focused on maximizing their own security
interests without regard for others. The US is certainly glad to see Europe in this state.
Editor's Note:
NATO, which is constantly looking for imaginary enemies and justifying its existence by inciting confrontation, is holding a summit from Tuesday to Thursday, and it also plans to extend its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific region. Behind its aggressive narrative, contradictions and divisions within NATO have become increasingly prominent. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is not going according to NATO's playbook. This series of articles will provide some clues regarding NATO's predicament. This is the fifth piece.
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was established in 1949, but to this day it remains an important tool for suppressing the opponents of the West. The initiative to unite 12 countries originally belonged to the United States, which became the most powerful world leader after the end of World War II. The US was the foundation of the organization's military power, a source of economic and financial assistance to member countries. It goes without saying that not only the highest command posts belonged to the Americans, but they also defined strategic objectives at all stages of NATO's activities. The main mission of this organization from the very beginning was the unification of military and economic resources under the command of the US to prepare an all-out war against the Soviet Union. The countries of another military bloc, the Warsaw Pact Organization (ATS), led by the USSR, also became enemies. It was created only six years after NATO - in 1955.
NATO played an important role in weakening the USSR and its allies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991, the question arose about the feasibility of continuing the existence of NATO. But the US, which really ruled the bloc, set a new task for it - to involve former ATS member countries and post-Soviet republics in its structure. This was considered necessary to expand the zone of America's strict control over Europe as the most important part of the world at that time. NATO was also used to "sweep" the European space during the war against Yugoslavia. NATO and its de facto twin in the field of economics and politics - the European Union - were used in organizing the "color revolution" in Kiev and provoking the current Ukrainian crisis. In these situations, the US uses NATO as a tool for dirty work, saving the US from the loss of "precious American lives" and the risk of retaliatory strikes on the territory of the US.
NATO's successful fulfillment of its tasks in Europe led Washington to think about using the potential and experience of the bloc in another part of the world. Having recently identified China as the most serious threat to the international order, Washington is faced with a lack of resources to contain and suppress the growing Chinese power.
In order to mobilize the existing resources, the Biden administration has developed a concept of Indo-Pacific security, strongly resembling a similar concept for the North Atlantic. The concept has already been reinforced by the creation of the Indo-Pacific Command of the US Armed Forces. Already available resources were activated - military alliances with Japan, South Korea and Australia. The AUKUS military group was created. The activity of the QUAD military-diplomatic group is stimulated. The creation of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework was recently announced. But even these actions are not enough for Washington.
Therefore, it is urgently necessary to extend the scope of NATO's responsibility to the Indo-Pacific region as well. Obviously, US efforts are aimed at uniting all Asian and European allies, their military, economic and geostrategic resources to create a new tool for the realization of American global ambitions. It can be conditionally called the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization according to the patterns of NATO.
Of course, the arrival of NATO to the East, especially since the new military bloc of the West, will threaten the security interests of Russia as a Pacific power. But first of all, it will be directed against China. Strengthening the militarization of the region will also contradict the interests of economic stability and security of ASEAN, APEC and other groupings of the region.
Serious obstacles may arise in the way of implementing Biden's chess game. We are not talking about the fluctuations of European satellites in NATO such as "ready for anything" Poland, the "Baltic troika" or the Balkan neoplasms. It is unlikely that we will talk about England with its age-old anti-Chinese traditions and loyalty to Washington at the level of a conditioned reflex. But such large "stakeholders" as Germany, France, Spain and Italy may think hard about the consequences of entering into a military confrontation with China, taking into account their trade and economic interests.
These powers are well aware of the benefits of bilateral trade with China, which amount to tens and hundreds of billions of euros. They are also aware of the intention of the White House to lift trade sanctions against China in an attempt to bring down the threatening increase in inflation. The role of trade and economic "cannon fodder" is unlikely to entice figures claiming some level of independence even within the framework of NATO. In Madrid, the leaders of significant European powers are unlikely to voice their doubts, but then they will try to "put on the brakes" in implementation of Biden's Indo-Pacific plan.
Another important reason for avoiding the dubious honor of becoming a member of the anti-Chinese coalition may be Washington's inconsistency. Just two years ago, then US president Donald Trump reproached NATO member countries for the insufficiency of military efforts, the desire to "ride for free" and even promised to dissolve the military bloc. What will happen after the next presidential election? Will Trump come back? Won't those business and political circles that oppose the dispersion of the waning power of their power, for the concentration of resources on solving domestic economic and humanitarian problems, win?
Europeans are already suffering losses from following Biden's anti-China course. The ratification of the China-Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement has been disrupted. Taking into account the hostile policy of Poland and the Baltic countries, Chinese logistics companies are reviewing the routes of goods delivery to Europe via the Silk Road. Beijing is studying the experience of "crippling sanctions" against Russia. After all, Washington has threatened to impose similar sanctions not only in case of the aggravation of the situation around the Taiwan island, but even if China refuses to participate in sanctions against Russia.
The US' convulsive attempts to return itself to the role of world hegemon are unlikely to succeed. But they can cause considerable harm to mutually beneficial relations between countries, which will be difficult to compensate quickly.
The author is head of the "Russian Dream-Chinese Dream" analytic center of the Izborsk Club. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
On the heel of the G7 summit, NATO leaders are scheduled to convene in Spain from Tuesday to Thursday for their annual summit
with the main focus on Russia and toughening up its stance toward China, while analysts said including China in the US-led military bloc's new
strategic concept cannot help alleviate US divergences with the EU, especially on China, and severe domestic problems will also weaken Washington's ambitious plan to maintain hegemony.
