- Per Olav Ødegård
Commentator in VG. Former foreign journalist and correspondent for VG in the USA. Writes mostly about international affairs.
Photo: Morten Mørland / Morten Mørland
China and Russia will build a new world order. Several of the world’s worst dictatorships are participating in the construction project.
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China and Russia have entered into a strategic partnership, which they say is borderless. More recently, both have forged stronger ties with the oppressive regimes in North Korea and Iran.
China, Russia and North Korea have nuclear weapons. Iran has an advanced nuclear program and could soon become the world’s next nuclear weapons power.
NEED WEAPONS: Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kum Jong-un met at a space center in eastern Russia on September 13. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov / AP / NTB
In a 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush launched the term “axis of evil” about North Korea, Iran and Iraq. In retrospect, this has been left as the symbol of a dangerous and failed foreign policy.
The American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 resulted in bloody chaos from which the US spent many years recovering. al-Qaeda in Iraq, which later became the so-called Islamic State (IS), arose in the ruins.
The fight against terror spawned new global terror.
But now the loaded concept of the axis of evil is back on the political menu in Washington, DC, according to Foreign Policy magazine.
Last autumn, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that China, Russia, North Korea and Iran today constitute the axis of evil. She is not the only one. The leading Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said in October that “we must stand up against the axis of evil.”
GOOD FRIENDS: Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping attended an economic forum in Beijing on October 17. Photo: SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV / AFP / NTB
Compared to 2002, Iraq is off the axis. Russia and China have become part of it.
It is due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The US perceives an economically and militarily stronger China as a far greater challenge today than 20 years ago.
China is working long-term to become the leading superpower in this century. Russia’s goals are more short-term. Vladimir Putin needs weapons to continue the war of aggression against Ukraine.
WARNING: Presidential candidate Nikki Haley warned this autumn against the axis of evil in international politics. Photo: CHRISTOPHER REISTROFFER / Reuters / NTB
In September, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un got on the train to meet Vladimir Putin. At the end of October, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received a warm welcome from Kim in Pyongyang.
Kim has a large arsenal of weapons that Putin covets. In return, Putin can offer something the isolated Kim wants, closer military cooperation.
Kim is said to be particularly interested in Russian space technology in order to be able to build satellites.
The United States, Japan and South Korea recently stated that they can prove that North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons that it can use in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Several container ships are said to have transported weapons from North Korea to Russian ports and on to military warehouses near Ukraine.
TESTING DRONES: Iranian military launches combat drones in an exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran. Russia has used Iranian-made drones in the war against Ukraine. Photo: – / AFP / NTB
Historically, Russia and China have had close ties to North Korea, but at times the relationship has been strained and full of conflict. Russia and China also have different interests in relation to the closed country.
Like North Korea, Iran spends large resources on military purposes. Iran has supplied Russia with a large number of combat drones that have been used in the war against Ukraine.
Iran also has an extensive missile program and they support armed militias in the Middle East, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
As part of a larger global strategy, China is trying to gain greater influence in the Middle East.
With the help of China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to normalize relations. The two regional powers have long been bitter rivals.
But they have one thing in common. China is the largest importer of both Iranian and Saudi Arabian oil.
Major plans are being made to expand trade cooperation to make the countries in the Middle East less dependent on the United States.
WELCOME: Xi Jinping received Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing on February 14. Photo: AP / NTB
Western countries have imposed harsh economic sanctions on Russia after Putin went to war against Ukraine.
To help his “dear friend”, Xi Jinping has thrown an economic lifeline to Putin. In the past year, China’s exports to Russia have increased by 34 percent. At the same time, China secures access to Russian oil and gas.
The relationship is far from equal. China is much stronger than Russia. And Putin is far more dependent on Xi than the other way around.
The four countries, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, are very different. They have different interests. But what unites authoritarian regimes is the will to oppose American and Western influence worldwide.
The opponents of liberal democracy find together. The efforts of the authoritarian forces are yielding results. Democracies are on the retreat in the world. Every year, a larger part of the world’s population lives in unfreedom.
Published:
Published: 17.12.23 at 18:05
2023-12-17 17:05:59
#Comment #world #order #China
