Saudi Arabia and Qatar sign agreement to avoid double taxation    Saudi and Chinese foreign ministers meet in Beijing    Saudi Arabia to participate in Beijing International Book Fair 2024 as guest of honor    Aramco acquires 40% stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan    ROSHN revamps Waterfront walkway in Jeddah    Unstoppable OMODA & JAECOO global export sales volume surpassed 220,000! Now joining the KSA market with their pre-sales campaign    Moscow warns West after Ukraine told it can hit Russia with Western weapons    Trump found guilty in hush money trial    US and UK carry out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen for first time in months    Bangladeshi pilgrim's life saved after suffering from heart attack    Transport minister opens 2nd Ring Road costing SR660 million in Jeddah    Jail for 4 Arab nationals for sexually harassing an Asian expat    Cristiano Ronaldo collects 2023-24 RSL top scorer award    Al Hilal's Bono named best goalkeeper of Saudi League    Saudi Pro League fan turnout up by 11% in 2023-24 season    Jorge Jesus wins Saudi League Manager of the Season award    Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale concludes with massive attendance    Man opens ice cream shop in seaside telephone box    Nepali climber sets record for fastest ascent of Mount Everest by a woman    World's rarest album to go on display in Australia    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Why China's latest power play may roil Russia
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 14 - 04 - 2016

Western media and political institutions tend to describe China and Russia as something of an anti-Western bloc. More autocratic than Western governments - and more skeptical of open institutions and a free press - China and Russia often side with each other in international disputes against European and American interests.
While this characterization isn't entirely wrong, it overlooks the competition and suspicion between Moscow and Beijing. Today the Sino-Russian rivalry is back in the spotlight, thanks to a recent Chinese proposal for an anti-terror alliance in Central Asia, which does not include Russia - and raises the possibility that tension between the two countries will grow in the coming decades.
For centuries, the region had been a source of strategic insecurity for both China and Russia, but more so for China, which was regularly on the receiving end of raids from Central Asian tribes. By the mid-18th century, both empires' efforts to establish more control over the region - and also security for themselves - had borne fruit, as Russia brought Siberia under its control, and Qing-dynasty China established settlements in Xinjiang, which literally means "New Border Region." While this permanent presence managed to mitigate the threat they faced from local tribes, it also put the two Eurasian empires on a course of competition and rivalry with each other in Central Asia that has endured to the present day.
For most of the period since, Russia has been more powerful than China, sometimes significantly so, and it grew accustomed to its "top-dog" role in the region, eventually extending its influence into control of the Central Asian Republics, and even Mongolia, during the Soviet period. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as re-emergent China continues to assert itself in a big way, worrying Moscow.
China's proposed anti-terrorism alliance is the latest iteration of this kind of "Great Power Foreign Policy." If formalized and constituted, the alliance would focus on sharing intelligence and coordinating monitoring and military efforts among China and Central Asian governments. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan have expressed interest, and early talks have been proposed with other republics as well. The relative absence of details so far suggests that many sticking points could arise and torpedo the whole proposed enterprise, particularly since Chinese diplomacy has sometimes been ham-handed and overreaching when dealing with countries China regards as junior partners in a project.
That said, the proposal follows China's recent $70 million grant to Afghanistan to help with anti-terror efforts, as well as broader Chinese commercial diplomacy in the region, notably involving Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road" infrastructure initiative, designed to link up Europe and China overland through Central Asia. None of these efforts explicitly involve Russia at the top tables, so to speak. This omission of Russia from the proposed alliance is especially notable given that both countries have been involved in a major treaty group in Central Asia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, for the last 15 years.
Possible terrorist activity from local Islamist groups is a real problem in the region; indeed, Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) has recently made more efforts at expanding to the region and has put Beijing more firmly in its crosshairs. This complicates any Russian efforts to claim that the alliance is merely a ploy for China to expand its influence. Central Asian peoples, mostly Turkic, are not part of the ethnic or cultural majority in either country. Nearly 25 million of them live in Russia and China, and are not especially well-integrated into local society, producing no small amount of resentment and tension. Ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang have tried to mobilize and agitate against Chinese rule before, and it's possible that they will again, given Beijing's harsh treatment of them. The Chinese security presence in Xinjiang has increased substantially, leading to what amounts to martial law in certain parts of the province. A permanent Chinese security presence in Central Asia would be merely an extension of this.
What makes these Chinese efforts at diplomacy and alliance-building in Central Asia especially notable is that they come at a time when Beijing is starting to throw its weight around with global diplomacy. Earlier this year, China finalized arrangements to establish its first overseas military base, a naval station in Djibouti - where the United States and Japan, among others, are already present. These developments come on the heels of a massive shakeup in the People's Liberation Army, which involves trimming land forces and giving the armed forces a more explicit role to protect Chinese national interests around the world, rather than purely on national defense.
A major "X factor" in any possible Sino-Russian showdown in Central Asia is the United States. After nearly 15 years of military involvement in Afghanistan, the United States has a great deal of direct interest and experience in the region's security, and may yet decide to weigh in or engage with the new Chinese efforts, should they come to fruition. The alliance could also provide a unique diplomatic venue for the United States to cooperate with Russia, if it considers Chinese efforts more suspect than Russian ones in the region, or indeed possibly the converse, with China and the United States jointly resisting Russian pressure. It could also set the stage for a "Mexican standoff," if Washington decides it isn't comfortable with either country's presence there.
Ultimately, though, the Chinese alliance remains at this point a proposal. Russia, China and the United States often need each other as much as they distrust each other in foreign policy. For that reason, they may choose not to square off in Central Asia - at least for now. — Reuters
— Peter Marino is an international politics analyst, specializing in Northeast Asian affairs and international political economy.


Clic here to read the story from its source.