Although not an Arctic state, China has called itself a “near-Arctic state” and is an observer in the Arctic Council. It takes an interest in Arctic affairs and the development of Arctic shipping routes such as the Northern Sea Route which could see transits between Europe and Asia shortened if they become commercially viable in the future. While China-Russia ties look to be getting ever closer, Hong Nong explains why close cooperation between the two countries in the Arctic — which some call the theatre of a new Cold War — is not at all straightforward.
Politics
Politics
Amid Chinese criticism of the recent Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting as an act of "outdated Cold War mentality", Japan is drawing closer to Australia in a bid to have greater flexibility as it builds up a range of security and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Nonetheless, it believes that dialogue with China is necessary to truly improve the regional situation, says Japanese academic Shin Kawashima.
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Considering itself part of the Indo-Pacific on the grounds of history and overseas territories, France has released its Indo-Pacific strategy to guide its international action in this region. It has an active naval diplomacy and about 8,000 French soldiers permanently deployed in five military bases across the region. And while it lacks the capacity to provide extensive financial or military assistance to countries in the Indo-Pacific, it can offer knowledge and expertise in environmental and climate security and in the governance of territorial waters. Crucially, France is keen to convey that its vision for an inclusive Indo-Pacific offers a third path that moves beyond the current Sino-US bipolarity.
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Russia’s military attack on Ukraine has shocked the world. While China has said that it does not wish to choose sides in the ongoing war, it has also refused to label Russia's military operation as an “invasion”. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan observes that the majority of online discourse in China is also unsurprisingly pro-Russia. As Russia’s strongest ally, China is maintaining a fine balance in the development of events in order to hold on to its "strategic advantage".
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China is tottering between capitalism and old socialism in its pursuit of “socialism with Chinese characteristics”, says Lance Gore. Instead of further entrenching a system that feeds nationalism in the name of socialism, it would do well to update to a new socialism in which the concept of employment, wealth and happiness are redefined to better take advantage of the new technological revolution. But is China ready?
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President Vladimir Putin had set the stage for Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine by couching the country’s relations with Ukraine in ethnocentric terms. Would military action taken in the name of reuniting “one people” give a psychological boost to Beijing in terms of a possible armed reunification with Taiwan?
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While some have linked the Russia-Ukraine crisis to the situation in the Taiwan Strait, US academic Zhu Zhiqun believes this is due to a misread of the differences between Ukraine and Taiwan, the US’s global strategy, as well as China’s domestic and foreign affairs. Ukraine and Taiwan present two different case studies in international relations and Beijing is not about to let the current conflict dictate its approach to managing cross-strait relations.
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Under President Joe Biden, the US seems to be stepping up its engagement of Southeast Asia, not least with frequent mentions of the region in the US’s new “Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States” document, say Chinese academics Zhai Kun and Yuan Ruichen. However, countries in the region should question whether the US will deliver on its promises and really has the capacity to further their development goals. This flurry of activity may in fact just be another means of containing China with the region’s buy-in.
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While some China observers believe that China has sought to displace America from the regional and global order and possesses a grand strategy in the military, political and economic realms, Indian researcher Hemant Adlakha asks if this sense of threat is a mistaken perception or even a grand illusion. But even as the Chinese repeatedly deny such ambitions, Washington looks set to tighten the noose around Beijing. In such an event, China will be left with no choice but to challenge the US twin strategies of encirclement and containment.