// API callback
showlatestposts({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$blogger":"http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-09-13T18:51:04.544+05:00"},"category":[{"term":"United States"},{"term":"China"},{"term":"Pakistan"},{"term":"Trump"},{"term":"India"},{"term":"Afghanistan"},{"term":"Trade War"},{"term":"BRI"},{"term":"Biden"},{"term":"Russia"},{"term":"Technology"},{"term":"Saudi Arabia"},{"term":"Iran"},{"term":"Africa"},{"term":"CPEC"},{"term":"Coronavirus"},{"term":"Economy"},{"term":"Hong Kong"},{"term":"Terrorism"},{"term":"Turkey"},{"term":"Arms"},{"term":"Defense"},{"term":"EU"},{"term":"Israel"},{"term":"Kashmir"},{"term":"Palestine"},{"term":"Poverty"},{"term":"Asia Pacific"},{"term":"Healthcare"},{"term":"Middle East"},{"term":"Syria"},{"term":"United Kingdom"},{"term":"Europe"},{"term":"Huawei"},{"term":"Imran Khan"},{"term":"Iraq"},{"term":"Modi"},{"term":"Cold War"},{"term":"South China Sea"},{"term":"Technology War"},{"term":"Australia"},{"term":"NATO"},{"term":"Rohingya"},{"term":"Taliban"},{"term":"Tobacco"},{"term":"AI"},{"term":"Germany"},{"term":"Global Remittances"},{"term":"Gwadar"},{"term":"Kurd"},{"term":"North Korea"},{"term":"Politics"},{"term":"Racism"},{"term":"S-400"},{"term":"South Korea"},{"term":"Space"},{"term":"Taiwan"},{"term":"UN"},{"term":"UNGA"},{"term":"ASEAN"},{"term":"African Americans"},{"term":"BeiDou Set to Outperform GPS"},{"term":"Beverages"},{"term":"Body Count"},{"term":"Central Asia"},{"term":"Climate"},{"term":"Cuba"},{"term":"Currency"},{"term":"DOD"},{"term":"France"},{"term":"Halal Food Industry"},{"term":"Hybrid War"},{"term":"Italy"},{"term":"JF-17"},{"term":"Lebanon"},{"term":"Libya"},{"term":"Malaysia"},{"term":"Muslims"},{"term":"NSG"},{"term":"Nutrition"},{"term":"PLA"},{"term":"Panama Papers"},{"term":"Panda Bonds"},{"term":"Peace"},{"term":"Pentagon"},{"term":"Pompeo"},{"term":"Qatar"},{"term":"SCO"},{"term":"Seven Pakistani Universities Make to Top-1000 in the World"},{"term":"Time to End Trust on United States"},{"term":"Tourism"},{"term":"UAE"},{"term":"US"},{"term":"United States."},{"term":"Vietnam"},{"term":"Yemen"},{"term":"Zakir Naik"},{"term":"vaccine"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Azhar Azam"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"\u0026quot;How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or benefit you\n\u0026quot;\nSeek truth at peacetv.tv \u0026amp; islamqa.info"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026orderby=published"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25\u0026orderby=published"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"341"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-7583921286670813166"},"published":{"$t":"2021-09-13T18:50:00.002+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-09-13T18:50:18.016+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Terrorism"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"US power to wage wars is ruining countries and its economy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Just seven days after 9\/11 attacks, the U.S. Congress gave an open-ended authority to the U.S. president for use of military force against Afghanistan and nations he \"determines\" planned, harbored and perpetrated the attacks.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarbara Lee, the only U.S. lawmaker to oppose the Afghanistan war and sweeping authority, had asked her fellow legislators to take some time off and think over the heavy repercussions of the U.S. action. In response, the Californian Democrat was compared with pacifist Jeanette Rankin, who voted against the two world wars.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHer stance was vindicated when U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced the end of \"major combat\" operations in Afghanistan and American forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The sudden switch to Baghdad alarmed Americans and pressed returning veterans to question the U.S. president' unlimited powers to wage wars anywhere, exposing the U.S. imperial hubris that inveigles it to interfere in other countries and transgress their right to freedom.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite being labeled as a \"terrorist, traitor and clueless liberal,\" Lee continued to fight against the war, lobby the Congress members to repeal the unjust power and bring troops home. Bernie Sanders, having earlier voted for the controversial legislation and later becoming one of the most vocal critics of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, backed Lee's view to practice restraint.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENow Lee is heralded as an \"ignored oracle\" for foreseeing an endless war in Afghanistan. She urged \"caution\" for there was no military solution, yet the 60-word resolution gave a \"blank check\" to any U.S. president to use force all over the world and pushed the country's post-9\/11 war spending or obligations to $6.4 trillion by fiscal year 2020.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll of the U.S. wars were almost entirely funded by borrowing. Even as the Costs of War project didn't account for many other expenses, such as macroeconomic costs to America's economy, opportunity costs of not investing war dollars in alternative sectors and future interest on war borrowing – these wars had widened the U.S. budget deficit and raised national debt and consumer interest rates.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the Taliban and defeat Al-Qaeda. Unlike the Afghan war, the U.S. invasion of Iraq was complained about by many U.S. military officials over the diversion of resources and strategic thinking from Kabul to Baghdad. By 2009, lack of demonstrable progress in the prolonged nature of the Afghan conflict coupled with mounting casualties and financial costs further weakened \"popular support\" of the mission in the NATO nations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOnly the U.S. war in Afghanistan has left thousands Americans and Afghans dead and siphoned $300 million a day from the U.S. economy. After 20 years, Washington has nothing to show its nation on military achievements in Afghanistan and U.S. President Joe Biden is boasting about evacuations of more than 120,000 people and decamp from Kabul as an \"extraordinary success.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington's belief \"our security and prosperity depend on the security and prosperity of others\" has long been a catchphrase for many to defeat the Taliban. As Biden deployed the U.S. troops on a \"mission of mercy\" to Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghan wondered where the U.S. commitment to reconstruct the U.S.-devastated country was.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has an answer to this emerging issue. In its most recent report, the leading U.S. oversight authority lashed out at the American administrations, saying they consistently struggled to develop and implement a coherent reconstruction strategy and described the U.S. reconstruction effort in Afghanistan as \"20 one-year reconstruction efforts\" rather than \"one 20-year effort.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt painted a lousy picture of America's endeavor over the two decades during which the U.S. officials often underestimated the time and resources needed to rebuild Afghanistan and wasted billions of dollars by building mostly unsustainable institutions and infrastructure projects.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA total of more than $133 billion was spent by the U.S. to build a secure and economically stable Afghanistan. Taking into account the inflation, it's argued that the money Washington incurred on Afghan reconstruction exceeded the value it spent on rebuilding the entire Western Europe through the Marshal Fund after World War II.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. indeed never envisioned reconstructing Afghanistan if the goal really was not to rebuild and leave behind a resilient nation. While most of the reconstruction outlay went to fund, train and equip the Afghan military, Washington's unholy practice, \"use the bad guys to get the badder\" by bribing them with wads of dollars, fostered corruption and wounded up nearly 40 percent in the pockets of corrupt officials, warlords and criminals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAmerica's catastrophic mistakes didn't contribute to Afghan reconstruction or help ease the economic anxieties of ordinary Afghans. For Americans, the U.S. post-9\/11 wars have put up an elevated mountain of borrowed money as total war-related appropriations and spending outstrips the $8-trillion mark that would wring the U.S. economy through the next three decades other than intensifying the macroeconomic effects.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFatefully, direct deaths from post-9\/11 attacks and violence in major U.S. war zones (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen) have to date killed around 1 million people. Out of more than 387,000 civilian killings, more than 70,000 noncombatant deaths came from Afghanistan and Pakistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. has abandoned Afghanistan but it is still conducting \"counterterrorism\" operations across 85 countries through a vast \"military empire\" overseas, comprising hundreds of military bases. Washington may be determined to end the \"forever wars,\" but it can't run away from the responsibility of exterminating hundreds of thousands of civilians and what it owes to their aggrieved families.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver the years, American presidents have relentlessly abused their unfettered power to initiate wars for intruding into and ravaging independent states the world over in furtherance of the so-called \"freedom\" operations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington must put an end to its blood-thirsty macho obsession by conceding this extraterritorial, limitless authority that has smashed Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries and would continue to overwhelm the U.S. economy for at-least next three decades.\u003Cdiv class=\"cmsImage\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #313030; font-family: \u0026quot;Helvetica Neue\u0026quot;, pf_dintext_proregular, \u0026quot;Microsoft Yahei\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;Hiragino Sans GB\u0026quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: 0px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-09-06\/U-S-s-power-to-wage-wars-is-ruining-countries-and-its-economy-13jk7y04Zji\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-09-06\/U-S-s-power-to-wage-wars-is-ruining-countries-and-its-economy-13jk7y04Zji\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/7583921286670813166"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/7583921286670813166"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/09\/us-power-to-wage-wars-is-ruining.html","title":"US power to wage wars is ruining countries and its economy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-5201151988914783639"},"published":{"$t":"2021-09-06T12:50:00.003+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-09-06T12:51:05.897+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Asia Pacific"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"'Great power competition' risks Indo-Pacific security and prosperity"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESection 1202 of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Authority for FY2018, incorporating Change 3 on August 19 to extend the expiry of Directive-type Memorandum for another year, authorized U.S. special operations forces at some of the least-known missions to provide support (training, funding and equipment) to foreign forces, private armies, groups and individuals supporting or facilitating irregular warfare operations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs part of the undeclared warfare, it was inserted in a strategic shift from counterterrorism to \"great power competition.\" With roughly 40 percent of almost 5,000 special operations forces deployed in 62 countries, the amendment could be used for clandestine activities such as island building in the South China Sea (SCS) or back proxies in eastern Ukraine.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe radical change in U.S. approach has serious implications for the global peace and stability, witnessing threats of burgeoning terrorism. The recent terrorist attack on the U.S.-controlled facility at Kabul airport, killing at least 183 people including 13 American troops, presses Washington not to shy away from looming dangers of extremist renaissance and work together with the international community to curb militancy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUntouched by fatal consequences of jeopardizing international security as global terrorists regroup and try to make a strong comeback, some top U.S. military officials are giving rabble-rousing statements by playing up the wild transformation of the concept against near-peer competitors, China and Russia in the Asia Pacific or ranging from the Baltic states and Scandinavia south to Ukraine and the Black Sea region.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. President Joe Biden himself reasons his country's military withdrawal from Afghanistan as one of the factors to \"focus on shoring up America's core strengths to meet the strategic competition with China and other countries that is really going to determine – determine our future.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat's happening in Kabul is a shock to the U.S. strategic shift, recounting terrorists – rather than growing Chinese economic, diplomatic, military and technological power – as the biggest challenge to the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn one side, Washington doesn't want a conflict with China and on the other, the U.S. is committing frequent violations of Chinese territorial integrity in the SCS and encouraging Asian Pacific countries provoke Beijing. The cantankerous nature of U.S. duplicitous policy describes its hostility toward other nations and casts doubts on Biden's promise to develop \"over-the-horizon\" counterterrorism capability to neutralize real threats to his nation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAmerica is all at sea on scaling down the counterterrorism campaign to step up \"great power competition\" as a national security priority. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who in January 2018 argued latter, not former, was the primary focus of the U.S. national security, had parted ways after disagreements with Donald Trump on troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and Syria.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll these U.S. efforts aim to free up resources by ending overseas contingency operations to prepare for a \"rising China and resurgent Russia.\" Former deputy assistant secretary of defense and lead writer of the National Defense Strategy Elbridge Colby in January 2019 recommended Congress remove Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) penalties and barriers for partners such as India, Vietnam and Indonesia to counter the most significant U.S. strategic challenge, Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn an attempt to disintegrate the relationship between China and Vietnam, the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris offered Hanoi the possible provision of a third U.S. Coast Guard high-endurance cutter to bolster Vietnamese capacity to contribute to \"maritime security\" in the SCS.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EVietnam has already agreed to handle maritime disputes with China through consensus for a peaceful and stable region. Anticipating the U.S. intent to stir tensions in the SCS, the country's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh before holding talks with Harris, poured cold water on the U.S. ambitions by appreciating traditional neighborliness and comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Beijing and opposing politicization of either pandemic or the origins-tracing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESingapore was the other nation Harris tried to bully during her trip to Southeast Asia. After Singaporean Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan ahead of her arrival sought China and the U.S. to build up trust and said his country won't become \"one or the other's stalking horse to advance negative agendas,\" the island-city's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong put a damper on Washington's unhealthy pattern of fueling regional disturbance by questioning U.S. reliability in the fallout of Afghanistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHarris boasted partnerships in Singapore, in Southeast Asia and throughout the Indo-Pacific were a \"top (U.S.) priority\" to reassure the region Washington hadn't forgotten it. But the raft of announcements she made to Singapore and Vietnam was either initiated by the Trump administration or had been just a \"piecemeal.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington's irresponsible withdrawal from Kabul to reassert its leadership in the Asia Pacific and acts to mount pressure on regional states to choose a side in \"great power competition\" is a pressing issue for the nations across the expanse.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA whole new set of challenges and the deflated appeal for military confrontation culminates in the endorsement of China's vision of peaceful coexistence and a deep sense of the U.S. betrayal in the Asia Pacific. The failure of America's aggressive policy has triggered the mainstream U.S. media to absurdly accuse China for supplying weapons and logistic support to the Taliban in the aftermath of 9\/11.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis as well as other grotesque projection, China is an \"existential threat\" to the U.S., can't gain traction since Beijing has always called for non-interference in each other's territories and stressed on a unified and transnational response on terrorism. As a matter of fact, Beijing in the U.S. war on terror had suffered losses from September 11 attacks, according to none other than the U.S. Department of State itself.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERegional and international peace is however being threatened by the U.S. incursions in the SCS. Talks between China and the U.S. to mitigate risks and accidental conflict in the region are good though may not be good enough to prevent Washington from making the Asia Pacific the heart of its \"great power competition.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStill if the U.S. can somehow manage to come out of its egomaniacal thoughts and sincerely engage Beijing, there are the prospects to calm tensions and improve regional security for building a secure and economically prosperous region, to which China invariably is resolute about and Washington has just lately committed.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-09-01\/-Great-power-competition-risks-Indo-Pacific-security-and-prosperity-13cNUARX1PG\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-09-01\/-Great-power-competition-risks-Indo-Pacific-security-and-prosperity-13cNUARX1PG\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5201151988914783639"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5201151988914783639"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/09\/great-power-competition-risks-indo.html","title":"'Great power competition' risks Indo-Pacific security and prosperity"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-6862747048882835900"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-31T12:16:00.003+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-31T12:16:32.785+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"NATO"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Biden's 'America is back' is the sequel of Trump's 'America First'"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Once he took over as the U.S. President after four years of Donald Trump's discordant international approach, Joe Biden outlined his vision for the U.S. foreign policy to domestic and international audiences to declare \"America is back, the transatlantic alliance is back.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMany of the U.S. allies in Europe, which had adjusted or were trying to attune to a world without the U.S. leadership or were charting their own independent way, wondered whether they should trust Biden's word and the broken relationship could really be restored.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing six months of Biden's young presidency, his assurance to rebuild alliances and the U.S. moral standing and construct a wall against the fierce U.S. economic competitor, China, has come to a standstill. With Beijing's role in e-mobility easily deepening ties between China and the European Union (EU), the Afghanistan catastrophe is urging some to press their governments to consider alternatives to the U.S.-led order since America will never be back.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe \"position of strength\" Biden sought – to compete by building back better, working with partners, renewing international institutions and reclaiming lost reliability – is being blown to smithereens in Afghanistan, given the \"10 times more profound and structural\" problems than they were in Saigon.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's the U.S. arrogance, overseas interventions and apathy to international cooperation that has weakened the world's biggest economy's ability to strike back and stand even among equals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits in June, Biden echoed \"America is back.\" But his refrain was an attempt to get a larger share in the pie like Trump's \"America First.\" Few European leaders would show their distrust in Biden's assertion publicly, yet privately they worry that his commitment to the NATO allies as well as to international cooperation and global governance is becoming a partisan issue in America, leaving them wondering if America was really back?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWithin a couple of months after the \"successful\" EU and G7 meetings, several European countries fear that Biden's unilateral decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan is the sequel of Trump's \"America First\" policy and that the U.S. president's promise to strengthen the transatlantic alliance lacks candor and genuineness.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing the fall of Kabul, the U.S. President took 48 hours to talk to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and another 24 hours to phone German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Biden's wariness to discuss an issue of mutual concern fueled apprehensions and resentments within the Europeans, who are now openly questioning the way the U.S. withdrew from a war launched in support of America.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Afghanistan debacle shoves the Biden administration into a situation where he has to ensure that the country doesn't turn into a terrorist sanctuary and how to deal with the Taliban. But more disturbingly for the White House, Biden's \"America is back\" mantra is badly hit amid growing questions on the U.S. commitment and competence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDismayed former NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson, who invoked Article V for the first time after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., is no more proud of an organization he once led. He feels the unique solidarity of the transatlantic alliance has been crushed by the \"recklessness\" and \"unilateralism of the United States president\" that will be difficult to recover, if it isn't lost completely.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the recent G7 meet, the U.S. president refused to extend the August 31 deadline of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was proposed by the key allies. His act to pour into the wounds of the fractured relationship would dumbfound the wrathful U.S. allies and illuminate fissures with the alliance ahead of the major conferences, the United Nations General Assembly and the G20 in Rome.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden's \"America is back\" delusion is further exacerbated by his plummeting domestic approval ratings, which have dropped to the lowest since he assumed power not just over his ability to handle international crisis but also due to the rise of highly contagious Delta variant cases, stubbornly high rate of unvaccinated adults in some of the country's poorest states and weak job management, leading \"the promise of April\" become \"the peril of August.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven as the U.S. House voted to push on mere a procedural motion to draft the $3.65 trillion jobs and infrastructure bill on August 24, the spending faces challenges from both House and Senate, with the Democrats having a hairline majority in both chambers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs some Democrat Senate centrists say they cannot support the package and Republicans have blasted their rivals for pursuing their priorities in an effort to shrug off what's happening in Afghanistan, passage of the initiative is a tough gig to pull off for the Biden administration.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Biden finding it difficult to handle domestic and international crises and distinguish himself from Trump on ditching the U.S. allies, this is highly unlikely he would be able to convince Europe and the world that \"America is back.\" Rather, the European leaders aren't too far to openly equate the most-chanted slogan with his predecessor's \"America First.\"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-27\/Biden-s-America-is-back-is-the-sequel-of-Trump-s-America-First--1334cTcnkze\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-27\/Biden-s-America-is-back-is-the-sequel-of-Trump-s-America-First--1334cTcnkze\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6862747048882835900"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6862747048882835900"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/08\/bidens-america-is-back-is-sequel-of.html","title":"Biden's 'America is back' is the sequel of Trump's 'America First'"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-2752837457039244329"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-31T12:13:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-31T12:13:17.446+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Afghanistan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Pakistan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Taliban"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Taliban and the recognition challenge"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E  \u003Cbr \/\u003EQuite a few veteran diplomats and observers of the world’s most powerful military alliance, NATO, hang their heads in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/dominic-raab-returns-holiday-abroad-24764467\"\u003Eshame\u003C\/a\u003E over collapse of Afghan security forces like house of cards , giving Taliban a walkover and West's betrayal and abandonment of Afghan people to a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/aug\/15\/the-abandonment-of-afghanistan-is-shameful\"\u003Eregime\u003C\/a\u003E of medieval savagery and backwardness” in the most \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/national\/victoria\/a-shameful-betrayal-and-abandonment-20210818-p58jxl.html\"\u003Ecraven\u003C\/a\u003E way. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn the US, President Joe Biden faces harsh reproach for \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/withdrawal-troops-afghanistan-biden-mistake-afghan-women-rights-2021-7\"\u003Etelling\u003C\/a\u003E extremists the planet’s superpower lacks “strength and stamina” against a stubborn enemy, asking Americans to be “alarmed and ashamed” on hastily absconding Afghanistan. The Australian government is being scolded for \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/in-kabuls-saigon-moment-australia-faces-the-shame-of-repeating-its-mistakes-exiting-the-vietnam-war-166163\"\u003Erepeating\u003C\/a\u003E the Vietnamese mistakes over turning back on Afghan employees. The UK legislators flavor the setback in Afghanistan as \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20210813-uk-vows-not-to-turn-back-on-afghanistan-despite-embassy-pullout\"\u003Eshameful\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETaliban’s lightning advance came on the heels of the US \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-58224399\"\u003Ehasty\u003C\/a\u003E retreat, an outcome written on the wall though Americans took too much time to realize. Anticipating an imminent crisis, Pakistan – the South Asian country played major role in bringing Taliban leaders on the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2019\/Jul\/12\/2002156816\/-1\/-1\/1\/ENHANCING-SECURITY-AND-STABILITY-IN-AFGHANISTAN.PDF\"\u003Enegotiating table\u003C\/a\u003E – has consistently sought the US pursue a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1537391\"\u003Eresponsible\u003C\/a\u003E withdrawal” and pull the plug on an inscrutable escape from Afghanistan citing terrorist \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1567589\"\u003Ethreats\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden wasn’t prepared to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-58167408\"\u003Eregret\u003C\/a\u003E his decision as the Taliban were conquering provinces after provinces and tightening the noose on Afghan security forces around Kabul. Stunned by the rapidity of insurgents’ territorial gains, NATO’s military retirees of the Afghan war however did so due to “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/taliban-advance-astonishes-ex-generals-noose-tightens-kabul-afghanistan-1619120\"\u003Eseriously\u003C\/a\u003E dire” situation and a “strategic \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-58139590\"\u003Emistake\u003C\/a\u003E” that “sold the future of Afghanistan.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe movement’s seizure of Kabul – much before \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taliban-battle-government-forces-us-fears-kabul-could-fall-90-days-2021-08-12\/\"\u003E90\u003C\/a\u003E-day US intelligence assessment and roughly a month after Biden commented it was “highly unlikely” Taliban would be “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2021\/07\/08\/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan\/\"\u003Eoverrunning\u003C\/a\u003E everything and owning the whole country” – now places Washington in an awkward position and begets more humiliation for the US and coalition partners. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA staggering amount of $89 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-83c0fac2109711d703f4f490798868b9\"\u003Ebillion\u003C\/a\u003E spent by the US to rebuild the Afghan military clearly sinks with threadbare soldiers surrendering to Taliban like “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/how-taliban-engineered-political-collapse-afghanistan-2021-08-17\/\"\u003Egoats\u003C\/a\u003E and sheep” or fleeing the country on Uncle Sam-provided \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/afghanistan-videos-show-taliban-victories-government-retreat-collapse-looms-kabul-1619083\"\u003Evehicles\u003C\/a\u003E. To Washington’s chagrin, Taliban war booty included not just US tanks and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/hanktucker\/2021\/08\/16\/the-war-in-afghanistan-cost-america-300-million-per-day-for-20-years-with-big-bills-yet-to-come\/?sh=6e77adee7f8d\"\u003EHumvees\u003C\/a\u003E but also aircraft potentially including Black \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.the-sun.com\/news\/3506397\/taliban-mocks-west-propaganda-video-stolen-us-military-gear\/\"\u003EHawks\u003C\/a\u003E and drones, meant to fight them and protect Kabul from annexation. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe way \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/08\/16\/politics\/white-house-afghanistan-biden-crises\/index.html\"\u003Eworse\u003C\/a\u003E than Saigon scenes in Kabul and ongoing \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmbJohnBolton\/status\/1426935908843012107\"\u003Eembarrassment\u003C\/a\u003E unfolds cataclysmic failure of the successive US administrations’ Afghanistan policy for which they bear “major \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/donald-trump-taliban-resurgence-afghanistan-b1902376.html\"\u003Eresponsibility\u003C\/a\u003E” and can easily be accused for running the risk of making Afghanistan a breeding ground for terrorists and bringing \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-58139590\"\u003Eharm\u003C\/a\u003E to Europeans, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmbJohnBolton\/status\/1427373359260651528\"\u003EAmericans\u003C\/a\u003E and elsewhere through its chaotic withdrawal. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven Boris Johnson, the closest US ally, went so far as to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/boris-johnson-blames-us-and-biden-for-afghanistan-collapse\"\u003Epin\u003C\/a\u003E the blame of the security situation in Afghanistan on Biden.  The British prime minister followed up his disapproval of the US Afghan strategy and took another \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/politics\/2021\/08\/18\/parliament-holds-joe-biden-contempt-afghanistan\/\"\u003Eswipe\u003C\/a\u003E at Washington but the US president was yet to notice any dent to the US \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/568780-biden-denies-allies-are-questioning-us-credibility-amid-afghanistan\"\u003Ecredibility\u003C\/a\u003E within allies. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“The West could not continue this US-led mission, a mission conceived and executed in support of America, without American logistics, without US air power and without American might,” Johnson said at the House of Commons. In brief, he questioned Washington’s commitment to the US partners and just fell short of hinting London should relook at the bilateral relationship at least on global security. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDisengagement from the Taliban isn't the right solution either to the compelling issue. They are by any means an important political and military player in Afghanistan. So, it’s crucial to engage them through a rational and non-interventionist approach to remodel a country that is more stable and does not pose security threats to other world states. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJohnson seems ready \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/news\/uk\/boris-johnson-afghanistan-taliban-dominic-raab-angela-merkel-b951028.html\"\u003Ework\u003C\/a\u003E with Beijing and Moscow, believing “global cooperation was crucial” and is keen to develop a unified response on forging ties with the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. While the US constantly is in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/08\/19\/politics\/taliban-talks-salvage-afghanistan-crisis\/index.html\"\u003Edirect\u003C\/a\u003E communication with the Taliban and the European Union realizes Brussels needs to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/eu-will-have-to-talk-to-taliban-but-wary-of-recognition\/a-58890698\"\u003Etalk\u003C\/a\u003E to them, the warriors can sense a quiet recognition from the world leaders as legitimate Afghan rulers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe widespread change of heart is bolstering the Taliban. Capitalizing on their diplomatic grooming, thanks to international embrace for the negotiation teams in the last few years, they have smartly made the entire world responsible for the country's \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/afghanistan-women-can-be-educated-up-to-university-level-taliban-spokesman-tells-sky-news-12383778\"\u003Edestruction\u003C\/a\u003E and demanded everyone meet the “moral obligation” to help rebuild the devastated state. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA masterful display of advancing Afghanistan’s economic growth is in full swing as Taliban officials appreciate China’s positive contribution to promote \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taliban-spokesman-says-china-can-contribute-afghanistans-development-state-media-2021-08-19\/\"\u003Epeace\u003C\/a\u003E and reconciliation in the country, seeing Beijing as Kabul’s economic \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/aug\/17\/china-will-tread-carefully-in-navigating-the-talibans-return\"\u003Elifeline\u003C\/a\u003E and showing willingness the world’s second largest economy play an integral role in Afghan reconstruction. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotwithstanding the Taliban have emerged as the main influential factor in Afghanistan, it won’t be an easy ride to gain international diplomatic or economic support. This is for the militants don’t wholly represent the entire Afghan population, have been \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/middle-east-taliban-e5288f8c0a5d48677f703dbc40c22d3a\"\u003Ewarned\u003C\/a\u003E not to win Kabul by flexing muscles and also as they may be phlegmatic about sharing substantial power with other political parties. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore pushing forward their economic agenda effectively, Taliban need international recognition, which will be a tough gig to pull off albeit encouraging statements from the world’s leading economies. Most importantly, they will’ve to demonstrate the practical implementation of their commitment to prevent Afghanistan from turning into a launch pad for terrorist activities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington is clearly a defeated power, which pleads Taliban \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/08\/12\/us\/politics\/taliban-afghanistan-us-embassy.html\"\u003Eto spare\u003C\/a\u003E American embassy or citizens in Afghanistan from attacks in return for aid and has been duping its own nation for almost two decades by asking them to rejoice a win the US had never won. The watershed moment sends shockwaves through the American public as Biden’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/08\/22\/bidens-approval-rating-drops-lowest-point-presidency\/8234689002\/\"\u003Eapproval\u003C\/a\u003E ratings skid in his young presidency with the resurgent virus leading the “promise of April” to the “peril of August.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYet, Taliban are entering into a much more exacting phase – rebuilding the economy from scratch and reconstructing a wartorn country – than they’ve encountered so far, attacking and capturing cities through gun power. As the nut of getting international recognition is too hard to crack with the looming domestic political crisis, economic and reconstruction have to be at a very long range. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in \"The Express Tribune\":\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2317794\/taliban-and-the-recognition-challenge\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2317794\/taliban-and-the-recognition-challenge\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2752837457039244329"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2752837457039244329"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/08\/taliban-and-recognition-challenge.html","title":"Taliban and the recognition challenge"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-3071867297893626"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-16T12:20:00.005+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-16T12:20:55.205+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Central Asia"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Russia"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Central Asia likely to limit U.S. re-engagement in development and economic cooperation"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Central Asia's proximity to China and Russia and its tendency to act as a conduit between Asia and Europe, the largest and the most developed continents respectively in the world, tempted the U.S. to make it a region of vital strategic importance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInitially, Washington didn't even seek access to energy in the heart of Asia or democratize the region, rather viewing it as a theater in the war on terror and a tool to counter revived Beijing and Moscow.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn order to further its long-term strategic goals, Washington in the late 2000s established the Northern Distribution Network to reduce an overreliance on Islamabad for non-lethal supplies to Kabul. NATO's outrageous killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in November 2011 impinged on the bilateral relationship and forced America to move to a costlier and longer route through Central Asia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA transformed U.S. strategy afterward provided programmatic assistance to support democracy and enhance the economic capacity of Central Asia; still, core principles of the new blueprint were unchanged: use the region's geostrategic location to address its national security interests and blunt China's growing investments in the region's infrastructure.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs analyzed by The New York Times, Washington's \"Great Game\" against Beijing had to be a tough mission, as U.S. presidents have never visited Central Asia, unlike Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made several state visits to the region. And when the last time then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did in 2020 after a gap of five years, he wasted the opportunity by vainly trying to hoodwink Central Asian states, which were becoming overly dependent on Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPompeo's demented show failed to rupture China's ties with countries in the region, which viewed Beijing as a trusted business partner that was investing tens of billions of dollars in laying pipelines and creating rail connections. Yet in doing so, Washington walked back from its earlier stance that it didn't want to compete with Beijing in Central Asia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. President Joe Biden has been striving to restore America's partnerships and gang up an alliance against China. His administration is re-engaging Central Asia through the C5+1 – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (\"the stans\") and the United States – a program to improve regional connectivity and boost economic cooperation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat's important is that this initiative shouldn't be exploited to pep up American supremacy in the region and geopolitical ambitions against China. That's because Biden's aides deeply believe in the primacy, exceptionalism and indispensability of America to the world; there's been a subtext of forcing Central Asia to downgrade their relationship with Beijing and the U.S. president himself seeks to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe governments and people in China and Central Asia have a long history of friendship and cooperation. Now the BRI and the crisis situation in Afghanistan are bringing them closer to each other. Hiding some of Asia's most sublime mountain trails, jewel-like azure-blue lakes and rugged mountains – the landlocked region is a natural extension to the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB), the proposed overland BRI route.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECentral Asia holds a special place in the grand Chinese economic and infrastructure plan. The BRI aims to promote international connectivity, global growth and development and increase mutual understanding, respect, trust and friendly relations between peoples and countries.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBetween 2015 and 2019, exports from Central Asia to China grew 35 percent to more than $20 billion, with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reporting the fastest increases of over 50 percent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETaking advantage of its leading role in two of three earthbound belts going all the way to Europe as well as the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, the region can greatly benefit from China's proposal to bring innovations and foster pilot zones along the SREB within the framework of \"China+Central Asia\" cooperation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Afghan turmoil has worried Central Asian nations about an extremist spillover from the neighboring country. As terrorism threatens to push pack the regional economic agenda, it's critical for all stakeholders to jointly hedge against instability emanating from Afghanistan and strengthen security cooperation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince mid-April, the Biden administration has been reportedly considering countries bordering Afghanistan – Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – and Kazakhstan for monitoring and quickly responding to the security threats. Uzbekistan is also being weighed upon as a jumping-off location for drone strikes in Afghanistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's surprising after pulling out forces from Kabul in a hasty and highly irresponsible manner, exposing thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters susceptible to terrorist attacks – Washington is looking to control the situation remotely from a region that expelled the U.S. military or where it had ceased operations years before.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter Pakistan questioned the U.S. commitment to resolve the Afghan conflict, expecting Islamabad to settle America's 20 years of \"mess,\" Uzbekistan has also publicly denied hosting American military bases. Since Kazakhstan and Tajikistan can't allow foreign militaries without endorsement from the Russian-led Collective Security State Organization, the U.S. is scrambling to influence the region and use Central Asia as a springboard to contain either China or Russia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne country which could be directly held accountable for refueling the Afghan dispute and security threats to Central Asia is the U.S. Washington's headlong retreat has pushed Afghans to the edge of a cliff, risking peace across the entire region. No stranger to America's equivocal attitude, Central Asian states are most likely to limit U.S. reengagement in infrastructure development and economic cooperation.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-14\/Central-Asia-may-limit-U-S-re-engagement-in-regional-development--12HvKDBO3te\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-14\/Central-Asia-may-limit-U-S-re-engagement-in-regional-development--12HvKDBO3te\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/3071867297893626"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/3071867297893626"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/08\/central-asia-likely-to-limit-us-re.html","title":"Central Asia likely to limit U.S. re-engagement in development and economic cooperation"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-7136684586281030554"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-13T16:21:00.002+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-13T16:21:23.964+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United Kingdom"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Restoring ties with China will power UK's own interests"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe number of Chinese students applying to universities in the UK has now outstripped the number from European Union (EU) countries, according to recent data from the UK-based Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, despite the recent ups and downs in the relationship between the two countries.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor the British economy, which aims to lift education exports to £35 billion ($48.5 billion) by 2030, as per the British Government's International Education Strategy policy paper, but faces challenges, Chinese students would be an invaluable boost to help drive a 40-percent rise in demand during the next few years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt might surprise some though it isn't unexpected. Last year, researchers from China and the UK co-published more than 19,000 research papers, showing political tensions could still be avoided and people-to-people relationships strengthened by fostering a joint, more impactful academic collaboration.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecently, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak acknowledged the \"truth\" that China is \"one of the most important economies in the world\" and Britain needs \"a mature and balanced relationship\" with the world's second largest economy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter his hopes to reopen the British financial sector's access to the EU crashed, Sunak is seeking to tap the potential of the fast-growing Chinese financial market with assets of £40 trillion ($55.48 trillion).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's Premier Li Keqiang, in a virtual meeting with top British business leaders later, stressed that Beijing and London should resolve differences through dialogue. He emphasized bolstering trade, economic and health cooperation and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges to benefit the public across the two economies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese positive signals suggest that perhaps the time has arrived for China and the UK, two ancient civilizations with unique cultures, to reserve disputes and thaw their frozen ties by cooperating on common interests.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn 2020，when global foreign direct investment flows decreased by almost two-fifths, China's inbound direct investment rose more than 10 percent to $212 billion; in the first quarter of 2021, it witnessed an almost three-fold increase to $98 billion.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn top of that, foreign investors' buying of Chinese bonds and stocks surged 40 percent to $806 billion, and 30 percent of central banks are planning to increase their holdings in yuan, the Chinese currency that is estimated to be one of the world's top currencies in a decade.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith China's foreign trade growing by 27.1 percent to about $2.8 trillion in the first half of 2021, its best in history – the UK should also look to deepen all-round relations with its third largest trading partner and an important investment partner.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe UK Government says China is a great economic story of the past three decades that, even with a modest growth, has a huge market potential for UK exporters and investors due to the spiraling number of middle- and high-income consumers and viable investment prospects.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, this is the moment the UK needs to mend its ways and unsubscribe to the United States' hostile policy toward China that will be as damaging for London as it's for Washington. China's trade, economic and financial growth iterates London has no (better) alternative except for deepening its relationship with Beijing, which provides more unfettered opportunities for the British economy and businesses than any other market in the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENuclear energy has been a rare area of cooperation between China and the UK. In 2013, the British Government agreed to have a Chinese-French consortium build its first nuclear power plant in 20 years. China General Nuclear Power Corp is an investor in the £20 billion ($27.7 billion) nuclear reactor in the fishing village of Sizewell in Suffolk. It also plans to build a new plant in Essex using its own reactor technology.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, there are now reports in the British media that London could block the Chinese company over security concerns. This is apparently over the same unfounded security concerns that saw the British Government block Huawei last year from taking part in the 5G rollout in Britain though the Chinese company had been given the go-ahead earlier.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf the UK is mulling options to exclude Chinese companies from the nuclear energy and telecommunication industries, Prime Minister Boris Johnson must tread carefully. This is an issue that could breach contractually-bound international treaties, trigger intense reaction from Beijing, and affect London's credibility as a global partner.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis sort of politically motivated move would lead to serious consequences for Britons, who have been threatened by power shortages for years and face blackout risks as the old coal plants and existing nuclear reactors except the ones under construction will be shut down by 2030 as their period of operability ends. Any anti-Chinese company move over the Sizewell reactor will inevitably affect the development of the Essex reactor and adversely impact the country's targets of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050 and employment generation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter Brexit, the UK's businesses are experiencing headwinds and extra red tape from their single largest trading partner, the EU. In addition, London has to deal with an unprecedented set of economic shocks from the pandemic. This watershed moment is a reminder for Britain not to run away from the fact that restoring cooperation with China is in its vital interest. It would help drive growth, create jobs and meet the massive domestic energy requirements. \u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-07\/Restoring-ties-with-China-will-power-UK-s-own-interests-12xaUAOcqXe\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-07\/Restoring-ties-with-China-will-power-UK-s-own-interests-12xaUAOcqXe\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/7136684586281030554"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/7136684586281030554"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/08\/restoring-ties-with-china-will-power.html","title":"Restoring ties with China will power UK's own interests"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-1747680575370834242"},"published":{"$t":"2021-08-09T12:15:00.000+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-08-09T12:15:03.591+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Iraq"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Middle East"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"US Iraq and Middle East policy faces hard challenges"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Remarks from U.S. President Joe Biden before a recent bilateral summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi appeared to gesture that Washington didn't want to make any military footprint in Iraq. A readout from the U.S. State Department and a joint statement also redefined the U.S. role in Iraq as solely to support Iraq's fight against ISIL and to build the capacity for future threats.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe new U.S. Iraq policy coincides with analysts' presumption that a complete troop withdrawal should be avoided to deny Iran a posthumous win, enable burden sharing with Gulf allies and help ensure Jordan's security.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe strategy also aligns with another recommendation to gradually move to noncombat assistance and maintain an advisory mission in Baghdad, as a full departure would pose high risk to U.S. strategic interest over countering Iran.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing the initial fanfare, however, defiant voices are erupting in Iraq. They are rejecting U.S. forces' metamorphosed transition from a combative force to a purely advisory role. Militias are refusing to accept the changed description, and some are threatening to attack the U.S. combat or non-combat troops until they leave the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAn overwhelming number of Iraqi people don't condone U.S. military presence in the country. The U.S. assassination of a prominent Iranian general in January 2020, which also killed a senior Iraqi military leader, reinforced this distrust.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince kicking out ISIL from Iraq in 2017, Washington has consistently maintained there aren't any combat troops deployed other than advisers and trainers. In fact, both the U.S. and Iraq on April 7, 2021 confirmed that the mission of the U.S. and coalition forces had transitioned to a training and advisory role based on Iraq's increasing military capacity.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERegardless, top U.S. general for the Middle East Frank McKenzie ruled out the possibility of an American withdrawal from Iraq, saying \"we're going to stay in Iraq,\" as leaving would fulfill one of Iran's goals. America's strategy to counter Iranian influence in Iraq under the guise of fighting ISIL won't satisfy political parties and armed factions. The U.S. is trying to sell an old wine in a new bottle.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington is additionally looking to exploit the tripartite summit, which was held among Egypt, Jordan and Iraq in June of this year, and seen as an attempt to neutralize or counter Iranian influence in Iraq and across the region.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, Al-Kadhimi would be very careful over following America's guidelines and compromising his high standing in the region. The Iraqi Prime Minister has developed a good relationships with Tehran and Riyadh. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBuilding on his close ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia, the talks he's orchestrating between the two regional foes, confirmed and approved by respective foreign ministries, could give peace and stability a chance to prevail in the Middle East.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERegional stability has been a remote prospect in the Middle East, mostly over Saudi-Iranian rivalry. As Riyadh adjusts its regional strategy after losing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s unflinching support, and as Tehran seeks the Kingdom's approval for nuclear talks with the Biden administration, there is a need to blow off steam between the two arch rivals and push the peace process forward.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlthough it's too early to judge the outcome of the negotiations, this is a step in the right direction to resolve bilateral rows, cut a deal on the Yemen conflict and end the almost five-year diplomatic stalemate.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are more positive signs. Iran's president-elect Ebrahim Raisi sees no obstacle to having a discourse with Saudi Arabia and is eager to reopen embassies. His invitation to Saudi Arabia and gestures to improve links with Gulf Arab neighbors should be welcomed by regional countries.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEconomic cooperation is seen as the driving force behind the formation of the new ABC (Amman, Baghdad and Cairo) alliance. Baghdad's GDP in 2020 witnessed a sharp contraction due to volatile oil prices and the pandemic, reversing two years of steady recovery. As roughly 90 percent of Iraq's revenues come from oil exports, much of the country's projected economic growth over the next two years will depend on crude exports.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina is helping to ease Baghdad's financial woes and rebuild infrastructure. The U.S. delusions of grandeur, fiscal or its \"forever wars\" in Afghanistan and Iraq, continue to erode the appeal of American leadership. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EConcerned over Beijing's strengthening relationship and growing influence in the Middle East, including in Iraq, the U.S. wants to shore up alliances against China. However, this strategy won't be backed by many pandemic-hit regional and global economies that are looking to gain from China's projected high economic growth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIraq's commitment to forging a conflict-free region, maintaining good relations with all countries and prioritizing economic interests as well as rapprochement in the Middle East is challenging American hawks. The U.S. militaristic obsession is struggling to stay relevant across the region. Economic cooperation and engagement is the right approach to follow.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-02\/U-S-Iraq-and-Middle-East-policy-faces-hard-challenges-12oD8E5jnji\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-08-02\/U-S-Iraq-and-Middle-East-policy-faces-hard-challenges-12oD8E5jnji\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/1747680575370834242"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/1747680575370834242"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/08\/us-iraq-and-middle-east-policy-faces.html","title":"US Iraq and Middle East policy faces hard challenges"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-4267783612403054984"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-31T18:48:00.006+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-31T18:48:40.506+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cuba"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Behind Cuba crisis is US politics, intervention and trade embargo"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The history of U.S. antipathy toward Cuba and intervention in the Caribbean island harks back to early 1960s when Washington failed to overthrow Cuban revolutionist leader Fidel Castro during the Bay of Pigs invasion. Loss of U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista and a Soviet-inclined government next door at the height of the Cold War was a lethal brew for America.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince then, Washington's Cuba policy has been dominated at isolating Havana economically through an adulterous trade embargo. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, American blockade of the small economy was noticed by the international world that chose to withdraw its support for \"unjust\" financial and trade restrictions, costing Cuban people a total of $130 billion in six decades.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFormer U.S. President Barack Obama in 2014 tried to shift the ineffective strategy and rescinded Cuba's designation as state of sponsor of international terrorism, restored diplomatic relationship and eased off sanctions on travel and remittances, among other measures. But the détente was suspended after Donald Trump took office.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMore than 240 economic sanctions including a slew of new politically-driven measures before the 2020 U.S. presidential election returned Trump votes of the large Cuban-American population in South Florida. Yet crippling curbs deeply hurt a fragile economy, \"really\" affected Cuban people and contributed to food and medicine famines.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore Trump was routed out of the White House, his administration made sure that Cuban people were completely squeezed and did not receive any respite from the United States. Just days away from his departure, he put back Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism and ripped off all diplomatic norms to blacklist Cuban Interior Minister Lazaro Alberto Alvarez Casas.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJoe Biden on the campaign trail vowed to reverse Trump's policy, which had \"inflicted harm\" to Cuban economy and added to worsening shortages of food and medicine. Nonetheless, once took oath as the U.S. president, he ignored advice of 80 House Democrats' advice in March to repeal the prior administration's \"cruel\" sanctions and overturn politicized decisions and opted to follow his predecessor.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDisregarding Cubans' calls to lift sanctions, the Biden administration on June 23 opposed a United Nations General Assembly resolution to terminate the U.S. embargo and exposed its willingness of reconciliation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe near-unanimous vote for 29th consecutive time condemned America's sanctions and invited the ire of some leading international nations such as Beijing and Moscow, demanding Washington to end interference in Havana.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMany Democrats still are pressing Biden to waive sanctions on Cuba. They call on him to help Cubans by rescinding Trump-era sanctions and offering additional humanitarian and vaccine assistance to them as well as have \"outright\" rejected administration's defense of the embargo and use of \"cruelty\" as a point of leverage against ordinary folks.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn the other way around, the U.S. president is suppressing progressive voices in his own party as he designated head of Cuba's Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Alvaro Lopez Miera and Ministry of Interior's National Special Brigade.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden's response, outlined in a call with hardliners in Miami and welcomed by infamous Cuba-American Republican Marco Rubio, revealed the political nature of the new measures that appeared to strengthen his position in Florida.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden, after secession from his commitment with Cuban people, labeled Havana government a \"failed state\" and intended to mull over options to reinstate the internet outages. While it's a paradigmatic case of foreign intervention, his temptation to receive cash remittances from Cuban-American wasn't short of incitement to violence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis forms an opinion that Biden's vacillation to assist Cuban people fight health and economic challenges has nothing to do with the human rights; it is aimed at politicking to avoid increased risk of losing a slim majority in the House in 2022 from Florida, where Miami in 2020 deprived Democrats of two Congress members for pursuing normalization policy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECuba clearly is gripped with widespread protests owing to the death of food, medicine and electricity due to persistent U.S. \"politics of economic asphyxiation\". By politicizing Cuban crisis, keeping crudest measures intact and stoking social divide and violence in the Caribbean island, Biden, like Trump, wants to choke Cuban economy to force a violent change.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHavana's assertion about the U.S. embargo's role in ravaging Cuba's healthcare is discarded by American media, contending food and medicines are exempt from ban. That's untrue and misleading. In reality, Washington has stopped life-saving drugs bound for the ailing Cubans, causing even deaths, to describe it as having no respect for human life and international law.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome Western outlets wrongly frame the unrest in Cuba as \"World's Big Struggle: Autocracies vs. Democracies.\" It is not the case either. Exacerbated by pandemic, strife has stemmed from decades-old unwarranted U.S. trade embargo.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe UN resolutions, reaffirming non-intervention and non-interference in other states, and economists have identified such measures for adversely affecting Cuban people and blamed the hardening of American sanctions for shortage of staple foods.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington's vain words, shifting the responsibility of Cubans' economic suffering on Havana government and supporting violent demonstrations, won't help the people entrapped in economic and health crises. For that, the U.S. must stop politicizing the issue, bring an end to its intervention and lift the economic, commercial and financial trade embargo on Cuba.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-25\/Behind-Cuba-s-crisis-is-U-S-politics-intervention-and-trade-embargo-12buRvW8qS4\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-25\/Behind-Cuba-s-crisis-is-U-S-politics-intervention-and-trade-embargo-12buRvW8qS4\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4267783612403054984"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4267783612403054984"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/07\/behind-cuba-crisis-is-us-politics.html","title":"Behind Cuba crisis is US politics, intervention and trade embargo"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-8935668511266093268"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-31T18:45:00.002+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-31T18:45:48.991+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Africa"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Africans deserve to grow with the rest of the world"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E A tidal wave of fear continues to rack the imperialist and former U.S. officials who believe China is \"kicking our tails nearly everywhere\" in Africa. Instead of answering the simple question of Africans: \"Where is America with respect to Chinese infrastructure development and funding for health support,\" they instead garble Beijing's commitment to the continent by pursuing global dominance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's policy in Africa – no interference in its regional development path, no meddling in domestic affairs, no imposition of will, no attachment of political strings to assistance and no quest of self-seeking political gains in investment and financing – has been an essential pillar to developing a long-term, stable and ever-strengthening Afro-Sino relationship.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe \"five-no\" approach and eight major initiatives – industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, healthcare, people-to-people exchange and peace and security – irked the U.S. that incorrectly deciphered China's engagement with Africa in \"five major lines of efforts\" including the allegation that Beijing views the continent as a testing ground for exporting political and economic governance concepts.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy the end of January, China had implemented more than 85 percent of its key initiatives in Africa. Their successful implementation has helped the continent achieve enduring stability and sustainable development. However, Beijing's principle of non-interference has inflicted serious damage to the U.S. false narrative that China's cooperation with Africa is \"predatory lending\" and which has accused China of attempting to promote an alternative political model of state-led economic growth to over-burden local economies with heavy debt.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMany in the U.S. argue that China invests heavily in Africa due to its abundant natural resources, including strategic materials. That's a void claim as the European Union, not China, is the chief importer of the continent's natural resources, and also because Beijing had years ago reached a number of other sectors in which it has technical expertise like power generation. Sincerity demands world powers follow China in Africa, considering no state alone can resolve the deep energy crisis in the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern observers, at the same time, should shift their focus on the U.S. lawmakers who are encouraging Joe Biden to improve ties with Africa to accomplish his goal of sourcing more critical minerals and to enhance trade to disengage Beijing from the continent. But the problem lies in the fact that policymakers in Washington don't understand African people, culture and governments. This will make it an uphill battle to change Africa's increasingly pro-China view.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition, borrowing from China has greatly contributed to the all-round development on the continent and has closed a wide infrastructure gap. Chinese financing has supported many of Africa's most ambitious infrastructure developments, with at least 80 percent of the $153 billion Beijing pledged between 2000 and 2019 going to economic, social and infrastructure projects including transportation, power, telecommunication networks and water supply.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBeijing, a leading player in developing the African infrastructure, has already agreed to extend debt relief to 19 African nations and has delivered COVID-19 vaccines to more than 40 countries in a region consisting mostly of developing countries. The East Asian country recently signed a deal with Egypt to produce vaccines at local pharmaceutical facilities and is expected to establish manufacturing lines potentially in South Africa and Zambia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven before the pandemic, from 2000 to 2018 China wrote off a total of $9.8 billion in debt to other countries, 78 percent (57 percent + 21 percent) of whom saw their debt slate wiped clean or loans turned into gifts. Around 50 percent of Chinese debt cancellations in those 18 years eased pressure from heavily indebted poor nations, including more than 20 African states.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWelcomed by the Elysee Palace and hailed as a \"positive development\" by Merkel, who earlier said decoupling from China wasn't \"the right way to go\" in a digital age, \"Africa Quad\" could open up new areas of international cooperation in a continent struggling to cope with rising debt and acquiring enough jabs to inoculate its people, but it would  require infrastructure investment to the tune of 4.5 percent of GDP.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's untoward on the part of the Western world to label Chinese loans and investments in Africa or elsewhere a \"debt trap.\" This is despite the fact that Deborah Brautigam, director of the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, had discovered no evidence of asset seizures or alleged Chinese banks' over-lending practices and financing in loss-making projects to swoop in and gain a strong foothold in Africa.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere're just seven African countries whose debt from Beijing represents over 20 percent of external debt for different reasons such as economic limitations to undertake large projects, falling oil prices contracting the economies and reduced capability to pay back loans. The myth of Africa's \"Chinese debt problem\" is thus being debunked internationally, and thoughts are gathering strength about Beijing's promising relationship with the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECompared to foreign aid given to highly dependent countries that generally wind up in Western offshore financial centers known for bank secrecy and private wealth management, loans and investments from Chinese construction firms and financial institutions to Africa deliver benefits to the African governments and people through visible-on-the-ground infrastructure development projects and growth of the real estate sector.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, research fellows think the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan can trigger a \"butterfly effect\" and stoke terrorists to step up extremist activities in West Africa. The watershed moment and threatening tones from American academics toward Africa shelve its neutrality between Beijing and Washington, extremely worrying as this could jeopardize peace and growth across the violence-plagued continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is therefore crucial for the U.S. brain trusts, diplomats and politicians not to vitiate Africa's development by exploiting the continent's vulnerabilities for vested interests and making it a frontline of Washington's competition with Beijing. Embattled with financial crises and health and security challenges, 1.3 billion African people deserve a terror-free environment and support from the international community to make full use of infrastructure development and grow with the rest of the world. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-19\/Africans-deserve-to-grow-with-the-rest-of-the-world-121rZnmlJ3W\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-19\/Africans-deserve-to-grow-with-the-rest-of-the-world-121rZnmlJ3W\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8935668511266093268"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8935668511266093268"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/07\/africans-deserve-to-grow-with-rest-of.html","title":"Africans deserve to grow with the rest of the world"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-2477327594198939313"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-15T18:56:00.003+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-15T18:56:41.754+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Imran Khan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Pakistan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Pakistan stands up to protect sovereignty and sovereign foreign policy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E From a fervent denial to host U.S. military bases in Pakistan for conducting fool's gold remote strikes in adjacent battle-scarred Afghanistan to throwing staunch support behind all-weather ally China, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is in top gear to show the U.S. his foreign policy priorities.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter Washington's 23 Skidoo from Kabul, fears seem to be lingering that Afghanistan could become a safe haven for terrorist outfits to attack the U.S. In response, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns reportedly carried out a secret mission to kickstart a military partnership with Pakistan in hopes of establishing drone facilities there. But in Islamabad, America's spy chief was denied a meeting with Khan, a critic of U.S. regional policy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGiven U.S. President Joe Biden's indecision to talk with the leader of America's former Cold War ally, which could facilitate crucial Taliban-U.S. peace talks, Khan's powerful message – we will be partners of peace with America rather than conflict – is a setback to Washington's regional ambitions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington has over the years been quite vocal about its aid to Pakistan, either lamenting the \"waste\" or blowing its own horn over the billions and billions of dollars sent to Islamabad. But given the cost, including more than 70,000 Pakistanis who have been killed from wars in Afghanistan and economic losses of around $150 billion to an already fragile economy, $20 billion in aid just isn't worth it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden's abrupt military withdrawal from Kabul also diminishes Islamabad's leverage to press the Taliban for peace talks with the Afghan government. The move leaves the war-tortured nation prone to another deadly civil war once American troops are completely gone. Militant groups currently control roughly a third of all districts in Afghanistan, which can potentially create space for Al-Qaeda to regroup and plan new attacks on the U.S. and others. These militant groups could also urge Afghan factions to dictate terms in the Taliban's proposed peace plan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYet instead of highlighting Biden's catastrophic mistakes in Afghanistan and reluctance to engage Pakistan in the Afghan peace process, the U.S. media is targeting Khan's firm stance to protect his country's national sovereignty by defying American bullying. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome media also seem to be trying to urge Khan to scale back his resolute support for China. In a foreword to an interview with Khan, for example, the New York Times' Op-Ed editors misinterpreted his zest for China and wish to see cooperation between Beijing and Washington as a desire for more \"strategic clout\" to bring Islamabad into the \"great power competition.\" Responding to whether Pakistan must \"choose sides\", Khan said Beijing had been very good to Pakistan when it was taking “a real battering” after and during the \"war on terror.\" Khan added when Pakistan's debt went up, China was the country that came to Pakistan’s help. His high regard for China came across as a clear reference to the U.S. strategic and economic amnesia toward Pakistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt wasn't the first time Khan has been unequivocal about China's role in Pakistan's growth and national security interests. After promising to further strengthen relations with China in his victory speech, he has maintained a consistent position of wanting to learn from Chinese development, make the China-Pakistan relationship a cornerstone of his foreign policy, rejected claims of China impinging on Pakistan's sovereignty and linked Islamabad's future to Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome U.S. media have also slated Khan for refusing to condemn the alleged Chinese crackdown on Uygurs, arguing he was parroting Beijing's disavowal over Pakistan's economic dependence on China. The claims are bizarre, as Beijing has extended financial support and provided billions of dollars a number of times to bolster foreign exchange reserves and repay Islamabad's foreign debt. Despite all this, Khan has said the Chinese have \"never, ever\" interfered in Pakistan's foreign or domestic policy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnconcerned with accusations, Khan hasn't been interested in damaging the valuable relationship on an issue he thought was \"supposedly happening\" in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Khan spoke out about the U.S.-led efforts among Western countries to mount pressure on Pakistan to choose sides and downgrade its relations with China. He refused to buckle under the bigoted tricks and reaffirmed the \"deep\" and \"very special\" relationship between Pakistan and China would not change no matter what.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKhan understands Beijing's importance in Islamabad's key strategic, economic and developmental areas. For example, he sees the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a transformational project that has already attracted significant Chinese investment and created new jobs. With the second phase of the project focusing on socioeconomic development and industrialization, this cooperation is pushing the ironclad allies even closer together.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven Western experts and think tanks have debunked the fallacies that China has been parachuting its projects into regional countries via BRI. Noting recipient nations, including Pakistan, had \"huge sway over how things unfold,\" some have admitted Beijing's more adaptive and increasingly accommodative strategy would help Islamabad to address socioeconomic development and step up industrial cooperation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother example of cooperation is the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA). Beijing in January 2020 agreed to immediately reduce tariffs to zero percent on textiles, leather, furniture, ceramics and other Pakistani exports to China under the second phase of the treaty. Pakistan can now ship more than 1,000 products to China with zero duties, which already boosted Islamabad's exports to Beijing by nearly 70 percent in Q1 of 2021. The treaty will help beef up much-needed foreign exchange reserves and bring greater prosperity to the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. media have also done their best to drive a wedge between two close allies by linking Khan's candor against growing Islamophobia around the world to Uygurs in China. But the strategy failed. Khan exposed the \"hypocritical\" Western media and reinforced Pakistan's support for Beijing across the One-China Policy and issues of Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKhan even went the extra mile to laud China's political system that promotes merit in society, providing an alternative model and actually beating the Western democratic form of government in the way it brings up merit in society. Khan has said he believes that the Communist Party of China's \"people-centric approach\" is the driving force behind China's \"astonishing success.\" He also said he hopes Pakistan can emulate China's \"remarkable achievements\" of national development, poverty alleviation and anti-corruption.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKhan has made his position clear. He's standing up to the U.S. in the face of the White House's stealthy efforts to erode Pakistan's sovereignty and browbeat Islamabad, including over its strong relationship with China.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-08\/Pakistan-stands-up-to-protect-sovereignty-and-sovereign-foreign-policy-11JoSD1WLaU\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-08\/Pakistan-stands-up-to-protect-sovereignty-and-sovereign-foreign-policy-11JoSD1WLaU\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2477327594198939313"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2477327594198939313"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/07\/pakistan-stands-up-to-protect.html","title":"Pakistan stands up to protect sovereignty and sovereign foreign policy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-2616459927661987192"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-07T14:33:00.007+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-15T18:56:56.597+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Asia Pacific"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BRI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"US"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"US should stop undermining peace and growth of Asia Pacific"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/#\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe proximity of Asia Pacific to two oceans and several continents as well as the region's three-fifth and two-third contribution in global GDP and international growth makes it a territory of vital strategic and economic importance for the U.S. and other world powers, prodding them to limit China's increasing centrality in regional development.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBeijing is witnessing the fastest expansion of the middle class the world has ever seen. According to Pew's income band classification, between 2000 and 2018, Chinese middle-class number has mushroomed from just 3 percent to more than half of the total population or about 707 million. The likelihood of 1.2 billion Chinese middle class by 2027 offers Asia Pacific a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of China's economic growth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Pacific following wider-regional trends and facing a downward pressure on imports and exports, East and North Asia was expected to perform the best than other regions, thanks to China's quick trade and economic recovery. In 2021, Asia Pacific's economic growth forecast of 6.2 percent is again likely to be on the heels of Beijing's 8.3 percent growth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn view of Asia Pacific's great economic potential, underpinned by China's efforts to boost regional trade and resolve maritime disputes peacefully – the U.S. has been feeling threatened to lose its historical dominant position in the region.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThroughout 2020, the U.S. provoked China in the name of deterrence and successively deployed three carrier strike groups, nuclear attack submarines and bombers to the South China Sea (SCS) as part of its \"Dynamic Force Employment.\" It was despite the fact that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' concept to deter adversaries by being \"strategically predictable, but operationally unpredictable\" would bewilder the U.S. allies in the bordering regions of China and Russia about so-called valued practices of transparency and predictability.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnder U.S. President Joe Biden, there is no change in America's aggressive nature. Since he took over from Donald Trump in January, the U.S. warships have so far sailed through the Taiwan Straits six times to stir up tensions in the territory and the wider region. On May 20, a U.S. destroyer even intruded Chinese waterways in the SCS before being driven out by the People's Liberation Army.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECountries in the Asia Pacific are fretful about the belligerent posture of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. They thus want American hawks to try not to contain the world's second-largest economy and seek them to confine Washington's rivalry with Beijing to competition alone. Unfortunately, the U.S. has different plans altogether.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESnubbing the re-conciliatory spirit of the country's allies, the U.S. Department of Defense in May requested $5.1 billion for Pacific Deterrence Initiative. The militaristic program and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's issuance of directive and acceptance of recommendations of the China Task Force (both classified) – Biden announced in February – aim to laser-focus, bolster deterrence and answer unfounded threats from \"the number one pacing challenge,\" China in the Indo-Pacific region.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAsia Pacific is still in shock over protectionist Trump's withdrawal from the \"horrible\" Trans-Pacific Partnership. With no Biden's firm plan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Washington's brimful economic beef and political malaise toward Beijing will further reinforce region's doubts about U.S. credibility and raucous approach to artificially control a rising China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn a tense regional backdrop, countries in Asia Pacific would consider China a more reliable partner. Beijing is keen to strengthen economic cooperation and hone the development of the fastest-growing region in the world through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and world's largest trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince the launch of BRI in 2013, scope of Chinese signature tune hasn't stopped from expansion as almost 140 countries and regions have signed up to grand China's vision, trade between Beijing and partner nations exceeds $9.2 trillion and China's direct investments along the mega global project stand at in excess of $130 billion.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe latest data expounds BRI's essential role in boosting the pandemic-hit international trade and re-lifting the regional and global growth. Project's success coupled with the RCEP – which for the first time fastened China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in a trade deal and set to enter in a practical phase later this year – would set a new benchmark for a multilateral cooperation through regional connectivity and further integrate Asia Pacific economies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's emergence as a global economic power isn't a source of concern for any country in the region. It's U.S. incitement to hatred that poses threat to regional stability and prosperity, urging all Asia Pacific nations to protect their high economic stakes and the valued peace from America's undermining activities against shared future and growth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington has been at pains to portray Beijing as a challenge to the regional and global economy and security. As more than 100 countries trade twice with China than they do with the U.S., the false representation of China's economic cooperation for sustainable peace to conjure up America's lost soul has been repelled by Asia Pacific and the entire world in chorus.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe growth of all nations in the Asia Pacific and peace across the region are deeply intertwined. This realization about the U.S.-hyped strategic rivalry with China and region's elusion to morph itself into a purveyor of Washington's smear campaign against Beijing should be buttressed to turn the region into a more vibrant economic power and make it a beacon of high-quality development for the rest of the world.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is my opinion piece that originally appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-02\/U-S-should-stop-undermining-peace-and-growth-of-Asia-Pacific-11zkFQ9Gqre\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-07-02\/U-S-should-stop-undermining-peace-and-growth-of-Asia-Pacific-11zkFQ9Gqre\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2616459927661987192"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/2616459927661987192"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/07\/us-should-stop-undermining-peace-and.html","title":"US should stop undermining peace and growth of Asia Pacific"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-6296551543291367984"},"published":{"$t":"2021-07-01T12:21:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-07-01T12:21:10.462+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cold War"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Looming end of longtime US containment strategy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn 1947, then-U.S. President Harry Truman deviated from America's historical position of not meddling in regional conflicts and reoriented an interventionist foreign policy that would provide economic, military and political assistance to all nations under threat from external and internal forces.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Truman Doctrine – also known as Truman's containment policy, a basic U.S. strategy to fight and contain the Soviet Union in the Cold War – has been religiously pursued by all American presidents. Washington's ruthless pursuit for a unipolar world divided global nations into two blocks and bred conflicts in Asia, Africa and Latin America.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOdd Arne Westad, a Norwegian-born scholar who specializes in the Cold War and contemporary East Asian history, argued that the Cold War, which began on the perimeters of Europe, had deepest reverberations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East where everyone was forced to take sides, a phenomenon still being actively pushed by the U.S. globally. Other than environmental threats, social divides and ethnic conflicts stemmed from that era, there were a few undisclosed areas of hidden U.S. overseas involvement too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe American LEGION Act, which former U.S. President Donald Trump signed in July 2019, found at least 12 of those unrecognized epochs of covert and overt U.S. foreign interventions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfghanistan was a linchpin of the U.S. strategy against the Soviet Union during the Cold War that Washington believed it had won. But Afghan civil war and the ongoing conflict in the country offered one good example of how America's hasty withdrawal hit back and risked international peace and the U.S.' own national security in the coming years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Cold War, having compound effects on American lives in the middle of proxy wars around the world and persistent threat of nuclear warfare, ended. However, America's thirst for global supremacy is waking up yet again; this time to contain China's economic rise.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter Trump fantasized to execute Truman's containment policy and ranted about containing China without understanding he would never be able to win the new Cold War – U.S. President Joe Biden's exhausting attempts to court Europe, rally the \"brain dead\" transatlantic alliance and hire new recruits against China have faltered.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden at G7 and NATO meetings failed to carry back desired outcomes and admitted there were differences on China, an issue that shook the alliance before and continues to stoke serious disagreements among European leaders.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome European leaders, despite saying they didn't think China's an adversary and refusing to descend into a Cold War with it, labeled unwarranted allegations of \"systemic challenges\" from Beijing. They need not be influenced by the U.S. mindset and must take note of their own economic and trade interests with China where European companies have found a shelter in a pandemic with 60 percent planning to expand their operations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis European intent not to decouple from China, try to further integrate Europe-China economies and divisions within the bloc and with the U.S. are likely to withstand Washington's feral posture and longing to originate a campaign below the threshold of the Cold War to stymie Chinese growth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERealizing it can't launch and win the new Cold War, America tried to curry favor with Russia by seeking it to stay neutral in the U.S.-China spat. But Biden's aristocracy to restore elitism and bring some predictability to Washington's relationship with Moscow fizzled out as Putin – anticipating a U.S. stealth objective to keep ties with Russia quieter for keeping focus on China – candidly told reporters Moscow and Washington were no friends and there's only a pragmatic dialogue about interests of their respective countries.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden said Putin didn't want a new Cold War. While the Kremlin had already construed its stance about averting such a catastrophe and slammed the U.S. \"megaphone diplomacy\" – Washington's approach is vague as Biden arrived in Europe after taking daily intelligence briefings from CIA director and former U.S. ambassador to Russia William Burns who's an advocate of Cold War containment strategy against Moscow.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAn underlying cause of the U.S. fit of pique therefore isn't all about China's growth; it's every state and any region in quest of a strategic and economic autonomy – including Europe and the rise of Asia as a geoeconomic power, which can challenge American global military and economy hegemony.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden, knocked for being \"more than a Trojan Horse\" and \"a puppet\" in the U.S., is exerting efforts to assert himself as a global leader and thinking of reaching out to China now. If the U.S. president is sincere in holding constructive talks with the Chinese government, he needs to change track, drop the U.S. containment strategy and move closer to reconciliation that would help defuse tensions, bring stability to the bilateral relationship and calm the tense international environment.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-22\/Looming-end-of-longtime-U-S-containment-strategy-11j5oju5TeE\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-22\/Looming-end-of-longtime-U-S-containment-strategy-11j5oju5TeE\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6296551543291367984"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6296551543291367984"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/07\/looming-end-of-longtime-us-containment.html","title":"Looming end of longtime US containment strategy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-8405418517257047211"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-22T16:16:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-22T16:16:11.656+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"ASEAN"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Positive momentum in ASEAN-China relationship must be carried through"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E On May 25, a virtual meeting between Antony Blinken and foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was called off over a technical snafu, seen as a political slight by some members, after the U.S. secretary of state reportedly kept the top diplomats of the 10-member regional bloc waiting for 45 minutes as he was heading to the Middle East.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. State Department's refusal to respond to media questions regarding the cancellation of the planned interaction, and the fact that Washington hasn't any serving envoys in half of the ASEAN countries, additionally laid bare America's pseudo commitment to the association and refreshed memories of some U.S. administrations that shelved their official visits to the regional nations or snubbed the ASEAN summits consecutively.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing Blinken's diplomatic gaffe, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, during her recent trip, eulogized ASEAN centrality in the region to woo support for a provocative set of actions, including self-described rules-based international order, a free and open Indo-Pacific and human rights and democracy model, without giving a timeframe for vaccine delivery.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the U.S.' dedication to the region was again met with incredulity as there's a growing suspicion in ASEAN that Washington was only paying lip service and the bloc had actually been dropped way down on the priority list of the Biden administration's foreign policy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor ASEAN – grappling with fast-paced caseloads, partly fueled by new coronavirus variants in Asia, alongside vaccine shortage posing risks to health and economy – Blinken's episode was shocking, particularly when the White House had sent a delegation of senators to China's Taiwan in a military aircraft to announce a donation of 750,000 vaccines.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe differential treatment exposes Washington's claims it doesn't distribute vaccines for political favors or the U.S. donation, as U.S. President Joe Biden says, would come \"with no strings attached,\" and accentuates Washington is seeking to exploit vaccines to influence states' policies, an allegation American officials routinely attributed to China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAgainst the backdrop of the U.S.' aloof attitude toward ASEAN and detrimental activities in the Asia Pacific, ASEAN foreign ministers on June 7 met Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Chongqing and gained assurance from Beijing that it would do its best to provide vaccines and proposals to deepen cooperation on vaccine development and production, as well as peacefully handle issues of mutual concern including advancing consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina has already delivered 100 million vaccine doses to Southeast Asian nations. The commitment to render more assistance soothed ASEAN, which greatly appreciated China's provision of vaccines. As the lag time between infection and vaccination is a central interest of the regional grouping, Chinese support would help them to quickly shield their people from the virus and open up economies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndonesia, the largest ASEAN economy facing a spike in cases, is inoculating its population with Chinese vaccines. Out of the 92 million doses received by the start of last week, 80 million were the China-made Sinovac, found 98 percent and 96 percent effective at preventing death and hospitalization by the country's health ministry and will be co-produced at a China-assisted facility there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs a result of its efficacy, Chinese vaccines are now a key part of the vaccine rollout in major Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Earlier this month, Singapore and Vietnam joined their ASEAN partners and approved China's Sinovac and Sinopharm.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. State Department boasted that out of roughly 2.3 billion vaccines the G7+ had pledged to finance and provide since 2020, America was providing nearly half of the support. It further promised to donate 500 million doses, starting delivery in August, of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to 92 low- and middle-income countries across the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe commitment falls far short of the 11 billion doses the World Health Organization has said are needed to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the world's population. The White House's statement that \"donation will serve as the foundation for a coordinated effort by the world's democracies\" and Biden's remarks that \"democracies of the world are posed to deliver as well\" – blacken Washington's global campaign against COVID-19 and unveil its ulterior motive to use vaccines as tools to advance the U.S.' geopolitical and geostrategic ambitions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJust days before the G7 summit, the Biden administration, only after administering jabs to its own population, set out a plan to rapidly deliver 25 million surplus doses to the world. The to-be-delivered \"drop in the bucket\" shots included only 7 million to 15 countries in South and Southeast Asia, compared to China, which has already donated almost 22 million doses worldwide including about 14 million to the Asia Pacific. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Thailand combined had received more than 11 million doses of Chinese vaccine as of May.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden's promotion of the democratic vaccine would raise the eyebrows of Asian leaders regarding the U.S.' political regional goals. The coronavirus is a global challenge and urges all vaccine-producing countries to put off bilateral rows and forge a united international approach through multilateral engagement rather than cheap point-scoring.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EASEAN members cannot forget the U.S.' continued desertion and reluctance to supply vaccines as infection rates keep rising in the region, which is delaying the economic recovery of nearly all of the Southeast Asian nations. Before the ASEAN Defense Ministers-Plus meeting, China and coalition defense ministers agreed to safeguard regional peace. As China has committed itself to stability in the South China Sea, and considering Beijing's vaccine support and economic importance for the bloc and the region, the positive momentum in the ASEAN-China relationship must be preserved and carried through in every bilateral and multilateral meeting and no extraterritorial country should be allowed to destabilize the regional peace and affinity.\u003Cdiv class=\"cmsImage\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #313030; font-family: \u0026quot;Helvetica Neue\u0026quot;, pf_dintext_proregular, \u0026quot;Microsoft Yahei\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;Hiragino Sans GB\u0026quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: 0px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-16\/Positive-momentum-in-ASEAN-China-relationship-must-be-carried-through--119cjulGR4Q\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-16\/Positive-momentum-in-ASEAN-China-relationship-must-be-carried-through--119cjulGR4Q\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8405418517257047211"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8405418517257047211"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/06\/positive-momentum-in-asean-china.html","title":"Positive momentum in ASEAN-China relationship must be carried through"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-179495245994581359"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-16T15:30:00.004+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-16T15:30:39.115+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cold War"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Europe"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Biden's 'either we or them' push at G7 impractical, unrealistic and unsustainable"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith an avid interest to renew America's transatlantic alliance, U.S. President Joe Biden will attend the 47th Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits in Cornwall and Brussels within the next few days. Threatened by China's rise and global kudos for Chinese vaccine cooperation and conceptualization of universal prosperity, he wants a stable and predictable relationship with Russia to keep his obsessive focus on Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore leaving for Europe, Biden described that his goals were geared toward \"strengthening the alliance, making it clear to Putin and to China that Europe and the United States are tight.\" Once holding talks with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the U.S. President will also try to restore America's relationship with European countries and dispel Europe's concerns about lack of trust in the U.S.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYet given European states do not back the idea to forge the so-called \"democratic\" bloc against China under declining U.S. global competitiveness and eminence, Biden should better restrain himself from using the forum for setting Beijing and Brussels, endeavoring to move forward and deepen their bilateral trade and economic ties, at odds.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Biden administration is steadily backing away from its promise to maintain a fine balance between competition and cooperation with China. The European Union (EU) however realizes the importance of China-EU collaboration as the European Council President Charles Michel hailed the landmark investment deal a \"huge step in the right direction.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAhead of his meeting with Biden at G7 summit, Michel's resolute support to the treaty, objective stance signaling to put away differences and buttress trade and economic ties with China – despite seeing Beijing as a competitor but also important partner of cooperation – shows way to Washington how a balance could be crafted between two sides through continuous engagement rather than sheer confrontation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven though the U.S. President is desperate to watch Brussels act as Washington's proxy, many officials in the White House show skepticism that Europe will ever concede its business interests or contribute to security in other regions, let alone managing to gather support for the U.S. unprovoked \"long-term strategic competition with China.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, as the research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations Jeremy Shapiro summed up, Europe for the U.S. is largely a grandiloquent place where American officials deliver speeches and practice hot diplomacy in scenic locations \"to show up and to intone the ritual incantations of transatlantic solidarity\" and hard press the European leaders support the U.S. efforts to contain China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden, some argue, will have to make Europe more resilient for a return of Trumpism and help it become more autonomous and capable before enabling the U.S. to better compete against China. The wariness within the bloc to join an anti-China alliance is another major barrier in the achievement of Washington's manic ambitions. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EG7 is an informal club of wealthy and developed countries; still India was invited, leaving out the largest growing developing country and key to global economic growth, China. The division of the world on the basis of political systems exposes inequitable treatment with specific countries, doubts Biden's quest for the survival of multilateralism and most importantly, risks revival of international growth and stops other developing nations from playing their role in multilateral governance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe EU, like China, is a victim of the U.S. tariff war over alleged national security concerns. Biden is yet to lift tariffs on European steel and aluminum, possibly as a leverage to push the bloc to meet his undue demands.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut prior to that, the U.S. President is treating the EU even harder than Trump. Biden is sustaining the \"Buy American\" policy, continues the blockade of the judicial system in the World Trade Organization and has made Brussels look like the bad guys by unilaterally backing the proposal to give up vaccine intellectual property rights.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe sudden shift in the U.S. behavior on vaccine cooperation is aimed at countering China, which expansively helped developing countries in inoculating their population and further pledged $3 billion over the next three years for COVID-19 response and social and economic recovery. Biden seeks to align Europe, especially Germany, to join the U.S. new Cold War against China. In order to take the industrial giant on board, he reportedly decided to waive and defended waiving sanctions on the company overseeing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But the Europeans including the important Chinese trade partner do not like the U.S. often-used term \"adversary.\" Instead of becoming part of any America's China doctrine, they would put their interests before \"America First.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington has to mend its arrogant approach that the U.S. partners can't be China's allies. The European nations have the right to draw an independent policy and maintain their relationship both with China and the U.S. Biden's push – \"either we or them\" – is impractical, unrealistic and unsustainable. Confrontation favors nobody and that should be Europe's message to Biden at G7.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-12\/Biden-s-push-at-G7-impractical-unrealistic-and-unsustainable-110jJG4ooHS\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-12\/Biden-s-push-at-G7-impractical-unrealistic-and-unsustainable-110jJG4ooHS\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/179495245994581359"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/179495245994581359"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/06\/bidens-either-we-or-them-push-at-g7.html","title":"Biden's 'either we or them' push at G7 impractical, unrealistic and unsustainable"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-4508256022128643762"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-14T10:36:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-14T12:08:14.164+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Israel"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Palestine"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":" Biden’s charm offensive to placate Israel"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince 2007 when Hamas seized power in the territory after winning 2006 elections, Gaza has been subject to Israel’s air, land and sea \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/5\/31\/egypts-intelligence-chief-holds-talks-with-hamas-in-gaza-strip\"\u003Eblockade\u003C\/a\u003E. With an entire grown-up generation confined to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/may\/15\/1-million-face-hunger-in-gaza-after-us-cut-to-palestine-aid\"\u003Efenced-in territory\u003C\/a\u003E and 50% \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2021-05-21\/blockade-gaza-hampers-life-and-reconstruction\"\u003Eunemployment\u003C\/a\u003E, limited electricity, sewerage and clean water and climbing food insecurity continue to weigh upon the Gazans – there are less than stellar chances for peace to prevail and specter of another war remains to the fore. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA yawning military and economic gap between Israel and Palestine – where former controls the best-equipped army in the Middle East along with amassing several hundred nuclear bombs and has 14 times more \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.juancole.com\/2021\/05\/shooting-palestinian-refugees.html\"\u003Eper capita nominal GDP\u003C\/a\u003E compared to the latter – gives Israel a sweeping authority to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from its southern areas and then mow them down in the world’s largest \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/3\/14\/a-guide-to-the-gaza-strip\"\u003E“open-air prison.”\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile the US fidelity to hold fast a lopsided pro-Israel policy reflects the “truth-bending grip of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/thenewpress.com\/books\/except-for-palestine\"\u003Eauthoritarianism\u003C\/a\u003E” on both countries – the UK political \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/31\/senior-figures-attack-obstruction-of-iccs-palestine-investigation\"\u003Einterference\u003C\/a\u003E to obstruct the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Israel’s war crimes in Palestine can be linked with an entrenched Israeli \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2021-06-04-former-british-minister-the-israelis-think-they-control-the-foreign-office-and-they-do\/\"\u003Einfluence\u003C\/a\u003E in Britain politics. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn Ontario, the law \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-high-cost-of-advocating-for-palestine-161160\"\u003Econflates\u003C\/a\u003E criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Across Canada, Muslims and other people supportive of Palestinians are systematically targeted, scholars are denied jobs for speaking on the Palestinian plight and journalists are chastised over questioning lack of Palestinian voices in the media as \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/opiniojuris.org\/2021\/04\/06\/what-the-ihrp-hiring-scandal-tells-us-about-intersectional-privilege-in-canadian-legal-institutions\/\"\u003Ewhite\u003C\/a\u003E nationalism and white supremacism plagues the country. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll the three countries champion international human rights of ethnic and religious minorities throughout the world. Back home, the world’s leading democracies resist condemning even the Israeli \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/order-from-chaos\/2021\/05\/20\/bidens-bungled-response-on-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict\/\"\u003Eclearest\u003C\/a\u003E violation of international law and human rights, give it “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/31\/senior-figures-attack-obstruction-of-iccs-palestine-investigation\"\u003Ecarte blanche\u003C\/a\u003E” and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-high-cost-of-advocating-for-palestine-161160\"\u003Epunish\u003C\/a\u003E protesters for protesting against injustice to the Palestinians. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Israel, the US President Joe Biden – who didn’t even reprimand American ally over planned forced \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/order-from-chaos\/2021\/05\/20\/bidens-bungled-response-on-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict\/\"\u003Eevictions\u003C\/a\u003E of Palestinians from East Jerusalem and whose officials \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/story\/2021-03-30\/human-rights-report-biden-trump\"\u003Eblasted\u003C\/a\u003E Trump-era human rights – extended “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/biden-netanyahu-spoke-about-israel-hamas-conflict-2021-5\"\u003Eunwavering\u003C\/a\u003E support” and still \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/africa-middle-east-europe-israel-palestinian-conflict-business-9ae5b10886c06e70f0255b188ac1e0cc\"\u003Ebacks\u003C\/a\u003E Israeli policies of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/node\/1849706\/middle-east\"\u003Eapartheid\u003C\/a\u003E and persecution, which disproportionately \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/6\/3\/will-israel-be-held-accountable-for-war-crimes\"\u003Ekilled\u003C\/a\u003E 256 Palestinians including 66 children in comparison to 13 killings in Israel including two children. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/africa-middle-east-europe-israel-palestinian-conflict-business-9ae5b10886c06e70f0255b188ac1e0cc\"\u003Einsisted\u003C\/a\u003E a two-state solution is “the only answer” to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Yet his contrasting statements, defending Israel’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/biden-netanyahu-spoke-about-israel-hamas-conflict-2021-5\"\u003Elegitimate\u003C\/a\u003E right to defend itself while calling for de-escalation, refute his commitment for peace in the Mideast. The mixed stance obfuscates his pledge to put human rights at the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/putting-human-rights-at-the-center-of-u-s-foreign-policy\/\"\u003Ecenter\u003C\/a\u003E of his foreign policy, demonstrates he’s following his predecessor’s unabashed pro-Israel policy and exposes strong inclination toward Israel. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the Democrat sought implementation of a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2021\/05\/19\/israel-gaza-conflict-latest-updates\/\"\u003Esignificant\u003C\/a\u003E de-escalation today on the path of to a ceasefire” – Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, having rebuffed the most assertive US tone saying he’s “determined to continue this operation until its goal is achieved,” further embarrassed the US president by conducting fresh \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/05\/20\/israeli-shelling-of-gaza-continues-hamas-predicts-a-cease-fire-within-days.html\"\u003Eairstrikes\u003C\/a\u003E on the Gaza Strip the next day. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt wasn’t the first time Biden got insulted from Israel. Eleven years back as the US Vice President, he was treated in the similar fashion during his trip to Israel when the Israeli authorities pronounced an \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/far-away-tense-jerusalem-squad-pressures-biden-israel-palestinian-conflict-n1267275\"\u003E“incredibly frustrating”\u003C\/a\u003E move of ratifying a large expanse of a settlement in East Jerusalem, called Ramat Shlomo. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn paper, Biden has been vocal on international human rights \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices\/\"\u003Epractices\u003C\/a\u003E. But practically, his adviser’s cautious inquiry from Israel to provide \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20210517-blinken-says-he-s-seen-no-evidence-to-justify-israeli-strike-on-media-building-in-gaza\"\u003Ejustification\u003C\/a\u003E for leveling the al-Jalaa tower and refusal to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-has-received-more-information-israels-destruction-gaza-high-rise-blinken-2021-05-18\/\"\u003Ecomment\u003C\/a\u003E further on the horrific incident additionally reveals a bigoted administration’s approach to resolve the decades-old conflict. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIsrael bombed a high-rise building in Gaza housing offices of The Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media outlets, contending Hamas militants were hiding their military assets there. With no \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/newsletters\/2021\/proximity-and-possible-deception-complicate-media-coverage-of-the-israel-palestine-conflict\/\"\u003Eproof\u003C\/a\u003E to back the allegation, Israeli attacks – despite rolling back Israel’s army chief comments that AP journalists \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/middle-east-israel-israel-palestinian-conflict-army-1c7a168d5f4b18bd1ae2fce4d1906a0d\"\u003Edrank\u003C\/a\u003E coffee morning alongside Hamas electronics experts – pose serious threats to international peace since it can stoke other countries to launch and defend offensives on civilians and public structures. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECaught right in the middle of his advocacy for human rights and the US interests with its \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/what-us-policy-israeli-palestinian-conflict\"\u003Eclosest\u003C\/a\u003E strategic partner – Biden is \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/biden-promised-to-prioritize-human-rights-but-continues-trump-policies-2021-4\"\u003Ecriticized\u003C\/a\u003E for sustaining Trump’s policies and walking back on his promises from America’s relations with the Gulf nations and refugees. In Congress, the American funding to Israel has sparked \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/2021\/05\/12\/bringing-assistance-to-israel-in-line-with-rights-and-u.s.-laws-pub-84503\"\u003Edebate\u003C\/a\u003E to make sure that the US security assistance is not used for Israel’s maltreatment of Palestinian children, forced displacement and illegal annexation as the provision of billions of dollars is getting more harder to justify. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnder the Obama administration, Washington in 2016 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/14\/world\/middleeast\/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-military-aid.html\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\/a\u003E a whooping military aid of $38 billion for Israel between 2018 and 2028. Even the Covid-19 in the country couldn’t chop off the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/node\/1784061\"\u003Ebipartisan priority\u003C\/a\u003E and Israel, despite concerns over its abysmal record on human rights, received security assistance of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/fas.org\/sgp\/crs\/mideast\/RL33222.pdf\"\u003E$3.8 billion\u003C\/a\u003E from Trump in 2020. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe international community and left-wingers in the Democratic Party sought Biden to speak loudly on \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/far-away-tense-jerusalem-squad-pressures-biden-israel-palestinian-conflict-n1267275#anchor-Aslapintheface\"\u003Ebehalf\u003C\/a\u003E of Palestinians. He rather chose to compromise his credibility and neutrality earlier by holding complicit silence and then through a guarded response on Palestinian dehumanization while sharply condemning rockets attacks on Israel. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENo matter \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2021\/05\/17\/biden-israel-palestinians-change\/\"\u003Econversation\u003C\/a\u003E in the US is changing or how quickly Israel loses a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/6\/1\/israel-losing-us-perception-battle-as-palestinians-sympathy-grows\"\u003Eperception battle\u003C\/a\u003E; what matters is that the US policy on Israel isn’t changing. Through recurrently blocking motions against Israeli aggression at the United Nations Security Council, throwing weight behind Israel in the recent war and allaying Israeli fears about curtailing his support – Biden has launched a charm offensive to placate Israel. Yet the US president’s bizarre strategy has exposed his global human rights campaign. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in \"The Express Tribune\": \u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2305062\/bidens-charm-offensive-to-placate-israel\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2305062\/bidens-charm-offensive-to-placate-israel\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4508256022128643762"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4508256022128643762"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/06\/bidens-charm-offensive-to-placate-israel.html","title":" Biden’s charm offensive to placate Israel"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-4316054787336243805"},"published":{"$t":"2021-06-12T19:33:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-12T19:33:04.518+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Europe"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"CAI prominence for the European Union"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Through the China-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) in December, European investors gained unprecedented access to one of the world's biggest and fastest-growing markets, China. At the conclusion of negotiations, the bloc said that for the first time Beijing had agreed to ambitious provisions with a trade partner.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYet, in a disappointing move, the EU parliament voted to freeze the ratification of the milestone and symbiotic investment deal on May 20 until Beijing lifts sanctions, imposed as a rational reaction to Europe's restrictions on Chinese individuals, from European individuals and entities.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Brussels believing that improved business ties with Beijing will boost the EU economic growth as the Union has invested heavily in China's automotive, basic materials, and other sectors – Chinese commitment to a rules-based relationship was seen as a positive signal for the world economy, facing varied complex challenges from raging pandemic to surging protectionism, by European experts.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe deferral in the approval dealt a blow to tiring negotiations of 35 rounds in seven years and adversely affected Chinese and European companies, expected to benefit from wider investment access and better protection in each other's markets. It additionally put the bloc's push to create jobs in the EU where unemployment rose by more than two million to 15.52 million in March 2021 as compared to March 2020.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStill, some positive comments and factors – as the EU seeks to avert escalation and wants to continue engagement with China, has ruled out the perception of the stalled investment deal, treats Beijing as a \"negotiating partner for cooperation,\" and is fostering cooperation on other areas such as climate change – buoy up hopes that China and the EU can prevent their relationship from a downward spiral.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrussels' key priorities have been speedy recovery from the pandemic, rebuilding the economy, and becoming an influential global player and world leader in climate change. While interests of China and the EU converge on all these issues and the latter recognizes it needs to do a lot to develop it into an effective geopolitical actor, Brussels should look to steel business and trade ties and keep all communication lines open with Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EVery well aware of their deeply entwined economies, Beijing and Brussels have magnified their bilateral trade by 42 percent besides pouring 12.4 percent and 70.8 percent more investments in reciprocal markets respectively during the first four months of 2021. This clearly indicates that both sides were realizing the importance of upgrading the cooperation and strengthening their relationship.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEurope's goal number one is to achieve \"strategic autonomy,\" lessen increasing reliance and dependence on external forces, mainly the United States. The policy concept – which has now widened from consolidation of European defense and security to an economic and technology independence and production in processors, manufacturing vital medicines and other essential products – needs China, which is establishing itself as a pioneer in technological advancement and digitalization, to uplift region's shrinking economic competitiveness and avoid global insignificance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnlike the UK departure from the EU, the U.S. \"America First\" policy or the COVID-19 test that threatens Europe's pursuit of the \"new common project\" – China's economic rise and strong industrial demand offer an opportunity for the Union. Chinese academics, think tanks, and leadership have voiced support for Europe's ambition and continue showing a willingness to expand cooperation in all areas including climate change, global governance, and multilateralism.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year, Europe's economy contracted by 6.3 percent, the worst in the bloc's history with infection killing hundreds of thousands in a region of 450 million and taking an economic toll on millions of others. As Brussels fast-tracks the vaccination drive and inoculates European people, it isn't wise to disrupt the looming economic rebound by holding progress on the CAI.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina is the EU's largest trading partner and Brussels is Beijing's second-biggest. According to the International Monetary Fund's April 2021 World Economic Outlook, China and the EU-19 accounted for more than 30 percent of the global economy in 2020. It is important for Brussels to boost momentum for the projected financial upturn by reinforcing economic and trade relations with Beijing and making full use of the opportunity unleashed to the political coalition in the form of the investment deal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotwithstanding European parliamentary forebodings, the European Commission thinks the deal is right and felicitous for the bloc. France and Germany, key backers of the pact, too are unlikely to change their support on their economic utility with Beijing even if the government changes after the upcoming elections in the two European economic heavyweights.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFederica Mogherini, former foreign policy chief of the EU, says that Europe understands dialogue and cooperation in a respectful manner are better than confrontation. She observes \"the European Union is genetically programmed to support multilateralism.\" It's the same practice being strongly advocated and pursued by China to tackle global challenges through consultations in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBoth China and the EU are great economic powers and strategic partners, which in many ways are interdependent and have several shared interests. Neither has the leverage nor should they force the other side to change its domestic policies. The CAI is a favor to none, but to the economies and people of these two valuable markets so progress must be made on the deal that would help Europe pull off its pre-pandemic economic growth and \"strategic autonomy.\"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-01\/CAI-prominence-for-the-European-Union-10JvpcOPAf6\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-06-01\/CAI-prominence-for-the-European-Union-10JvpcOPAf6\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4316054787336243805"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/4316054787336243805"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/06\/cai-prominence-for-european-union.html","title":"CAI prominence for the European Union"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-5403471717797648043"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-31T16:33:00.004+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-31T16:33:42.670+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"North Korea"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"South Korea"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"S Korea must stay neutral in standoff"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Republic of Korea (ROK), commonly known as South Korea, has been caught in the middle of the China-US tensions. Seoul seeks to steel its security alliance with Washington over threats from Pyongyang, a historic Beijing ally, and rivalry with Tokyo as well as wants to protect its high economic stakes in China. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESeoul’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/20\/south-korea-balancing-act-test-biden-plan-get-tough-china\"\u003Eexports\u003C\/a\u003E to Beijing, nearly 26% of its total exports and a trade volume that is larger than the ROK’s trade with Japan and the US \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Politics\/International-relations\/Biden-and-Moon-align-on-North-Korea-but-walk-fine-line-on-China\"\u003Ecombined\u003C\/a\u003E, is the backbone of the country's economy. The East Asian country therefore can hardly afford to strain ties with China and push its economy in a myriad of woes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrictions between Beijing and Seoul, over ROK’s deal with the US to deploy THAAD anti-missile system, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/25\/world\/asia\/south-north-korea-us-missile-defense-thaad-china.html\"\u003Eflared\u003C\/a\u003E into an outright diplomatic bickering in February 2016 once former warned the bilateral relation could be “destroyed in an instant” and latter argued the decision was made to counter “North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnder then-new South Korean President Moon Jae-in, largely due to Seoul’s’ dried out exports to Beijing and sinking Chinese tourist arrivals, diplomatic impasse finally broke in October 2017 and the country fostered \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-northkorea-missiles\/china-south-korea-agree-to-mend-ties-after-thaad-standoff-idUSKBN1D003G\"\u003Edétente\u003C\/a\u003E with China in an effort to head off the imminent economic crisis by bringing “exchange and cooperation in all areas back on normal development track.” \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMoon’s three \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.hani.co.kr\/arti\/english_edition\/e_international\/817213.html\"\u003Enoes\u003C\/a\u003E – no more deployment of THAAD, no integration into a US-led regional missile defense system and no formation of trilateral military alliance with America and Japan – contributed in thawing the China-ROK relationship and helped Asia’s fourth largest economy ship goods to its biggest export market. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven as Moon had so far \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Politics\/International-relations\/Moon-Jae-in-s-visit-to-US-tinged-by-promises-to-China\"\u003Erefused\u003C\/a\u003E to support “the Quad” or “the Quad plus alpha” and has been ambivalent promote the US “free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” vision – he acknowledged the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/05\/21\/u-s-rok-leaders-joint-statement\/\"\u003Eimportance\u003C\/a\u003E of the Quad and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and agreed to align ROK’s ASEAN-centered New \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/nsp.go.kr\/eng\/policy\/policy01Page.do\"\u003ESouthern\u003C\/a\u003E Policy (NSP) with the FOIP including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea (SCS). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe joint statement is being dubbed in South Korea as a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com\/2021\/05\/24\/national\/diplomacy\/China-Moon-Jaein-Biden\/20210524183500425.html\"\u003Etilt\u003C\/a\u003E toward the US, backtracking from the country's neutral position in the China-America conflict and throwing weight behind Washington. But the ROK president – who travelled to the US after skipping foreign tours since \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20210519001752315\"\u003EDecember\u003C\/a\u003E 2019 when he visited China to seek Chinese cooperation in several sectors and believed Hong Kong and Xinjiang were China’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/zxxx_662805\/t1727655.shtml\"\u003Einternal\u003C\/a\u003E affairs – still delicately balanced the tone of the shared declaration. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile the joint statement mentioned China not once, Moon didn’t touch the chaffing security aspect of the Quad that Beijing labels an anti-China coalition, talked cautiously on the Taiwan issue in a way not to provoke Beijing and cleverly linked his NSP – which before his arrival at the White House called for substantive cooperation with Washington in seven \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20210513010800325\"\u003Ehealth\u003C\/a\u003E, technology and infrastructure areas – with the FOIP through \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/05\/21\/u-s-rok-leaders-joint-statement\/\"\u003E“respective approaches.”\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is also important to note that for three years in a row, South Korea has been cancelling the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Politics\/International-relations\/Moon-Jae-in-s-visit-to-US-tinged-by-promises-to-China\"\u003Ebiannual\u003C\/a\u003E joint military exercises with the US to prevent stirring tensions with North Korea. On the other hand, former Moon adviser \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.hani.co.kr\/arti\/english_edition\/e_international\/990682.html\"\u003Eurged\u003C\/a\u003E the government to pursue a “transcendental foreign policy” as taking side with the US, peace and prosperity would be “hard to guarantee” in the region amid intensifying China-US conflict. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore the summit, the Biden administration reportedly pressed Moon to act as a decumbent US ally and take up \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/us-minimizes-prospect-new-north-korea-initiative-moon-summit-2021-05-20\/\"\u003Estrong\u003C\/a\u003E language against Beijing. But the ROK president – very well aware of huge political, economic and security implications – had no choice except balancing his stance between the existing and nascent superpowers to safeguard the nation's security alliance with the US and economic interests in Beijing, a popular consensus building in domestic politics. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUnfortunately for the US, it is not just progressives who have been searching for a middle ground between Beijing and Washington; no \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/south-korea-bets-on-staying-out-of-us-china-rivalry-2021-5\"\u003Eprominent\u003C\/a\u003E conservative national security experts think the country should join the Quad, indicating there might not be any changes in the ROK China policy even if conservatives win in the 2022 election. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe US President Joe Biden is \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20210522002452325\"\u003Ewilling\u003C\/a\u003E to meet North Korea’s President Kim Jong-un and diplomatically engage the country for complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula if he makes serious commitment to discuss dropping his nuclear ambitions. He appointed Obama’s era US ambassador to Seoul, Sung Kim, as his special envoy for Pyongyang. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever following close consultations with Seoul during months-long review of the North Korea policy and staying “deeply concerned” about Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions – the White House, having \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/us-minimizes-prospect-new-north-korea-initiative-moon-summit-2021-05-20\/\"\u003Edeclined\u003C\/a\u003E to offer incentives ahead of the summit, didn’t give any specifics of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/south-koreas-moon-be-second-leader-second-asian-welcomed-by-biden-2021-05-21\/\"\u003Econcessions\u003C\/a\u003E it would extend to bring North Korea back on the table. It was despite Kim’s conciliatory moves not to conduct nuclear tests or firing intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are fears in South Korea \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.koreatimes.co.kr\/www\/nation\/2021\/05\/113_309323.html\"\u003Etipping\u003C\/a\u003E in the US favor – oblique support for the Quad and FOIP alongside upsetting remarks for China on Taiwan and the SCS – would enrage Beijing, perhaps the only country that can help to reengage Pyongyang for denuclearization and missile launches. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPew poll is often cited to indicate 83% of the South Koreans lack \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/2020\/10\/21\/south-korea-is-caught-between-china-and-united-states-pub-83019\"\u003Econfidence\u003C\/a\u003E in Chinese President Xi Jinping about his handling of “world affairs” and 75% of them see Beijing \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/20\/south-korea-balancing-act-test-biden-plan-get-tough-china\"\u003Esomewhat or very unfavorably\u003C\/a\u003E. But it is also a historical fact many in the Korean peninsula are closely associated with Chinese \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/Politics\/International-relations\/Moon-Jae-in-s-visit-to-US-tinged-by-promises-to-China\"\u003Ecivilization\u003C\/a\u003E and feel proud of being “Sojunghwa” or “little China,” while Beijing is making efforts to further promote cross-country \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2021-01\/27\/c_139699701.htm\"\u003Ecultural exchanges\u003C\/a\u003E with Seoul. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThen how could it be discounted that the former ROK President Park Geun-hye, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-55657297\"\u003Ejailed\u003C\/a\u003E for 20 years over corruption charges, in 2015 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/south-korean-president-visits-beijing-praises-china-for-strategic-cooperation\/a-18689473\"\u003Evisited\u003C\/a\u003E China to commemorate the end of World War II with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tiananmen square where she stressed on the importance of strategic cooperation with Beijing. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington’s narcissistic strategy, idle talk on denuclearization, unpredictability as a reliable South Korean \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/south-korea-bets-on-staying-out-of-us-china-rivalry-2021-5\"\u003Epartner\u003C\/a\u003E and Trumpization of the US politics,\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/20\/south-korea-balancing-act-test-biden-plan-get-tough-china\"\u003E like many countries\u003C\/a\u003E, have been withering the chances of a clear ROK support for America in the China-US standoff and were the factors that pressed Moon to stick to a neutral position at the White House. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in \"Bangkok Post\":\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bangkokpost.com\/opinion\/opinion\/2123547\/s-korea-must-stay-neutral-in-standoff\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.bangkokpost.com\/opinion\/opinion\/2123547\/s-korea-must-stay-neutral-in-standoff\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5403471717797648043"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5403471717797648043"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/05\/s-korea-must-stay-neutral-in-standoff.html","title":"S Korea must stay neutral in standoff"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-3746578766834901306"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-26T18:54:00.002+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-26T18:54:42.145+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Afghanistan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"America's longest war is far from over"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The 9\/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. immediately enlivened sore memories of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II in the United States. But unlike Japan's unconditional surrender and Iraq and Kosovo wars where America had territorial objectives or the U.S.-led NATO suffered few combat deaths – the U.S. war in Afghanistan was a formidable challenge.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFearing anti-American sentiments, dissent within the societies and large civilian casualties – no major regional state or Arab nation contributed troops for the Afghan war. Additionally, despite Europe's concerns, the U.S. will bridge too far in its fight against terrorism, American and British forces carried out initial military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan alone.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven as the U.S. has announced troop withdrawal, the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan won't be over soon. Washington and allies will reportedly keep a \"less visible\" presence in the country, and the departure won't include thousands of \"off the books\" servicemen and private contractors. The plan gives a clear message: Washington still wants to engage itself in Afghanistan more militarily and less constructively.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt's no mystery that American goals in Afghanistan have been predominantly military, in order to achieve which the U.S. excluded the Taliban from the political process for many years. Yet, the use of sheer force to defeat the Taliban failed to fetch America a victory and stop militants from expanding their influence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENearly 20 years on and with Taliban having outlived the blood-curdling counterinsurgency operations of the so-called world's most powerful security alliance, NATO – the U.S. war on terror is nastier, brutish and longer than it was originally thought, reminiscent of the Cold War. The Taliban are in a stronger position than at any point since 2001 and with 55,000 to 85,000 full-time fighters, the group today controls vast swathes of the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington's defensive posture in Afghanistan since 2015 – staying and praying that the Taliban make abundant strategic mistakes to its advantage – failed utterly and the superpower was forced to engage a government in peace talks it labeled a significant foreign policy concern and deposed almost two decades ago.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the Soviet Union pulled out from Afghanistan, the U.S. created a power vacuum in historically a messy state by walking away from the scene. Once felt done militarily, Washington in May 2014 again announced to keep fewer than 1,000 troops by the end of 2016 to guard the U.S. embassy and train Afghan troops with a security assistance component like it did in Iraq.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThroughout years of military campaigns, the U.S. didn't focus on building political consensus and conflict resolution among several Afghan factions, which would have allowed them to work together for Afghanistan's stability and reconstruction. By the time the U.S. realized the importance of dialogue, Afghanistan had roiled into further volatility.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EArguments such as the U.S. shifted emphasis on Iraq and exclusion of the Taliban from the political process to justify America's funeral pace failure in Afghanistan wasn't only due to a good war waged poorly; the U.S. wanted to dominate the weaker nations simultaneously through power albeit alternatives available to war to prevent hundreds of thousands of displacements and killings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. official data claimed since FY2002, more than $143 billion was spent on reconstruction and related activities in Afghanistan by December 2020. But with $88 billion incurred on security and $19 billion (or 30 percent of the $63 billion cumulatively reviewed) lost to waste and others – there was very little left for Kabul to bind the Afghan wounds that were delivered by the U.S. strikes in the form of 111,000 casualties and economic and fragile infrastructure devastation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAmerica invaded Afghanistan to destroy terror networks, posing threats to the U.S. and international security. While almost $1 trillion dollars military spending hasn't changed anything on the ground, unabated violence in Afghanistan warns America with a scant military presence was leaving behind a destabilized country from economic, security and political perspectives besides threatening the crucial Afghan peace process and regional stability.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe perplexing conception in the U.S. to make Afghanistan a \"security headache\" for China and distract it from the South China Sea and other areas is even more dangerous for peace in the wider region. The omission of combating terrorism from the U.S. priority agenda and lay the onus on vulnerable Afghan people \"step up to defend their own country\" only to concentrate on China could be catastrophic for regional and global peace as downplaying terrorism would inspirit the extremist organizations to regroup in Afghanistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs Western analysts agree, China isn't a revisionist power in Afghanistan and doesn't intend to intervene or has never supported foreign intervention in independent states. Beijing's interest in Afghanistan is a broader political reconciliation among all warring parties that could prompt internal stability to pave the way for Afghan economic recovery and post-war reconstruction.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington has bled out in the longest war in American history; it's the U.S. cupidity to ensure dominance in the region, for which America should blame no one else except itself. With Kabul facing a dense economic crisis and tensed political talks ahead, Washington should not shed responsibility for Afghan reconstruction.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. cannot abandon Afghanistan and the Afghan people once again. Washington is vamoosing from the country with a little military footprint, but the U.S. war on terror is far from over. Some core U.S. challenges in Afghanistan, such as countering terrorism, resolving differences and making a meaningful contribution to the Afghan peace process to achieve peace and stability as well as resume reconstruction and economic development, remain unaccomplished, and the U.S. is obliged to undertake these vital tasks.\u003Cdiv class=\"cmsImage\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #313030; font-family: \u0026quot;Helvetica Neue\u0026quot;, pf_dintext_proregular, \u0026quot;Microsoft Yahei\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;Hiragino Sans GB\u0026quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: 0px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-05-20\/America-s-longest-war-is-far-from-over-10qe59penCM\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-05-20\/America-s-longest-war-is-far-from-over-10qe59penCM\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/3746578766834901306"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/3746578766834901306"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/05\/americas-longest-war-is-far-from-over.html","title":"America's longest war is far from over"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-1752984332126040878"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-17T12:15:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-17T12:15:29.686+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Biden is being influenced by Trump's 'China, China, China' mantra"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The economically nostalgic Donald Trump talked about China so much that he looked weird when a compilation was cobbled together with the number of times the former U.S. president babbled about China. In the end, both his narrowed approach toward Beijing and hardly a half-phrased foreign policy – China, China, China – floundered badly and his presidency is now history.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDuring the presidential campaign, he roasted Joe Biden for being soft on China and launched a smear campaign, \"Beijing Biden,\" to damage his rival politically. Although Trump lost his second bid for the White House, he left lawmakers who would keep reminding Biden that America's foreign policy issue for the entire 21st century will be \"China, China and China\" and it is likely to be on Biden's top foreign policy priorities.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington's Beijing dilemma is all about the fall of military adventurism and interventionism and the rise of cooperation and economic integration. As global leaders doubt that America could lead the world even through an old gory fashion and question if it somehow manages to do that, how long would it survive – the U.S. perspective on China as a rival state for global influence perhaps will never change.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden is making efforts to end the U.S. isolation at the global stage by quashing Trump's \"America First\" policy. But Washington's European allies, aware of Trumpism in U.S. politics, are concerned they could come across another president in 2024 who would again take the country back to isolationism, insult and humiliate them and pull out of the Paris Agreement.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina, by comparison, is now considered a real political and economic power that in addition to winning \"hearts and minds\" of global citizens, it is maturing itself from being a rules-follower country to the rules-setter nation. Therefore, Biden sees the U.S. standing at a \"great inflection point\" and falling behind in competition with China to win the 21st century.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn his remarks on America's place in the world, Biden said there wasn't any country that could match America. With 50 women killed by inmates every month, systemic racism plaguing the country and 250 Americans shot dead in the streets within a week between mass shooting events in Georgia and Colorado – the U.S. is obviously a peerless state, which isn't losing international relevance not because of rivals instead over growing intolerance and violence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. has finally comprehended no matter how powerful, it cannot address the challenges alone and multilateral cooperation is the absolute necessity. Unfortunately, the good sense is confined to soft-soaping only as the Biden administration most recently has taken coordinated actions on Xinjiang, issued a stroppy joint statement with Japan vis-à-vis peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and tried to gang up Group of Seven (G7) nations against Beijing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHowever, officials in the administration have little faith that strategy to rally allies to confront China would work as Beijing in the past few years had substantially evolved into a robust and resilient international force and a major economy with advanced technological capability, which can withstand extreme pressure and come out more strongly whenever it is put to test.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was hence albeit criticism on China over alleged human rights abuses and \"coercive economic policies\" – some of the key G7 member states refrained from taking any practical measures against the world's biggest market while tone of the joint communique – hailing China's centrality to fight the global challenges – was very circumspect.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe opposing views further described not all countries within the grouping agreed that the confrontational diplomacy was worth consideration, let alone be pursued to stir up tensions with the world's second largest economy. This trend would go on to force Biden, who's keeping Trump's unilateral policies intact in his dealing with Beijing, to make some changes in his foreign policy on China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome say China is a \"paper dragon,\" arguing its economic, technological and military advancements are vastly exaggerated and asking Americans to hear the \"perspective of confidence.\" But the lopsided analysis still dismissed trade protectionism and trade war.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter all, neither will a potential clash benefit two nations and the world grappled with the pandemic nor does it contribute to the global peace and security. Any frictions between two powers will cripple global fight against the pandemic and help terrorists across regions to regroup and exploit the catastrophe to promote and impose their extremist views.  \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina was a political buzzword that handed over Trump the U.S. presidency in 2016. Four years later, the hocus-pocus can't beguile Americans and Biden took over on issues relating to health and economy. Biden's parroting of \"China, China, China\" through advisers or allies won't fulfill promises he made to nation. For that, he is required to engage China and make full use of the biggest market in the world.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-05-11\/Biden-is-being-influenced-by-Trump-s-China-China-China-mantra-10aE0Xm0rII\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-05-11\/Biden-is-being-influenced-by-Trump-s-China-China-China-mantra-10aE0Xm0rII\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/1752984332126040878"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/1752984332126040878"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/05\/biden-is-being-influenced-by-trumps.html","title":"Biden is being influenced by Trump's 'China, China, China' mantra"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-6570429349264336279"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-29T17:38:00.004+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-29T17:38:32.544+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Africa"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Coronavirus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"vaccine"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"US predatory engagement in Africa"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Africa's importance for being the home of more than half of the world's fastest growing economies and two-thirds of the Earth's arable land alongside the continent's untapped strategic materials was always enormous. Realizing these advantages, U.S. officials are abruptly advising their government not to ignore or underestimate the economic opportunity and strategic consequence of Africa.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing the Suez Canal obstruction, the strategic choke points in the region have become waterways of special significance for Washington over their role in facilitating one-third each of shipping between North America and Asia and global oil trade. American security now depends on \"unhindered access to these waters\" as the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) wants to use sea lines of communication to engage the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe impoverished continent is one of the few areas where China and the U.S. can cooperate but when American officials wrongly disseminate China's base in Djibouti as its first overseas military outpost, it rings alarm bells. While the Chinese support base or logistics facility was opened in 2017 to assist peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts and anti-piracy escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia – it was France, Japan and the U.S. that before China had already established military installations there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECompared to China's only base in Africa, the U.S. between 2001 and 2020 had built a sprawling network of military outposts in more than a dozen African countries. The so-called \"light and relatively low-cost footprint\" comprising a constellation of 29 U.S. military bases in the continent debunked the claim that the U.S. never wanted to be a colonizing or dominant power in Africa.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn fact, the most extensive and permanent U.S. military base, Camp Lemonnier, is located in Djibouti where the U.S. special forces, fighter planes and helicopters are deployed under AFRICOM's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa program. It is also a key U.S. base for conducting drone operations in Somalia and Yemen.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe establishment of AFRICOM in 2007 was itself controversial as people and governments in Africa feared a hidden U.S. agenda behind its creation. Termed as \"militarization\" of America's foreign policy, its formation was driven by U.S. imperious ambitions rather than meeting development needs of the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe \"long game\" U.S. officials accuse Beijing of in the continent is a longstanding relationship between Africa and China that has been beefed up by decades of mutual understanding, bilateral respect and trust in each other. With more embassies than the U.S. and nonpareil investments, infrastructure and development spending – China doesn't need to set up military bases to be Africa's preferred partner.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome argue that U.S. President Joe Biden's Africa policy will focus on building America's soft power in the continent through news and entertainment industries since 24 African countries use English as their official language. While Washington always had this edge, ever-growing Afro-Sino ties are testament that cultural exchanges, not cultural influence or linguistic advantage, are vital to gain moral high ground in bilateral relationships.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlthough there are some areas of cooperation between China and the U.S. in Africa from security, economy to public health – until and unless the U.S. stops discrediting the Afro-Sino intimate fondness for one another and making Africa an additional battleground to outpace Beijing globally, any collaboration won't contribute toward achieving shared goals and peace and stability in the continent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's engagement in Africa could be classified as constructive, for it is Africa's largest trading partner and has been financing and constructing one in five and three projects in the continent respectively. Aches of the Cold War and development and trade benefits with China are the other major factors, which would enthuse the African governments to protect their economic and security interests by resisting the U.S. pressure on China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrom tart response on rooting out Huawei gears to voicing support for China on alleged human rights in  Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and security law in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, African nations have repeatedly communicated that they oppose disrupting the international harmony by trying to target a specific country on baseless allegations for vested interests of some states.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere has been a growing realization in the developed world that China's \"debt trap\" – a branding that irks several countries including African nations – is a myth as Chinese companies have learned to compete in the international construction business over the last 20 years and Beijing's diplomacy relies on consensus, sophistication and shared growth, which would be \"a shame\" if the U.S. fails to learn.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, out of 690 million COVID-19 doses administered globally as of earlier this month, only less than 2 percent of Africans have received the jabs, with 93 percent of shots given in 10 countries. By hoarding more-than-required vaccine, the \"me first\" Western attitude is risking millions of lives in Africa and threatens to prolong Africans' ordeal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBlaming rich countries of perpetrating \"vaccine apartheid,\" infuriated African nations are calling out vaccine-producing countries to stop practicing vaccine nationalism. As the health crisis in India halts vaccine supply to Africa, the U.S. has ingloriously turned to its Defense Production Act banning exports of vaccine raw materials and is bizarrely telling global nations that it was in their interest to see Americans vaccinated.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite a huge task to vaccinate 1.4 billion people, China has ramped up production to provide vaccines to more than 80 countries. Beijing has also forged alliances with 10 countries on vaccine research and development and production that would reinforce global cooperation and meet massive international vaccine demand including African nations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs Washington is unwilling to help on global health crises, African countries would feel that renewed interest of the U.S. in the continent could indeed be a predatory engagement, which is less about development and more intended at expanding influence to damage Beijing's image in Africa and corroding the Africa-China relationship.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-28\/U-S-predatory-engagement-in-Africa-ZOfsGkLAQg\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-28\/U-S-predatory-engagement-in-Africa-ZOfsGkLAQg\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6570429349264336279"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/6570429349264336279"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/us-predatory-engagement-in-africa.html","title":"US predatory engagement in Africa"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-379441586468781286"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-22T12:08:00.003+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-06-16T19:05:36.161+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Europe"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"NATO"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Disagreements enervate transatlantic relationship and NATO relevance"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotwithstanding decades-old disagreements and differences from the Suez crisis in 1956 and French withdrawal from military cooperation in 1960 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is trying to represent the \"brain-dead\" grouping as a stronger political alliance after Stoltenberg flagged China's assertive moves such as coercing neighbors in the region and hampering freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe idea to develop NATO into a reinforced alliance was brought to light when the bloc had quietly lost relevance at the international stage and desperate efforts were required to boost its significance. Stoltenberg's creation of Reflection Group in March 2020, to determine how alliance can strengthen its political role, adduced the very same thing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe remotely-conducted reflection process emphasized that NATO should deepen consultation and cooperation with nations in the Asia Pacific such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea to cope with China's rise through NATO+4 Format or other channels. It further recalled political adaption was in the lifeblood of NATO and had become a baseline requirement of its survival.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven though NATO countries acknowledge the importance of the Asia Pacific as a crucial and dynamic region of the world, collaboration between alliance and Pacific countries doesn't seem plausible any time soon as there is no agreement among allies on priority of the Asia Pacific to NATO or of its \"Asia-Pacific partners\" specifically.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe lack of consensus within NATO that handcuffs American sick goal to destabilize region, the key Pacific states are also publicly snubbing the temptation to join any U.S.-led initiative such as the Quad that \"excludes or contains a particular country,\" indicating they remain diffident to frame any bilateral relationship against any nation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENATO chief has been harping on a stronger political alliance and Asia Pacific, hoping it would help the organization reverse the declining relevance. The experts concur the 30-member alliance could soon turn irrelevant as it lacks strategic focus with club members cannot agree on a clear and definite purpose, resulting in a mission creep.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn the onset of the second decade of 21st century, even NATO's top command felt that the organization was fragmenting badly. In order to protect itself from further internal bleeding and demonstrate alliance's solidity, the alliance started carrying out counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations in Iraq, Libya, Syria and the Horn of Africa through formal and informal alliances.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese abortive and controversial operations boomeranged and tanked the popularity and political cohesion of an organization whose brutal history was summed up by first NATO Secretary General Lord Ismay, \"to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, NATO for the first and only time invoked Article 5, which declares an attack on one is attack on all. But the principle to protect each other couldn’t be translated into practice as some allied governments prevented their troops from conducting night missions or stopped their deployment in violent parts of Afghanistan.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) consequently was mocked as \"I Saw Americans Fight\" or \"I Sunbathed at (heavily protected and largely safe) FOBs (forward operating bases)\" and failed to achieve its single objective, defeating Taliban and destroying al-Qaeda, as insurgents strengthen their foothold in Afghanistan while Americans meet demands of the militants it overthrew 20 years ago and al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other militant groups haven't disappeared from the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition to a sense of serving the U.S. interests for many decades and America's quiet shift from Europe to Asia, the transatlantic consensus is also complicated by internal divisions on China and halting and uneven European economic recovery. The splits would worsen in coming months as the Biden administration ignores Europe's economic woes and expects allies to hit defense spending to 2 percent of GDP even though they have contributed more funds in the pandemic.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWashington has been mounting pressure on Europe to jeopardize its economic interests with Beijing. The European countries including numerous NATO allies would balk at such a terrible idea that would break them up from the powerhouse of global growth, trade and investment and a valuable partner holding key to thwart global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and 17+1 cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries steadily expanding in European peninsula – the global economic and infrastructure relationship leading economies will rebalance international order and bring more stability to world, urging NATO as an alliance to revisit its approach toward China and look Chinese growth with a positive attitude.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERealizing China's importance for European economic revival, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised not to force allies to choose between China and the United States. But his second visit in three weeks and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's inaugural trip to Europe to revitalize the transatlantic relationship and gain support on Iran, Russia and number-one \"pacing challenge,\" China, underscored the NATO European allies are under full-court press of the Biden administration.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe pressure tactics and pandemic-hit Europe's economic and health crisis will only unearth divergence and divisions within the bloc, becoming altogether a source of bickering between U.S. and its European allies. These disagreements have enervated the transatlantic relationship in the past under Trump's four years and would continue to decimate NATO's relevance in the future.\u003Cdiv class=\"cmsImage\" style=\"background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #313030; font-family: \u0026quot;Helvetica Neue\u0026quot;, pf_dintext_proregular, \u0026quot;Microsoft Yahei\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;Hiragino Sans GB\u0026quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; outline: 0px;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-20\/Disagreements-enervate-transatlantic-relationship-and-NATO-relevance-ZCAlyo1dq8\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-20\/Disagreements-enervate-transatlantic-relationship-and-NATO-relevance-ZCAlyo1dq8\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/379441586468781286"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/379441586468781286"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/disagreements-enervate-transatlantic.html","title":"Disagreements enervate transatlantic relationship and NATO relevance"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-5714648560376031981"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-21T12:18:00.002+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-21T12:20:24.310+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Economy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Poverty"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Developed, developing world alike should appreciate China's victory against poverty"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The economic development of China has been called miraculous by many experts, state heads and international financial institutions, including the World Bank. By 2010, Chinese average annual economic growth had reached about 10 percent, even exceeding the expectations of Deng Xiaoping, the initiator of China's reform program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina's transition from a small agrarian society to global economic powerhouse was rapid. Between 1978 and 2019, China's trade as a percentage of GDP had roughly quadrupled. Chinese per-capita GDP increased 65 times in 40 years, with an economy that once accounted for only 5 percent of the global economy now contributing 17 percent of global GDP.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EForty years ago, about 80 percent of the country's population was living below the poverty line. The biggest of all China's successes is undoubtedly the pulling of 800 million people out of poverty as well as providing improved education, healthcare and other services.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETargeted poverty alleviation has been the cornerstone of China's poverty control strategy. The approach, first proposed in 2013, called for the implementation of tailored sets of targeted measures to eradicate poverty and build a moderately prosperous society.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn his New Year message in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked everyone in the country to join forces and exert combined and concerted efforts to win the key battle against rural poverty.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe national approach, among other policies, encompassed seven institutionalized systems: accountability, policy, investment, assistance, social mobilization, supervision and assessment. It further established a \"five-batch\" policy to take each batch of registered territory out of poverty through industrial development, relocation, eco-compensation, education and social security.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EXi's call sounded the death knell for absolute poverty. The Chinese victory against poverty means a lot for the world, as Beijing overall contributed 70 percent of global poverty reduction and met key UN sustainable development goals, which in other places look more and more distant as the pandemic rages on.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter eight years of backbreaking work, the per-capita disposable income of the rural poor has doubled from 6,079 to 12,588 yuan, and 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 poor villages have been declared poverty-free. Beijing's proposed monitoring system and five-year plan would ensure these counties and villages do not fall into poverty again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EExtreme poverty in China totaled 98.99 million in 2012. It was zero at the close of 2020, which means the poverty alleviation campaign was backed by the government's quick and substantial resource allocation, allowing Beijing to help more than 30,000 rural residents shake off extreme poverty every day.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile the pandemic exacerbates challenges to global poverty alleviation, China didn't break its five-year streak of apportioning 20 billion yuan in special funds toward poverty eradication and earmarked 146 billion yuan (about $22.4 billion) in 2020. China's investment in programs over the last eight years has now reached 1.6 trillion yuan (around $246 billion).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe ambition of a moderately prosperous society would be impossible to achieve without providing basic facilities and infrastructure development. By upgrading public services such as education, healthcare and housing, Beijing met the core needs of its people and through reconstructing roads, laying rail lines and developing technological infrastructure, the government linked destitute areas with developed areas and aided them in boosting their income and skills.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor ethnic minorities, Beijing pooled resources to launch extraordinary large-scale poverty-relief campaigns and implemented development plans. Beijing's social mobilization covered all 30 autonomous prefectures with sizable ethnic minority populations, and strengthened anti-poverty cooperation between East and West China.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBetween 2016 and 2020, the five autonomous regions – Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Tibet, Ningxia and Xinjiang – and three provinces with a large multi-ethnic population – Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai – made great strides, as the poverty headcount in all the regions dropped by 15.6 million, with abolition of absolute poverty in all 28 of these regions' ethnic groups.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Chinese government rerouted specialized funds of about 300 billion yuan ($45.7 billion) to these minority zones in the last five years. Almost 45 percent of the national total addressed income disparities within ethnic minorities and raised their per-capita income to 10,000 yuan ($1,530) in 2020, bringing them on par with and even beyond the international benchmark of extreme poverty.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome use \"ifs\" and \"buts\" to play down Chinese action against poverty, but no amount of qualifications or rationalizations can take away from Beijing's triumph. UN bodies have lauded the efforts, and the World Bank had predicted well in advance China was on track to eliminate absolute poverty by 2020.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs developing countries from Asia and Africa seek to learn from China to help their people in poverty, there is an abundance of lessons that could be learned.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in \"China Daily\":\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202104\/20\/WS607e5e06a31024ad0bab6b98.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202104\/20\/WS607e5e06a31024ad0bab6b98.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5714648560376031981"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/5714648560376031981"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/developed-developing-world-alike-should.html","title":"Developed, developing world alike should appreciate China's victory against poverty"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-8635010978328856255"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-15T12:16:00.005+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-15T12:19:23.996+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Economy"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Poverty"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"China’s road to poverty alleviation"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe economic development of China has been construed as \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/blogs.worldbank.org\/africacan\/china-s-miracle-demystified\"\u003Emiraculous\u003C\/a\u003E by many experts, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.pakistantoday.com.pk\/2021\/02\/28\/pm-khan-all-in-praises-for-chinas-miraculous-victory-over-poverty\/\"\u003Estate heads\u003C\/a\u003E and international financial institutions including the World Bank. By 2010, Chinese average economic growth had reached at about 10% and even exceeded expectations of Deng Xiaoping, the initiator of China’s reform program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChina’s transition from a small agrarian society to global economic powerhouse was splendid. Between 1978 and 2019, China’s trade as a percentage of GDP had roughly \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS?locations=CN\"\u003Equadrupled\u003C\/a\u003E. Chinese per capita GDP, which was just \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201910\/18\/WS5da97d03a310cf3e35571573.html\"\u003Eone-third\u003C\/a\u003E of Sub-Saharan Africa, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CNhttps:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CN-CN\"\u003Eincreased\u003C\/a\u003E 65 times in forty years with an economy that once accounted for only 5% of the global economy now \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202102\/1216746.shtml\"\u003Econtributing\u003C\/a\u003E 17% of global GDP. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EForty years ago, about \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201910\/18\/WS5da97d03a310cf3e35571573.html\"\u003E80%\u003C\/a\u003E of the country’s population was living below the poverty line. The biggest of all successes is undoubtedly China’s victory in pulling 800 million people out of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/country\/china\/overview\"\u003Epoverty\u003C\/a\u003E as well as providing improved education, health and other services. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETargeted poverty alleviation has been the cornerstone of China’s poverty control strategy. The approach, first \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/3d3d414e78636a4d31457a6333566d54\/share_p.html\"\u003Eproposed\u003C\/a\u003E in 2013, called for the implementation of tailored sets of targeted measures to eradicate poverty and build a moderately prosperous society in the country. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBuilding \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2020-05\/24\/c_139083861.htm\"\u003EXiaokang\u003C\/a\u003E topped Xi Jinping’s “four \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-31622571\"\u003Ecomprehensives\u003C\/a\u003E.” In his New Year message in 2016, Chinese president sought his nation and teammates to join forces and exert combined and concerted efforts to win the key \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/wjdt_665385\/zyjh_665391\/t1331985.shtml\"\u003Ebattle\u003C\/a\u003E against rural poverty to realize the vision of moderately prosperous society in all respects. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe national approach, among other system designs, encompassed \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/development\/desa\/dspd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2018\/05\/15.pdf\"\u003Eseven\u003C\/a\u003E institutionalized systems: accountability, policy, investment, assistance, social mobilization, supervision and assessment. It further established a “five-batch” policy to take each batch of registered territory out of poverty through industrial development, relocation, eco-compensation, education and social security. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EXi’s call sounded death knell for absolute poverty and rescued the remaining several dozen million rural people out of absolute poverty. Chinese win against poverty means a lot for the world as Beijing overall \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2021-02\/25\/c_139767538.htm\"\u003Econtributed\u003C\/a\u003E 70% of global poverty reduction and made the key UN sustainable development goal, threatening to get distant as pandemic decelerates the poverty \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/worldpoverty.io\/headline\"\u003Eescape rate\u003C\/a\u003E to one-third, more accessible. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter eight years of backbreaking work, per capita \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202104\/1220313.shtml\"\u003Edisposable\u003C\/a\u003E income of rural poor has doubled from 6,079 yuan to 12,588 yuan and 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 poor villages have been declared poverty-free. Beijing’s proposed monitoring system and five-year plan would ensure that these counties and villages do not fall into poverty again. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EExtreme poverty in China totaled 98.99 million in 2012. It was zero at the close of 2020, which means the poverty alleviation campaign was backed by the government's quick and substantial resource allocation, allowing Beijing to help more than 30,000 rural residents shake off the extreme poverty every day. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile pandemic exacerbates \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/immersive-story\/2020\/11\/09\/reversing-setbacks-to-poverty-reduction-requires-nations-to-work-together-for-a-resilient-recovery\"\u003Echallenges\u003C\/a\u003E to global poverty together with conflict and climate change, China didn’t break the five-year streak of apportioning 20 billion yuan special funds toward poverty eradication and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mof.gov.cn\/en\/news\/mn\/202101\/t20210113_3643421.htm\"\u003Eearmarked\u003C\/a\u003E 146 billion yuan (about $22.4 billion) in 2020 including increase. China’s investment in program over the last eight year has now reached \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/china-politics-poverty\/chinas-xi-declares-complete-victory-in-campaign-to-stamp-out-rural-poverty-idINKBN2AP0D6\"\u003E1.6 trillion yuan\u003C\/a\u003E (around $246 billion). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe ambition of a moderately prosperous society was a Gordian knot without providing basic facilities and infrastructure development. By upgrading \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-06\/Graphics-Explaining-China-s-poverty-alleviation-efforts-ZexkKqf3Gw\/index.html\"\u003Epublic services\u003C\/a\u003E such as education, healthcare and housing – Beijing tapered off core issues of its people and through reconstructing roads, laying rail lines and developing technological infrastructure – the government linked destitute areas with developed parts of the country and world and aided them to boost their income and skills. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor Chinese \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/development\/desa\/dspd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2018\/05\/15.pdf\"\u003Eminorities\u003C\/a\u003E, Beijing pooled resources to launch extraordinary large-scale poverty-relief campaigns and implemented development plans. Beijing’s social mobilization covered all 30 autonomous prefectures inhabited by ethnic communities and strengthened anti-poverty cooperation between east and west China. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBetween 2016 and 2020, five \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/english\/2021-04\/06\/c_139860414.htm\"\u003Eminority areas\u003C\/a\u003E – Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Tibet, Ningxia and Xinjiang – and three provinces with a large multi-ethnic population – Guizhou, Yunnan and Qinghai) – made great strides as number of poor headcount in all the regions dropped by 15.6 million with abolition of absolute poverty in all 28 minority ethnic groups. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChinese government rerouted \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/politics\/article\/3128522\/china-says-it-lifted-millions-ethnic-minorities-out-poverty\"\u003Especialized\u003C\/a\u003E funds of about 300 billion yuan ($45.7 billion) to these 8 minority zones in the last five years. Almost 45% of national total addressed income disparities within ethnic minorities and raised their per capita income to 10,000 yuan ($1,530) in 2020, bringing them at par with and even beyond the international benchmark of ultra-poor. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESome put \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/east-asia-pacific\/voa-news-china\/china-claims-it-has-eliminated-poverty-true\"\u003Eifs\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/56213271\"\u003Ebuts\u003C\/a\u003E to play down Chinese heroic-scale action against poverty but neither of them can take nothing away from Beijing’s triumph since they admit that incomes of rural people and minorities were significantly boosted “out of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/56213271\"\u003Etoughest\u003C\/a\u003E standards of living over the last few decades,” the UN bodies have \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/undp-praises-chinas-victory-over-extreme-poverty-301250430.html\"\u003Elauded\u003C\/a\u003E the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-02-26\/FAO-chief-praises-China-s-success-in-poverty-reduction-YbByCctasU\/index.html\"\u003Emiracle\u003C\/a\u003E and the World Bank had long-predicted China was on \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-49806247\"\u003Etrack\u003C\/a\u003E to eliminate absolute poverty by 2020. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs developing countries from \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.geo.tv\/latest\/327542-chinese-development-model-suits-pakistan-pm-imran-khan\"\u003EAsia\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.iol.co.za\/news\/opinion\/lessons-africa-should-learn-from-china-b75930a0-4686-4ae3-b079-5d7e06d71822\"\u003EAfrica\u003C\/a\u003E romanticize China’s dream growth and seek to \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/event\/chinas-growing-footprint-africa\"\u003Elearn\u003C\/a\u003E from it to help their people languished in poverty and there are \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/speech\/2015\/01\/13\/lessons-for-africa-from-chinas-growth\"\u003Elessons\u003C\/a\u003E that could be learnt – a big heart what is required from the developed world, unequivocally appreciate Chinese emphatic win against abject poverty and support international institutions to share the experiences learned. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in \"The Express Tribune\":\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2294739\/chinas-road-to-poverty-alleviation\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2294739\/chinas-road-to-poverty-alleviation\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8635010978328856255"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8635010978328856255"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/chinas-road-to-poverty-alleviation.html","title":"China’s road to poverty alleviation"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-8308507942855483405"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-05T12:31:00.003+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-05T12:31:24.839+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Biden"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"BRI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"China"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Biden should keep focus on rebuilding US infrastructure"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe U.S. ranks 13th globally in infrastructure and invests just one-third of China in development. Washington currently is facing a shortfall of about $2.6 trillion to rebuild the dangerously degraded national infrastructure. The devastated physical and technological in the country threatens to wipe away $10 trillion in economic growth, $2.4 trillion from exports, and three million jobs by 2039. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne-third and one-fifth of bridges and roads in the U.S. need repair; 20 percent of flights are delayed resulting in 1.6 million hours lost in production; six to eight million homes still have lead pipes, and over 100,000 wellheads aren't capped and are leaking methane. The nationwide infrastructure has virtually broken down, demanding extraordinary measures. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn Pittsburg, U.S. President Joe Biden detailed the first of his two-pronged infrastructure and jobs roadmap, dubbed as the \"American Jobs Plan,\" which will invest about $2 trillion in this decade. Citing transition from gas to electric vehicles ($174) alone would alone receive more funds than repairs of highways and bridges ($115 billion), ranking Republican Sam Graves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee called it a \"Green New Deal,\" not a transportation bill. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe effort will be largely financed by a corporate tax hike from 21 percent to 28 percent and would eliminate subsidies for fossil fuel companies. The divisive proposal to raise taxes in a pandemic era not just appalled the Republican senate leader Mitch McConnell, it might also exasperate Democrats, some of whom had already voiced concerns on staggering costs and higher tax rates. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore the plan was floated in public, several moderate Democrats were skeptical about Biden's tax-and-spend plans. They said the U.S. administration should be careful not to do anything too big in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis that would slow economic recovery and drive residents out of some states. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden's ambitions aren't new. The U.S. presidents in the past promised to revitalize the aging infrastructure though their aspirations never came to fruition. For instance, former President Donald Trump vowed to address the widening infrastructure gaps, nonetheless ended up making a butt of jokes out of his many \"Infrastructure Weeks.\" \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven as Biden focuses less on infrastructure and seems to turn a long-running Washington punchline into a legacy-defining policy achievement, the U.S. president is set to bump into the same fate that wrote failures of the prior American presidents over steadfast opposition on increased taxes, especially in Senate where Democrats have a very thin edge by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn a crisis situation that would entrench the existing and future U.S. administrations for the coming few years on improving ravaged infrastructure – Biden wants to launch \"essentially a similar initiative,\" like that of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to support those communities that \"need help.\" \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite years of unsparing efforts to undermine peace or even initiatives to rival the global infrastructure project for sustaining its geopolitical influence, Washington is yet to convince other countries that it can really offer an alternative project set forth by China in 2013. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden seeks to encourage private sector investment for overseas projects while he is urged to increase federal and private investments in infrastructure from 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP. As he is finding it hard to build consensus on overhauling domestic infrastructure, it is quite unclear how he would fascinate global nations toward his abstruse strategy. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiden is trying to imitate the BRI through his \"Small and Less Populous Island Economies (SALPIE) Initiative\" to strengthen U.S. collaboration with island countries and territories in the Caribbean, North Atlantic and the Pacific. Then again, the lack of resource deployment and support from island nations doubts the success of the new idea. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe BRI continues to be seen in the U.S. as China's signature foreign policy undertaking that poses risks to American global economic, security and political clout. The reason behind U.S. opposition is the project's ravishing achievements through which China had reached out to more than 100 countries and completed over 2,600 projects worldwide with aids, loans and investments of $3.7 trillion by mid of last year, according to Refinitiv data, describing why the project is \"unbound geographically\" and has moved beyond traditional infrastructure. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile the U.S. president should stop seeing Chinese peaceful growth ambitions with traditionalist suspicion, he needs to orientate himself with the emerging reality. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe largest global infrastructure program is easing off critical connectivity deficiencies and creating jobs, boosting trade and reviving economies across the world. Truly a global endeavor, the BRI is now a global good for nations and people throughout the continents. Biden should focus on rebuilding nationwide exhausted infrastructure. Once the U.S. president makes up for the negligence of the past U.S. administrations, he may look to play a constructive role in international well-being.\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces that first appeared at \"China Global Television Network (CGTN)\":\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-03\/Biden-should-focus-on-rebuilding-U-S-infrastructure-Za3pfe9zy0\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/news.cgtn.com\/news\/2021-04-03\/Biden-should-focus-on-rebuilding-U-S-infrastructure-Za3pfe9zy0\/index.html\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8308507942855483405"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/8308507942855483405"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/biden-should-keep-focus-on-rebuilding.html","title":"Biden should keep focus on rebuilding US infrastructure"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8895376703145731912.post-146581753296508216"},"published":{"$t":"2021-04-03T14:53:00.001+05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-04-03T14:53:03.415+05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Australia"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Trump"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"United States"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Australia’s ill-treatment of refugees and aboriginals"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/p\/about-me.html\"\u003EBy: Azhar Azam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAustralia is believed to be a country that has the most \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/worldviews\/wp\/2016\/04\/27\/after-years-of-hosting-a-notorious-refugee-camp-for-australia-papua-new-guinea-says-enough\/\"\u003Erestrictive\u003C\/a\u003E immigration control regime in the world. Canberra wielded the scepter of power through the “Pacific Solution,” which licensed the Australian military to capture aliens before landing and relocate them in widespread offshore detention facilities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECanberra still holds the demonic crown of being an exceptionally intolerant state for migrants. It retains the title courtesy of private \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globaldetentionproject.org\/countries\/asia-pacific\/australia\"\u003Econtractors\u003C\/a\u003E – overseeing all the operations of the Australian offshore detention facilities – in addition to applying taxing detention measures and collaborating closely with other regional countries to boost their incarceration capabilities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver seven years from introduction of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/1\/22\/medically-vulnerable-refugees-in-australia-hotels-finally-freed\"\u003Econtroversial\u003C\/a\u003E offshore processing policy in August 2012 to July 2019, Canberra shipped more than 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers – defined as \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.homeaffairs.gov.au\/foi\/files\/2019\/fa-190700487-document-released.PDF\"\u003E“Illegal Maritime Arrivals”\u003C\/a\u003E – to remote islands in the pacific, Nauru and Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENotwithstanding New Zealand’s offers to take some refugees \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2020\/dec\/10\/lives-in-limbo-more-than-1500-asylum-seekers-still-face-uncertain-future\"\u003Esince\u003C\/a\u003E 2013, Australia has denied accepting the proposal. The Trans-Tasman relationship has \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/politics\/federal\/what-is-driving-the-frostiness-between-australia-and-new-zealand-20210222-p574je.html\"\u003Eplunged\u003C\/a\u003E to low in years after deportation of New Zealanders including a 15-year old boy under Australian \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/commentisfree\/2021\/mar\/17\/ally-or-no-new-zealand-must-stand-up-to-callous-australia-over-501-deportees\"\u003Ecallous\u003C\/a\u003E Section 501, urging the infuriated Green Part Party call its neighbor a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/national\/politics\/300253657\/australia-a-rogue-nation-nz-needs-to-call-out-at-the-un-after-15yearold-deported-say-greens\"\u003E“rogue nation”\u003C\/a\u003E that should be complained to the UN. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs of 28-February-2021, there were yet some \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.homeaffairs.gov.au\/about-us-subsite\/files\/population-and-number-of-people-resettled.pdf\"\u003E240\u003C\/a\u003E transitory persons on the two islands where they are in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/national\/438537\/you-are-in-limbo-deportee-says-australia-s-detention-centres-a-brutal-experience\"\u003Elimbo\u003C\/a\u003E amid worse-than-jail conditions and poor access to health while being treated brutally and tortured physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually – termed as “The \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.opendemocracy.net\/en\/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery\/the-torture-of-australias-offshore-immigration-detention-system\/\"\u003Earchitecture\u003C\/a\u003E of evil” by a former detainee. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn January, Kiwi authorities \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/1\/22\/medically-vulnerable-refugees-in-australia-hotels-finally-freed\"\u003Efreed\u003C\/a\u003E some of the migrants, routinely smuggled to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2021\/jan\/25\/i-never-felt-alone-refugee-mostafa-azimitabar-on-justice-jimmy-barnes-and-freedom-after-eight-years\"\u003E“luxury torture cells”\u003C\/a\u003E by sea with electricity cut off, water tanks deliberately spoiled and medicine and food shortage. But the release took roughly 18 months during which the detainees were kept in abandoned hotels in Australia without sufficient meals, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.globaldetentionproject.org\/countries\/asia-pacific\/australia\"\u003Eopen space\u003C\/a\u003E and medical assistance. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Kiwi abomination for the refugees was earlier described in a leaked Donald Trump’s phone call to Malcolm Turnbull \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2017\/politics\/australia-mexico-transcripts\/?utm_term=.b234cf0ec551\"\u003Epublished\u003C\/a\u003E by the Washington Post in August 2017. Then-Aussie prime minister admitted to the former US president they were not “bad people” but because he wanted to teach illegal migrants a hard lesson. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMostafa Azimitabar is one of the lucky asylum seekers who got freedom after about eight years having been locked up in a detention center that he said was “brutal: a place of privation, of systemic debasement, of great and terrifying violence.” Azimitabar was fortunate to survive while seeing his friend killed by up to 15 detention center employees by \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2021\/jan\/25\/i-never-felt-alone-refugee-mostafa-azimitabar-on-justice-jimmy-barnes-and-freedom-after-eight-years\"\u003Ea wooden post spiked with nails and a rock dropped on his head\u003C\/a\u003E but perhaps not other stranded people facing Australian savagery. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is not just refugees and asylum seekers that are vulnerable to the Australian deadly rage; there are a significant number of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aihw.gov.au\/reports-data\/population-groups\/indigenous-australians\/overview\"\u003EIndigenous Australians\u003C\/a\u003E – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – who continue to be the victims of Kiwi’s racial injustice and discriminatory practices. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA Social Justice and Native Title report in 2014 revealed shocking Indigenous Incarceration facts in Australia. The study found that the Indigenous Australians were likely to be \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2014-12-04\/number-of-indigenous-australians-in-prison-a-catastrophe\/5945504?site=indigenous\"\u003Eimprisoned\u003C\/a\u003E or detained in juvenile detention by 15-24% more than those of non-Indigenous adults or adolescents. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe over-representation of Indigenous Australians in prison hasn’t changed much as they still have a high rate of deaths in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2021\/country-chapters\/australia\"\u003Ecustody\u003C\/a\u003E and comprise 29% of the country’s adult prison population. Incarceration disproportionately is impacting children too, making their arrest 21 times more likely than non-Indigenous teens. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/node\/376210\/printable\/print\"\u003Ereport\u003C\/a\u003E by the Queensland Health Ombudsman following an investigation of the killing 6-year-old child over gross negligence, exposed stark health disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and raised serious doubts on sincerity of the government to address health issues of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResolving wider Indigenous issues seems to have never been an Australian priority. The 12th Closing the Gap report, showing Canberra was way off track to meet \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-we-arent-closing-the-gap-a-failure-to-account-for-cultural-counterfactuals-129076\"\u003Efive\u003C\/a\u003E of its seven key objectives with a little or no improvement, exposed the government's nefarious approach to rise to the challenge. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe scheme in July 2020 was dubbed as a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-07-30\/closing-gap-targets-agreement-aboriginal-torres-strait-islander\/12506232\"\u003Efailure\u003C\/a\u003E “to partner with Indigenous people to develop and deliver the 2008 targets” by Aussie Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he completely reset the objectives and expanded the scale of the plan to 15 goals in a bid to tackle Indigenous hardship. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut since the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework confessed Aboriginal over-representation in criminal justice and Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody inextricably linked high rates of Indigenous deaths in custody with \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aboriginaljustice.vic.gov.au\/the-agreement\/aboriginal-over-representation-in-the-justice-system\/underlying-causes-of-aboriginal\"\u003Eunderlying\u003C\/a\u003E factors of poor health and housing, low employment and education levels and government policies – the Morris government should coherently and scrupulously implement his strategy to ease up the fears and anxieties of downtrodden community. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQuite a few voices erupted within Australia last year when many nations and international leaders denounced George Floyd’s death in the US and left Indigenous families \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-06-02\/us-riots-indigenous-deaths-in-custody\/12309010\"\u003Ewondering\u003C\/a\u003E why the global community was tight-lipped on Australian cruelty. Indigenous Australians surely deserve at least an even support from the world as they are just 3% of the Aussie population and account for 30% of the country’s inmates. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDecrying Canberra’s treatment of asylum seekers, use of offshore processing and prolonged detention of refugees and high incarceration rates of First Nations people– more than 40 member states during the UN Universal Periodic Review in January also \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/01\/21\/australia-address-abuses-raised-un-review#:~:text=Australia%20appeared%20before%20the%20UN,Geneva%20on%20January%2020%2C%202021.\u0026amp;text=%E2%80%9CThe%20UN%20review%20made%20it,the%20UN%20Human%20Rights%20Council.%E2%80%9D\"\u003Eraised\u003C\/a\u003E concerns on Kiwi government failure to reduce significant over-representation of Indigenous Australians in criminal justice system. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile there are another hundreds of people experiencing inhumane Australian conduct in offshore detention centers and Morrison administration’s draconian behavior against Indigenous Australians hasn’t altered either – Canberra can no more hoodwink international world on its human rights abuses and has to obliterate the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/dozens-of-men-were-suddenly-released-from-hotel-detention-behind-the-scenes-a-tireless-fight-goes-on\"\u003E“walls of oppression”\u003C\/a\u003E built around refugees and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in\u0026nbsp;\"The Express Tribune\":\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2292089\/australias-ill-treatment-of-refugees-and-aboriginals\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ehttps:\/\/tribune.com.pk\/story\/2292089\/australias-ill-treatment-of-refugees-and-aboriginals\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/146581753296508216"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8895376703145731912\/posts\/default\/146581753296508216"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"https:\/\/azhar-azam.blogspot.com\/2021\/04\/australias-ill-treatment-of-refugees.html","title":"Australia’s ill-treatment of refugees and aboriginals"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Azhar Azam"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00171131166508441022"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}]}]}});