With US Leadership Weakening, China Becoming More Aggressive Than Ever – OpEd
When the US President unilaterally decided to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan resulting in a humiliating exit , several people, both in USA and outside, started thinking whether the leadership of the USA has considerably weakened. The fact that President Joe Biden withdrew the forces in the face of attack by Taliban terrorists even without a face saving formula, made many wonder whether the present leadership of USA has even lost the sense of pride. When US troops were withdrawn, forces from other NATO countries, which stood by the USA in Afghanistan, also withdrew their forces , without questioning the abrupt decision of the US government. In this entire episode, not only the USA but also the NATO countries have lost their face in the eyes of the world.
The fact that the US government has no hesitation in negotiating with the Taliban after withdrawing the forces from Afghanistan in humiliating conditions and even while Taliban is widely perceived to be a terrorist organisation ,has further made people across the world think that USA is no more a superpower.
With the COVID 19 spread in the USA taking a heavy toll and lives are still being lost in USA due to COVID 19 virus and economy of USA not being in the best of shape, 78 year old US President Joe Biden is no more creating confidence about the capability of the USA to dominate the world. This feeling is further accentuated by the declaration of Joe Biden that the USA would not send its troops to other countries ( probably even if the terrorist elements would indulge in violent acts in any country ). With this decision, the claim of USA that it is the champion of the free world has gone for a toss
With the leadership of the USA under Joe Biden visibly weakening, China has become more aggressive than ever before and seem to have concluded that it’s time has come to emerge as the super power in the world , decisively beating USA.
Recently, a US nuclear submarine hit an “unknown object” while submerged in waters in the Asia-Pacific region, injuring a number of sailors, The collision happened in international waters in the South China Sea, amid rising tensions in the region due to China’s claim that the region belongs to China.
Many people think that it is very unusual that a submarine would hit an “unknown object “. There are also suspicions that China could have planted the “unknown object”, to test the determination of the US government to enter into a conflict with China. So far, Joe Biden administration has not explained , what was the “unknown object”. While the submarine withdrew and went back to USA, Joe Biden administration has taken care not to blame China for the incident. Many people wonder whether this could be part of appeasing policy of Joe Biden administration towards China to” buy peace” and avoid military conflict.
China’s President has now said aggressively that China would occupy Taiwan and many persons think that it could happen at any time now.
Earlier, UK government handed over Hong Kong to China unquestioningly and now China is using aggressive methods to put down the protestors in Hong Kong against China’s dictatorial governance. Neither USA nor NATO countries have done anything to prevent China from its acts of suppression in Hong Kong , other than issuing some paper statements from time to time.
It appears that China has convinced itself that the present weak US government would leave Taiwan at the mercy of China, if and when China would occupy Taiwan China expects that it will have its way in Taiwan unchecked by any country.
After Taiwan, obviously the next target of China is India. Chinese forces are deliberately creating tension in the India China border by repeatedly intruding into Indian territory. Indian Army Chief has now confirmed that China has considerably strengthened its military base in Tibet region, with large scale build up by China along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. The army chief has ominously said ” China is here to stay” and it is a matter of concern for India.
Even as China is so aggressive, India is now engaged in discussion with China to find an amicable settlement on border issue, even when everyone think that China would not be sincere in the talks. Many wonder whether India wants to avoid military conflict with China , inspite of provocative moves of China against India.
The military confrontation faced by India against China has now become a serious and grave issue for India, since the leadership of US government has considerably weakened and India has nowhere to look for meaningful support , if US government would not respond to checkmate China’s aggressive military moves against India.
With Russia virtually reducing itself to the level of junior partner of China in all fronts and India’s neighbour Pakistan and Afghanistan , who are sworn enemies of India, now under total China’s influence and control ,there is huge concern in India about China’s aggressive methods, policies and greed.
With Tibet already occupied by China and earlier India doing the mistake of approving the occupation of Tibet by China, India is now regretting that in the past, it has approved China’s aggression in Tibet, to keep China in good humour.
India is now paying a big price for this historically wrong decision to appease China by remaining silent, while China massacred the innocent Tibetans and suppressed the freedom movement there and now using Tibet region to build military base, that has become a big threat for India.
