Russia continues to do an excellent job in Syria. Not only is Russia regarded as a loyal ally to Syria, but it also acts as a powerful and wise though often spurned ally to its former Cold War protagonist, the United States, in the latter’s efforts to fight jihadist terrorism and prevent it from spreading across the globe. China as usual appears ostensibly at least to give little support to Russia’s intervention in Syria.
But hold that thought. Russia’s intervention though diplomatically and geopolitically profitable is financially costly. China is the partner guaranteeing that enough trade is conducted and loans made between the two to underwrite all costs. The Russian intervention in Syria has been planned by Russia and China for some years to save their mutual interests in the region and roll back the destructive forces being funded by pro-jihadist actors and reactionary states that find it difficult to understand the new world order, caused in part by the decline of the economic power of the United States and its NATO allies.
The close cooperation between China and Russia in economic and political-economic regional and global projects like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the New Development BRICS Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has made this daring intervention possible and viable. China understands that the spread of instability has to be halted now. Syria, both Russia and China agree, must remain intact and the Syrian people and only the Syrian people can decide who their leaders will be.
Saudi Arabian and Turkish involvement in funnelling armaments to jihadist groups and providing world class logistical support to armed factions bent on the destruction of Syria for the enrichment and geopolitical ambitions of outside actors is, at best short-sighted and at worst naive. If Syria falls then both Saudi Arabia and Turkey will be in the cross-hairs of ideologues and neo-imperialists inspired by the geopolitical miscalculations of renowned Western think tanks, that function using outdated paradigms more suitable to 19th century gun-boat diplomacy rather than to the multi-polar and economically and digitally integrated land and sea Silk Road birthing 21st century. China and Russia both understand this.
Never underestimate the Chinese dragon. Michael Hudson in his revelatory book “Finance as Warfare” referring to Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom says that the “owl of wisdom only flies at night.” Maybe it’s time that the anti-Chinese, jingoistic and warmongering ideologues that attempt to give credibility to such hi-jacked concepts as the Responsibility to Protect should spend their night hours pouring over books on Chinese history from the time of Genghis Khan for starters. Studying history helps when we keep in mind that to benefit from the analysis of current international relations we need first to dissolve the ideological cataracts that often obscure the clarity of vision required to assess the realities of the present world order.
