Page 2 of 4 US missiles hit Russia where
it hurts By M K Bhadrakumar
Treaty Organization's (NATO's)
eastward expansion; making further inroads into
Russia's strategic space by deciding to deploy the
defense system in Central Europe; the US
"frequently poking its nose" into Russia's
domestic affairs, such as openly funding political
forces in Russia that oppose the Kremlin;
fomenting "color revolutions" in the former Soviet
republics; "brushing aside Russian opinions in the
handling of global issues"; and generally
resorting to "unilateralism in
international affairs".
China says the US
actions in this respect remind one of the "law of
the jungle", where with the "biggest power and the
sharpest claws" at its command, Washington is
bullying the weak; fighting for spheres of
influence; interfering with impunity in the
internal affairs of other countries; and resorting
to unilateralism. And it is doing all this while
complacent in its belief that "one can do just
about anything one wants so long as one is strong
enough, whatever one does is rational and
compatible with rules, whereas if the other side
struggles or opposes, that only means they don't
understand, and the only thing one needs to do is
to explain".
China has carefully sized up
Moscow's "grit" in resisting the US pressure. It
seems to have assessed that President Vladimir
Putin is indeed serious when he says Russia is
determined to ensure the global strategic balance.
With this assessment of the Kremlin's seriousness,
China has begun raising its head above the
parapet.
A Chinese expert at Kanwa, a Hong
Kong-based think-tank, was quoted by the Russian
official news agency in an interview on Monday as
saying that the planned US deployments in Japan
and Australia of anti-missile installations and
the powerful XBR radars (with an estimated range
of 4,000 kilometers) would allow the Americans to
follow the launches of missiles from China's main
testing range in Shanxi province. Therefore, he
said, "Russia is worried about the US plans in
East Europe - and China in East Asia. And the two
countries can evidently decide to pursue a
coordinated policy on this account."
The European predicament The
expert in Kanwa went on to underline China's
determination to accelerate the development of its
own missile program if the Asian missile-defense
system is created. Clearly, the summit of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization due to be held
in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in August assumes new
significance.
But in comparison with
China's increasingly open stance, the predicament
faced by the European countries remains acute.
This is evident from the different levels of
reaction in European capitals to the escalation in
US-Russian rhetoric. Apropos Putin's statement on
Monday that Russia might have to target Europe
with nuclear missiles if the US deployments in
Poland and the Czech Republic went ahead,
Washington, London and Warsaw poured heavy
criticism on the Kremlin. But Paris and Berlin
have been noticeably circumspect.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to cool down
tempers by saying, "For me it is important to be
clear that the Cold War remains forever in
history." Merkel stressed that Russia is a partner
for the West, and "we share a common
responsibility ... We depend on each other, and
this is what will determine the Heiligendamm
summit. Even when we disagree, it remains
indisputable that Russia is a partner, Russia is a
member of the G8."
In essence, Merkel
disagreed with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's
characterization of Putin's statement as "quite
unsettling". The reaction by the French Foreign
Ministry too has been noticeably balanced. It
acknowledged Russia's concerns over the
missile-defense deployments in Eastern Europe as
"legitimate", and it called for "comprehensive
discussions" between the US and Russia. More
important, it distanced Paris from the acrimony by
painting the ABM deployment as a "bilateral
project [emphasis added], which is being
pursued by the United States, Poland and the Czech
Republic".
The German and French
statements offer a perfect study in contrast with
the hot words by the NATO bureaucracy in Brussels
and Polish officials in Warsaw, who tried to play
up Putin's remarks as suggestive of Russian
belligerence. Without doubt, "Old Europe" is being
pulled in opposite directions. Senior European
leaders fear that the missile-defense controversy
could split Europe and set back its relations with
the US once again at a time when they have just
about recovered from frictions over the Iraq war.
Ideally, Europe would like to work together with
the US. But countries of "Old Europe" also wish to
give consideration to the positions of both the US
and Russia.
Equally, the controversy
touches a lot of raw nerves as it involves overall
post-Cold War trans-Atlantic cooperation.
Washington and London, with Poland and the Baltic
countries (which are new to both NATO and the
European Union but are diehard allies of the US)
in tow, plus, of course, the NATO bureaucracy in
Brussels, are striving to set the agenda of the
trans-Atlantic friendship. But "Old Europe" and
the US, despite their recent improved relations,
have different interests to pursue in the
post-Cold War setting - and have different ideas
about war and peace, and different beliefs in a
world order.
All the same, relations
between the US and its traditional allies in
Western Europe, though put to stress by the Iraq
war and which may be not as solid and predictable
as during the Cold War, are still largely intact.
Friendlier ties are in the interest of Western
Europe. On its part, the US also realizes that
without the Western alliance, its agenda of global
dominance will remain a pipe dream, and that under
no circumstances do the "New Europeans" have the
experience, resources and credibility to replace
the traditional Western European allies.
Europe's best hope, therefore, will be
that the US missile-deployment issue doesn't
assume dimensions that jeopardize trans-Atlantic
cooperation. This became starkly apparent on May
22 when Europe's three largest gas companies - Eni
of Italy, Gaz de France and E.ON Ruhrgas of
Germany - warned against growing tensions between
Europe and Russia and sought greater political
support for stepping up their business activities
involving Russia. The European energy giants are
all in varying stages of negotiating long-term
deals involving asset swaps with Russia's Gazprom.
'Selective cooperation' with Russia But it is unlikely that the tensions in
US-Russia relations will ease any time soon.
Washington is working on the basis of a
well-thought-out, clear-cut strategy toward
Russia. In a high-profile show of support to the
"New Europeans" against Russian pressure,
President George W Bush was scheduled to visit
Prague and Poland immediately before and after the
G8 summit in Heiligendamm.
Thereafter, on
June 25 he is to host Estonian President Toomas
Hendrik Ilves in the White House, which will be
another meeting fraught with symbolism to the
Russians. This will be just ahead of Putin's
hastily arranged weekend halt at the Bush family
home in Kennebunkport, Maine, on July 1.
Fortunately, Putin will be in the region as he had
plans to visit Guatemala.
In retrospect,
it is clear that visits in recent weeks by US
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of
State
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