The “Cold War mentality” has taken hold at the Munich Security Conference, as denounced in this forum by the head of Chinese foreign policy, Wang Yi, and for good reason. Since the beginning of the so-called Security Davos on Friday, all the political leaders who have taken the floor, with the sole exception of Wang, rule in the so-called Western world, have followed the same script in the analysis of the war in Ukraine or , such as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, have fueled the danger of a global war.
Beijing is “watching closely” to see what Russia gets “for its aggression.” “What is happening in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow,” Stoltenberg warned on a panel with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, all contenders. to join NATO to protect themselves from Russia and all subject to the will of Turkey.
There was a time when the Munich Security Conference was a political melting pot that not only reflected the reality of a multipolar world but also facilitated chance encounters between good guys and bad guys. Without the pepper that the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, or the always hermetic Iranian delegation assured the debate, the most important meeting in the world in matters of Defense and Security has remained in the exaltation of transatlantic relations.
“North America and Europe must stick together. In an increasingly dangerous world we need our transatlantic alliances more than ever,” said Stoltenberg, for whom “this is not the time to look beyond the Alliance” but to “strengthen and expand our alliances to promote peace, protect our shared security and defend the global system based on our values ??and international law”.
Stoltenberg called not to make “the same mistake” with China as with Russia, since “the war in Ukraine has made clear the danger of excessive dependence on authoritarian regimes,” he warned in reference to energy. According to the head of NATO, the recipe for this not to happen is diversity in supply and more investment in defense.
Stoltenberg’s intervention succeeded the most awaited one because it was the only one that was expected to be dissonant, and Wang Yi met expectations. He stated that China is deeply concerned by the protracted crisis in Ukraine, but stressed that his country, unlike the West, does not want to add fuel to the fire with more weapons, but advocates dialogue. “China’s goal is to facilitate peace talks. There was already a text for a peaceful solution shortly after the outbreak of the war, but President Xi Jinping’s proposal was ignored. It is possible that there are powers with greater strategic objectives in the conflict They don’t care about the lives of Ukrainians,” he said in a veiled reference to the United States.
Wang announced that Beijing will continue to explore the path of dialogue and present a document in this regard, an initiative that he did not detail, but that will be in line with what China has always defended. “The territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries must be fulfilled in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” said the head of Chinese diplomacy and added that Beijing does not apply double standards because what the West asks for Ukraine is what China complains about Taiwan.
“Taiwan was never an independent country and never will be,” Wang said, not without warning the West of a revaluation of Taiwan in its foreign policy. “Any violation of the one-China policy or attempt to create two Chinas would be a gross violation of China’s territorial sovereignty.”
Wang did not say how far Beijing would go to secure Taiwan, but he practically called the United States bellicose on the balloon issue. “The balloon was a civilian unmanned object that strayed from its route and shooting it down with fighters was an absurd and hysterical reaction that also contravenes international practices. There are thousands of balloons flying in the world, will the United States shoot them all down? Wang wondered.
“We call on the US to refrain from such absurd actions in the future. For China to be perceived as a threat in the US is a misperception,” he said.
In this context, Wang accused the US of a smear campaign. This will have an impact on Sino-US relations, which should be based on three principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and cooperation. “It is incomprehensible that the United States sees a threat in what we believe is good for humanity: ensuring the present and future of 1.5 billion people.”
The subsequent speech by the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, returned the applause to the conference room. She was not received as a possible candidate for the presidency of the United States, so the expectations that she aroused at the beginning of her have remained nothing, but rather as the voice of Joe Biden with the sensitivity of a woman. He spoke of the war in Ukraine, describing the terrible images of destruction and death caught on camera, the suffering of mothers and children who have been “stolen” by Russia, the rape by Kremlin troops of a 4 years.
“They are crimes against humanity and the United States will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice,” said Harris, supported at the conference by a third of the US Senate, the largest delegation ever from this country in Munich.
Between the declarations of commitment to Ukraine, the wishes of Sweden and Finland to join NATO or the mea culpas for not having detected Putin’s imperialist desire beforehand, the delegations sought off-camera informal contacts and not only among themselves, but also with the arms industry, the hidden guests of the Conference.
One of the most active is the German Rheinmetall, from whose warehouses the 100 first-generation Leopard tanks for Ukraine will leave. Now it has been learned that the company has signed an agreement with the American consortium formed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the manufacture of the 35 American F-35 combat planes that Berlin ordered last year to replace the aging Tornado fleet.
Also within the framework of the conference, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, met with the general director of Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, to discuss future tank deliveries. “We also discussed important projects to improve Ukraine’s capabilities in tanks and armored vehicles in both the short and long term,” he said. Rheinmetall is willing to increase its commitment,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
This is what the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has requested: more weapons, more ammunition and faster delivery. “Now the same thing must be done now as during the Covid pandemic,” said the German politician. She proposes purchase guarantees to the defense industry so that it can invest more quickly in production lines and increase supply volumes. “I think now is the time to increase the production of standardized products that Ukraine so badly needs,” von der Leyen stated. An example, she said, is 155-millimeter caliber artillery ammunition.
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