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By Asfandyar Khan
The sleeping beast woke up on Wednesday when two authoritarian leaders of the world met in the Far East after four years. The meeting of Putin and Kim stormed the global stage as the West worried about their mutual eminent operations against its geostrategic order in the region. No doubt, both Putin and Kim have reasons to work hand and hand as both run unparallel to the existing world order. The meeting on Wednesday 13 Sept, 2023 came on the global stage as Putin seeks military assistance from Young Yang to keep the Ukrainian war theatre alive.
Four years ago, it was Kim who was in an hour of need as North Korea faced the music of diplomatic isolation for its global political conduct against democracy and free market economies. So, one way or another it’s the commonality of interest that Moscow and Yong Yang share that keeps both of them going. No value is so substantial other than having a common foe. So all the cooperation that is undergoing between Russia and North Korea is being fuelled by the West itself for being their common political villain. It also shows Kim’s reliance on Dog eared strategy. North Korean domestic indicators on health and economy show a considerable decline due to the pandemic and diplomatic isolation. So given this, Premier is trying to overshadow the internal issues by optimizing its national priorities more on global political systems. It has been observed that the Dog Eared strategy had helped Kim’s predecessors.
The discourse of We versus they sell in the North Korean social market as hotcakes. Reports are being staged regarding the deaths of North Korean citizens due to diseases and starvation but still, the belief of an Anti-western attitude is more acceptable than the reality of having an insufficient health care system. The Korean nation has been led to walk on such a path where they take pride in having a good military-industrial complex instead of having a resourceful healthcare system. In response to this development, the US has intimated the importance of its interest in the Ukrainian war and clearly announced that the provision of arms supply to Russia will be countered by considerable measures. In a word it has been said that killings of innocent Ukrainians will not be tolerated by the global human rights and security regime. On analyzing this statement, this policy statement itself faces a great contradiction of practice. As the US itself is providing tactically war smart machines to Ukraine. So, the condemnation and support of the US for Ukraine is predominantly serving its politico-economic interest. As it is said, Money is not in the healthy people and likewise not in the dead people but it is in the sick people. So having said that as long as the war theatre is live with rounds of bullets being fired from the barrels of guns, the world arm sellers are at peace.
Amid this Beijing’s silence is being observed as no official statement has been given from the Chinese policy circles. Analytically it is understood that China’s silence on this global affair is justified in terms of its interest. As China pulls up its socks to host the Asian Games, it can’t afford any uninvited political mongering. Also, it already keeps a policy of neutrality in the Ukraine-Russia war. So, it’s better for the Chinese interest not to take sides on any front especially when its global stature is now being taken as a rising global economy. This qualitatively shows that Beijing believes that not all battles are made to be fought rather it tends to keep its friends and enemies closer.
Chinese attitude towards this trio incentivized both parties. As Kim-Putin Summit was held at a military installation in the Far East right next to China which gave a sense of welcome to the actors at the Wednesday meeting. Simultaneously its silence on this current political affair hasn’t invited criticism from the West either. So for China, it is just another market not worthy enough to invest in, because in this political market on one side stands its ideological brother states while on the other side is standing its global competition which will earn China its rise relatively in the future.
Concluding, it can be said that this realignment of Russia and North Korea will instigate the guns sitting in Washington and it will surely be contained by the other regional friends of the West in the region. South Korean policy circles showed a sign of alertness regarding the recent meet-up of Moscow and Yong Yang. It has been said that South Korea hopes that the meeting of Kim and Putin is subject to regional peace and stability and does not relate to the turbulence of it. So given all these playing circles we can say that Common enemies yield good friendships!
The writer is pursuing his MPhil in Strategic Studies from NDU Islamabad.
