By Dr. Sawraj Singh
Chinese leader Mao said long back that East is red. However, the western media started projecting that Mao’s fate in China will be no different than Stalin and Lenin in Russia.
Was the western media being objective or it was wishful thinking?
China has completely defied the western projections and refused to purge China of Mao’s influence. Just the other day, they put a new portrait of Mao in the Tiananman square. China seems determined to fulfill another of Mao’s prophecy that eventually the east will prevail. Mao believed that the east wind is always stronger than the west wind. Just a casual look at the happenings of the last few weeks is enough to convince some one that China is rapidly gaining influence in Asia at the expense of the American influence.
Let us start with Philippines. Many people shared the view that Philippines was one of the most loyal client states of America. This is one country which almost voted to become a state of America rather than remaining an independent country. This is a country which went to The Hague International court against China. In one of the biggest setbacks to America in the region, Philippines has started openly defying America and is expressing the desire to move toward China. President Duterte has become one of the biggest critics of the American leadership and the western policies. He is openly accusing America and the west of hypocrisy and double standards. Duterte is not too far from the truth. America and the west at least do not have the moral right to accuse any country of genocide after what they have done in Vietnam, Iraq and Libya.
Russia has made it clear that it is standing firmly on the side of China. Russia sent a strong message by participating in the military exercises in the South China Sea. Russia is completely supporting China’s claims over the South China Sea Islands to a point that if there is a military confrontation on the issue then Russia will be on China’s side. America faced a defeat on the diplomatic front when Philippines, the leading country in this field, completely backed out. Now, the military option seems totally unthinkable. America cannot take on the combined military strength of Russia and China in the South China Sea. In another clear signal to America and India that Russia is not too happy with them for coming closer, Russia sent its soldiers to participate in the joint military exercises with Pakistan. Many in India are rightly concerned about losing the most reliable and time tested friend. This is too big a price to pay for getting closer to America.
America had high hopes from Vietnam that it can stand up to China. Even India flirted with Vietnam to put a little pressure on China in the South Sea. However, Vietnam is making it clear that it has no intention of taking on China. The Vietnamese Prime Minister led a one of the largest delegation to China to assure it that Vietnam has no interest in leading an anti China front in the South China Sea region. Instead, Vietnam wants to expand its trade and economic relations with China. China has already become the largest trading partner of Vietnam. Trade between the two countries is rapidly increasing. It is already more than 60 billion dollars a year. Soon they want to increase it to more than 100 billion dollars a year.
China-Cuba relations have also improved tremendously. Fidel Castro, the last of the legends of Marxism, has endorsed China in a big way. It was his leadership and Cuba’s influence that Latin America has become the bastion of Marxism and Socialism in the world. Good relations with Cuba have helped China to increase its influence in Latin America. However, endorsement of Cuba has not only helped China in Latin America, it has also enhanced China’s legitimacy and influence among the leftists all over the world. Contrary to the western expectations that Marxism and Socialism would be dead after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they have staged a big come back. Even Putin has expressed that Communism and the Soviet Union should not have collapsed but should have been reformed. We have western capitalism and its counter philosophy, Islam, struggling against each other. However, the third force led by Russia and China seems to hold the balance of power.
Rise of the East and decline of the western capitalism are now established trends. If there is any doubt about these then one can look at the American presidential race which is becoming uglier every day. There are deep divisions in America. No matter who wins the election, it will be very difficult to unite the country. This election is likely to leave the country bitterly divided. It is probably the first time in the history that more Americans dislike both the candidates than they like them. America is ideologically and racially divided like never before. It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to unite the country again. Like America, Europe is also divided between the pro-establishment and the anti-establishment forces. These divisions will only become deeper. The fall of the western capitalism now seems certain by the middle of the century.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
