By Zamir Ahmed Awan /Geopolitica/ – The U.S. has a track record of forming alliances for any adventure. In recent history, either it was an attack on Iraq, Libya, Syria, or Afghanistan, the U.S. created an alliance and then attacked.
The U.S. has launched a new adventure, which is to counter-China & Russia. On the one hand, the U.S. is building an anti-China & Russian narrative through media and, on the other hand, establishing an alliance against China and Russia.
A recent trip by the Secretary of state Pompeo to four European nations – Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria, and Poland, was an attempt in this direction. However, his anti-China & Russia, rhetoric has found little support, while his attempt to divide Europe met with widespread criticism.
One of the agenda of his visit was banning Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant, considered a threat by Washington as it takes the lead in the 5G network, as well as Russia’s energy supply to Western Europe.
Secretary Pompeo, during his visit, tried to convince them that China and Russia are posing a threat to “the democratic world,” saying that using technologies from China and Russia would pose a “danger” to the sovereignty of those countries. Not only he failed to convince them but faced rejection totally.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called his country “a leader in Europe” on 5G and cybersecurity, saying that the Czech Republic is “a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here.” On relations with China, he said that the Czech Republic “seeks lines with the European Union and there’s no fundamental problem here,” despite Pompeo’s botched attempt to sow discord. And the Czech Republic treats countries equally. He also refused to rule out Huawei as a potential partner in the 5G building despite Pompeo’s push.
At a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that “our approach is not to ban in general one competitor or one provider, but to establish a clear list of criteria to avoid high-risk providers.” Austria shared a similar stance as the Czech Republic. Schallenberg said that Vienna had adopted a common position within the E.U., which is called the “E.U. toolbox.”
“The signing of the political declaration on 5G security between Slovenian Foreign Minister (Anze) Logar and U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo does not follow Slovenia’s interests,” member of the European Parliament and member of the leadership of the Slovenian Social Democratic Party Milan Brglez said. The Slovenian local newspaper Vecer carried a commentary, saying that Pompeo found a willing audience among Slovenian officials for the U.S. plans to edge out Chinese competition in 5G telecommunications and contain Russia’s energy expansion. “We cannot get rid of the feeling that all that search for threats to human rights, secure communications, the rule of law and democracy is not about those values of Western civilization, but about who gets a bigger slice of the pie in this future business, and consequently controls the world,” said the commentary.
U.S.-Poland defense cooperation is another thorn between Washington and Berlin, as well as between Warsaw and Berlin. On Saturday, Pompeo and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). It consists of the opening of a base in Poland for the U.S. Army, probably in 2021. The total number of American soldiers will increase by 1,000 to around 5,500. The strengthened U.S.-Poland defense cooperation came as Washington decided to withdraw around one-third of its troops from Germany as a punishment for Berlin’s in compliance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) 2 percent of gross domestic product defense spending standard and Nord Stream 2.
Currently, the US is the largest trading partner of the E.U. But some European countries are deprived of this edge; only a few countries in Europe are dominating trade with the U.S. China is the second-largest economy, but multiplying, expected to surpass American Economy within few years.
Furthermore, the Chinese market is enormous, with a population of 1.4 billion, tempting Europe. The good news that the purchasing power of China is highest in the world, Europe can not ignore China.
Although the U.S. was providing security to E.U. against any threat from Russia, however the emerging trend in the U.S. on defense policy is getting rid of liabilities. The U.S. has spread its military bases all over the world and engaged in several fronts simultaneously around the globe. The U.S. has spent an estimated 30 Trillion U.S. Dollars on wars around the world in the last couple of decades only. Its economy cannot sustain such lavish defense expenditures. The U.S. is withdrawing its troops from Syria, Afghanistan, Germany, and many other places around the world. According to ex-National Security Advisor John Bolten, in Trump-Administration, the U.S. may exit from NATO very soon.
Under this scenario, the E.U. can not depend on the U.S. only. Either they join China or keep good relations with both China and the U.S. But could not afford to be anti-China only.
