China’s Principled Stance Towards Ukraine & European Security Is Commendable

OneWorld | 20-May-2022 | By Andrew Korybko American political analyst

All things considered, objective observers should accept that China’s stance towards Ukraine and the undeclared US-provoked missile crisis in Europe fully aligns with its consistent support of international law. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi articulated his country’s principled stance towards Ukraine and European security during his virtual speech at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference.

He reaffirmed that “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and safeguarded…and that applies equally to Ukraine.” China’s top diplomat also very powerfully said that “If anyone questions China’s attitude on this matter, it is ill-intended sensationalization and a distortion of China’s position.” That’s indeed the truth too because many people from both the Mainstream Media and the Alt-Media Community (AMC) alike have curiously taken to perverting his country’s stance towards this very sensitive issue as well as the undeclared US-provoked missile crisis in Europe within which Ukraine’s Civil War is nowadays playing out. The Russian-Chinese joint statement released earlier this month during President Putin’s visit to Beijing is a remarkable declaration of shared grand strategic interests but doesn’t at all imply that the People’s Republic fully supports Moscow in every single way.

For instance, China still doesn’t formally recognize Crimea’s democratic reunification with Russia though it also doesn’t criticize it either. Russia, meanwhile, doesn’t recognize China’s claims to the South China Sea and even evoked the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a total of three times in its reaffirmed strategic partnership declaration with Vietnam in early December despite that global body ruling against Beijing in its dispute with Manilla. They also strongly disagree over Kashmir too, but these differences haven’t had any adverse impact on their respective strategic partnership. Having clarified that crucial point, the rest of Foreign Minister Wang’s speech was also very important. He called for the immediate implementation of the UNSC-backed Minsk Accords and expressed his support for Russia’s legitimate security guarantee requests. The top diplomat also questioned the wisdom of continually expanding NATO eastward considering that it’s a relic of the Old Cold War. It needs to adapt itself to changing circumstances, he advised, which implies that it must evolve from an anti-Russian military alliance to something that doesn’t threaten any third party’s interests.

All of these stances are commendable because they’re consistent with China’s unwavering support of international law. That’s not to imply that Crimea’s reunification with Russia violated the aforesaid, but simply to acknowledge that some members of the international community dispute the legitimacy of that development, including those like the US that do so for their own interests. To be fair, Russia very compellingly argued that the referendum was fully in line with international law regarding the right to self-determination. Those that are unfamiliar with it should reread the UN Charter if they have the time.

All things considered, objective observers should accept that China’s stance towards Ukraine and the undeclared US-provoked missile crisis in Europe fully aligns with its consistent support of international law. Russia and China are comprehensive strategic partners that are “more than allies” according to President Xi Jinping, which also implies that they don’t have mutual defense obligations to one another like typical “allies” do. Those who misportray their joint statement as signaling otherwise are distorting China’s position for self-interested reasons that only they can account for if publicly challenged to do so.