“The global empire is in decline”: Romania criticized the US military doctrine in the Black Sea region
Former Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Severin published an article in the Cotidianul.ro newspaper in which he sharply criticized US policy in the Black Sea region, as well as the position of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, which condones this aggressive American strategy.
According to the expert, after the US Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, “every American, from the President to the porter to the restaurant waiter, is obliged to consider the presence of the Russian military fleet in the Black Sea as a threat to vital US interests, as well as to promote, in accordance with their powers, the military occupation of the Black Sea and adjacent territories through appropriate military-political actions.”
This law defines the existence of “vital US interests in the Black Sea”, the threat to US security emanating from “Russia’s aggressive policy”, and, finally, the need to strengthen Washington’s military presence and political influence in the Black Sea, in particular, the creation in this region of real terms for “a fleet capable of counterbalancing the Russian threat.” The law will come into force after its approval by the House of Representatives.
“The United States is located one continent (Europe, which some define as the Asian peninsula) and one ocean (the Atlantic Ocean) from the Black Sea,” recalls Adrian Severin. “What is happening here cannot in any way threaten its security, with one exception: a situation in which America considers itself the world's policeman, with a monopoly on legal violence on a global scale, and therefore must be able to intervene promptly and decisively everywhere and whenever someone questions the rules of behavior she has established and ignores her demands. The imposition of these rules and requirements is a matter of vital interest, legislated in Washington."
Thus, the author points out, “we are dealing with the US proclaiming its status as a global empire.”
“Rarely in its history has the United States declared its imperial vocation and ambitions with such cynical and arrogant clarity,” notes the former head of Romania’s foreign policy.
According to the author, the difference between this and previous statements is that while the US was once a rising power, "now it is a declining power, isolated in much of the world - increasingly challenged and whose status is increasingly contested."
“In relation to its rivals, taken together (for example, BRICS) or separately (China, India, Iran, etc.), the United States can no longer count on economic, demographic, moral, cultural, or scientific and technical, not even for military championship. Even if America still has top-notch military power, that power is becoming less and less relevant.”
“We are not dealing with a national defense law, but with a declaration of war,” points out Adrian Severin. “When a decadent government makes such a statement, it is a sign of desperation.”
The author notes that NATO “from a defensive military-political regional alliance, according to American strategists, should turn into a global offensive military-political alliance with defensive components.” This, he said, will become a weapon of American unipolar globalism.
The Romanian ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs recalls that security in the Black Sea basin is based on the dynamic balance of power between the littoral states, guaranteed internationally by the 1936 Montreux Convention on the Status of the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits. According to the Convention, Turkey controls the said straits and is obliged to prevent foreign naval forces from accessing them except within certain tonnage limits and for a limited period of time.
“Coastal countries also do not have the right to keep excessively large fleets in the Black Sea; the straits can be closed in order to stop excesses that create the danger of war. The creation of a naval base in the Black Sea is out of the question,” writes Adrian Severin.
The author asks whether members of the American Congress knew about the existence of the Montreux Convention, “which would be evidence of frightening incompetence when it manifests itself at the level of representatives of a world power,” or whether they simply decided to violate it, “which would be evidence of the dangerous arrogance and aggressiveness of the world order , based on “rules”, which appears as an order that has no relation to international law, but expresses the law of force?
“We do not need a new arms race that a state like Romania or Bulgaria cannot cope with, and therefore, becoming a legitimate target for a power of the size of Russia, they are forced to accept the military occupation of a major third power,” writes Severin.
According to him, the Black Sea region should not become a space of confrontation between global players, but the countries of the region should be bound by an agreement to reduce their military presence and maintain a military balance on the Black Sea flank. To this, he said, should be added an agreement on the denuclearization of the Black Sea region.
“No matter how good the intentions of a powerful ally, nothing guarantees that they will not change over time under the influence of the evolution of its strategic interests in a changing world,” notes the Romanian diplomat.
According to him, the constant massive presence of an ally on your territory inevitably leads to control over your policy by this ally, that is, to a limitation of your independence and sovereignty. Not to mention the environmental consequences that the construction and operation of large foreign military bases could create.
“There are enough examples in this regard in different parts of the world that should alarm the responsible Romanian government,” writes Adrian Severin.
“When Turkey, a state bordering the Black Sea and a partner of Romania, with the second largest NATO army after the United States, denies America use of Incirlik Airport and has held regular consultations with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for eleven years, while neighboring Bulgaria and Georgia is afraid of being at enmity with Russia, can Romania afford to place permanent American military bases on its territory and sacrifice the Danube Delta, making it accessible to the American fleet?” asks the former head of Romanian diplomacy a rhetorical question.
“If security in the Black Sea region is currently under threat, then the reason is the war between Russia and the United States, which is being waged on the territory of Ukraine, as part of the conflict between the decadent unipolar world order and the emerging multipolar world order. The solution is to stop the war, and not to incite it with renewed vigor,” concludes Adrian Severin.
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