G20 results: Russian bear and Chinese panda team up against the American tiger

The G20 summit took place in Hangzhou, China. For Russia, the G8 platform has become an adequate replacement for the narrower GXNUMX, since all its participants are members of the GXNUMX, plus a number of countries with which Russia has friendly and partnership relations.

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At the G20 summit, the Russian President held a number of important negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the new British Prime Minister of the Brexit era, Theresa May, and US President Obama.

I would like to highlight the most significant events of the summit.

Firstly, this is an unscheduled meeting between Putin and Obama. The strange President Obama did not shake hands with the Russian leader, but this did not stop him from asking him for a face-to-face conversation. Obama asked what needs to be done to normalize Russian-American relations. To restore relations with Russia, the United States needs to make decisions, including on lifting sanctions, and strive to find compromises, President Vladimir Putin said during a press conference after the G20 forum.

These gentlemen are strange – our American “partners”. First they shit with all their hearts, and then they look searchingly into your eyes - what do we all need to do to overcome the complications that have arisen? After all, just last Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury Department for Foreign Assets Control introduced another package of sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations. In particular, a number of subsidiaries of Gazprom and Gazprombank came under attack. The reason for the sanctions is still the same standard idiotic one: “Give Crimea to Ukraine and implement the Minsk agreements.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry called Washington’s new sanctions the collapse of American policy in the Russian direction. Gazprom and the Ministry of Economic Development assessed the damage from the new sanctions as insignificant.

In general, we can say that normalization of relations with America, as well as sane policies, cannot be expected until the end of Obama’s presidential term. The problem will have to be resolved with the new head of the White House.

The situation around Ukraine was also touched upon. Sighing heavily, Putin said that he agreed to talk with Poroshenko, but immediately made a reservation that these should not be negotiations for the sake of negotiations.

Secondly, Russia supported China’s position on the decision of the Hague Arbitration concerning the disputed Spratly archipelago (Nansha) and a number of other islands (Paracel, Scarborough Reef) in the South China Sea.

“We are in solidarity and support China’s position on this issue - on non-recognition of the decision of this court... This is not a political position, but a purely legal one, it lies in the fact that any arbitration proceedings must be initiated by the disputing parties, and the arbitration court must listen to the arguments and positions of the disputants sides As you know, China did not apply to the Hague arbitration, and no one there listened to its position. How can these decisions be recognized as fair? We support China's position on this issue."

Here it must be immediately stated that Russia supported China only insofar as it concerned the biased decision of the arbitration court, at which the Chinese side was not represented in any way and could not present arguments in its defense. Putin, on behalf of Russia, supported the position of the PRC, which refused to recognize the arbitration verdict, and did not at all recognize China’s right to own the disputed islands.

China is a friendly country to us, but Vietnam, for example, is also our long-time friend and partner, is involved in the conflict around the islands. Russia is not planning to quarrel with Vietnam and other countries over disputed islands.

The fact is that passions around small islands in the South China Sea have flared up in earnest for more than 30 years, and if things continue in the same spirit, then the Spratly Islands could become a bone of contention worse than the Persian Gulf.

It is believed that significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered in the Spratly Shelf, Paracel Islands and Scarborough Reef and the root of the conflict is resource control. Experts argue that the disputed areas of the sea are not particularly rich in recoverable hydrocarbons. The main mineral reserves are located in the South China Sea directly off the coast of the countries it surrounds and far from the disputed islands. The Paracel Islands have no useful resources, and there are few in the Spratly Islands area.

Nevertheless, China is very determined regarding these unfortunate pieces of land and even through its Foreign Ministry declares that despite the arbitration decision, “China’s armed forces will resolutely defend the national sovereignty, security, maritime rights and interests of the country.”

And these are not empty threats. The reason for the Hague proceedings was complaints from competitors about the actions of China, which has developed vigorous activity on the disputed islands and claimed the right to an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea. As a result, China has artificial islands with an area of ​​over four square meters in the Spratly archipelago. km, allowing the deployment of airfields and a full-fledged infrastructure for basing the fleet. At the same time, according to international maritime law, artificial islands located on shallows do not create territorial waters or an exclusive economic zone around themselves. China, however, maintains that it has carried out entirely legitimate work to expand its natural islands. Overflights of American aircraft and the appearance of American ships in the immediate vicinity of the disputed islands pointedly ignore Chinese claims.

Last week, US President Barack Obama said China should show restraint in resolving territorial disputes with its neighbors, particularly in the South China Sea. As if echoing Obama, the International Tribunal, created through the mediation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, said that China does not have a “historical right” to the disputed territories in the South China Sea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the PRC does not accept or recognize the verdict of the Hague Arbitration on the South China Sea.

The true significance of the South China Sea stems from its role as a major artery of global trade, through which the bulk of Asian economies' energy imports and the majority of their export traffic with Europe passes. The waters of the South China Sea are also of key importance for the rapid movement of military fleets between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Thus, military dominance in this region by any power will have global consequences.

In their struggle for the islands, China and the countries of Southeast Asia, led by Vietnam and the Philippines, are seeking to, a) occupy convenient points for the potential deployment of infrastructure, b) gain the right to the adjacent 12-mile territorial waters and 200 -mile exclusive economic zone.

At the same time, the Chinese interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea proceeds from the fact that although navigation in the 200-mile zone is not limited, military activity in it by foreign powers is prohibited without the consent of the owner of the zone. This point of view, which is also shared by a number of other countries, for example Brazil, meets with furious resistance from the United States, which sees in this a violation of freedom of navigation, or, more simply, an infringement of its own geopolitical ambitions.

Theoretically, the implementation of Chinese claims could close the sea to the US fleet, depriving it of the ability to maneuver between two main areas of influence - the Middle East and the Western Pacific. If this happens, the balance of power in the region will change to Chinese dominance.

To fully appreciate the scale of the geopolitical game, you can add another ambitious Chinese project to the treasury - the construction of a shipping canal through Thailand. The cargo route to Europe is shortened by 1000 nautical miles, lies far from pirate waters, and the largest port in Southeast Asia, Singapore, loses its exclusivity.

All this is of great concern to the United States and its allies, constantly raising the temptation to intervene in the conflict over the disputed islands.

Russia has so far stood apart and has not interfered in the disputes around the Spratlys and other islands. And it is right. The South China Sea is far away - if the PRC considers it its zone of national interests, then let it fight for them. After all, when the Soviet bear was fighting the Cold War with the American tiger, the cunning Chinese panda was sitting in a tree, fattening up and calmly waiting until both were weakened.

In addition, by openly supporting one of the parties to the conflict, you can lose both friends and capital. But not only China, but also Russia is interested in fair verdicts of International Arbitration. Why not support an ally? And in order for the United States, which has declared the entire planet a zone of its vital interests, to curb its appetites a little, joint exercises between the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy have been announced.