On the Political Situation
Recently (in October) the White House of the United States of America, on behalf of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris published the so-called ‘National Security Strategy’, a document stating the main goals and principles of the foreign policy of the U.S. for the next several years. Living with the U.S. being the main power in the world, of course, this is quite an exciting publication itself, no matter what side to look at it from. But here I am going to tell why this document is interesting to me in particular, as a Russian citizen living in Taiwan.
I’m not going to spend much time mentioning how in the document the U.S. is called a kind of ‘world police’ whose noble duty is to supervise all the other countries and protect the order and rule of democracy in the world. This is a very typical style for the U.S. which we have all already gotten used to. But on the other hand, not like I have much to argue about here: the statement seems quite legit and it’s hard to imagine any other country in this role…Besides maybe one.
First of all, in this document, The White House admits the power of the economical and political influence of the PRC in the modern world. China is named to be the only competitor of the U.S. with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective. The whole document is full of mentions of China as a number one threat to America and the whole world in general.
Meanwhile, Russia in this context is only mentioned as a local threat to the stability in the European region. And this is a pretty funny and, at the same time, sad point for me as a Russian — because it makes me realize even better how low my country has fallen that now it is not even considered a big deal as a worldwide competitor for the U.S. and now only gives an impression of a local crazy terrorist-like thingy which is no longer taken seriously. Knowing about all the corruption problems in Russia, and especially now after the ‘new world’ we were introduced to with the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, makes me understand the nowadays self-harming (and everyone-else-harming) state of the Russian government is not only obvious to the citizens but as well clear for the outer world — Russia is no longer a powerful league-A state, but only a small miserable problem for the civilized world. Whereas China raises a big concern.
Moreover, even the further weakening of Russia is only seen from the perspective of China benefiting from it, buying out Russia completely, and then becoming invulnerable possessing its resources. On the 48 pages of the document, China is mentioned 55 times in different contexts. Though it doesn't claim China to be an ‘enemy’ of the U.S. and in the document, they pay respects to the people of China, their history, and their culture. But at the same time, they don’t get tired of mentioning China as a dangerous competitor in the race over the word control. And if the White House itself on the highest level says so, I surely believe there is a reason to be worried about the situation.
We all witness how China raises world influence, literally buying countries all over the world and controlling more and more of everything everywhere. But now the concerns rise on another level, especially speaking of the Indo-Pacific region which is said to be the world’s most important region in the next decade, control over which, in the competition with China, will determine the control over the world. And mainly, in particular, it means control over Taiwan and Taiwan Strait which are nowadays the biggest concern and the hottest goal for both China and the U.S. due to the semiconductor industry (which today all the other industries depend on since semiconductors are used everywhere and Taiwan with TSMC is the number-one manufacturer), and also control over the Taiwan Strait which is named to be one of the world’s most important trade veins so it is crucial for the U.S. to not let it be controlled by China. And, of course, the South-China sea which is full of oil and natural gas in the age of the world ecological crisis. Sounds like a tasty piece of pie, doesn't it?
So, in this situation for all of us, I believe, it is worrying to be here, in Taiwan, in the middle of the world’s tension. But on the other hand, to be honest, it feels quite exciting and inspiring to realize that right now, we live when history is happening, and some absolutely important events take place, which influence we will probably fully understand only years later. Right now, being caught at the beginning of the new chapter of humankind's history and the building of the new ‘world order’ (another meme phrase from conspiracy theories which is now legit and often mentioned by Putin and in the White House document as well, lol) we, as individuals, don’t have much to do to all this situation but minding our lives and witnessing the changes, hoping to not die from a nuclear war or a climate cataclysm. Because, remembering the idea of a labyrinth, I simply want to believe we all as a civilization can benefit from this situation, going through this crisis, gaining new knowledge and, hopefully, becoming better by hardening in the experience, and eventually becoming a more free and mindful species. Though we never know what to expect from tomorrow…
