By James R. Holmes
By calling for a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis, China is hoping that Kiev submits to Russia.
Over at The American Interest, Professor Mead is scratching his chin over China’s policy toward the Ukraine imbroglio. Influential voices such as the People’s Daily — a Chinese Communist Party affiliate — clamor for the leadership to back Russia. Meanwhile, Beijing remains officially noncommittal. A Foreign Ministry spokesman has called on the antagonists to “peacefully resolve” the crisis and “bring order back as soon as possible.”
Is China conflicted? ‘Tis a mystery. But not a very big one, as it turns out. There’s no intrinsic conflict between wishing for an orderly, pacific settlement to the dispute and siding with Russia in its quarrel with Ukraine. Indeed, such a posture is not just expedient for Beijing but true to China’s strategic traditions. It’s the posture I would recommend if — Gods of diplomacy forfend — I were advising Chinese officialdom.
Why? In part this is a philosophical matter. No one hates peace. Clausewitz observes that even aggressors love it. After all, he says, the prey can preserve peace and order — of a sort — by yielding to a predator’s demands without a fight. That’s precisely what the powerful want. So if outsiders side with the powerful, they in effect hope the weaker contender will submit meekly. They sincerely want to resolve crises peacefully, bringing back order as soon as possible. Harmony prevails.
Read the full story at The Diplomat