Roving Periscope: China, which attacked India in 2020, wants peace in Ukraine!

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: On Friday’s first anniversary of the ongoing war in Ukraine, China claimed neutrality, then blamed the West and its allies for ‘inciting’ the Russian invasion and called on all parties to support the two countries in reaching “a comprehensive ceasefire.”

In fact, China spoke a lot without really saying anything worth its while!

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken remarked that China wants to have it both ways.

Trying to appear ‘reasonable’ and impress the non-West group for its own image makeover, Beijing also announced a so-called 12-point ‘position paper’ on the subject, spelling out its stand on the conflict whose domino effect is now enveloping the whole world.

China, which itself attacked India in mid-2020, said it supported the “sovereignty” of all countries. Then it criticized the West and NATO, suggesting implicitly that their actions had been responsible for triggering the invasion, the media reported on Friday.

The US has criticized Beijing for its continued close relations with Russia.

The Chinese proposal to end the war follows its recent announcement that it is trying to act as a mediator in the war.

In its proposal, President Xi Jinping’s government reiterated China’s claim to being neutral, despite blocking efforts at the United Nations to condemn the invasion. The document echoes Russian complaints that Western governments are to blame for the February 24, 2022 invasion and criticizes sanctions on Russia.

At the Munich meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism about Beijing’s position before the plan’s release. He said China has provided non-lethal assistance that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort and said the US knows that Beijing is “considering providing lethal support.”

But, China has called the allegation a “smear” and said it lacks evidence.

Beijing’s so-called proposal calls for a ceasefire and peace talks, protection of prisoners of war, stopping attacks on civilians, keeping nuclear power plants safe, facilitating grain exports, and an end to Western sanctions against Russia. It says “relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions” and “do their share in de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.”

It said the sovereignty of all countries should be upheld, though it did not specify what that would look like for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian territory Russia annexed since it seized Crimea in 2014.

The proposal condemns a “Cold War mentality,” a rebuke of the US and NATO. “The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs,” reminding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sought a promise before the invasion that Ukraine will not join the Western bloc.

Interestingly, some of China’s ‘proposals’ are even contradictory. It claimed ‘neutrality’ in the conflict and then also claimed Russia was provoked into taking action by NATO’s eastward expansion.

Days before Russia’s attack in February 2022, Xi and Putin attended the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and issued a statement that their governments had a “no limits” friendship. China has since ignored Western criticism and reaffirmed that pledge.

“China is trying to have it both ways,” Blinken said on Sunday.

“Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine, but privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of non-lethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort.”

In fact, China’s support for Russia has been largely rhetorical and political. Beijing has helped to prevent efforts to condemn Moscow at the United Nations. There is no public evidence it is currently supplying arms to Russia, but the US has said China is providing non-lethal support already and may do more.

Blinken, at the Munich conference, said the US has long been concerned that China would provide weapons to Russia. “We have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia,” he said.

Blinken said he also told the Chinese envoy, Wang Yi, that “this would be a serious problem.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday he had seen some signs that China may be ready to provide arms and warned that would be it would be supporting a violation of international law.

Russian and Chinese forces have held joint drills since the invasion, most recently with the South African navy in a shipping lane off the South African coast.

On how to move on, the Chinese paper said, Beijing’s view was that “conflict and war benefit no one” and “all parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”

It called on all parties “to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and the UN fully and effectively in a balanced manner.”

Friday’s position paper said “dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis” and that China would “continue to play a constructive role” in pushing for a resumption of negotiations.”