by Vic Odarve.
Authoritarian rule,
expansionist policy, and bullying small and powerless neighbors are all common
denominators in countries that started a massive, bloody conflict and saw it
spiral out of control. Authoritarian rule is like martial law, in which a few
elite people make decisions and control the economy. They must extend areas
under the pretense of releasing their enslaved people to strengthen their
authority and for economic reasons. They intimidate and bully small and
powerless neighbors with their advanced and superior military hardware. It was
done earlier by Nazi Germany. China and Russia are now equated with the Nazis.
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| Russia's President Putin |
Both China and Russia are
authoritarian countries; that is, only a few manage and control the government
and repress their citizens. Russia, a corrupt country, fights for its survival
to make its place safe from corruption. Since authoritarian rule represses its
citizens, many journalists who try to investigate the government’s shadowy
activities and transactions die a horrible and excruciating death, leaving no
traces nor investigation. Both countries have a tightly controlled political
system that leaves little room for dissent. Confrontation seems futile; people
are too scared to form a united opposition. Some European countries, including
the United States, accuse Russia of "selective prosecution" and abuse
of the legal system. One common ambition of these two countries is to expand
their present territories, whether by force or by other stealthy means.
Putin wants to restore
the old USSR with Russia as the center of its power and a powerful army in the
heart of its satellites, including Ukraine. Russia has warned the United
States, NATO, and the European Union to stay out of his invasion of Ukraine
because it possesses nuclear weapons and could lead to nuclear Armageddon.
Putin is far more dangerous than politicians.
In
his 20-plus years of rule, President Putin has conquered Ukraine's Crimean
Peninsula, sliced part of Georgia,
and helped Syria's civil war. He is now invading Ukraine and
warned NATO to keep their hands off from the war or else he will pull the
trigger on his nuclear arsenal.
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| President Xi Jinping |
China, in addition to planning to annex Taiwan, claimed almost the entire South China Sea (an area defined by the "nine-dash line," which Beijing claims stems from 2,000 years of history in which the Paracel and Spratly island chains were considered integral parts of the Chinese nation). Both the Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal, which is located 100 miles (160 km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China. China, on the other hand, turned deaf ears to their neighbors’ complaints, built an airstrip, and conducted oil exploration in the contested South China Sea.
With a powerful military at their disposal, both countries tend to intimidate and bully their neighbors through military posturing, invading sovereignty, and annexing territory. Economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia, but this has had no effect on Putin; Asian countries have filed cases against China, but China has ignored them.
As always shown in
history, appeasement or concession to an aggressor does not work, as in the
case of Hitler; economic sanctions may bite, but do not always sway these
leaders to back down; military solutions accelerate the fuel burning. The only diplomatic effort may save us from these conflicts and a nuclear explosion.
These leaders, when cornered, choose instead to escalate the crisis and risk
an all-out confrontation. But China and Russia offer their own new world order
calculus, which, most people say, can be equated with Nazi Germany.
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