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The Asian dream: China faces geopolitical failure
According to the Economic Times, India, Australia and the US – 3 out of 4 members of the Diamond Quartet (QUAD) have expressed their desire to invest in the Kra Canal project, which the Thai government considers an alternative. possible after setting aside a Chinese proposal for a similar project.
People’s State Power Party (PPRP) MP Songklod Thipparat, who led the feasibility study team for this project, confirmed that India, Australia, the United States and, of course, China are ready to help. Thailand
Previous information has said that China is proposing to build a 120 km long large canal across the Kra isthmus in Thailand. That can help Beijing solve the “Malacca Dilemma”.
Thailand and China are said to have signed a memorandum of understanding on the Kra Canal, but neither side has confirmed it. – Photo: Maritime News
However, Thailand has not approved this proposal. According to Thailand’s Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob, the proposal to dredge a canal across the Isthmus of Kra will cause too much damage to the environment. Instead, Thailand wants to build a highway that can connect the Indian and Pacific oceans.
According to EurAsian Times, Thailand’s “resistance” to China is a favorable sign for the United States and India, which can effectively oppose Beijing’s expansionism.
“The lack of allies in the South China Sea is seen as another geopolitical defeat for China“- EurAsian Times viết.
Meanwhile, the three members of the “Diamond Quartet” see this as an opportunity to expand their influence in the region. This group of superpowers seems ready to take on China on their own.
The Middle East Dream: Beijing’s “Bullying” Factor
China seeks to fill the void left by the United States in one of the world’s volatile and resource-rich regions: the Middle East. In addition to Russia, which is a clear rival to China here, a new and extremely powerful force has suddenly emerged that also seeks to reshape the Middle East, which is of great concern to China.
“We are talking about French President Emmanuel Macron, who seeks to make France a great power in the Middle East.“- Wrote the TFI news site.
In recent times, France has shown its ability to understand and dominate the situation in four burning disputes in the Middle East, including the Ankara-sparked Libyan war, the Lebanon crisis, and Turkish intervention. Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean bombing campaign against Kurdistan in Iraq.
France is seen as the new rival that is disrupting China’s ambitions in the Middle East. Photo: The Straits Times
Macron is currently believed to be the only Western leader to publicly oppose Ankara on all fronts. That has impressed Gulf powers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as they share a common rival. As a result, France is gradually becoming an ally of the Arab states, allowing them to approach the Middle East with more diplomatic backing.
The French power play contradicts China’s grand ambitions in the Middle East. Thinking that this “piece of cake” can be easily won after the gaps left by an energy independent nation like the US, Beijing did not expect France to have many advantages in the game and they would not let it slip away easily.
According to TFI, in its own way, France is fighting evil forces and proxies that are receiving direct or indirect support from China like Hezbollah, so from there, Paris is improving. experience in the region for which China invests.
France has befriended many countries in the region, including Lebanon, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus. Meanwhile, these countries have realized that China is not a good friend, but simply a trading partner and a complicating factor in the Middle East.
It can be said that France has intervened and is effectively disrupting Beijing’s ambitions in the Middle East.
