Lu Shaye’s comments raise fresh questions over China’s role in brokering peace in Ukraine
www.theguardian.com
Lu Shaye’s remarks in a TV interview late on Friday raise fresh questions about the faith the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has placed in China to act as a mediator between Russia and
Ukraine.
Lu had been asked whether he considered the peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by
Russia in 2014, part of Ukraine under international law.
“Even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have effective status, as we say, under international law because there’s no international accord to concretise their status as a sovereign country,” Lu said.
Lu’s comments appeared to brush aside the sovereignty of countries, including ironically Russia, that formally recognised each other after the Soviet Union’s dissolution and are represented at the United Nations and in European security organisations.
What China is doing is using Russia-Ukraine as a test case for possible future subjugation of Asia. Whatever country that China tried to conquer, had trade relations, geopolitical dominance, or even influenced, China could claim ownership.
This is not a case of 'stupid comment'. Historically, whenever an empire failed of continuous governance of contiguous territories and colonies, those territories became sovereign states by default. China is essentially gaslighting the world starting with Ukraine. China is giving moral support, for now, to Russia. As Ukraine loses the war, just like with Taiwan, China will use diplomatic and economic pressures on other countries to get them to decertify Ukraine as an independent state in their foreign policies.
