The NATO summit that took place at the end of June in Madrid continued the path that US, British and European imperialism have embarked on in escalating their proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, while at the same time using the opportunity to widen its targets to include China. The ‘NATO 2022 Strategic Concept’ document launched at the summit for the first time lists China as a threat to imperialist interests. Amongst much rhetoric about ‘defending freedom and democracy’ the document includes the stark statement, ‘The People’s Republic of China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.’ These ‘coercive policies’ apparently include using its ‘economic leverage to create strategic dependencies and enhance its influence’. BOB SHEPHERD reports.
This challenge to the economic interests of western imperialism cannot be tolerated, especially in the middle of a growing crisis of the system, accelerated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine was a reactionary and desperate attempt to defend its own imperialist interests, while China is fast rivalling the US’s position as the dominant economic power in the world. NATO, as the military alliance of western imperialism, is acting as the vehicle to militarily confront both these economic and military rivals.
The three challenges to what NATO calls the ‘rules based international order’ – what we would call imperialist dominance of the world’s resources – outlined in the document are: Russia, terrorism and irregular migration from Africa and the Middle East, and China.
Through massive military build-ups and expanding military alliances western imperialism is gearing up to confront these challenges to its domination of the world economy.
The summit was attended by presidents, prime ministers and representatives of all 30 member countries, plus those from now officially invited NATO members Finland and Sweden, as well as Ukraine. The other countries attending in various capacities show clearly the ever-expanding military web of NATO. Attending a NATO summit for the first time were Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, branded as NATO’s Indo-Pacific ‘partners’. Representatives from the European Union (EU) and Georgia attended and talks were held with representatives from Jordan and Mauritania. Decisions were made to increase military support not only for Georgia but also Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova and Tunisia.
The final session of the summit focused on threats and challenges from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel. As well as targeting Russia and China as ‘security threats’ to western imperialism – in other words growing economic rivals – NATO’s new Strategic Concept also bundled ‘terrorism and irregular migration’ together as a major threat. For the first time a military agreement was signed with Mauritania focusing on just these issues, ‘border security, irregular migration, and terrorism’. The summit confirmed that there will be a continuing massive buildup of troop numbers and military equipment in Eastern Europe. 40,000 troops are now under direct NATO command across the region and a new ‘NATO Force Model’ will provide ‘well over 300,000 [troops] at high readiness’. A commitment was made to assist Ukraine to transition from old and outdated Soviet military equipment to modern NATO equipment.
Following the summit, at the July meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group of 50 countries, the US announced a further $270m of military equipment for Ukraine, including four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 580 drones. The US has now sent Ukraine 16 HIMARS, which are having a significant impact in the conflict in favour of the Ukrainian military. The total amount committed by the US in what it calls ‘security assistance’ to Ukraine since Biden became president is $8.2bn, with $7.6bn of it guaranteed since the Russian invasion.
The amount of ‘assistance’ being pumped into Ukraine has not, though, done anything to cancel the estimated $20bn of debt Ukraine owes to international money lenders. On 20 July Ukraine asked its international creditors to freeze its debt repayments for two years from 9 August stopping the $1.2bn it would have had to pay back at the beginning of September. The financial crisis in Ukraine is one of the main factors behind the agreement to allow grain shipments to leave Ukraine under the supervision of Turkey. Zelensky estimated the value of the approximately 20 million tons of grain waiting to be shipped at around $10bn.
Cracks in the Ukrainian state’s determination to continue its role as the attack dog of western imperialism against Russia came to the fore on 18 July when Zelensky suspended the head of Ukraine’s secret service and the state prosecutor general accusing both of allowing mass ‘collaboration’ with Russia. Apparently 651 people, from both agencies, are being investigated for suspected ‘treason’, reflecting deep divisions over the continuing conflict and its social consequences.
Britain – pushing the boundaries
Britain has committed a further £1bn in military aid to Ukraine making a total now of £2.3bn, second only to the US. It is sending over 1,500 more anti-tank weapons, hundreds of drones, including the so-called Kamikaze drone, 50,000 artillery shells for Ukraine’s existing Soviet era artillery and over 50 self-propelled artillery guns. The government has also launched a training programme for 10,000 Ukrainian troops at Ministry of Defence sites across Britain; this is an extension of Operation Orbital, which saw Britain train around 22,000 Ukrainian troops in Ukraine between 2015 and 2022. That programme was only halted because of the imminent threat of a Russian invasion.
The death and destruction being imposed on the working class in Ukraine are seen as a massive opportunity by the British government and the arms industry. In mid-July Ben Wallace, the Minister of Defence, held a meeting with representatives of British arms manufacturers in Downing Street to discuss how best to boost production in response to the increased demand created by the conflict in Ukraine. Companies that are supplying drones and other arms technologies will now be able to market their products as ‘battle tested’ boosting their value. BAE Systems share price has risen over 30% since the beginning of March.
Britain’s role in helping to block peace talks between Russia and Ukraine (FRFI 288) and its aggressive rhetoric in calling for Russia to be militarily defeated has continued with the appointment of the new army Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Saunders. In one of his first communiqués he set out his approach to Russia: ‘There is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle…We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again’.
Saunders might well be a gung-ho military reactionary, but his stance reflects the view of a section of the British ruling class which is prepared to risk an all-out military confrontation with Russia, including a possible nuclear strike, to consolidate its alliance with the US and defend its imperialist interests.
Divisions within the imperialist countries
Despite the endless claims that all the members of NATO and the EU are united in their determination to defeat Russia there are tensions simmering not far beneath the surface. These divisions centre around the drive from the US and Britain to economically isolate Russia and to ban all oil and gas imports from Russia into the EU. The EU as a whole imported 40% of its gas from Russia in 2021, Britain only 4% and the US nothing. Hungary imports 85% of its gas and 65% of its oil from Russia. In the first two months of Russia’s military invasion the EU imported 70% of all Russia’s fossil fuel exports, a total of €39bn. Some of the top importers were Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Poland and France. According to figures from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, in April and May France received a dozen shipments of liquefied natural gas and other fossil fuel products from Russia worth almost €900m.
At the end of May the EU agreed a compromise arrangement to ban all imports of Russian oil by sea from the end of 2022 but to still allow oil imports by pipeline. This will allow countries such as Hungary to still receive oil from Russia. Gas supplies from Russia were not banned although the EU called on member states to find alternatives. The prime minister of Latvia called for them to be banned in the next round of EU sanctions against Russia. The response of Austria’s Chancellor was to forcefully reject this proposal, saying it would not be a topic for discussion. Hungary’s foreign minister expressed the dilemma facing many Central European countries. Stating that a ban on Russian gas imports was ‘impossible’ he said, ‘If you’re not able to import gas from Russia, then the country stops, the economy stops, we cannot heat the houses, we cannot run the economy’.
In June the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany cut its gas flow by 40%. Gazprom blamed the situation on the fact that one of the turbines that pump the gas was in Canada for repair and that the sanctions imposed on Russia were preventing its return. The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, expressing the unease within sections of the ruling class, implored Canada to return the turbine to Russia because ‘otherwise we won’t get any gas any more and then we won’t be able to support Ukraine at all any more because we will be busy dealing with large-scale social unrest’.
On 26 July a compromise proposal was accepted by EU Energy Ministers, in an attempt to lessen their dependence on Russian gas. All EU states committed to voluntarily cut their gas usage by 15% by March next year.
These divisions within the EU will become more apparent as we head into a winter with escalating fuel costs and growing social unrest over the rising cost of living.
In yet another expression of the underlying tensions within the EU, Lithuania – which had blocked the transport of some goods in and out of Kaliningrad in June – has now been forced to lift the ban on rail transport in and out of the Russian exclave after ‘legal guidance’ from the European Commission.
Threats to China
In a provocative move Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat Speaker of the US House of Representatives, let it be known in mid-July that she planned to visit Taiwan some time in August. This is a deliberate act by the US administration in its ongoing policy of threats and provocations against China. Taiwan is historically an island province of mainland China but has been used by the US since the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949 as a vehicle to attempt to undermine and destroy China’s independent development.
The US formally accepts the ‘one China’ policy which says that China and Taiwan are one country, that it would not encourage or recognise Taiwan’s independence nor station troops there. These agreements have over the past period been eroded by the US and it now admits having ‘military advisers’ stationed there. A visit by Pelosi would be just another step in the US’s growing confrontation with China. As China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, a Pelosi visit would be a ‘malicious provocation’. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that if the visit went ahead China ‘will have to take determined and forceful measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity’. China is being forced by the US’s confrontational actions into taking its own actions to defend its capitalist interests.
In 2021 Britain was at the head of a fleet of ships that sailed through the South China Sea in a provocative move supposedly to defend the right to sail in international waters. In July the head of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service stated that MI6 now devoted more time and resources to China than to any other subject including counter-terrorism.
The ruling class is organising and preparing for the wars and confrontations to come, the working class needs to resist this oncoming onslaught and build the anti-imperialist socialist movement we need. No one else will do it!
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 289 August/September 2022
