Dialogue or Confrontation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDivergent comments during the MSC give a clear picture of what is at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lamenting that the U.S.-led global order \u201chas collapsed into many tiny parts\u201d, German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a robust defense of her approach to foreign policy, in particular her relentless commitment to multilateralism, the rules-based order and diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Merkel rebuked the spirit of Trumpism (without actually naming him) by declaring that \u201call the world’s crises boiled down to one question: Do we believe in multilateralism, as difficult and slow as it might be, or not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Vice President Pence referring to Trump as \u201cthe leader of the free world\u201d said \u201cWe came here to reaffirm our commitment that \u2018America First\u2019 does not mean America alone and tell leaders, allies and countries around the world that America is stronger than ever before and America\u2019s leading on the world stage once again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This bumptiousness did not elicit applause, not the least because Pence demanded that \u201cour European partners must withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal\u201d, and condemned the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline between Russia and Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alluding to Turkey’s plan to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system, Pence said: “We will not stand idly by while NATO allies purchase weapons from our adversaries.\u201d He added: \u201cWe cannot ensure the defense of the West if our allies grow dependent on the East.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence said that under Trump\u2019s leadership, the U.S. has made it clear that \u201cChina must address the longstanding issues of intellectual-property theft, forced technology transfer, and other structural issues in China that have placed a burden on our economy and on economies around the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referring to the Venezuelan crisis, Pence described Trump as a “champion of freedom\u201d and asked European countries to join the U.S. in confronting the regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British Prime Minister Theresa May said: \u201cSwiftly after [Brexit] departure in 2019, we will come out of the EU\u2019s Common Foreign and Security Policy. We will have a truly independent and sovereign foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many speakers targeted Russia. British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson accused Russia of making the world a less safe place, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was dividing Europe. But, in general, there was less criticism than in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yang Jiechi, director of China’s Foreign Affairs Commission said: “History tells us that we can only realize our people’s dreams for a better life by upholding multilateralism, and enhancing global cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov censured NATO for its \u201cexpansion\u201d into Russia\u2019s borders causing unprecedented tensions as both sides expand military deployments and drills. He held a series of bilateral meetings with foreign leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova complained about U.S. inconsistencies on every issue. She said that the U.S. with their military and economic power \u201cfailed in the Middle East\u201d, and that \u201cthey did not resolve any world crisis, anywhere\u201d. She hinted that \u201cthe main purpose of the MSC was to demonize Russia\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu \u2013 who is prone to dramatically displaying objects at meetings to prove his point \u2013 brandished a piece of \u201cdrone debris\u201d from an Iranian drone, and called Iran a “grave danger to the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif used his speech to criticise the United States, launching a blistering attack on U.S. Vice President Pence for his speech the day before, saying his allegations that Tehran was plotting a \u201cnew Holocaust\u201d were \u201chateful\u201d and \u201cignorant\u201d. Zarif called the U.S. \u201cpathologically\u201d fixed on Iran and generally \u201cthe biggest threat to the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new world order \u2013 in the making<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nClosing the conference, its Chairman Ischinger offered a bleak conclusion: \u201cWe have a real problem\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, a problem \u2013 perhaps not new. In addressing the same forum in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted that the Western system of alliances \u2013 with its \u201cone master, one sovereign\u201d sitting in Washington, D.C. \u2013 would eventually \u201cdestroy itself from within\u201d. Now, will that prophecy come true?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The divergent statements and rejoinders \u2013 even contempt and innuendos \u2013 of participants proved beyond doubt that the U.S. is at odds not only with Russia, China and Iran but also with its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite U.S. objections, Europeans are building bridges to the East. Major projects such as Russia\u2019s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and China\u2019s Belt and Road initiative are gaining trust and confidence in those countries \u2013 even though Pence warned the Europeans that they would only hurt their own security by making deals with Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ischinger wrote. \u201cThe grim picture is not drawn out of thin air. As certain Western countries turn to self-centered and confrontational mentalities and show little interest in fulfilling international responsibilities, unilateralism, isolationism and trade protectionism are bearing bad fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to international relations observers, current conflicts around the world prove that the influence of the U.S. and Europe is waning, and the major powers \u2013 Russia, China, and the U.S. \u2013 are competing for economic and military supremacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Against the backdrop of ‘things falling apart’, the desire for a rules-based international order \u2013 for peace and prosperity to all around the world vibrated throughout the Munich Security Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Somar Wijayadasa, is an International lawyer and was UNESCO delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1985-1995, and was Representative of UNAIDS at the United Nations from 1995-2000.<\/em> [IDN-InDepthNews \u2013 22 February 2019]<\/p>\n\n\n\nPhoto credit: Munich Security Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK | MUNICH (IDN) \u2013 “The whole liberal world order appears to be falling apart \u2013 nothing is as it once was,” said Wolfgang Ischinger, a senior German diplomat in an opinion article in the run-up to the 2019 Munich Security Conference (MSC) that he chairs. He added: “When Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,16,24,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-europe","8":"category-news","9":"category-politic-conflict-peace","10":"category-regions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3867,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3865\/revisions\/3867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}