RUSSIA’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “rude awakening” for political leaders who thought the global rules-based order could be maintained through treaties and not armed force, according to a defence expert from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“The big thing that a whole lot of Western leaders and societies are having demonstrated to them is that we’re not living in some ‘post-force’ world where wars just can’t happen,” Defence Director Michael Shoebridge told The Epoch Times.
- European nations will now be forced to increase defence spending.
- The invasion highlights the increasing division between Russia, China and the rest of the world.
- For months, European, US and NATO leaders have pleaded with Mr Putin to back down.
“Armed force is a present and used tool of States, particularly of the two powerful authoritarian outfits led by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping,” he said.
“Armed force in their eyes is not some anachronism from history. It’s an active tool to be used to pursue their goals.”
GALVANISE
Mr Shoebridge called it a “crystallising moment” for the democratic world, which should galvanise greater global action.
“The sanctions response is the first tangible indicator of a much larger collective response against this aggression,” he said.
“While it’s not sufficient to deter Putin, the unity of action is something that will carry on into the bigger responses beyond this immediate crisis.
He added that European nations would now be pushed to increase defence spending.
“This is now not a political hypothetical. This is now a manifest reality that they need to rebuild European military power, and they need to do it faster at a greater scale.”
On February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in response to the alleged threat of “Nazism” from the Ukrainian government before sending troops into the former Soviet country.
For months, European, US and NATO leaders have pleased with Mr Putin to back down, yet Moscow still launched a multi-pronged attack via land, sea and air into Ukraine from the east, south and north.
MOBILISATION
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported 137 casualties on February 25, while issuing a decree ordering the mobilisation of the population to defend the country.
As a result, Ukrainian males aged 18–60 are prohibited from leaving, according to an announcement from the State Border Guard Service.
Meanwhile, Mr Shoebridge said the invasion highlights the increasing division between Russia, China and the rest of the world.
“It’s not the democratic world against the authoritarian world. It’s the democratic world and every State that actually acts in accordance with the United Nations Charter,” he said.
He noted, however, that it was harder for authoritarian regimes to “form deep, close partnerships”.
“But in a larger sense it complicates China’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
“This is joining European and Indo-Pacific security into one strategic system, where nations (in both regions) face a common challenge from the joint partnership of Russia and China.”
SANCTIONS
“In a way, it brings more power to bear on Russia and China through the combination of European and Indo-Pacific powers … And that’s a net advantage for the powerful democratic world.”
Since the invasion began, multiple nations have imposed several tranches of sanctions against Russian banks, politicians, individual oligarchs and their families, and the company behind Nord Stream 2 – the major pipeline set to provide gas from Russia to Germany.
President Putin was not named in any sanctions in what could be an attempt to create internal pressure on the Russian leader.PC
By the way, who viewed Sky News – Hardgrave last week and heard discussion between former Howard Government Cabinet Ministers Gary Hardgrave and Bronwyn Bishop explaining that during their time in Federal Parliament a decision was made to form a Committee to look into any proposed Treaty-Agreement put forward by the United Nations, and after reviewing the content to report to the Parliament to prepare for a vote on proceeding to sign, or not sign.
I wonder how many people realise that our governments have been signing Treaties-Agreements with no reference to the people’s elected representatives, and no consideration for conducting a referendum for the people to decide. That plan was created and presented to the United Nations by Australian Labor (Communist) Attorney General Evatt to enable member nations to get around constitutional laws to legislate and implement those UN impositions.
The Lima Protocol/Agreement signed by Whitlam Labor in 1975 was the basis for the gradual handing over of manufacturing industry to developing nations, like China. Check UN Agenda 21 signed by the Keating Labor Government around 1990 and the many other examples of economic damage resulting.
And today the Federal Government, Federal Labor Opposition and even State Governments talk about reviving manufacturing, the need for national security, etc. Of course they know that most Australians have short memories and over time the knowledge disappears as people die. The inevitability of gradualness, one of the UK Fabian Marxist Society sayings from late 1800s. A new world order ambition.
The question is how sincere are today’s politicians about getting our nation back into a position of strength in national security and defence? The last time Labor were the Federal Government defence spending was cut back considerably, the Howard Government’s 2006/07 Budget committing to a real increase of 3 per cent a year for the next 10 years abandoned by Labor.
And now consider the Russia and China partnership and ambitions involving war. They have quietly armed themselves while the woke world follows UN nonsense, NATO complacency and even US (and allies) failing to keep up.
Meanwhile the fools concentrate on their climate hoax scares and nonsense like unreliable energy, noting that the becoming stronger military nations are building more coal and gas fired power stations and other reliable generators including nuclear energy.
President Trump addressed the United Nations in New York twice, one of his speeches warned UN officials that the organisation must downsize and get back to the basics it was established to deal with.
He said the UN must stop interfering in the sovereignty of member nations, get out of internal affairs and leave government to the elected representatives and the people.
POTUS Trump even joked that the United States of America had provided so much financial support for the United Nations that cannot continue, instead, maybe, convert UN Headquarters into a casino that provides revenue to the US.
Climate hoax, warming scares, ignoring natural Earth Cycles of gradual climate zone changes and shorter term weather events appear to be all that the UN can focus on, and associated new world order politics of course.