China/Russia Pledge To Thwart US Global Domination

In a move which does not bode well for the upcoming APEC talks in Auckland, China, Russia and three Central Asian states have pledged in a declaration to promote a "multi-polar world" and thwart global domination by the United States. John Howard reports.

Capping a two-day summit yesterday, President's Jiang Zemin, Boris Yeltsin and their counterparts from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan signed a formal declaration against a "unipolar world order."

Using language with meanings well-recognised in international diplomatic circles, Mr Jiang said in a speech at the fourth summit of the five nations held in Bishkek, Krygyzstan, that they should mobilise resources to "fight destabilising factors to regional security such as religious extremism, national separatism, international terrorism and other international criminal activities."

He gained support from the four leaders against " a unipolar world order," a reference to alleged expansionism by a Washington-led NATO.

Hegemony and the politics of force are on the rise, with new forms of so-called neo-interventionism being resumed, Mr Jiang said.

This new declaration, called The Bishkek Declaration, said the five states opposed the use or threat of force not sanctioned by the UN Security Council in international situations.

Diplomatic analysts said Mr Jiang wanted to boost his stature as an international statesman who had played a big role in thwarting the NATO juggernaut.

In his seperate summit with Russian president Boris Yeltsin both leaders reiterated their determination to build a new world order that was not dominated by the West, meaning the US.

They vowed to cement a "constructive strategic relationship."

Mr Jiang's trip to Kyrgyzstan was part of Beijing's diplomacy of good neighbourliness, which has been actively pursued since the NATO air strikes against Kosovo.

The leadership has been anxious to ensure that "hostile foreign forces" cannot use China's neighbours as a base for subversion against it.

Meanwhile, China and Russia are making preparations for the sales of advanced Sukhoi SU-30 fighter aircraft to Beijing.

News of a potential sale comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Taiwan.

The Russian business daily Kommersant has said state arms dealer Rosovooruzheniye had a preliminary deal, after nearly four years of negotiations, to sell 60 SU-30 planes to China.

The SU-30 is equipped with advanced "thrust vectoring" engine nozzles which give it great manoervaribility.

In the final analysis, next month's APEC talks could become meaningless and a waste of New Zealand taxpayer funds unless these major nations back-down from gun-boat diplomacy.

ENDS

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