China organized Iran and Russia defense ministers for a meeting in its Eastern Coastal city in Qingdao on Thursday, in the context of war in the Middle East and a summit of countries in the organization of the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) in Europe that agreed to increase military spending.
Beijing has tried to present the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of 10 members (SCO) as a counterweight for the power blockages led by the West and has pressed to strengthen collaboration among its member countries in politics, security, commerce and science.
The Qingdao meeting of the high defense officials of the organization occurs as a high fire between Israel and Iran after 12 days of struggle between the arches.
The day is also celebrated after a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, where members agreed to increase their defense expense to satisfy the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Beijing’s ties with Moscow are also at the center of attention.
China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the War of Russia with Ukraine, although Western governments say their close ties have provided Moscow with crucial economic and diplomatic support.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belosov painted a gloomy image of a world seeing “worsening geopolitical tensions” when he addressed his counterparts at the meeting.
“The current military and political situation in the world is still difficult and shows signs of greater deterioration,” he said, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry.
His Chinese counterpart Dong Jun also framed Thursday in Qingdao, home of an important Chinese naval base, such as a counterweight for a world in “chaos and instability.”
“As the transcendental changes of the century accelerate, unilateralism and protectionism are increasing,” Dong said while welcoming Russia’s defense chiefs, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and other places on Wednesday, according to the Xinhua state news agency.
“The hegemonic, dominant and intimidation acts severely undermine the international order,” he warned.
He urged his counterparts to “take stronger measures to safeguard the environment for peaceful development.”
Support for Iran?
Recent fighting between Israel, Iran and the United States will probably also be discussed in Qingdao.
Beijing refrained from offering more than diplomatic support to his close partner Tehran throughout that conflict, reflecting his limited leverage in the region and the reluctance to worsen relations with the United States.
“The public support for Iran will come in the form of words, instead of facts,” said James Char, an expert in the Chinese army of the Technological University of Nanyang in Singapore. AFP.
“Apart from condemning US attacks on Iran, you can expect Beijing to continue to step cautiously in the security problems of the Middle East and would not want to be dragged to the security challenges of the region,” he said.
Iran’s defense minister will probably “discuss with China the supply of weapons, but I doubt China agrees,” said Andrea Ghiselli, an expert in foreign policy of China and professor at the University of Exeter.
“It is seen as provocative by Israel … and, even more important for China, the United States, with which Beijing is trying to stabilize relations,” Ghiselli said.
India’s Minister of Defense, Rajnath Singh, also present in Qingdao, said that the members of the SCO should “collectively aspire to meet the aspirations and expectations of our people, as well as address today’s challenges.”
“The world we live in is experiencing a drastic transformation. Globalization, which once approached us, has been losing impulse,” he said in the comments that his office published on the Social Network Platform X.
