⬆️ >> #China laid out the #Chinese checkers and chess pieces on the Board before #Biden, #Blinken, and #Bibi became aware of them.
Meeting between #Putin and #Pezeshkian offers #Russia an opportunity to burnish its self-image as a superpower “…as the bigger partner, and #Iran as a regional partner.”
So this makes the pecking order clear in the #CRINK axis:
China (#SeniorPartner) > Russia (#JuniorPartner) > Iran (drone supplier) > #NorthKorea (cannon fodder supplier)
CNN — Just three days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, Russia and Iran are set to finally sign a “comprehensive partnership agreement,” a deal that’s been in the works for months. It’s a move that will refocus attention on a partnership that has shaped the battlefield in Ukraine, and which remains committed to challenging the US-led international order - even as the new US administration promises greater engagement with Russia. Russian and Iran share a complicated past, peppered with conflict, and even now tread a fine line between cooperation and mistrust. And yet, the war
⬆️ #US, #Canada and #Finland plan to build more icebreakers to bolster defenses against #Russia [& #SeniorPartner #China] in the #Arctic where Russia has been increasingly active.
Now #Trump suggested yet again that #Canada should be absorbed by #US 👀
Good thing, #China defines itself as a #NearArcticState even though it's not an #Arctic country (🧵 above): its coasts do not border with the #ArcticSea nor does it have claim on under-continental shelves in the Arctic.
⬆️ @w7voa
>> #China is quickly catching up to Russia as an effective proliferator of disinformation, says the former chief and founder of the #NSA’s Office of Operational Psychology.
#Russia and #China are working together ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/112450609431774444
Of course, China is the #SeniorPartner (and has been for long). So it is not surprising that China's pace of spreading #disinformation is accelerating compared to that of its #JuniorPartner
⬆️ @Salon @news-politics-Salon
>> #GOP tries new attack on #Walz, accusing a history teacher of having an "unusual" interest in #China
If a candidate for a US office, regardless of party, does NOT have an unusual interest in the #SeniorPartner of the #CRINK axis and its #BeltAndRoadInitiative #BRI, then s/he should find a different line of work and leave people like #Walz and #Harris to protect our interests.
#TimWalz #HarrisWalz #KamalaHarris #KamalaHarris2024 #Election2024
⬆️ @tobie1 @GreenFire @lawyerjsd
>> shape of international order is being contested by Russia, China and Iran
China is the #SeniorPartner because it has money in hand. Russia is the #JuniorPartner because it has #Trump in its back pocket, but not a sure thing.
The way to fix China is to break this partnership. Nobody partners with a pauper. Get rid of Trump. Marginalize Russia.
#ForeignPolicy was in sharp focus during #ColdWar. Russia has now destroyed our media.
⬆️ #US, #Canada and #Finland plan to build more icebreakers to bolster defenses against #Russia [& #SeniorPartner #China] in the #Arctic where Russia has been increasingly active.
The pact announced at the #NATO summit calls for #polar icebreaker production, allowing for workers and experts from each country to train in shipyards across all three.
Beijing has tightened its relationship with Moscow even as the West has tried to isolate Russia since invasion of #Ukraine.
https://apnews.com/article/united-states-canada-finland-icebreakers-4ceb4811c0ecd4b651173aa276a8a83c
The United States, Canada and Finland will work together to build up their icebreaker fleets as they look to bolster their defenses in the Arctic, where Russia is increasingly active. The pact announced Thursday at the NATO summit in Washington calls for enhanced information sharing on polar icebreaker production, allowing for workers and experts from each country to train in shipyards across all three. It also includes promoting to allies the purchase of polar icebreakers from American, Finnish or Canadian shipyards for their own needs. White House deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh said it will reinforce to adversaries Russia and China that the U.S. and its allies will “doggedly pursue collaboration on industrial policy to increase our competitive edge.”
⬆️ #China tells #NATO not to create chaos in #Asia and rejects label of ‘enabler’ of #Russia’s #Ukraine war.
OK, not enabler.
How about #SeniorPartner in #JuniorPartner's War in Ukraine?
NATO said China has become a enabler of the war through its “no-limits PARTNERSHIPS” with Russia and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base.
China has refused to condemn Russia. Its trade with Russia has grown since the invasion… offsetting impact of sanctions.
https://apnews.com/article/china-nato-ukraine-war-689834988a7e0543504010649a63e319
China has accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia. The statement from a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday came a day after NATO labeled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The spokesperson accused NATO of interfering in China’s internal politics and smearing China’s image. China has broken with the United States and its European allies over the war in Ukraine, refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion. Its trade with Russia has grown since the invasion, at least partially offsetting the impact of Western sanctions.
⬆️ #JuniorPartner #Putin meets #SeniorPartner #Xi in #Kazakhstan after meeting earlier in #China.
They meet for Shanghai Cooperation Organization, established by China and #Russia to discuss security concerns in Central Asia.
Other members are #Iran, #India, #Pakistan, Kazakhstan, #Kyrgyzstan, #Tajikistan, & #Uzbekistan. Observers include #Turkey, #SaudiArabia and #Egypt.
#Modi is not attending amid speculation he wants to balance relationship with Russia & the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met for the second time in as many months as they visit Kazakhstan for a session of an international group founded to counter Western alliances. Putin and Xi last got together in May when the Kremlin leader visited Beijing to underscore their close partnership that opposes the U.S.-led democratic order and seeks to promote a more “multipolar” world. Now they’ll be attending a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Analysts say a goal for Putin is to show that Russia is not isolated after the invasion of Ukraine.
⬆️ >> At my last community get together, someone said they hoped cheeto would win and I countered I was too lazy to learn Russian. I do not go anymore, but several people here have approached me and said they don't want to learn Russian either.
There will be a whole #Chinese menu of new languages to choose from, as #SeniorPartner is not going to let #JuniorPartner throw its weight around EVERYwhere
⬆️
1. In their Congressional testimonies last year, #Blinken and #Austin had both said that #Ukraine and #Gaza conflicts are interconnected
2. At #WEF this year, Blinken obliquely connected #China to these, saying #Taiwan conflict could not be dealt with in isolation ➡️ https://mastodon.social/@rameshgupta/111771264934962097
3. Now #G7 leaders accuse #SeniorPartner China of enabling #Russia war on Ukraine in stark warning
How long before these G7 warnings extend to the full #CRINK Axis beyond Ukraine?
China’s support for Russia is “enabling” its war in Ukraine, leaders of the world’s most advanced economies warned Friday in a hardening of tone against Beijing, threatening further sanctions against actors that materially support Moscow’s war machine.
Ramesh #NotGoingBack