IT WAS Der Fuhrer who threatened the world 80 years ago: “I am compelled to continue the war on behalf of the millions of people in my own and other countries who, freed from the pressure of ruthless capitalist exploitation, are not willing to become for all time the victims of international exploitation or of definite annihilation as a nation.” [Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s Letter To French Marshal Petain Announcing Decision To Occupy Toulon, November 27, 1942]
In our 21st century, Chinese leader Xi Jinping had scolded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over an alleged media leak of details from an informal conversation the pair had one day earlier. [https://news.yahoo.com/xi-jinping-scolds-justin-trudeau-202940270.html] “He certainly wouldn’t speak like that to the US president. So it does suggest that Mr. Xi has a degree of disdain for the prime minister,” said Charles Burton, senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a former diplomat to China who found the language used by Xi to be “quite dismissive and threatening,” indicating that any illusions the government has that China respects Canada as an influential nation in the world have long since disappeared. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-justin-trudeau-xi-1.6653939]
The Communist Chinese public rebuke of Justin Trudeau happened at the G20 Bali Leaders Summit in Indonesia last 16 November 2022 where European Council President Charles Michel, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, among others, declared: “It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending all the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.” [https://www.g20.org/]
‘This week, Vice President Kamala Harris, the highest-ranking United States official to visit Palawan, reiterated the American commitment to the Philippines as its longstanding ally…’
The G20 is a strategic multilateral platform connecting the world’s major developed and emerging economies. But 80 years ago: “Germany, Italy, and other Axis powers had long ago… asserted their right of establishing a New Order in Europe and, at the same time, recognized as legitimate our establishment of a New Order in East Asia… Therefore, if we… firmly uphold the spirit of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, and extend our efforts to translate this spirit into action without permitting it to remain as mere lip service, there is not the slightest doubt that we shall win ultimate victory… It is needless to say that what we firmly hold as the object of the War of Greater East Asia is to emancipate the various peoples of Asia who have for many years been subject to the oppression and exploitation of such imperialistic countries as the US Britain, and the Netherlands.” [Saburo Kurusu, Former Special Ambassador To The United States, Tokyo, November 26, 1942]
This month, Communist Party of China General Secretary Xi remarked to the G20 summit in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, “Food and energy problems should not be politicized, utilized and weaponized. Unilateral sanctions and limitations related to tech cooperation should be dropped,” according to the official transcript of his speech given in a closed-door session. [https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3199689/g20-chinas-xi-jinping-says-food-energy-security-should-not-be-weaponised?amp%3Bamp] Xi was re-elected last October 23 to the post retaining his status as Head of State plus Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China. [https://tass.com/world/1526189]
Yet 80 years ago, an Allied leader said: “We repudiate the idea of leadership of Asia because the ‘Fuehrer principle’ has been synonymous for domination and exploitation, precisely as the ‘East Asia co-prosperity sphere’ has stood for a race of mythical supermen lording over groveling subject races.”
“China has no desire to replace Western imperialism in Asia with an oriental imperialism or isolationism of its own or of any one else. We hold that we must advance from the narrow idea of exclusive alliances and regional blocs which in the end make for bigger and better wars, to effective organization of world unity. Unless real world cooperation replaces both isolationism and imperialism of whatever form in the new inter-dependent world of free nations, there will be no lasting security for you or for us.” [Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek Message To The Fourth Session Of The New York Herald-Tribune Forum On Current Problems, November 17, 1942]
Also eight decades prior, a different leader pledged: “I confirm to you my previous orders to fight at the side of American and allied forces for defense and liberation of our territories and integral restoration of French Sovereignty. I add — in agreement with American authorities — that the African Army will never be placed in the position of fighting against Frenchmen.” [Admiral Jean Darlan’s Address To All French At Home And Abroad, Algiers, North Africa, November 20, 1942]
This week, Vice President Kamala Harris, the highest-ranking United States official to visit Palawan, reiterated the American commitment to the Philippines as its longstanding ally: “We will continue to rally our allies and partners against unlawful and irresponsible behavior. When the international rules-based order is threatened somewhere, it is threatened everywhere.” [US to stand with PH on South China Sea issue, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1189207] In the same time plane, President Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he has “complete trust” in the Philippine Navy’s account following another confrontation with the Chinese Coast Guard in the disputed South China Sea. The Palawan-based Western Command earlier said the Chinese Coast Guard ship “forcibly” seized floating debris that its personnel were towing to the Philippine-held Pag-asa Island on Sunday. [Marcos trusts Navy account on PH-China sea encounter, https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1189189] Still on the same date: National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos said Tuesday she has recommended to President Marcos Jr. the filing of a note verbale against China following reports that the Chinese Coast Guard interfered with the efforts of a Philippine naval station team to recover an unidentified floating object spotted near Pag-asa Island. [https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1189151]
As the world falls down, we hear David Bowie’s song: “There’s such a fooled heart, Beating so fast, In search of new dreams… As the pain sweeps through, Makes no sense for you, Every thrill is gone, Wasn’t too much fun at all.”
