By Rana Eijaz Ahmad and Mahnoor Mansoor
The Twenty-First century starts with the bleeding of the United States of America. The 9/11 incident is marked with great sorrow for humanity as 3000 innocent people were killed in the U.S. and more than 300, 000 people were killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan in the name of the war on terrorism. Therefore, it may be evoked as a war for terrorism. The west with a bleeding heart decided to monopolize the maximum economic resources of the world and initiated a planned effort to defame Islam and Muslims in the world to have access to Afghanistan and other Muslim oil-rich countries. However, proved a misdirected exertion as blinds are leading the blinds. In the last two decades, people in the west started reading about Islam, and Muslims, resultantly, reverted to Islam in the largest number.
Inanities of the Great Powers
September 6, 2021, was a historic day in the history of mankind when the U.S. and its NATO allies lost the longest war in Afghanistan with all its technological sophistication and scientific advancements. The humiliation could be seen in later events. The Chief of Australian Defense Force General Angus Campbell apologizes unconditionally to the Afghans and Afghanistan for the war crimes, he elucidates, the 30,000 Australian troops were performing their duties with a great commitment to the land of Afghanistan. An unconditional apology came after the report of Mr. Paul Brereton(Judge of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and a senior officer in the Australian Army Reserve) revelations regarding unlawful and inhuman killings in Afghanistan.
General Kenneth McKenzie, leading the U.S. military operations in the Middle East, confessed while talking to the reporters in a teleconference at the Pentagon on September 17, 2021, that it was a blunder. “At the time of the strike, I was confident that the strike had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport,” McKenzie narrated. “Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake.”
All such confessions have been a practice on the part of the west and the global community is aware of all this absurd confession. It reflects the inhuman character of the western political and non-political actors who have been befooling the American people and people of other parts of the world. The governments in the traditional democracies of the world are directly under the clout of the international establishment and threatening the very existence of innocent civilians in the world.
AUKUS, the Trilateral Alliance
After losing the war in Afghanistan the U.S. decided to indulge itself in a trilateral dialogue with Australia, and UK named with an eerie acronym, AUKUS, (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes, “The UK, Australia, and the US are natural allies while we may be separated geographically, our interests and values are shared.” He further added, “The AUKUS alliance will bring us closer than ever, creating a new defense partnership and driving jobs and prosperity. This partnership will become increasingly vital for defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific region and, by extension, protecting our people back at home.” This alliance is a depiction of losers and their desperate effort to sustain their inanities at the international level. First, it annoyed the NATO ally France who already had an agreement with Australia for preparing 12 submarines for Australia in 2016. It’s a dumped agreement after the emergence of AUKUS.
The main focus of the AUKUS will explicitly be on developing integration in defense-oriented science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains, with specific prominence in cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and new undersea capabilities.
The million-dollar question is how such capabilities would be beneficial for the member countries to counter the peaceful country like China. Since the AUKUS member countries have been at war with other countries and their history is teemed with wars along with their war crimes confessions.Interestingly the US and France are also members of the Quad alliance.
The Quad Alliance
The Quad Alliance is aspiring to counter the Chinese maritime capabilities. It needs economic prosperity at home. Most of the following countries have trade relations with China and are not ready to wage any war against China. Although, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the U.S. States are ambitiously trying to contain Chinese influence in the Indo-pacific yet seems unsuccessful. Here is the list of countries which, reportedly are being deprived of their maritime rights in the Indo-pacific, it starts with the Indian ocean and goes to the western pacific ocean:
Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, The Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the United States, and Vietnam. These all countries share a commonality regarding China, that is territorial and trade disputes. It is propagated that China has become a security threat for the interests of neighboring countries in the Indo-pacific, therefore a holistic effort is needed to hold Chinese sway in the sea. Here are some statistical figures that may assist us in understanding the factual position in the Indo-Pacific.
China’s military personnel are 3.36 million as compared to the Quad accumulated number 7.78 million. If still the Quad is lamenting upon the Chinese superiority in the Indo-Pacific or it is all happening owing to the increasing Chinese influence in the South China Sea, a commercial and strategic gateway for the region. It means it is trade and commerce that is making a difference in the Indo-Pacific region. To counter the Chinese influence different member countries have opted for various policies to counter the Chinese monopoly in the region.
Three out of four Quad members, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. have already banned Chinese telecom company Huawei from the 5G competition which would be perhaps the game-changer for China to command over the global technology industry. India has already excluded more than 220 Chinese applications (Apps) to curtail Chinese influence in the region. Only banning the TikTok and PUBG cost a $15 billion loss to China.
The Quad is a major hurdle in China’s wish to provide vaccines to the global community. China’s vaccine diplomacy is so far unsuccessful in the region. The Quad is planning to provide more than 1 billion doses to the region by the year 2022. For achieving the ambitious target, the Quad maneuvering with the Australian logistics, India’s production capability, Japan’s financial abundance, and the U.S. technology. The Quad is focusing on new-age technology, which is an Achilles’ Heel of China.
This is how the U.S. and its desperate allies in the region are trying to contain China in the India-pacific. Interestingly, the Chinese administration is successful enough in congagement (containment and engagement) of the Quad members in the things which are futile for making any technological and human development.
Conclusion
The great powers have been on the bleeding edge when it comes to the high-tech erudition and methodical advancements but surprisingly went unfruitful in a land-locked Afghanistan. The Afghans (Taliban) used to have a firm belief in good things come to those who wait and see. The unusual intrusion of the western forces under the umbrella of the NATO forces made the Afghans up in the arm. They decided to scrape the barrel and break the fresh. The western failure in Afghanistan is the failure of all western technology, arms, ammunition, strategies, and scientific advancements on the one hand and exposed the weaknesses of the west and its allies on the other. Quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum metrology, quantum imaging, quantum sensors, and quantum simulation, are all patterns of quantum technologies, where properties of quantum mechanics, specifically quantum entanglement, quantum superposition, and quantum tunneling used but all in vain. It suggests western technology can be best used for Hollywood movie tricks and gives China an impetus to dictate its terms in the time to come.
The UK defense secretary Ben Wallacesays, the U.S.is no more a superpower. The west is bleeding owing to its failure in Afghanistan. The U.S. and its allies need to review their education, economics, and social systems since their consistent failure in human domains regarding racial and discriminatory policies has exposed the undemocratic, intolerant, and less liberal face of the west. How do the AUKUS and Quad will keep international obligations intact in the presence of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards?
There are two great lessons for the whole world after the end of the so-called war on terrorism; one, there is no military solution in the world for creating a livable place for the people. Therefore, spend more on human domains instead of on having strong militaries. Two, if any group of people needs to leave the yolk of slavery they need to stand up against any aggression and fight for their rights themselves instead of looking for any external help. Kashmir is bleeding. Kashmiris have to stand up against the Indian aggression themselves instead of waiting for Allah’s help since Allah helps those who help themselves.
— Authors: Rana Eijaz Ahmad is a professor in political science in the Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, and can be reached at [email protected]. Ms. Mahnoor Mansoor is an editor of the Journal Pakistan Political Science Review.
