Geopolitical and economic life for countries like the Philippines was much easier before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The world was divided into two camps, either under the USSR or the United States. “Third World countries” had to make a choice, except notably India, which was large and important enough to play both sides.
If a nation wanted more economic aid, all it had to do was to begin making slight overtures to the other side and their benefactor would up the money.
Certainly, the world suffered being in the middle of the war of the giants, like the case of Vietnam and Afghanistan. However, in other ways, there was more clarity and the geopolitical choices were much simpler.
In the good old days, you could blame either the US or the USSR for global problems. Today the game has become more complicated.
Russia is blamed for creating major problems in Europe because of its involvement in Ukraine. But the US did everything it could to replace the former pro-Russian government. The European Union needs its economic relations with Russia, but it also wants close security ties with the US.
Every nation can blame the US for creating the conditions that have led to a global economic meltdown in the last six years. But, those same nations benefited from US economic policy on the way up.
Throughout the Cold War and to the current day, one could see some “method in the madness” of Russian and American policy and actions. But recently China has gone to the point where its leadership must be questioned as to its competency, if not its sanity.
China’s efforts to build stronger ties with Russia and the Central Asian nations is a good idea, both domestically and internationally. But then, China continues to support the loose-cannon country of North Korea, and is doing all it can to alienate Southeast Asia. To pursue this policy to offset potential US moves in Asia is already counterproductive.
To give a false impression of its economic strength and policy wisdom, China’s government has spent nearly 10 percent of its 2014 gross domestic product (GDP), trying to prop up its collapsing stock market. It has spent $1 billion for every one-point increase of the Shanghai Composite Index since July 8. The top 12 Chinese companies are all government-owned. This is madness.
Unfortunately, because of the global rush to economically align with China, the effect of bad Chinese policy is starting to spread. Australia’s GDP growth closely matches China’s GDP growth. China is supposedly the No. 1 global investment magnet, but 48 percent of foreign businesses fail in China within two years of entering into that market.
We have given China its power. The Philippines fights for its territorial rights against a de facto invasion, yet is dependent on China to manufacture rolling stock for its light-rail system. The global economic chaos has now moved to Asia, and we can put the blame on China.