The summit between Presidents
Vladimir Putin and Jiang Zemin July 17-18 turned out
to be a turning point in the relations between the two
nations.
It started with a personal meeting
between the two leaders at the July 5 Shanghai Five
meeting in Tajikistan. Russia announced it would send
its Pacific Fleet to the Taiwan Strait if the U.S.
Pacific Fleet came to the aid of Taiwan during a
Chinese attack. The agreement seems to suggest that
China will attack Taiwan. It is believed by DTT
that the mid-May agreement between China-Russia and
the West permitted China to take back Taiwan. The
Russian commitment is seen as a further warning for
the U.S. to stay out of the conflict.
Rather than issue a joint
statement, Putin and Jiang issued a much stronger
Beijing Declaration, which reaffirms most of the
December 9, 1999 joint statement of Yeltsin and Jiang.
The Declaration states that the "government of
the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate
government representing China, and that Taiwan is an
inalienable part of the Chinese territory."
It also warns that Russia and China will "defy"
U.S. hegemony (domination).
Gone in the Declaration is the
phrase, "The two sides agree that rational and
thoughtful reform of the UN is conductive to
strengthening its authority and role in the world."
This was a key statement in the December 9
Yeltsin-Jiang joint statement and seems to imply that
Putin and Jiang no longer support the drive to create
a world government through the UN. Things are heating
up again, and the September UN Millennium Summit
promises to be interesting. V
mc
