Kazakh
riots point to regional shift HoonTing@Taipei Times 20220119
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has characterized recent anti-government unrest in Kazakhstan as a “color revolution” which he claims was instigated by “foreign-trained terrorists.” Tokayev appears to be trying to justify his decision to ask Russia for help, and to legitimize the next phase of his government’s operations.
During the initial phase of the unrest, Kazakh security forces took a
beating from protesters and were on the back foot. However, after Tokayev
appealed to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for
assistance, the situation was rapidly brought under control. This suggests that
there is more to the events than meets the eye.
An alternative explanation for the riots that has been floating around
online concerns a reported stash of 100 tonnes of Chinese gold, allegedly
smuggled out of China and placed in the custody of the Kazakh government by a
faction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) headed by former Chinese president
Jiang Zemin (江澤民). The theory goes that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) requests to Tokayev to
repatriate the gold have fallen on deaf ears, and in a fit of pique, Xi decided
to overthrow Tokayev’s government.
Although this explanation cannot be completely ruled out, it has the
whiff of CCP propaganda, intended for internal consumption to distract from
China being an impotent bystander to the events unfolding near it.
Although former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down in
March 2019 after nearly three decades in power, he is believed to still be
firmly in control and pulling the strings behind the scenes. From the Kremlin’s
point of view, Nazarbayev has allowed Beijing to gain a foothold in Kazakhstan
by means of massive investment through its Belt and Road Initiative. The
Kremlin appears to have come to the conclusion that if Russia continues to turn
a blind eye and fails to get a grip on the situation, it could soon have a
disaster on its hands.
Therefore, a logical explanation of the events in Kazakhstan is that a
political coup has taken place. Having first obtained permission from Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Tokayev instigated a rebellion and used the tense
situation as a pretext to call on the CSTO for assistance. Tokayev is now in
full control of the country, Kazakhstan is once more a Russian satellite state,
and Tokayev’s predecessor, Nazarbayev, is out of the picture and probably under
arrest.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in addition to forming the
Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia also founded the CSTO. Although
there has been some turnover of member states, the CSTO maintains a core
six-nation membership of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
and Armenia. The CSTO’s primary purpose is to maintain the key borders of the
former Soviet Union. At present, the Kremlin identifies the greatest chinks in
Russia’s national security to be Ukraine (NATO), followed by Georgia and
Azerbaijan (Turkey), and Turkmenistan (Iran).
With Beijing using its Belt and Road Initiative to expand China’s
geostrategic and economic influence throughout the world, CSTO members
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are essentially “forward operating bases”
on the front lines of Chinese expansionism.
Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan is India’s first overseas air base. Jointly
operated by the Indian Air Force and the Tajik Air Force, the Indian government
funded its upgrade and has secured usage rights with the Tajik government for
20 years. If needed, India could use the air base to restrict Chinese
expansion.
In June last year, the US and Russia held a high-level summit. At the
post-summit news conference, US President Joe Biden said that both nations had
agreed to establish cooperation in areas of mutual interest to build a stable
strategic relationship. Afghanistan and Ukraine were several times mentioned in
the same sentence, and Biden pointedly reminded Putin that there are several
thousand kilometers of shared border between Russia and China.
Following Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August last year,
the security situation in the country has deteriorated. However, this has
paradoxically had the effect of easing the strategic threat to Russia. The
withdrawal might therefore have been part of a wider strategic compromise
arrived at between the leaders of the two nations at the summit, which has
resulted in an easing of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the
frustration of Chinese expansionism.
The events unfolding in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are harbingers of a
textbook geopolitical realignment. Just as an arc running from the first island
chain to China’s northern boundary with Russia was used by Washington to
restrain the Soviet Union during the Cold War, today Russia is the stabilizing
force and CSTO members constitute the new front line. The realignment of the
geopolitical tectonic plates has only just begun.
HoonTing is a political commentator.
Translated by Edward Jones
沒有留言:
張貼留言
請網友務必留下一致且可辨識的稱謂
顧及閱讀舒適性,段與段間請空一行