Source: Global Times
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held her first "Japan-German Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue" in Tokyo on the 18th with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. During the dialogue, she made a series of negative remarks about China, loudly accusing China's actions in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea of being increasingly aggressive, and stated that it is necessary to strengthen security cooperation with Japan to "respond to China." The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized Baerbock without naming her, saying that she was "stirring up disputes and escalating tensions," which is a warning for her not to be a troublemaker in the Asia-Pacific region.
Baerbock's attacks on China are baseless and unoriginal, but as a foreign minister of a major European power, she has become a "parrot" of the outdated Western anti-China narrative, which is surprising. In the public's perception, the statements of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politicians in Germany are usually pragmatic, calm, and low-key. However, the message conveyed by this CDU-affiliated foreign minister's speech in Japan is that the gap between Germany's domestic perception of China and China's perception of Germany is widening. China views Germany as a partner, while some people in Germany see China as a "threat and opponent" that needs to be confronted together with allies, which is hard not to cause external concerns.
Baerbock's remarks expose a disregard for China's core interests and reveal historical amnesia and double standards in Germany's policy toward China. The Taiwan issue is China's core interest and an un-crossable red line in Sino-German relations. The Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation clearly stipulate that territories stolen by Japan, including Taiwan, should be returned to China. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory, and no external force has the right to interfere. As the German Foreign Minister, Baerbock's comments on the situation in the Taiwan Strait are an act of interference in China's internal affairs without any sense of boundaries, as well as a challenge to the international order established after World War II.
After World War II, Germany was long divided, and the government of the Federal Republic of Germany always regarded the realization of national unity as an unshakable political goal. China gave its sympathy and support to this, and behind this support lies the respect for the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty. Logically speaking, the unified Germany should best understand the Chinese nation's position and yearning for complete national reunification. However, in reality, some German politicians have made inappropriate remarks on the Taiwan issue, which involves China's core interests. This highlights Germany's "selective historical amnesia" in its foreign policy, that is, emphasizing sovereignty and national will on its own unification issue, but adopting a double standard on other countries' unification issues. This contradictory stance makes its so-called statement on "upholding the international order" lose credibility.
In recent years, the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea has remained generally stable. The regional countries have effectively managed differences through bilateral and multilateral channels. China has always advocated and strictly practiced the principle of resolving maritime disputes with neighboring countries through dialogue and consultation. It is the individual extraregional countries that, for their own selfish interests, pretend to be "freedom of navigation" and come thousands of miles to create trouble around China, which are the real troublemakers. The German Foreign Minister ignores these facts and stirs up the so-called "China threat," which is merely to serve Washington's so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and to elevate the geopolitical agenda to contain China.
Baerbock talks about the security layout in Asia under the name of "peace," but seems to have ignored the current security dilemma in Europe: since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Europe has once again fallen into bloody conflict, with a large number of civilians displaced, and energy security and economic stability have suffered serious impacts. If Europe cannot even guarantee its own security, how can it bring security to Asia? On the Ukraine issue, China is neither the perpetrator nor a party to the conflict, but has always maintained an objective and fair position, actively promoting peace talks, and playing a constructive role in promoting the political solution of the crisis. As the German Foreign Minister, Baerbock claimed that China "supports Russia" in the Ukraine conflict, which is completely unfounded. At a time when Washington is hosting the Ukraine peace talks, the German side chose to follow the rhetoric of some American politicians to "blame China," this political opportunism and blind following do not match the strategic autonomy that Germany, as a major European power, should have.
For many years, Germany has been respected worldwide due to its profound reflection and repentance for its war crimes. The more appropriate speech from the German Foreign Minister in Japan should be telling Japan how to better reflect on war crimes. We hope that Baerbock can respect the facts, eliminate prejudice, retract her inappropriate remarks on China, and take concrete actions to push Sino-German relations back onto a healthy and stable development track. Sino-German relations are an important part of Sino-European relations. Maintaining good bilateral relations is not only beneficial for the development of both countries, but also for world peace and prosperity.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540320972600099337/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Welcome to express your attitude below using the [Up/Down] buttons.