Democracy summit hides dark message: pick a side

---

• A criteria for exclusion is not whether a country lacks democratic elections, but whether it is involved with China’s Belt and Road Initiative

• Pacific islands are included as they are needed for U.S. military scheme to control both sides of the Pacific Ocean

• Taiwan’s inclusion among countries cannot be seen as anything other than deliberate provocations—and a statement of intent

---

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN will host the first of two Summits for Democracy this week, with the second slated for late 2022. The objective will be to establish an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle “the greatest threats faced by democracies today”.

It will invoke the now common mantra of “shared values”, a more sophisticated way of saying: “You’re either with us or against us.” This is the same line parroted by the U.S. and allied partners leading into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars at the opening of this century.

The eerie echoes of divisiveness from that misguided pair of adventures are bouncing back to drown out reason and rationality yet again.

PICK A SIDE

So let’s get real. This meeting’s purpose is NOT to idealistically renew democracy.

On the contrary, it’s about the “with us or against us” option: it is about forcing decisions: we are at a juncture whereby it is time to pick a side. The summit’s purpose is to create division through the categorization and defining of blocs.

INVITATION LIST

Why else would you have an invitation list that excludes many countries with long established democratic histories?

It excludes Sri Lanka, the first and oldest constitutional democracy in all of Asia, which introduced universal suffrage in 1931, long before native Americans were entitled to full universal suffrage. It excludes Singapore, with its established electoral history.

One perplexing exclusion which should raise eyebrows, or at least quiet objections by the European Union Council of Ministers, one would think, is Hungary.

But the European Union’s deafening silence on that country’s exclusion speaks volumes about the agenda of this summit. Hungary has been an annoyance and obstacle to the emergent hardline European Union members posturing against China.

NOT THE PLATINUM CLUB

To establish the real purpose of the summit, let’s first look at the places which did make the list.

Instead of starting with the Platinum Club members of the Five Eyes and NATO, let’s start with the Solomon Islands, which are in the throes of the worst social and political unrest in their history. Recent riots sought to overthrow the democratically elected government and Prime Minister. It is a clearly a dysfunctional democracy requiring foreign military intervention—yet they are deemed more worthy of inclusion than Sri Lanka, Singapore, or European Union member Hungary.

Of course, we should not be surprised to find Honduras on the “invited” list, since it just last week ran a successful election that saw a left-wing government popularly elected by a clear and resounding majority vote. Oh, wait, my bad! They’re excluded. The same is true of Nicaragua, which also successfully completed an election in the past month.

TAIWAN DISPENSATION

Curiously, Taiwan has been given special dispensation to attend. This is despite the fact that it is not recognized as a country by the U.S., or by the United Nations, or by its own constitution. Its presence means the invitation list has to refer to “participants” rather than nations, to enable escape from accusations that they are blatantly and aggressively breaking the agreed “One China Principle” and give the game away.

However, it is as clear as day what its presence implies. Why would Taiwan be invited to disingenuously masquerade as a country, when every other participant is a country, or sovereign nation?

Consequently, read that as it is meant to be read, as a statement of intent.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Let’s blow away the smoke. The purpose of the summit is to further isolate China, Russia and other states deemed too close to each other and/ or not close enough to the West. China’s growing sphere of influence is a primary target.

Countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and deemed too friendly to China, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Hungary, are all excluded.

All bought into the Belt and Road Initiative, and rebuffed American and now European Union overtures to abandon their involvement in favour of Western promises of investment and counter programs.

Just as AUKUS was essentially about the creation of an alliance at the tip of the spear to activate all other alliances under it [link], this summit is not just about whether people are “in the club or not”, but about alliances, and, importantly, about strategic needs.

The meeting has no sessions to discuss types of democracy but is focusing on ‘woke’ topics instead, reports Nury Vittachi

Click here to read that report

IN AND OUT

Let’s return to who’s in and who’s out. There is a sizeable representation of Pacific Island nations on the list (yes, including some who gave diplomatic recognition to Taiwan). The motive is not to ensure the betterment of democracy within these island states, but because they are strategically important for war planning against China.

These same nations which face the immediate consequences of global warming and climate change, with their very existence threaten by rising sea levels. At COP26 they felt betrayed, yet now, just a few weeks later, the US is offering them the opportunity to re-invigorate and renew their democratic commitments to the world, for the betterment of humanity—and as locations for military airstrips.

Two-thirds of ASEAN, the non-aligned, non-interfering neutral bloc currently representing the nations that comprise South East Asia is excluded. They can expect some form of social unrest, sanctions, interference, and political turmoil moving forward. Indeed, some are experiencing significant internal problems at the moment, only some of their own making.

TAKEAWAYS

• The US, the Platinum Club, and other less enthusiastic invitees, will fall into line to announce their collective boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

• The findings of the US-financed “Uyghur Tribunal” have been timed to appear during the week of the summit to reinforce evidence-free allegations of “genocide”.

• Trade tensions will likely increase as the European Union and others announce further measures to propel Taiwan towards inclusion in more international bodies and recognize the island’s status as a democracy.

• Increasing tech sector division should feature, now the head of MI6 has thrown caution to the winds and reinforced China’s “threat to the world” (whatever happened to spooky discretion?). Positioning for hybrid incremental conflict will feature as a key consideration of what will be presented as an overly aggressive and expanding Chinese globalization program.

ORWELL WOULD BE SURPRISED

Even the prescient George Orwell would be surprised how his predictions are coming to pass. With the proposed division of the world into two spheres, this will be the identifiable catalyst for the affirmation of Cold War 2.0. The adoption of a revived use of the term “The Bamboo Curtain” shouldn’t surprise folks.

Frankly, this summit will be judged by history as the pivotal turning point in the creation of ideological blocs that, if successful, will linger for decades to come as those labeled “democratic” and those as “undemocratic”.

Humanity is being forced to choose a side in an entirely engineered Cold War. I feel strongly that the rational for this summit is the hegemonic U.S. program to divide our world, unnecessarily, into blocks to sustain the longevity of that Empire.  It’s hard to imagine anything less democratic.

---

Phil Hynes is a regional risk analyst based in Hong Kong specializing in international geopolitics

ALSO PUBLISHED TODAY: Summit drops democracy for ‘woke’ topics

EARLIER REPORTS:

Strategists admit West is goading China into war

Taiwan tension is part of a precision-engineered plan

Asia has the world’s chips. The US wants them

---

Image at the top by Adobe Stock