N°14-20/05/2021 International: China-Iran Agreement, Suez and international trade, Burma: repression is growing, Elections in Israel.
China Iran Agreement
On the occasion of the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Iran and China signed a twenty-five-year strategic and trade cooperation agreement on March 27.
Currently, China is the Islamic Republic of Iran's largest trading partner.
Until the 2018 US sanctions, it was one of the main buyers of Iranian crude. The preparation of this project dates from the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Tehran in January 2016, during which he met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran and Beijing were then "committed to conducting negotiations for the signing of an extended cooperation agreement over twenty-five years." Mr. Khamenei, presented this agreement as a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. This agreement is to involve Iran in the important Chinese "Silk Road" project.
Isolated by the Western powers and their allies, Iran is in great economic difficulty because of the illegal sanctions imposed on it. This agreement with China opens up both economic prospects and strong diplomatic support from a power that is making its mark on the international scene and which, moreover, is a member of the Security Council. China is one of Tehran's partners in the 2015 Iranian international nuclear deal. In a world where the balance of power is evolving, reconciliations and alliances are emerging from which regional powers such as Iran intend to take advantage, as from a certain point of view they are led to seek solid alliances to strengthen their security.
Suez and international trade.
The Suez Canal is a strategic trade route between Europe and Asia. Around 12% of world maritime trade transit through it. Today this artery is controlled by Egypt but it has not always been so. The British and French colonial powers had an eye on this route. Thus, after the First World War, the canal was placed under the military protection of Great Britain. The nationalization of the canal by Nasser in 1956 will be the pretext, coupled with that of the defense of the State of Israel, for a joint imperialist military intervention by France and England. This military intervention ordered by the socialist government of the time was condemned by the UN, which forced the two French and British actors to withdraw ingloriously. The recent blockage of traffic on the canal by a giant 400-meter cargo container ship has highlighted the vulnerability of global trade as it has highlighted the volume and value of global trade. In less than a week, more than 400 merchant ships were stopped at the gates of the canal and the financial losses for shipping companies amounted to tens of billions of dollars. The newspaper "La libre Belgique" reports that according to the Antwerp port authority the cost of immobilizing traffic in the canal costs 350 million Euros per hour! It is understandable under these conditions that Asian countries and especially China are working on land solutions for their trade with Eastern and Western Europe.
Burma: Repression escalates.
114 people assassinated on Saturday March 27 during the crackdown on demonstrations against the military coup, including several children and thousands of injured.
Since the military junta’s coup 420 people have been killed. 2,981 people are said to be still imprisoned including 23 journalists since the military took power on February 1. This shows the violence of the repression and the determination of the demonstrators to reject the state imposed by the military. The great powers’ reaction to this repression is far from impressing the military junta. When some sanctions are taken they are negligible, and Russia makes no secret of its support for the ruling power with the recent visit of General Fomine. According to the newspaper "Le Monde": "General Fomine met the junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing on Friday March 27, praising on this occasion a Burma" loyal ally and strategic partner "of Russia. The following day, the Russian serviceman attended the military parade held to mark the 76th anniversary of the formation of the Burmese army – a rare privilege for a foreigner. " For its part, China, while it formally condemns the repression, above all takes care of its economic interests, which are important in Burma.
Elections in Israel.
Israel’s fifth election in a year, have not led to a significant clarification of the political situation. While the number of voters has decreased significantly, the balance of power has not marked any significant changes apart from redistribution within the forces that are often summarized among commentators between anti-bibi (Netanyahu) and pro-bibi. Although Netanyahu's likoud comes first, it loses a lot of votes, especially in big cities, without these voices moving to lists proposing any substantive change in colonization policy, quite the contrary! The way is therefore open to the search for a compromise allowing the establishment of a majority of which we can already say that it will not change a lot to the imperialist role played by Israel in the region.