Above photo: Aftermath of strike in Toretsk.
In a world where everything is interconnected – economics, industrial production and global political competition – it becomes exceedingly difficult to use foreign policy instruments like weapon sales to proxies or sanctions. There will nearly always be some unforeseen backlash coming in an unexpected area that will hurt.
The European sanction policies against Russia may be the prime example for this. But hostile U.S. policies towards China may, over time, cause much more damage. Not to China but the U.S. and its desired policy aims themselves.
- China slaps sanctions on 3 US firms, 10 senior execs over weapons sales to Taiwan – Reuters, Oct 10 2024
> BEIJING, Oct 10 (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry on Thursday announced it had imposed sanctions on three U.S. military-linked firms and 10 senior excecutives over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
The steps taken against the firms, including Edge Autonomy Operations LLC, Huntingdon Ingalls Industries Inc and Skydio Inc, became effective on Thursday and will freeze any property within China, the foreign ministry said in a statement. <
- US sanctions Chinese, Russians over attack drones used in Ukraine – Reuters, Oct 17 2024
- China opposes US sanctions on companies over attack drones for Russia – Reuters, Oct 24 2024
- Chinese sanctions against U.S. companies leave Ukrainian military drone supplier without batteries – Meduza, Oct 31 2024
> Chinese sanctions on Skydio, the U.S.’s largest drone maker and a supplier to Ukraine’s military, have blocked the American company’s sole battery supplier, reports The Financial Times. <
Given that war mongering, sanctions and other trade hindrances are now hitting back at the West one can expect that these will, after a while, lose their attractiveness as instruments of western foreign policies.