According to the Kazakhstan International News Agency on June 17, Kazakh President Tokayev pointed out during his attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum: If this right of peoples is allowed to self-determination, then there will not be 193 countries on the earth, but 500 to 600 countries, which is why we do not recognize Taiwan, Kosovo, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Luhansk and Donetsk. He further stated that the foundation of the current international order is the Charter of the United Nations. However, the two principles of the United Nations are in fact contradictory, namely, the integrity of States and the right of peoples to self-determination. These principles are contradictory and have different interpretations. Some consider the integrity of the State to be sacrosanct, while others believe that a certain segment of the population within the structure of any State has the right to establish its own State and to secede from it.
He said this in front of Putin. According to the average person's thinking, Putin has just helped Kazakhstan quell the riots, and is Tokaev's remark criticizing Putin? Will Putin be embarrassed? In fact, I think he is right about things and not for people, and he is speaking from a fair standpoint. Putin will not mind, because he understands that if the principle that the integrity of the state is sacrosanct is observed, the Soviet Union should not disintegrate, and Russia's military action against Ukraine can be regarded as a partial restoration of Soviet territory. If the principle of "national self-determination" is followed, then Putin's approach in Donetsk and Luhansk will be fine.
In fact, it is invaluable that Tokayev was able to understand these truths after the "color revolution" in his country and pointed out the contradictions in the formulation of the UN Charter. This is also consistent with China's position. China has not yet recognized the independence of Kosovo, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and certainly does not recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Including Crimea, China has not recognized it as belonging to Russia. But why doesn't China condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine? Because Russia's special military operations have their own merits and historical latitudes. In other words, none of this would have happened if Ukraine hadn't been the U.S. thug to contain Russia. The United States' use of Ukraine to implement NATO's eastward expansion to oppress Russia's security space is the source of the problem. Russia adopts the method of "treating others the way they treat themselves", and since you can divide Yugoslavia in the United States, why can't Russia let Ukraine split? If the international community wants to calculate the general ledger, it must first start with the United States. If the United Nations can restore Yugoslavia to its original state, Russia can restore Ukraine to its original state. The United States has not stopped in Syria? How can the United Nations not see and not interfere? The world cannot tolerate double standards. It is in this sense that China cannot condemn Russia without questioning the historical latitude and longitude and its merits. China's position is very fair, China remains neutral between Russia and Ukraine, and China is clearly opposed to hegemonism between the United States and Russia! China sympathizes with the war suffering of the Ukrainian people, as well as the sanctions suffered by the Russian people, and even the suffering of the European people against sanctions.
China's adherence to the sanctity and inviolability of national sovereignty and territorial integrity is consistent. It has never changed in a momentary manner, because it is the cornerstone of global stability. China itself strictly abides by this principle, and New China has never invaded or dismembered a country by force. Even border territorial disputes arising from historical problems insist on resolving them through negotiations. Only when the other side takes the initiative to provoke a dispute over force, China will make a limited counterattack, and each time it will take the initiative to withdraw its troops, and the purpose of punishment will be stopped. As for the internal independence of other countries, they never interfered, and only supported the struggle of colonial countries to break away from colonial rule. For example, Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom has been making a fuss about independence for many years, and China has never said a word about it, while the British government has followed the US government in frequently getting involved in the Taiwan issue, frequently slandering human rights in Xinjiang, and trying to create unrest in Hong Kong.
Is Putin angry that China does not recognize Russia's declared independence of Donetsk and Luhansk? No. He understands China's policy very well, and China must stick to its principles. Sino-Russian relations are good, but their respective foreign policies are independent and will not be changed by each other. Russia is a Eurasian power, but its cultural traditions originate in Europe and are mainstream. The Orthodox Church, which the Russian nation believes in, is a branch of Christianity, and Russia is also one of the "great powers" in modern history. Therefore, Putin adheres to the same logic as the Western countries, and Russia's way to deal with the Western forces led by the United States is to retaliate with tit-for-tat.
Both China and Russia are facing common interests such as the need for national development, the improvement of people's living standards, and the guarantee of national security. The US hegemony does not allow further development between China and Russia, does not allow the Chinese and Russian people to live a good life, as long as their own absolute security does not disregard the security demands of China and Russia. The United States is worried that if such a country as China and Russia develops, the United States will not be able to plunder other countries at will, and the hegemony of the United States will not be guaranteed, so the United States must suppress both Russia and China. In this way, opposing hegemonism has become a common demand of China and Russia, and China and Russia have come together. China and Russia have formed a comprehensive strategic partnership not because of the political system or because of values, but because of common interests. China and Russia do not form an alliance, but only partner, this is the truth.
In the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, China divided the problem into two levels. At a low level, it is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine has infringed on Russia's interests, Russia has also infringed on Ukraine's interests, and China has adopted a neutral attitude, sympathizing with both the Ukrainian people and the Russian people, so China insists on persuading peace and promoting talks. At a high level, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is essentially a Russian-American conflict, and Ukraine is an agent of the United States. The United States is practicing hegemonism, it has four deadly sins, the first is to activate the dead NATO's continuous eastward expansion to oppress Russia's security space, which is actually the hegemonic expansion of the United States; The second case is to use Ukraine as a consumable and use the blood of the Ukrainian people to open the way for the hegemonic expansion of the United States; The third case is to sanction Russia under the pretext of bringing disaster to the Russian people; The fourth is toy with Europe, where the European people endure the repercussions of sanctions against Russia. Therefore, china opposes hegemonism and cannot accuse Russia from the hegemonic standpoint of the United States.
It is Precisely because China views the problem from a high level, china still fulfills its Chinese obligations stipulated in the Sino-Russian joint statement and continues to carry out economic and trade cooperation and other cooperation with Russia. China does not mind the attacks and slanders of china by the United States and its allies, and rightly and boldly orders the Western forces led by the United States not to use the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to harm China's interests!
Of course, the world is complex. A country is often composed of multiple ethnic groups, and if the ruling authorities of the state do not handle ethnic contradictions well, it is inevitable that national divisions will be led to. China's position is clear and respects the choice of the people of the host country. It does not support division, but if it is the choice within the country China does not interfere. China is a multi-ethnic country, composed of fifty-six nationalities. Since China pursues an equal ethnic policy and all ethnic groups live with dignity in the big family of the Chinese nation, there is no question of division. China's "Taiwan issue" is a legacy of China's war of liberation, not a question of national separatism. It is precisely because of the forcible intervention of the United States that it single-handedly created today's so-called "Taiwan issue." Without US intervention, the Taiwan independence elements would not have grown bigger, and the Taiwan issue would have been resolved long ago. The reason why the Chinese People's Liberation Army is still called the People's Liberation Army is because the Taiwan issue has not yet been resolved, and the task of liberating Taiwan by the Chinese people has not yet been achieved. Recently, the Russian side has cautiously stated that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair and cannot be bargained. That is the unwavering support for China.
Therefore, Tokayev's relevant statement is out of a public mind and is correct. Putin will not be unhappy, and China is very much in favor of Tokaev's statement. The United Nations should discuss and revise this contradictory formulation of the Charter of the United Nations.
Note: The author of this article is Mu Lin, a core member of the "Qin'an Strategic Think Tank", for the original work of this platform, in the new year, I wish everyone to join hands to defeat the epidemic, curb hegemony, and move towards a better future together.