Headline News  28/10/2022

Headlines:

• Rishi Sunak is Britain’s First Asian Prime Minister – But it’s No Progressive Victory
• Pakistan's Top Gun Seeks U.S.-China Balance before Retirement
• China's Xi says Willing to Work with United States for Mutual Benefit

Details:

Rishi Sunak is Britain’s First Asian Prime Minister – But it’s No Progressive Victory

In that sense, Sunak’s ascent is an undeniably great achievement, whether or not you agree with his politics. Without being able to claim any kind of salt-of-the-earth immigrant backstory, Sunak has still defied the odds as an Asian man to make it to the highest position in the land. His journey is a reminder of how black and brown Britons have to fight against the current to be taken seriously. But rising above these political machinations, what does this moment really tell us about race relations in Britain? Sunak’s ascension is tinged with bitterness – for many, his hardline views aren’t exactly representative of who we imagined would be the first British leader with immigrant parents. But when Sunak’s parents migrated to Britain from east Africa in the 1960s, the appointment of an Asian prime minister would have been inconceivable. It was a time when cornershop windows were routinely smashed by supporters of the National Front, and Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech pointed to a dark future for immigrants in Britain. After 9/11, Asian people of every faith were targeted in a campaign of relentless racism and xenophobia that failed to distinguish religion from the colour of a person’s skin. Even five years ago, the idea that racism was no longer a problem in the UK was blown out of the water as a wave of racist hate crimes was triggered by the Brexit vote: a vote Sunak has repeatedly said he was proud to support. Let us remember that Sunak is a strong supporter of Rwandan policies pursued by Priti Patel, policies that probably would have denied his parents from ever coming to Britain. Sunak, like so many other black and brown rising stars in the Conservative party, appears to suffer from the syndrome of feeling the need to demonstrate that they love Britain slightly more than the rest of us: that they have a particular duty to defend their country more; that they must show a different level of appreciation for it; and that somehow there is a script from which they must all read in order to placate those who may instinctively mistrust them. Multimillionaire Sunak, who was educated at exclusive Winchester College and later married into billionaire wealth, feels the need to downplay his clearly privileged background to win more widespread support. But everything about his life and upbringing is at odds with the millions struggling to pay bills, pay rent and buy food. [Source: The Guardian].

The election of Sunak confirms two truths. First, the British establishment is in decline and unable to find suitable “white indigenous politicians” to run the country. Second, Sunak is a true WOG - well orientated gentleman moulded by the establishment to run their affairs.

Pakistan's Top Gun Seeks U.S.-China Balance before Retirement

With the clock ticking on his expected retirement, Pakistan's all-powerful army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, paid a long-delayed visit to Washington in early October. Some saw it as a valedictory trip. Others speculated that it was a signal he intends to stay on after his term ends next month, just as he secured an extension in 2019.

Either way, Bajwa's mission was clear: shoring up a crucial diplomatic relationship undermined by years of distrust, at a time when Islamabad faces an unprecedented storm of challenges, including political turmoil inflamed last Friday by the disqualification of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding public office.

Sources with firsthand knowledge of the general's recent meetings paint a picture of Pakistan seeking nothing less than a new arrangement with the U.S. -- one that balances ties with China, helps decrease tensions with India and boosts the struggling economy, while sustaining military relations. According to one official familiar with the proceedings, Bajwa presented a vision for a bilateral relationship "much like the Americans' understanding with South Korea." "He told them that we'd like to be a strategic partner of the U.S. not in name, but in action," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The message was that there should be "a wider net connecting us -- infrastructure, tech, health and trade -- and not just the military and defense ties that we've depended on for decades." Alluding to Pakistan's dire economic straits, the official noted the country can be a "more useful partner" if it is doing well. "Frankly, we'd rather [the Americans] invest in us." While the Pentagon issued only a brief statement about the general's visit, commemorating 75 years of diplomatic relations, the State Department made a clear disclaimer: Pakistan's civilian government, and not the military that has ruled the country directly or indirectly since independence in 1947, is America's "primary interlocutor." On Oct. 13, U.S. President Joe Biden called Pakistan "one of the most dangerous nations in the world," possessing "nuclear weapons without any cohesion." The rebuke was made on the campaign trail, but it propelled Islamabad to summon the American ambassador. The next day, a bipartisan resolution was tabled in the U.S. House of Representatives, declaring that the Pakistani military had committed genocide in 1971 against its citizens. [Source: Nikkei Asia]

The behaviour of Bajwa just underscores the lopsided master and slave relationship that exists between America and Pakistan. Pakistan’s elite cannot imagine a world without America and continuously offer more of Pakistan’s sovereignty to appease their masters.

China's Xi Says Willing to Work with United States for Mutual Benefit

President Xi Jinping said China is willing to work with the United States to find ways to get along to the benefit of both, Chinese state television reported on Thursday, ahead of a possible meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Indonesia. As major powers, China and the United States should strengthen communication and cooperation to help provide stability to the world, Xi said in a message to an event of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations on Wednesday.  The two countries have been at odds over China's policy towards Taiwan, China's relationship with Russia and more recently, U.S. efforts to prevent its semiconductor companies selling technology to Chinese companies. China was recently infuriated by a string of visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan. China said the United States was sending "dangerous signals" on the democratically governed island, which China claims as its own. [Source: Reuters]

After consolidating his domestic position, Xi is striking a conciliatory note to the US for a new reproachment. It appears that America’s upper hand over Russia in Ukraine and America’s political manoeuvring in the Asian Pacific is forcing Xi to rethink China’s ambitions in the region. This is expected, as China does not possess the political will or the historical experience to become a great power and to challenge US primacy.