China condemns Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and, in turn, Israel cools off relationships—once very close—with China. Influential on all of this is the USA which supports Israel politically and with materiel to prosecute its bombardment of Gaza as it tries to eliminate Hamas. But, via Israel, US weapons technology finds itself in Chinese weapons systems and, as recently alluded to in a newspaper report in Hong Kong, Chinese weapons end up in Israeli hands. We can be sure that Chinese weapons end up in the hands of Hamas via North Korea. Thus, everyone (with a stake in the arms race) is a winner, except the ordinary people of Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Your correspondent is on an extended tour of the Far East taking in mainland China and Hong Kong. Whilst not headline news, the developing situation in Gaza emerges from time to time in the newspapers. In mainland China it was apparent from the China Daily, the English language mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, that China was essentially ‘full Hamas’. No mention of the Hamas murder of Jews was reported, the focus being on the sustained bombing and civilian casualties inside Gaza. The story of the bombing of a hospital with hundreds dead—subsequently discredited—was reported as accurate without any doubts about its veracity. Israel was clearly the enemy and must desist.
Moving to Hong Kong makes their newspaper of record, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), available. Now in its 120th year and owned by Chinese business mogul, Hangzhou based Alibaba, it has become more pro-Chinese in recent years. Nevertheless, it offers daily more balanced analysis of some issues than we have become used to seeing in British broadsheets. Some criticism of China appears, perhaps controlled to provide an impression of balance. But the daily page 4 Focus column provides an in-depth analysis of a range of issues and this week it was the relationship between China and Israel.
Traditionally quite close, Israel says it is furious with China for its lack of condemnation of the Hamas atrocities and probably even more furious with their focus, as shown in the China Daily, on their own atrocities. Perhaps China feels there has been enough condemnation of Hamas or that further condemnation will make little difference to the outcome of the situation. Perhaps they are right on one or the other of those points. We are certainly not short of condemnation in the UK and not short of pro-Palestine supporters on our streets. Condemnation undoubtedly helps people to feel better but what has it achieved?
The recent Focus column in the SCMP explores China’s deteriorating relationship with Israel and the problematic nature of the closeness of Israel to the USA. But the article also explains how Chinese weapons system, in particular Python technology and its use in developing missile systems uses US technology. Israel has sold advanced radar systems to China which they use in the fighter jets. Israel has continued to sell arms to China and China has also supplied Israel with military supplies as revealed in the SCMP according to Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping, who said that declining cooperation between China and Israel ‘not only affected Israel’s arms sales and tech transfer to China but also the reverse – Chinese military supplies to Israel.’
So, we condemn Hamas, China wants Israel to stop bombing Hamas and even the Americans have expressed ‘frustration’ at the Israeli tactics in Gaza. But with so many vested arms interests at stake and so much money to be made it is doubtful if anyone really wants the bombardment of Gaza to end except, perhaps, the poor Palestinians who are at the receiving end. Meantime, over in Ukraine…
Roger Watson is a retired academic nurse who lives in the UK.
He is currently engaged in a range of professional consultancies in the UK, Europe and China. He writes regularly for several outlets including The Daily Sceptic, The European Conservative, Country Squire Magazine and The New Conservative.
