New appearance of North Vietnamese soldiers in Russia to combat Ukraine has sparked fears that a global World War III may be coming.
North Korea’s entrance into the issue is only one more part of the anti-Western empire that spans the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It includes China, Iran, and substitute armies it supports in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq as well as Russia and North Korea.
Each has an ambition to overthrow eight decades of power through what they see as a bloated but hostile West, and particularly leadership from the United States, which they believe is in decline.
Western researchers see Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a first step toward undermining the political West, along with North Korean soldiers ‘ membership.
” We’re in a pre-war period leading to international conflict, the most severe, the most risky and the most difficult we have had since World War II”, said Jack Keane, a retired US common who heads the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based consider container. In a television interview that aired last Sunday, he said,” I do think World War III is in the future.”
NATO’s Mark Rutter, who referred to a military danger that extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, doubled down on his alarms.
” Russia, working together with North Korea, Iran and China, is not only disturbing Europe, it threatens peace and security—yes, here in Europe– but also in the Indo-Pacific and in North America”, he concluded in a speech read following a conference with French President Emanuel Macron.
As proof of the spreading harm, he pointed to disturbing recent events, specifically:
- The exchange of Soviet missile technology to North Korea is a particular alarm for South Korea and Japan.
- The Russian-Irani military alliance and markets, which include Russian payments of military robots from Iran, give the Islamic Republic money to pay “proxies” that “destabilize the Middle East” and “fund terrorism more afield”
- China, in opposition to global sanctions, large cash purchases of Russian fossil fuel support Moscow’s local war-making sectors. Additionally, Beijing offers free elements for a variety of worn-out Russian military technology.
The NATO commander pleaded for allied unity to experience an anti-Western empire. ” We must stand together – Europe, North America and our international partners – to preserve our people healthy and prosperous”, Rutter said.
Rutter’s gathering cry obviously addressed European nations, whose support for Kyiv is declining. Under Donald Trump’s presidency, there is a particular interest and concern about US coverage.
Trump promised voters a kind of self-centered” America First” international policy, raising concerns if that limits continued aid for Ukraine. General Keane fears that hostile enemies have been fueled by creeping US protectionism.
” China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, who are cooperating, collaborating, coordinating up, consider that our management in the United States is poor, that we’ve lost the political will to fight them, much less get and combat them”, the withdrew US general said.
The West is not the only place to hear apocalyptic commentary. The possibility of a world war may have been underestimated, according to Zheng Yongnian, a foreign affairs analyst whose commentary frequently appears in official Chinese media.
” Looking at today’s situation, regional wars involving multiple countries, especially major powers, have already broken out, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict”, he added.
Zheng attributed the Middle East’s current turbulence to the West. ” While the wars in the Middle East have manifested themselves mainly as a conflict between Israel and Hamas, many other countries, especially the US, have become deeply involved”, he concluded.
This summer, Dmitri Medvedev, a Putin ally and former Russian president, warned NATO that providing military aid to Ukraine was ensuring that” World War III is getting closer”.
In any event, a lot has changed since Trump’s last turn inside the White House between 2017 and 2021. As US adversaries turn to war, Trump’s baffling issues have turned into tense disputes and even deadly hostilities.
Putin appears willing to continue the Ukraine war into Trump’s new term, despite certain estimates his forces have suffered around 610, 000 casualties. North Korean intervention in Ukraine is due in part to Russia’s need for fresh troops, observers surmise.
” Russia is desperate for manpower but wants to avoid a second mobilization, which would involve involuntary call-ups of Russian citizens”, wrote the Center for International and Strategic Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
” US officials estimate that Russia is recruiting 25, 000 to 30, 000 new soldiers a month, barely enough to keep pace with the reported daily casualty rate of 1, 000–or 30, 000 a month”, the influential think tank wrote.
Near Kursk, Russia’s border town, which Ukrainian forces unexpectedly overran this summer, have about 12 000 Korean soldiers gathered. The North Koreans are joining about 40, 000 Russian troops deployed for a counteroffensive. Beyond manpower, North Korea is also supplying weapons, including missiles.
According to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations,” North Korea sent eight million shells to Ukraine last year, as well as dozens of short-range missiles,” which will do much more to keep the Russian military afloat than a few thousand troops. ” Western supporters of Ukraine, by contrast, have struggled to match this provision of ammunition and weapons”.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, asserts that if his forces are given the necessary weapons, they will force Russia to leave. He also asks for permission to launch missiles at enemy forces deep inside Russia, begs the US to keep providing arms, and also for continued supply of weapons.
As the Ukraine war drags on, World War III discussions have gotten more frequent. Trump has said only that he will end the war “within 24 hours” of taking office next January, or even before, though he has n’t explained how.
Trump backs Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to bomb Iran, which was just launched in retaliation for Israeli missile attacks that have previously targeted Israel.
At the same time, two Iran-backed proxies— Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon– are under intense Israeli military pressure in a 13-month onslaught.
Trump views Hamas and Hezbollah as Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations. He backs Israel’s massive attack on Hamas as retaliation for its 2023 attack on Israeli-occupied communities.
He has also supported Hamas ‘ occupation of Lebanon by Israel, but he has not yet stated how much Hezbollah should be punished for its support. The US Justice Department made federal accusations last week regarding an Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump before the November 5 presidential election.
Finally, Trump has promised to slap 60 % tariffs on China, a pledge that was central to his campaign. He uses the taxes to lure manufacturers who have fled to low-wage China to relocate to the US and find new employment.
He has n’t yet taken a position on China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nor on Beijing’s ever-louder insistence that it must “reunify” Taiwan with the mainland.
Trump made unconventional overtures to lessen tensions with potential adversaries during his previous term in office, none of which produced any notable breakthroughs.
He tried flattery with Putin, called the Russian leader a “genius” and described Russia’s 2014 limited invasion of Ukraine” savvy”. Flattery got Trump nowhere, however, judging by his second invasion of Ukraine in 2022 under Biden.
Kim Jung Un, the leader of North Korea, and Trump met with him in Vietnam and Singapore to discuss nuclear weapons. He followed up with a series of what Trump called “love letters” to the North Korean dictator. The denuclearization proposal died as a result of the exchanges.
Most significantly, perhaps, Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping at his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, where they discussed trade disputes but reached no accords to ease tensions. Trump later imposed tariffs on a select group of Chinese goods, all of which are still in effect as he considers imposing more.
Trump’s unconventional approach to high-stakes diplomacy will have better luck this time around, or will he remain in charge when World War III is a reality rather than a threat?