Shifting Dynamics in West Asia: US Foreign Policy, China’s Approach, and the Hamas Conundrum

Context

After pampering Pakistan for years, a shift in US’ approach has done much to take the Kashmir dispute off the front burner.

Gaza War

• Gaza Strip Genocide Inquiry: While the International Court of Justice examines the question of whether Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
  • Egypt will be joining the case brought against Israel by South Africa 
• US Acknowledges Weapon Use: USA acknowledges at last partially that Israel is using American weapons against Palestinians in ways that breach international humanitarian law. 

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USA Action against israel

• Halting of Bomb shipments: USA has paused a shipment of bombs (but not other weapons) when Israel refused to heed a warning against invading Rafah, where more than a million desperate Gazans have been driven by the war.
• Blocking of Palestinian membership: Washington stood alone in blocking a move at the United Nations (UN) to grant full membership to the Palestinians, even as Israel’s UN ambassador melodramatically shredded the UN Charter in response to the overwhelming UN General Assembly vote supporting Palestinian membership.
• US Isolation on Palestinian Issue: Washington stands even more isolated on this issue than Moscow does on the Ukraine issue, and it is a moot question what American foreign policy interest is served by its stance.

China’s Policy

• China’s Aggressive Neighborhood Policy: It is generally argued that Beijing has queered its own pitch by taking up an aggressive stance against so many of its neighbors at once: Taiwan, India, the Philippines and Japan to name a few.
• China’s Policy on West Asia: But on West Asia, Beijing has by far the smartest stance as it maintains close ties with all parties, however antagonistic they may be towards each other: Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the Palestinians, including Hamas.
  • Recently, Beijing managed to broker a rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran.
• West Asia Dynamics: As far as West Asia goes, it has outmanoeuvred both Washington and New Delhi.Orthodox foreign policy mavens argue that the US is far ahead of China in West Asia, because Beijing cannot project power, act as a power broker or shape regional developments in the same way that Washington can.
• China’s Ambitious International Strategy: China is, by contrast, a hungry and aspiring power, which enables it to quickly spot fresh opportunities as they arise on the international landscape.
• Contrasting Paths of USA and China: Thus, as the 21st century dawned, while China leveraged American investments and technology to cement its rise, America expended blood and treasure in playing a game of whack-a- mole with Islamic terrorists across the world.

US Foreign Policy

• Consequences of Post-9/11 US Foreign Policy: 9/11 prompted a justified response from the US, targeting the Taliban and eliminating Osama bin Laden. However, Washington’s aggressive pursuit of Islamic terrorists became the focal point of its foreign policy, inadvertently fostering more terrorism than it eradicated.
  • Iraq is an excellent example of this counter-productive strategy, as the American invasion of Iraq created the conditions for an entity like Islamic State to incubate
• China’s Strategic Advantage Amid US Distraction: Beijing, of course, was happy to see Washington thus distracted even as it consolidated its own position. And now Washington finds itself in the same situation once again, as it is unable to resist the temptation of wading neck-deep into West Asian politics.

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Conclusion

Hamas was designated as a terrorist organization by several countries and entities, including the United States, the European Union, Israel, Canada, and others.

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