Blinken
© AP/Cliff OwenSecretary of State Antony Blinken • Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
September 13, 2023 • Washington DC
Washington must preserve its leadership "from a position of strength," the US Secretary of State has claimed...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed the world is transitioning to a new diplomatic order in which Washington must lead the way in overcoming increasing threats from Russia and China.

In a speech at John Hopkins University in Washington, he said:
"One era is ending, a new one is beginning, and the decisions that we make now will shape the future for decades to come. The post-Cold War order ended as decades of relative geopolitical stability have given way to an intensifying competition with authoritarian powers.

"Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine is the most immediate, the most acute threat to the international order."
Those powers are led by Russia and China. China poses the biggest long-term challenge, he claimed, because it aspires to reshape the international order and is developing the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do so.

"Beijing and Moscow are working together to make the world safe for autocracy through their 'no limits' partnership," Blinken argued. He claimed that Russia and China have framed the existing order as a "Western imposition," but that system is, he claimed, anchored in universal values and enshrined in international law. Ironically, he also accused the two rivals of believing that big countries can "dictate their choices to others," a charge that is increasingly made against Washington.


Comment: For good reason...'the charge' is correct.


Blinken claimed:
"When the Beijings and Moscows of the world try to rewrite - or rip down - the pillars of the multilateral system, when they falsely claim that the order exists merely to advance the interests of the West at the expense of the rest, a growing global chorus of nations and people will stand up to say, 'No, the system you are trying to change is our system. It serves our interests.'"

Comment: That would be a chorus of one, Mr. Blinken.


Blinken suggested that the US will lead "from a position of strength" largely because of its "humility." He added,
"We know we will have to earn the trust of a number of countries and citizens for whom the old order failed to deliver on many of its promises."
Alliances will be key to Washington's success, Blinken said. He claimed that just a few years after the capabilities and relevance of NATO were openly questioned, the Western military block has become "bigger, stronger, more united than ever."

Blinken said the Russia-Ukraine conflict proved:
"An attack on the international order anywhere will hurt people everywhere. the US aims to ensure that Ukraine defeats Russia and emerges from the conflict as a 'vibrant and prosperous democracy'."