Three Eurasian Nations Combine
To Combat the British Assault
by Mary Burdman
After the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and China in Yekaterinburg, Russia, May 14, and their follow-up meeting with the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Lyndon LaRouche declared that the agreements announced there reflect the emergence of what he had long anticipated: a Eurasian alliance determined to defeat the attacks on their nations by the British Empire, and its Bush Administration appendages.
This strategic alliance is based on the clear understanding by Russia, India, and China, in particular, that they must hang together to defeat the British imperial assault on the very survival of nation-states, or go down to defeat separately, LaRouche stated. If the United States sticks with the British in this showdown, it will suffer as well, he said.
LaRouche directed a specific message to Americans in light of this development: Your government is taking you to hell. All Asia is uniting against the United States, which is now following the British lead. They know Britain is the enemy, but you must realize that as well. We need a change in policy now, not after the election. Get the idiot in the White House under control, and save our nation now.
A Strategic Alliance
In a joint communiqué adopted at their eighth meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and China—nations that represent fully one-third of the world's population and a great deal of its industrial-scientific capability—reaffirmed the commonality in their views on the global situation. For the first time, they set out coordinated positions on Kosovo, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Asia-Pacific region, as India displayed a greater readiness to go along with its partners in the triangle on these issues.
On Kosovo, for the first time India joined Russia and China in stating categorically in the joint communiqué that the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The three nations called for settling the issue in accordance with norms of international law, and on the basis of an agreement, through negotiations, between Belgrade and Pristina.
On Iran's nuclear program, Russia, India, and China called for a political and diplomatic settlement of the problem through negotiations. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee went even further in his speech at the meeting, saying that India supported Tehran's right to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, provided it fulfilled its international obligations. All outstanding issues should be resolved through the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said, noting that confrontation and destabilization had adverse effects on the region.
But, perhaps most important, for the first time in this venue, Russia and China welcomed India's aspirations for playing an enhanced role as an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This also indicated New Delhi's revived interest in the regional security body, which unites Russia, China, and four Central Asian states.
Mukherjee praised the troika "for extending its practical cooperation to trade, technology, disaster management, relief, health and medicine, which would be highly beneficial to large chunks of our populations."
This development is not an objective "event," but the very direct result of a process set in motion at least ten years ago, when Lyndon LaRouche called for the development of a "Strategic Triangle" of cooperation among the three nations. At that time, the call was picked up by Russia's then-Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov, with initial results, but it did not maintain momentum.
Meanwhile, the escalating impact of LaRouche's clarion call, for the development of a New Bretton Woods and other moves against a British Empire which is determined to obliterate the nation-state, especially in Eurasia, has brought increasing clarity to the situation in these nations. As the British have ramped up their assault on Eurasia, including with the global food crisis, the core nations of the SCO have responded.
Acting on the Food Crisis
On May 15, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim joined with the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and China, in a meeting which focussed on the global food crisis. In statements made to the press afterwards, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the meeting's host, and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi issued a statement emphasizing the urgent need for action on ensuring food security for nations throughout the world.
Lavrov told the press that the "food crisis can be solved only on a universal basis with consideration for different aspects, be it energy or climate." According to ITAR-Tass, Lavrov said that "all effective measures are needed" for the crisis, and that this solution should be discussed at the upcoming UN Food and Agriculture meeting in Rome.
On the importance of the meeting with Brazil, Lavrov said that the four nations would work to "support global stability and ensure uninterrupted and manageable global development," the Hindu reported from Yekaterinburg. "We are the world's fastest growing economies, we have many common interests in the globalized world and share many views on how to build a more democratic, fair and stable world."
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called on the international community to make joint efforts to ensure food security—and emphasized a key solution, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Yang said at the post-meeting press conference that China is now 95% self-sufficient in food production, and its annual food imports are only 2% of world food trade volume. China must feed more than 20% of the world's population with less than 10% of its arable land. Yang Jiechi said that the four "BRIC" nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China) play vital roles in maintaining world peace and facilitating mutual development. "We think that BRIC cooperation is important ... [and] larger cooperation between the states will be beneficial for international stability."
Yang also attacked oil speculation: "Speculation in world markets has led to soaring world oil prices. The international community should step up energy efficiency and enhance dialogue between oil producers and oil consumers."
India's Mukherjee said that the group is a "unique combination of mutually complementary economies," and a platform to promote energy and food security, fight terrorism, and reform global political and financial bodies. Mukherjee told the Press Trust of India that there "are multiple reasons for the current food crisis, primarily due to recent cyclones in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which destroyed the entire rice crops in these countries, also exporters of rice. Now they have to import rice instead of exporting it."
More generally, Mukherjee asserted that the larger developing nations such as India, China, and Brazil, have cushioned the world financial crisis. These nations "have prevented the world from facing a worsening situation. This is a different situation from the past, when there was a global slowdown," said Mukherjee. "In this area, it is clear BRIC can increasingly play a key role."
Next Agenda: Global Financial Issues
Although Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim apparently persisted in Brazil's national obsession with biofuels, it is notable that the other nations' press coverage ignored the issue, although biofuels were mentioned in the joint communiqué. Both India and China have repeatedly made it clear that they will not endanger their national food security for the sake of producing biofuels.
The communiqué states that the Brazilian side has proposed "to organize a meeting of economy and/or finance ministers of the BRIC countries to discuss global economic and financial issues." The Ministers called for a "just global economic system," and emphasized "energy security, socio-economic development and environmental protection," and called for ways to "increase access to energy," using "renewable sources ... including biofuels." Nuclear energy was not mentioned, although three of the nations—Russia, China, and India—all have robust policies for civilian nuclear development.
The four nations will meet again at the UN General Assembly in September in New York, and their next "stand-alone" meeting of the Russia, China, India strategic triangle and their BRIC meeting will both be hosted by India next year, and will occur simultaneously; this year, the Eurasian triangle met first.
The Hindu questioned at a press conference whether the two formations might merge, and expand to include other nations such as South Africa and Mexico. Lavrov, while not making forecasts, replied: "Our BRIC meeting [May 16] and RIC meeting [May 15] allow me to assert with confidence that the groups' evolution in the natural course of things will be reflected in the forms of their organization."
There will also be university conferences on the four-nation cooperation to be held in St. Petersburg, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, and Qingdao.
