Today, the Chinese government has enhanced its foreign policy definition in the Middle East through its military intervention that involves arms trade, peacekeeping mission and anti-piracy operations in the region. The military is deployed in the region for peacekeeping missions and anti-piracy operations, which in turn is expected to boost Chinese arms trade. Chinese policy definition depends on its interests in the region and sometimes is determined by the United States foreign policy. For instance, even though China main policy is economic- and political-driven, the current increase in military missions and operations comes in the wake of its realization that the US and Russia uses the military approach to pursue their interests and their constantly changing foreign policy in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the US perceives Chinese actions especially the uncontrolled arms trade as provoktive. As a result, US imposes policy measures to ensure that China is accountable to its arms trade.
Introduction
While there are great implications of military interventions in a polarized region such as the Middle East, China’s foreign policy have significant contribution to the geopolitical state of the region (Ron, 2017). The effectiveness of its policy is determined by its current military approach in arms trade and the existing US foreign policy regarding the same (Bitzinger, 1992). Consequently, this paper seeks to answer the following research question: “How has China foreign policy increased after its recent military intervention as a policy approach in the Middle East?” The practical significance of this question is for policy makers to apply it in understanding China’s new arms trade policy given current criticisms of this policy lacking global appeal and requiring approval by the US (Lanteigne, 2009).
The Evolution of China Foreign Policy
Throughout, the United States has paid great attention to issues around the Gulf while China considered this region as a relatively insignificant and peripheral section of the world (Brown, 2014). However, the Middle East is now experiencing Beijing’s security and economic calculus as has not been witnessed before (Scobell & Nader, 2016). Beijing’s unprecedented increase in its foreign policy is described as resulting from sudden increase in its economic ambitions and the desire to oust US dominance in the region (Bo, 2017). Critics such as Zhu (2016) call this evolution a reaction to the United States “rebalance” strategy to Asia, declared in 2012 by the US President Obama (Rice, 2016) and was to focus on balancing military intervention and US economic interests. Another reason can be based on the region becoming increasingly significant in terms of arms supplies by countries such as Russia, US, Germany and France (Bo, 2017). The third reason can be due to the Middle East becoming geostrategically and economically critical for Beijing and Washington (Brown, 2014).
China’s Increased Policy Definition
Both China and the US have common interests on arms and oil trade, though both powers apply completely distinct policy strategies to secure their interests (Lanteigne, 2009). The US applies military countermeasures in pursuit of its interests while China uses economic investment and trade as their policy approach in the region (Ron & Xiaojuan, 2017). Initially, China’s foreign policy was more on energy security and infrastructural development (Rubin, 2007). According to Blumenthal (2005) the increase in conflicts in the region increased demands for defense weapons and technologies, which signs the onset in Chinese new policy on arms trade. Some of the states that it supplies arms include; Pakistan, Iran, and Lebanon, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Ron, 2017). Most of its trade with these countries have received global criticism as these states have been perceived to support ideological missions such as extremism and jihadism (Lin C. , 2018). Even so while adopting this new policy, Beijing has to constantly seek approval from Washington on their trading partners (Ron & Xiaojuan, 2017). This, according to Matthews and Ping (2017) is a US Middle East Policy to counter threats against its interests and that of its allies in the region.
China Foreign Policy
According to Scobell (2016), China foreign policy in the Middle East is a product of Obama’s rebalance strategy (Rice, 2016). In this case, China attempts to rebalance foreign, domestic and security policies so that such a balance is skewed towards itself in terms of economic benefits. Nevertheless, Brown (2014) contends that Chinese new policy strategy is neither a reaction to the Obama rebalance approach nor is it a new phenomena. When it comes to arms trade, the US is viewed positively as it gives due attention to who they are selling arms to (Ron, 2017). Conversely, China’s participation in arms trade is not selective but engages on trade entirely with little or no concerns on the impact of such trades (Brown, 2014) . This has led to China selling arms to terrorists and states that sponsor acts of terror. Also, the US has often criticized China due to its arms trade that lack policy countermeasures against terrorism and which require a review and approval based on potential implications (Scobell & Nader, 2016). When assessing China’s broad economic and security interests, the US is viewed negatively because of its forward military posture and alliances that are seen as a threat to China’s trade and security around its periphery (Scobell & Nader, 2016).
Shortly after the end of the Cold War, China was disengaged from the Middle East and showed only a little presence with a small stake in the region (Nunan, 2017). However, as Blumenthal (2005) asserts, current China engagements indicates an increase in military deployment on strategic points in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. The result of this according to Scobell and Nader (2016) is the increased interests in oil and arms trade that lead to new policy or arms trade in the region. Thus, since China tends to take a more somber approach in its Middle East conflicts, is sees limitations by the US in its arms trade as a threat to its economic prosperity in the region (Lin C. , 2018). Consequently, such perception has motivated it to double its arms sales and military deployment in attempts to overcome US foreign policy on arms trade. According to Gardner (2017), the increase in significant China’s arms trade in the Middle East comes with several implications. One is that it impacts on its security while at the same time determining its regional posture and relationships with other superpowers such as US, who also is a key supplier of arms in the region. The deployment of the military, as Muhammad (2014) claims is triggered by China’s efforts to attain higher global recognition as a superpower through trade and global engagements. According to Scobell and Nader (2016), diplomatic wins for China in the Middle East can be described as an initial trickle, which is trailed by series of diplomatic control over arms trade. Such engagements in the sale of arms leads to Beijing increasing its policy strategies to ensure that it ousts dominion that both US and Russia has had over a long period of time (Daojiong & Meidan, 2015).
Daojiong and Meidan (2015) argue that even though Washington continues to be recognized as the most significant city in the Middle East region, many countries in the Middle East are shifting their attention to Beijing for arms trade, security cooperations and diplomatic consultations. Such impressive shift has compelled China to increase its foreign policy through increase in arms supplies (Gardner, 2017). Furthermore, China has been able to maintain impressive relations with many Middle Eastern countries and especially Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon, and Israel because of its generosity in aid and not snooping with their state’s affairs. Besides the sale of arms, China military presence has been as a result of peacekeeping initiatives in Lebanon, Isreal, and Palestinian while its deployments in Saudi Arabia in anti-piracy operations.
China’s Intentions in the Middle East Policy
In his report, Bitzinger (1992) claimed that China’s major intention in the growing military intervention in the Middle East is to grow its arms trade and increase oil exportation back home . Lin (2018) stresses that arms trade is one of the areas that US has greatly criticized China on because of its uncontrolled engagements with even US enemies. Consequently, the US threatens to impose severe sanctions on China should it continue with such trade (Xiang, 2017). In a way, the US requires China to seek approval before execution of any arms trade to any Middle East country in order to protect its interests. Nonetheless, in most states in Middel East, China policy is connected through engagements in arms trade and military deployments (Ron & Xiaojuan, 2017). Also, China increasing military capabilities and deployment in the name of peacekeeping missions poses a threat to US diminishing capabilties in the region. Hence, in most cases, China sees its military might as an excuse to ignore US approval requirements on arms trade (Gardner, 2017). In contention to this, Blumenthal (2005) opins that China peacekeeping mission is a monolithic and hard security intervention style heavily determined by the real politics and the aspirations of the powerful countries instead of those who constitute such operations. Thus, the nature of a regional peacekeeping mission is understood based on technical training approaches where these operations could be a means to secure an economic advantage (China) at the expense of another country (US) (Daojiong & Meidan, 2015). Nevertheless, the implications of military peacekeeping operations in Lebanon on resultant China’s foreign policy are evident (Scobell & Nader, 2016). In October 2017, Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian ascertained that China would not cease its UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and will continue supplying arms to states that feel they need to protect themselves from any aggression (Bo, 2017). While many viewed this move as a strategic humanitarian security mission, critics such as Xiang (2017); Link (2007) and Muhammad (2014) describes this as a way to overrun existing trade limitations imposed by the US. Nevertheless, Scobell and Nader (2016) argue that China peacekeeping mission in Lebanon demonstrates an increased level of its policy and trade interests in the Middle East.
China’s Foreign Policy Strategy
Beijing displays an engraved sense of susceptibility in its peacekeeping mission engagements in the Middle East (Braude & Jiang, 2017). Consequently, former China endeavored to defend its increasing interests in the region by consistently avoiding taking sides in conflicts and controversies that disturbed the region (Blumenthal, 2005). According to Braude and Jiang (2017), China has since evolved its interests in the Middle East by growing its arms trade beyond what the US describes as a threat to security of the region. On the other hand, (Feldman, 1997)states that Beijing strategy after the end of the Cold War entailed the application of instruments of power considered as critical in its relationships with Saudi Arabi, Lebanon, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. This is explained by Lin (2018) as a wary dragon strategy that results to the deployment of the military in a region perceived to be potentially enticing in trade (Scobell & Nader, 2016).
Also, Chinese collaboration with Saudi Arabia in arms, and oil trade and anti-piracy operations represents a case example of increased policy definition (Braude & Jiang, 2017). The anti-piracy operations in the Middle Eastern region were triggered by pirates hijacking a merchant fuel tanker at the coast of Somali (Panda, 2017). This fuelled China’s intention to establish itself in the Indian Ocean (Djibouti), something that propagated to the Middle East countries such as Pakistan. Even though China termed this as a “logistics and fast evacuation base,” the US views this as an establishment to spearhead its perceived illegal arms trade and aggressive military buildup against it (Lin, 2015). Never anticipated, the construction of this military base triggered an increase in Chinese military policy in the Middle East. Neither the confluence nor the timing of such contributions are mere coincidences (Rubin, 2007). The fading America’s military footprints globally have a role in how rivals such as China and allies alike are calculating their policies (Braude & Jiang, 2017). According to Lanteigne (2009), besides the Djibouti base, China is planning to construct another base in Pakistan. Lanteigne claims that the the establishment of Chinese bases on Djibouti represents one of the policy strategies that China is pursuing in the Gulf region. Standoffs at the horn of Africa, according to Daojiong and Meidan (2015) increases China’s illegal trade in arms, which contravenes US policy in the Middle East. Nevertheless, they further argue that events happening at the Horn of Africa represents expansions from the Gulf crisis and China could be headed to establish itself in the Middle of this storm and embolden its arms trade. Thus, to many, Chinese military deployments and bases in the name of anti-piracy operations is a cover-up game as it edges to benefit economically from the crisis and grow its arms supplies in the region (Ron & Xiaojuan, 2017).
Conclusion
While the history of China’s foreign policy in the Middle East has been reflexive, its current military operations and arms trade in the region in the name of peacekeeping and anti-piracy operations seems to be obscene. China consistently violates International laws in defense of its strange definition of “freedom of navigation” that has been seen to discriminate military and civilian vessels, especially in the South China Sea, and consequently proliferating arms trade. Such moves have continuously aroused doubts on the United States and some Middle East US allies concerning the real intentions that China holds in the region through its increased arms supplies. Whereas China exerts itself beyond limits imposed by the United States, the reasons why China has to seek approval in its arms sale in the Middle East remains a question of the United Nations protocols. As an answer to this, it is critical to review what Rubin (2007 describes as a two factor contra-indicators of Chinese arm sale trade in the Middle East. One is that China’s association with the radical states is not basically strategic or ideological choices, but comes from such states lacking technological edges and their relative weaknesses to defend themselves from external aggressions. Second is that China has been able to establish and maintain good relationships with almost all countries in the Middle East and particularly Iran, which the US considers a major threat to its foreign policy. The Chinese arms trade in the Middle East can be described as a successful one driven by the adopted policy to intervene militarily. Nevertheless, it has been criticized owing to its arms sales irresponsibilities and the propensity to infringe commitments in arms restrain. It is due to these that it has to seek approval from the US for arms sales, despite it pursuing its own trade freedom.
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