Monday, January 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Baltics Must Reject China’s 17+1 Approach: Nathan Law and Marcus Kolga in IR

February 22, 2021
in Columns, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Program, In the Media, Latest News, Marcus Kolga, Nathan Law
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A

Long term Baltic economic and security interests are best served by reinforcing solidarity within a strong western alliance, in concert with the United States, Australia, Canada and the EU. The 17+1 cooperation is obviously a hindrance towards the collaboration, write Nathan Law and Marcus Kolga in IR. 

By Nathan Law and Marcus Kolga, February 22, 2021

The allure of doing business with one of the world’s largest economies is massive. Chinese financing, development and infrastructure support have been embraced from Africa to part of Europe. Yet the cost of leaning towards China usually involves a greater geopolitical trade-off, whether compromising national security or a betrayal of fundamental values. As we have seen in previous examples, national security and democracy are compromised in the cooperation with China. The Baltic countries, and the rest of European countries involved should withdraw from the 17+1 initiative in order to facilitate a coherent European strategy to China and preserve the democratic values that we all treasure.

Beijing’s 17+1 format is a forum created by the Chinese government where a number of Central and Eastern European governments are invited to participate in summits to discuss China’s Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects which are designed to facilitate expanded trade routes for China and other related trade issues.

One such project is the proposed “Talsinki” undersea tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki. Funding for the estimated €15billion tunnel would come primarily from China – which would ultimately own and operate the tunnel. Former Finnish Ambassador, Alpo Rusi has written that the project is problematic “in terms of security,” and that it might “strengthen the military presence of Russia and China in the Baltic sea.”

On the surface, large Chinese government funded infrastructure projects may seem attractive, but their long-term costs to national security, sovereignty and political independence in important areas like human rights and democracy are significant and harmful.

Belt and Road initiatives like the “Talsinki” tunnel are used to build up China’s geopolitical might, while meetings like the 17+1 summit are intended to divide EU members along old Cold War fault lines which are further broken down into bilateral relations that enable Beijing’s unchallenged domination of those nations.

In stark contrast, President Biden has actively encouraged the development of a western alliance of democracies to reinforce cohesion amongst by forging “a common agenda to address threats to our common values.”

President Xi Jinping’s primary tactic is to divide-and-conquer by negotiating with smaller blocks within the community of western liberal democracies and using economic wedges to break down unity among them. The recent signing of the EU-China investment pact provided scant gains for the EU while handing China a major diplomatic victory by creating a new division within the transatlantic alliance as President Biden is seeking to rebuild it.

Recognizing China’s effort to divide the EU’s common resolve, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania wisely declined to send high level representatives to China’s 17+1 on-line meeting on 9 February. They should take the next step: reject this format ,and call for a coordinated values-based approach that defends Baltic interests while promoting human rights, democracy and transparency.

When the Chinese government enters into international agreements, there is little evidence to indicate that it can be trusted to follow regulations or respect international laws. From the theft of intellectual property to mass violations of human rights – Premier Xi has clearly demonstrated that he believes his government is above any laws, and disregard people’s rights to protect the Chinese Communist Regime’s absolute power at any cost.

In Hong Kong, the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by both UK and Chinese governments ensures democracy in Hong Kong through the “one country, two systems”, which has been destroyed by the National Security Law (NSL). The Chinese government has been waging  campaigns of violent repression against the pro-democracy movement. Just last month,  more than 50 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were detained by authorities under NSL; a move that was condemned by the foreign ministers of Australia, the United States, Great Britain and Canada.

In an effort to eliminate ethnic minority cultures in China, Beijing has adopted the Soviet tactic of mass incarceration and indoctrination in Gulag type forced labour camps, which has been defined as genocide by western governments. Millions of Uyghurs have been detained and forced to produce goods for Chinese and western consumers in the Western Chinese province of Xinjiang. There is evidence that a similar campaign is being waged against Tibetans.

Taiwan’s anxiety about its menacing neo-imperialist neighbour should be familiar to the Baltic nations. Military incursions, disinformation, threats and cyber-attacks against Taiwan, are targeted to erode Taiwan’s resilience and ultimately its sovereignty.

The leaders of Central and Eastern European countries should be more aware of these human rights violations and adopt adequate measures to counter it. The Chairman of Estonia’s Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Marko Mihkelson recently warning that “it is high time for the Member States of the European Union to realize that each of them is an easy prey for China’s great interests,” and added that “only a common strategic approach will help to offset China’s growing dominance.” Former Estonian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Reinsalu and Urmas Paet echoed Mihkelson’s approach, suggesting that Estonia should only engage with China through a unified EU approach.

As attractive as a Chinese funded tunnel linking Estonia to Finland, or the prospect of cheap and plentiful Chinese vaccines may be – Estonian and Baltic leaders should remember the old adage, that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”. Long term Baltic economic and security interests are best served by reinforcing solidarity within a strong western alliance, in concert with the United States, Australia, Canada and the EU. The 17+1 cooperation is obviously a hindrance towards the collaboration.

Nathan Law, currently in exile in London, is the former leader of the pro-democracy party Demosistō and activist from Hong Kong. Law is also MLI’s Ambassador on Canada-Hong Kong policy.

Marcus Kolga is the director of DisinfoWatch.org and is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad.

Tags: BalticsChinaForeign Affairsforeign policyMarcus KolgaNathan Law
Previous Post

The ESG/CSR/oligopoly complex: William Watson in the Financial Post

Next Post

New polling finds Canadians support a foreign policy agenda that sides with democracies

Related Posts

How pipelines went from villain to hero in Indigenous reconciliation: Heather Exner-Pirot in the Calgary Herald
Columns

Alberta must assert itself over oil and gas against unilateral emissions cuts: Jack Mintz and Janice MacKinnon in the National Post

January 30, 2023
Henry Dundas was an abolitionist. He deserves a street named after him: Patrice Dutil in the National Post
Columns

Henry Dundas was an abolitionist. He deserves a street named after him: Patrice Dutil in the National Post

January 30, 2023
Canada can help Ukraine in better ways than sending tanks: Richard Shimooka in the Hub
Columns

Canada can help Ukraine in better ways than sending tanks: Richard Shimooka in the Hub

January 27, 2023
Next Post
New polling finds Canadians support a foreign policy agenda that sides with democracies

New polling finds Canadians support a foreign policy agenda that sides with democracies

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.