AXIS OF EVIL

Russia and China: The New Gog and Magog?

Latest moves by Russia and China threaten to dramatically shift the global balance of power. Where does that leave Israel?

 

by David Lazarus

 

Israel Today 

March 8, 2022

 

 

Are Russia and China making their move to together become the dominant global superpower?

 

 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called Russia his country’s “most important strategic partner” as Beijing continues to refuse to condemn the invasion of Ukraine despite growing pressure from the US and European Union to use its influence to rein in Moscow.

The Chinese foreign minister said that ties with Moscow constitute “one of the most crucial bilateral relationships in the world.”

Ominous words for those who see the troubling “axis of evil” now forming just north of Israel. And though signs of this disturbing development are everywhere, few seem to grasp the urgency of what looks to become a new “Gog and Magog” scenario developing before our eyes.

China, of course, is refusing to join the US, Europe and other nations around the world that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. “No matter how perilous the international landscape, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Wang went on to say at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament. It was a clear reference to a new world order.

“The friendship between the two peoples is ironclad,” he added.

In the build-up to Russia’s invasion, President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on February 4 during which the two made a joint statement affirming “strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests.”

Chinese state-controlled media have been told to post only pro-Russian content and to censor anti-Russian or pro-Western views, according to a copy of instructions that appeared on the social media account of the newspaper Beijing News. The post was later deleted, according to the Associated Press.

During the meeting between the two new superpowers, Russia unabashedly repeated its endorsement of China’s insistence that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of China and opposes any forms of independence for Taiwan.” China, in turn, backed Russia in opposing the further expansion of NATO.

Clearly, well before the invasion, China was aware of what Russia was planning, as the largest two communist countries in the world have been plotting for decades to form an alliance to counter a now-weakened and bewildered US and Europe in order to become the new global superpower. It now seems clear that a new Gog and Magog scenario is brewing on Israel’s northern border, where we find Iran closely aligned with Russia and China and quickly developing nuclear weapons.

 

 

 

For many years, China and Russia have increased their alignment against liberal Western foreign policy, and they have chosen their moment to make it clear that this new world order is a fait accompli. Their massive armies have been carrying out joint exercises shoring up a dominant military alliance.

Israel and the Middle East

Russia has always stood between East and West, developing its unique history, language, culture and religion (Pravoslavic Orthodox Christianity). China, on the other hand, is East, and it too boasts an ancient and unique culture, languages and religions. And of course Israel is right smack in what we call the Middle East.

The Chinese–Russian border along the Asian portion of Russia measures 4,209.3 kilometers (2,615.5 mi) and is the world’s sixth-longest international border. The new alliance of these two longstanding world powers has frightful implications for Israel and the Middle East. Especially if they can overtake America and Europe as the dominant global superpowers.

Arab nations throughout the Middle East and North Africa traditionally have aligned with Russia. Many Arabs in the region, including members of Israel’s government, are avid and outspoken communists. Most Arab countries in the Middle East have been heavily armed with Russian tanks, fighter jets, machine guns and hi-tech equipment in their fight against Israel.

While countries like Saudi Arabia and some of the Persian Gulf nations have buddied up to the US in exchange for massive arms deals, fear of Russia just to the north has kept them placated. The Abraham Accords have contributed to a degree of appeasement vis-à-vis the US and Israel, but the new superpower alliance now towering over the Middle East does not bode well for the tiny Jewish nation.

And for Israel, the US, once a faithful bulwark to these northern threats, now feels more like a distant ally, not close enough geographically to be of much concern to the Russian Bear and Chinese Dragon fuming in the North, nor politically or militarily prepared for any serious fight for anything anywhere.

Surrounded by 350 million Muslims in the Middle East, Israel is left once again to look to God alone and prepare for the fight of its life.