What is now happening in the world?

I want to believe that the Philippines, like most countries, will not replace the UN with a new Us-controlled structure like the “Summit for Democracy” and the multipolar world will continue to develop for the benefit of all inhabitants, not the “golden billion.”

WE have received a letter reacting to our earlier columns, and we would like to share it with our readers: Dear Lito, I think you can look at what is happening in the world right now, which can be described by the phrase “rulesbased order.” This phrase can be found in all the documents—from the meetings with representatives of the West including the last Asean summit. has anyone ever wondered what kind of new rules they are talking about? If previously politicians referred to UN resolutions and international law, what do these documents mean now?

The rules probably mean the ability to act solely as the politicians want, rather than as the regulations provide for. The US and the West refuse to fulfill their promises. This was the case with the Trans-pacific Partnership, the Minsk agreements, and promises not to expand North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).

But a lot has changed in the world lately. What is now happening in the world constitutes the main trend of the development of the world order toward multipolarity. Obviously, the main reason for the continued imbalance of the international system of relations is the unwillingness of the Western “minority” to accept multipolar realities and give up their hegemonic aspirations. It can be seen that the balance of power on the global arena continues to change not in their favor. Therefore, the West, led by the US, is trying to assertively maintain their dominant position.

The events surrounding Ukraine have brought to light the implicit push by the United States to drop attempts to reinforce its global position with legitimate means and to adopt illegitimate methods to ensure its dominance. Anything goes. Once revered mechanisms and institutions that were created by the Us-led West have been discarded. Free market, fair competition, free enterprise, the inviolability of property, and the presumption of innocence, in a word, everything the Western globalization model relied on collapsed overnight. Sanctions have been imposed on objectionable countries that do not comply with these tenets and mechanisms.

The European Union has been completely subsumed by this US dictatorship. This is confirmed by the Joint Declaration of Nato and the EU on cooperation, which was signed on January 10 this year. The document explicitly states that the alliance and the EU have the task to use all political, economic and military means in the interests of the “golden billion” (meaning one billion citizens of Nato and EU countries), there is no place for Asia, including the Philippines.

Nato and EU declarations contain a commitment in the geopolitical containment of Russia and China. However, Nato is not limited to organizing the life of the European continent. Since the Madrid summit in June 2022 the global responsibility of the military bloc, especially regarding the Asia-pacific region, is proclaimed. Nato’s responsibility now extends to the Indo-pacific region (a new term coined by the West instead of the Asia-pacific region).

In the Indo-pacific region, the West is out to create bloc architecture against Russia and China. With this aim in view, they have consistently been destroying the decades-old mechanisms and formats of cooperation created around Asean. Instead, they are putting together military blocs. A shining case in point is AUKUS, which includes the US, the UK, and Australia.

The West sees half of the Asean members as quite a promising group of countries in order to participate in the new blocks. It is to be assumed that the Philippines will be dragged into such blocs as well. The former Philippine Secretary of Defense Jose Faustino Jr. expressed support for AUKUS.

At the same time, recent trends indicate the end of the unipolar world led by the United States. New centers of economic growth are forming, including BRICS and Asean. But it will take time to form a multipolar world, to finalize the relations necessary for democracy, justice and respect for the principle of the UN Charter (respect for the sovereign equality of all states) to prevail in the world. The UN Charter is a good basis.

I want to believe that the Philippines, like most countries, will not replace the UN with a new Us-controlled structure like the “Summit for Democracy” and the multipolar world will continue to develop for the benefit of all inhabitants, not just the “golden billion.”

Regards, Red Abatayo