Russia’s S-400s Aren’t Regionally Destabilizing Like the US Falsely Claims

The US’ ‘military diplomacy’ is no longer able to shape relevant regional processes like before, ergo why that declining unipolar hegemony is now intensifying its information warfare campaign against Russia’s practice thereof.

State Department spokesman Ned Price lambasted Russia’s S-400 exports to India during a press conference on Thursday. According to him, “I think it shines a spotlight on the destabilizing role that Russia is playing not only in the region but potentially beyond as well.” This is a completely false assessment that’s inconsistent with the facts. The opposite is true: Russia’s S-400 and other military-technical exports stabilize the regions to which they’re sent.

To explain, Russia’s practice of “military diplomacy” concerns the arming of rival pairs of countries in order to maintain the balance between them. This is intended to encourage both sides to explore political solutions to their disputes. The Russian approach contrasts with the American one. The US’ “military diplomacy” arms just one side of a rival pair with the intent of encouraging them to resort to military means for resolving their disputes.

Russia’s “military diplomacy” is therefore regionally stabilizing by its very nature while the US’ practice thereof is regionally destabilizing for the exact same reason. In the Indian context, Russia’s S-400 deal was about much more than just obtaining the highest-quality state-of-the-art air defense system for ensuring that South Asian state’s national security needs. It also represented a powerful rebuff of American pressure in the face of that country’s CAATSA sanctions threats.

The 18-Month-Long Sequence Of Complications In Indian-American Relations”, of which the US’ CAATSA sanctions threats played a pivotal role, made President Putin’s globally game-changing visit to India in early December possible. That trip saw these two special and privileged strategic partners essentially agree to assemble a new Non-Aligned Movement (“Neo-NAM”) in order to jointly create a third pole of influence in the increasingly bi-multipolar world order.

These geostrategic ambitions are the very definition of stabilizing, and not only for South Asia, but the entire Eastern Hemisphere as well if Russia and India succeed in assembling the Neo-NAM. The US is upset that India flexed its strategic autonomy and didn’t compromise on its national security interests in order to become yet another American vassal state. That’s why Price and other US representatives are deliberately misportraying the regional impact of India’s S-400 deal with Russia.

India isn’t the only country that feels caught in the middle of the ongoing US-Chinese New Cold War between these two superpowers and therefore regards Russia as playing a crucial balancing role in its grand strategy. Vietnam has the same assessment, as proven by the outcome of its president’s visit to Moscow in early December just prior to President Putin’s visit to India. They too signed a strategic partnership pact that also aims to improve Vietnam’s strategic autonomy vis-à-vis the US and China.

Turkey is yet another example of Russia’s successful “military diplomacy” in practice. Its prior purchase of that country’s S-400 was also a powerful rebuff of American pressure and reaffirmed global perceptions of that geostrategically positioned state’s neutrality in the New Cold War. That deal also prompted a political crisis in bilateral ties with the US, though it’s since largely been managed. The point, though, is that Russian arms sales play crucial roles in maintaining strategic balances.

The US’ “military diplomacy” is no longer able to shape relevant regional processes like before, ergo why that declining unipolar hegemony is now intensifying its information warfare campaign against Russia’s practice thereof. Simply put, the US is jealous that it can’t compete with its Eurasian rival on that front and wants to discredit the strategic successes brought about by Russia’s “military diplomacy”. It’ll of course fail to do so, but that won’t stop it from trying its utmost to that end.


By Andrew Korybko
Source: OneWorld

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