Is China driving the new war epidemic?

Beijing is grappling with a new challenge after Covid – an expanding war encircling its friends and neighbors. Is China a victim or a contributor to this new conflict? The country may or may not be aware but suspicions are mounting about its role.

War is spreading like a virus during an epidemic. Two years ago, Russia initiated it in Ukraine. Then, as it became stuck in the marshes and bogs of the Dnepr River, war seized onto the decades-long simmering tensions in Gaza and erupted on October 7, 2023, with the Hamas terrorist attack.

It further reignited Houthi pirates’ aggression and is currently fueling threats and brinkmanship on the other end of Eurasia, in North Korea, where Kim Jong Un, with his distinct hairstyle, ominously flaunts newer missiles, bombardments and declarations of war.

Russia clearly initiated the conflict in Ukraine, but less evidently, a Russian shadow can be perceived behind Hamas, the Houthis, North Korea, and the “war fatigue” in some European countries like Italy, barely affected by the fight.

It appears that Moscow, unable to secure victories on the battlefields, is broadening the conflict elsewhere to divert Western military support from Kiev and escalate the clash with the US, hinting “Either you give me what I want in Ukraine or I’ll broaden the war to your doorsteps.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to lack military talent but demonstrates political genius, approaching war as a game of political chess.

However, this approach also backfires on Russia. Countries like Germany, initially lukewarm in their support for Ukraine, have grown to believe that satisfying Putin today will lead to more demands tomorrow.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned that the war between Russia