Ukrainian lessons for PH: Biolabs, financial war, nuclear leaks, prospects for peace?

THE conventional concept of warfare is the use of military weapons – tanks, artillery, air strikes, infantry, ships. Besides the possibility of nuclear weapons, however, there are methods of warfare widely used today that are even more damaging to peoples and economies, if not just as immediately lethal. What are the new militarizations, how damaging are they, how are they dealt with?

Confiscation of currency reserves. Western countries in the US-led G7 froze $650 billion in Russian reserves, essentially canceling all funds saved by the Russian people that are still in international reserves. Russia only has $40 billion in debt in euros and US dollars. This cripples a country’s ability to buy supplies or sell revenue to fund conflict, or even buy goods for basic survival or health. The United States also applied this to Iraq, Venezuela, and Afghanistan, among others, causing famine and pandemic disasters, even though the United States was the aggressor.

Blocking of the SWIFT clearing system. Potentially devastating since the system is controlled only by the United States, where they can monitor all transactions and disable all transactions through the US dollar, after the United States unilaterally canceled the convertibility of gold agreed with the world . The United States applies it to Iran, supposedly because of the continued development of nuclear weapons, which the European Union and even former secretaries of state and defense have declared to be false, also creating great difficulties for the peoples.

Embargoes and trade sanctions. Few people understand that one of the main reasons why a nation’s defense must be extended beyond its borders is that it can be strangled and destroyed by embargoes, so that access to ports, maritime and land corridors is essential to the defense of sovereignty. That’s why the Black Sea and the South China Sea are areas of conflict, especially with the United States blocking commercial access very quickly, every few years like they did with Iran, Syria and others.

Access to technologies can be blocked and keep nations backward and dependent on the United States and its allies. Consider the European Union, including the UK and Germany, who wanted to buy the more technically and price-wise Huawei gear; the United States forced the EU and others to cancel purchases, while Australia and India did so voluntarily. Are the cited security reasons valid? The United States has been caught red-handed repeatedly spying on European leaders, entire populations, as revealed by Edward Snowden. It has not been proven that China does this outside of China; not to say it’s not possible, but Huawei has even offered to allow full testing of its technology, licensing it to independent US-run companies, but the US has not only refused, but “kidnapped” the daughter of the president of Huawei via Canada for the United States. accused of secretly and illegally dealing with Iran, and Canadian and US courts have rejected clear evidence to the contrary obtained from HSBC emails, which have never been denied as genuine.

Selectivity and hypocrisy through media hegemony. They are super weapons, for gaining worldwide support and painting others as aggressors and yourself as a hero, through fake news and lies, or facts without context. Note that the illegal American and British invasions of Iraq, Libya, etc. – all fought by the United Nations, with many more deaths, or the attacks in the Middle East against Yemen and the Palestinians supported by American and British weapons – have never been the subject of sanctions, financial affairs or even legal proceedings of any importance. Even ICC officials have been punished by the United States. The United States controls the top of the world’s largest media streaming entities, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, which can selectively ban without any understandable explanation or consistency. YouTube just banned RT and Sputnik, which critics call “state-sponsored media” that provide far more evidence and real sources in their reporting than Western media reports based on “allegations” and ” anonymous sources”.

Alternative and partial solutions will become major considerations for countries – increasing autonomy in supply and markets, holding reserves in other currencies and assets such as gold, countering asset confiscation.

Biological warfare. The invasion of Ukraine revealed the existence of about 30 biological laboratories in Ukraine, funded by the United States. Originally, the United States totally denied their existence. Recently denounced by Russia and questioned by the US Senate on the search for biological weapons there, Victoria Nuland avoided answering and simply said that the United States was very concerned that biological material and agents deadly pathogens should be prevented from falling into the hands of the Russians, and immediately asserted that any biological attack would be by the Russians.

All Western news outlets later agreed, without verification, and broadcast an explanation from the U.S. government around the world stating, “Fact Check: DoD worked with Ukraine to eliminate biological weapons left over from the Soviet Union since 2005… » For 17 years? Really?! Why are there 30 laboratories in Ukraine?

The United States and the media continue to deny this and accuse Russia of disinformation, despite Nuland’s confession and Robert Polk of the Defense Department’s Threat Reduction Agency admitting that the United States has continued its research. on deadly pathogens. It is illegal to develop, transfer and stockpile hazardous biomaterials worldwide, according to the Biological Weapons Convention. The United States funds and develops pathogens and biological weapons in more than 300 biological laboratories around the world and denies their international oversight.

Everyone will have to continue to develop their biological crisis management capacities even if the Covid-19 virus seems to be subsiding.

The prospects for peace improve and diminish simultaneously. Because there are parties that profit and want war. Continued talks have opened up humanitarian corridors, initially blocked by ultra-nationalist Ukrainians, but now being used. The West highlights people’s hardships, and while this is true, it’s clear from the videos that people are stressed but well-dressed and relatively relaxed, unlike areas of US invasions.

Whenever Zelensky says that Ukraine is now ready to consider not joining NATO and to discuss (not yet agree) political structures in eastern Ukraine, the United States and the Kingdom United offer to send a new batch of more powerful weapons – first for MiGs out of Poland, then added aircraft, missiles and anti-tank weapons. Every time a new deal seems within reach, the United States adds sanctions, forcing the Russians to take demonized countermeasures.

Events are sensationalized to provoke. Contrary to what Western media reported: the Ukrainians on Snake Island were all sent home, they did not die fighting; the fire at the nuclear power plant was not due to Russian bombardments but to a shooting; The International Atomic Energy Agency certifies that the levels of radioactivity have never increased… Ukrainians and Russians have worked together to ensure early repair and reactivation to serve the populations.

We Filipinos are particularly susceptible to the above misinformation, known for not having a tradition of verifying through research, but simply accepting the views of friends, opinion leaders (not acquaintances) and media who blindly quote Western news sources such as Reuters, AFP, CN, etc.

The biggest danger to recognize – there are people who really benefit and who, for geopolitical reasons, want extensive wars around the world to avoid their loss of centrality. Who are they? Find out by following the money. Follow our research… more next week.

Adolfo Paglinawan served as press secretary for the Philippine Embassy in Washington and for the United Nations in New York. He is the author of “A problem for every solution”, editor of sovereignph.com and resource expert in several news programs. He is director of the Phil-BRICS Institute for Strategic Studies.

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