Read on Twitter
“Ireland is not relevant to any global power games”
This is incredibly naive and thus dangerous considering how wrong it is. A quick thread for the benefit of @paddycosgrave... https://twitter.com/paddycosgrave/status/1245750636173557762
This is incredibly naive and thus dangerous considering how wrong it is. A quick thread for the benefit of @paddycosgrave... https://twitter.com/paddycosgrave/status/1245750636173557762
March 2018 @simoncoveney the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs went to China for Paddy’s day. Lots to discuss, in particular Brexit being a geostrategic opportunity for Ireland to position itself as China’s friend in Europe... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2138554/ireland-wants-replace-uk-chinas-trusted-friend-europe
Ireland wants to be China’s trusted friend according to @simoncoveney in this report. But specifically to *promote* the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Well straight away that compromises us and makes us very relevant to China’s geopolitical agenda.
In return, the FG boys got beef farmers access to Chinese markets. How predictable. All politics is local, look after your base.
But not before they hit up Huawei for some Chinese government spyware investment. A lot has changed in two years in terms of understanding of Huawei, but this is another example of how national security concerns are just not considered in Ireland. That’s incredibly irresponsible.
We have built one of the most advanced economies in the world as America’s commercial entry point into the European Union’s single market. But now we are ‘promoting’ their biggest geopolitical competitors grand ambition by seeking to replicate that model and facilitate China too.
Further reading on China’s Belt and Road Initative from an American perspective here: https://tnsr.org/2019/07/unlocking-the-gates-of-eurasia-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-and-its-implications-for-u-s-grand-strategy/
But yet here we are... https://twitter.com/leovaradkar/status/1244930775390224385?s=21
