China is among today’s admirers of Iran. When the mighty US joined Israel to attack Iran two weeks ago, unexpectedly, China, the second-largest economy in the world, stepped up to watch.
And today, it has found a leaf to borrow from the book of the underdog.
Conceit of the US and Israel
US President Donald Trump was apparently so conceited about his ability to crash Iran that he ignored the important step of seeking approval from Congress.
He overestimated Iran’s economic, political, and military weakness and assumed that Iran would surrender before anyone had time to figure out what the war was about.
So, with Benjamin Netanyahu, a counterpart just as conceited, urging him on, Trump launched a war in a land 600km away, with his target still hovering around the negotiation table.
Trump assumed that with the economic complaints Iranians already had against their government, they would consider an outsider’s disruption of their government as a godsend.
He was wrong. The ordinary Iranian does not seem impressed. Instead, the reverse may be happening: rallying round the flag.
Whether the feeling is mutual among all Iranians may be debatable, but to the world, whether Iran’s ally or foe, the country’s resilience is unmistakable.
Low-cost Air Defense is the Way
Iran has had a shortage of long-range missiles, hence it cannot hit its biggest aggressor, the US, at home. Its reach of Israel is also limited, especially in terms of the frequency of missile hits.
Yet its venom is being felt by its aggressors, Israel and America. How are Iranians doing it, China wonders? Conclusion: They must be working smart.
China has noted how effectively Iran has utilized its short-range missiles, hitting local US allies while intercepting long-range missiles directed at it.
And while Beijing is confident in its capacity to launch multi-missile attacks if necessary, it has learned that the country needs to build up a stock of short-range missile and drone interceptors. It has also learned that such interceptors can be low-cost yet effective.
The government has now charged its Ministry of National Defense with researching and compiling a report highlighting lessons learned from Iran on how to handle today’s kind of war.
Besides the smart use of missiles, drones, and low-cost interceptors, China has seen the effects of the closure or restriction of the Strait of Hormuz on the US, its allies, and others. And China has a parallel in the Taiwan Strait.
That is another leaf the Defense Ministry will borrow and include in its report. This is important because China could potentially find itself in an altercation with Taiwan, a country normally backed by the US. The two have always insisted that only a small portion of the Taiwan Strait falls under Chinese jurisdiction, and that the rest is part of international waters.
Meanwhile, China believes that Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait are both part of the People’s Republic of China.