Small Wars Journal | Tahir Azad
The US and Israeli campaign against Iran has yielded significant asymmetric gains for China, which leveraged the conflict to advance strategic interests without direct intervention. Beijing secured energy leverage through substantial oil stockpiles and strengthened its bargaining position with regional partners, while normalizing yuan-denominated transactions for Strait of Hormuz tolls, challenging dollar dominance. The war accelerated infrastructure entrenchment in Iran, with an estimated $8.4 billion in Chinese investment in 2024, deepening Tehran's reliance. Crucially, the conflict provided a battle-test for China's BeiDou satellite navigation system, demonstrating its operational resilience under Western GPS jamming, a major marketing coup for Global South militaries. The People's Liberation Army harvested invaluable intelligence on US and Israeli missile defense, targeting cycles, and command and control hardening, directly informing Taiwan contingency planning. Diplomatically, Beijing burnished its image as a predictable, lawful power, contrasting with perceived American recklessness, influencing regional states. This positions an energy-insulated, intelligence-enriched China for sharper competition in the Indo-Pacific, impacting India and Pakistan's nuclear deterrence.
No comments:
Post a Comment