Enemies to Friends?

Scepticism Voiced in the UNODC over an Alliance between Russia, the USA, and China

The USA, China, and Russia have a complicated history with each other. Many United Nations Assemblies have been plagued with their mistrust of each other and unwillingness to compromise. So when the three nations proposed an alliance to tackle the issue of online terrorist recruitment in the UNODC, they expected to be met with approval and support. However, the opposite happened, with many delegates expressing reservations and scepticism. 

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise. Particularly under the current administration, the United States have developed a habit of flip-flopping between praising China and Russia, and then again meeting them with veiled hostility. President Trump’s contradictory comments about the actions of his two counterparts have solidified the image of the USA as an increasingly unpredictable and perhaps even irrational actor on the world stage. The picture in Russian and China is similar, with both actors frequently setting up and then scrapping agreements as their relations change. That all the world leaders’ repeated allegations of wrong-doing towards each other can now be discarded for the sake of cooperation, seems too good to be true. Justifiably, other delegates have raised the concern that the hard work they are doing in the committee could all be futile if its success rests on a volatile alliance subject to change at any time.

Could this issue allude to the course of future UN assemblies? It paints a bleak picture: If many discussions are either encumbered by disagreement between the three giants, or mistrust from other delegates if they agree to cooperate, how can they be successful. BuzzFeed believes the solution lies in establishing clear foreign policies strategies. It would be beneficial for members of the UN to have a better idea of where the three nations stand with regards to each other and their goals on the international stage. In the US, this could be achieved with the change in administration into the hands of Joe Biden this coming January. In Russia, there are talks of Putin stepping down next year. And in China, we shall wait and see.