The Theater of Imperial Peace: Gaza's Suffering and China's Legitimate Defense Expose Western Double Standards

The Facts: Two Crises, One Imperial Pattern

In the occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the second phase of the U.S.-brokered plan to end the Gaza war is “close,” yet simultaneously admits that major issues remain unresolved. Standing alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem, Netanyahu revealed his upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington to address critical obstacles including the composition of a multinational security force for Gaza, alternative deployment scenarios if foreign troops refuse participation, and specific implementation timelines. This diplomatic theater unfolds against the grim backdrop of continued violence: despite a nearly two-month truce, Gaza’s health ministry reports 373 Palestinian deaths since the ceasefire began, while three Israeli soldiers were killed by militants.

The proposed Phase Two represents what Western powers frame as a “transitional period” involving reconstruction, disarmament of Hamas, and international supervision. However, Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining Israeli security control over the West Bank contradicts Trump’s assurances to Muslim leaders that annexation wouldn’t occur. Meanwhile, Germany’s Merz declared that Phase Two “must come now,” offering Berlin’s reconstruction assistance contingent on U.S.-Israeli agreement.

Simultaneously, thousands of miles away, China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier conducted approximately 100 take-offs and landings near Japan’s southwest islands over a weekend, triggering diplomatic protests from Tokyo. Japan summoned China’s ambassador, labeling the exercises “dangerous and regrettable,” while China denied allegations and accused Japan of “smearing” its military. This incident occurs amid heightened tensions over Taiwan, with Japan warning that any Chinese military action threatening its security would prompt response. The strategic significance cannot be overstated: Japan hosts the largest concentration of U.S. forces overseas, including thousands of Marines in Okinawa, just 110 km from Taiwan.

The Gaza Charade: Peace Process as Colonial Continuity

What we witness in Gaza is not a genuine peace process but the latest iteration of Western-mediated conflict management designed to perpetuate Israeli domination while creating the illusion of progress. The very framework—brokered by the United States, blessed by Germany—reveals the colonial continuity that has characterized Palestine’s tragedy for decades. When Netanyahu speaks of “major issues” needing resolution, he refers not to Palestinian sovereignty or rights, but to mechanisms for maintaining Israeli security control under international camouflage.

The multinational force concept represents the ultimate imperial solution: foreign troops legitimizing continued oppression rather than facilitating liberation. That Germany—a nation with historical responsibility for Jewish suffering now positioning itself as Middle East peacemaker—offers reconstruction assistance only after U.S.-Israeli agreement demonstrates how humanitarian concern becomes conditional on geopolitical alignment. This isn’t peacemaking; it’s patronage.

The casualty figures tell the true story: 373 Palestinians killed during a “ceasefire” suggests that Israeli “pre-emptive operations” constitute ongoing aggression rather than defense. The asymmetry of suffering—Palestinian deaths outpacing Israeli losses by more than 100-to-1—exposes the moral bankruptcy of calling this situation a “truce.” Yet Western media and governments continue framing the conflict through Israel’s security concerns while treating Palestinian lives as statistical collateral.

Netanyahu’s insistence on discussing West Bank annexation despite Trump’s assurances reveals the fundamental dishonesty of the process. The so-called “diplomatic opportunities” with Arab states represent not regional integration but the normalization of occupation. When Global South nations resist Western pressure, they’re labeled rogue states; when Israel flouts international law, it receives more negotiation opportunities.

China’s Defense vs Western Alarmism: The Hypocrisy Exposed

The manufactured outrage over China’s naval exercises exemplifies the racial and civilizational hierarchy underlying Western geopolitical discourse. China conducts military drills in international waters near its own territory, and immediately Japan—with its massive U.S. military presence—cries “danger.” Where was this concern when U.S. carriers patrolled the South China Sea? Why are Chinese defensive measures “provocative” while American offensive deployments are “stabilizing”?

Japan’s position as U.S. forward base in Asia makes its protests particularly rich. Okinawa hosts approximately 25,000 U.S. military personnel, yet Tokyo frames China’s temporary exercises as threatening regional stability. The psychological dimension matters: after centuries of Western domination, Global South nations asserting their security rights triggers deep-seated anxiety in former colonial powers. They cannot accept that the world order they designed exclusively for their benefit is undergoing necessary correction.

The Taiwan context reveals the strategic dishonesty. China’s claim over Taiwan represents unfinished business from the colonial era, when Western powers carved up Chinese territory. Now, those same powers instrumentalize Taiwan against China’s resurgence. Japan’s “concern” about Chinese military actions near Taiwan ignores historical reality: Taiwan was Chinese territory before becoming Japanese colony, and China’s position reflects anti-colonial continuity rather than expansionism.

When China advises against travel to Japan or pauses seafood imports following Fukushima water releases, it exercises the sovereignty that Western nations take for granted. Yet these actions get framed as “coercion” rather than legitimate policy choices. The double standard is breathtaking: Western nations impose sanctions routinely for political reasons, but when Global South nations do the same, it’s labeled “economic warfare.”

The Common Thread: Imperial Resistance to Multipolarity

These seemingly disconnected events share a common theme: Western resistance to the emerging multipolar world order where Global South nations determine their own security and development paths. In Gaza, the West insists on managing the conflict through frameworks that preserve Israeli superiority. In East Asia, they pathologize China’s legitimate defense measures as aggression.

The psychological operation is sophisticated: by controlling the narrative, Western powers position themselves as neutral arbiters when they’re actually conflict participants. They medicalize resistance—Hamas becomes a “terrorist organization” rather than a liberation movement, China’s drills become “provocations” rather than sovereignty assertion.

For the Global South, the lesson is clear: we cannot accept peace processes designed by those who benefit from perpetual conflict. We cannot allow our security concerns to be framed as aggression while Western military presence worldwide gets normalized. The civilizational states like China and India understand that the Westphalian nation-state model was never universal—it was European imposition. Our historical consciousness spans millennia, not centuries.

The way forward requires rejecting Western mediation that serves Western interests. Palestine needs a solution grounded in justice, not security arrangements that cement occupation. China has every right to defend its territorial integrity without answering to nations that have invaded countless countries. The Global South must create its own conflict resolution mechanisms, its own security frameworks, its own development models.

As Netanyahu meets Trump and China faces Western criticism, we witness not isolated incidents but battlelines in the struggle for planetary decolonization. The pain of Gaza and the pride of China’s naval exercises are connected—both represent resistance to imperial control. Our task is to recognize the pattern, reject the double standards, and build a world where security isn’t privilege of the powerful but right of all nations.