Trouble in Soviet Successor state. Chinese opportunity?

[Clodhopper]

Kyrgyzstan must set up a humanitarian corridor to help people affected by deadly fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, a top UN official says.

Lynn Pascoe said he also wanted to get help to Uzbekistan to make sure it could deal with the influx of refugees.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled their homes in Kyrgyzstan and headed for Uzbekistan.

The violence began in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad on Thursday and has left at least 170 dead.

The BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in Osh says there were more reports of fighting overnight, and there was no indication the violence would end.


BBC News - UN calls for Kyrgyzstan humanitarian corridor

Map showing location of events:

Asia Political Map

Notice how close this is to Afganistan and Pakistan? And that Kyrgyzstan borders China?

I'm not sure what it portends, but there's likely to be a need for UN peacekeeping troops. Or might China just walk in on the grounds of keeping the peace, and somehow, their troops never leave? Might India provide some UN troops?

And of course in the meantime the desperate innocents flee into poverty.

[spot]

China has a startlingly long and reliable record of not intervening militarily abroad, I'd be interested to know why you think they'd make an exception in this instance.

The Soviet Union made an effective job of restraining Balkanization ("the fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other"). I regret its passing.

As to responsibility for the political destabilization around Afghanistan, I'll hold my peace and let other people attribute it.

[Clodhopper]

Big place, abroad. If you mean they aren't noted for interventions in S.America or the Middle East, yes, agreed. Their record close to home is rather different - Korea in the 1950s, Tibet, backing Maoist guerillas in Nepal, constant tension and a couple of small wars in the 1960s (I think) on the India China border...

One can find at least arguable justifications for most if not all these actions individually. But history suggests that close to her borders China has a more aggressive policy than she does elsewhere in the world.

[Clodhopper]

The Soviet Union made an effective job of restraining Balkanization ("the fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other"). I regret its passing.


Yes it did. Personally I expected this sort of trouble when the USSR went down and am glad it hasn't been worse (...touch wood). Balkanisation is a common feature in the collapse of empires.

I don't regret the passing of the USSR. The price paid in human spirit was simply too great. I'm thinking of the levels of alcoholism in Russia, the systemised brutality of the secret police and gulags....I don't deny there were great achievements in many fields, but for me the price was too high.

Chuckle. I don't know about you, but I feel considerable affection for the Russian people. Those I've met have been delightful people, and their resilience in the face of adversity wholly admirable. What makes this slightly awkward is that I feel a similar affection for the Poles, who are delightful maniacs. Poles and Russians (in general) really don't like eachother, and both are rather offended when they find out you like the other!