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Desperate appeal
Nothing less than a truce between the two superpowers is needed to ensure there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
U
nited States president-elect Joe Biden is to be sworn into office at a very inauspicious time, as the world approaches a breaking point in the fight against COVID-19.
The pandemic has killed more than 2 million people worldwide since the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 emerged in China in late 2019. The US has suffered the highest confirmed death toll with nearly 400,000 fatalities, followed by Brazil with 209,847 and India with 152,419, according to tallies compiled by AFP.
The development of vaccines and the subsequent start of immunization campaigns worldwide offers promises of great relief, but there is still so much that we don’t know about the disease.
Meanwhile, business and government leaders see the loss of life from COVID-19 and related economic effects as the world’s greatest short-term threats, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Risks Report (GRPS).
As much of the world remains under tight lockdowns and border closures, Biden has already been forced to rebuke a promise by outgoing President Donald Trump on the easing of travel bans after he steps down, an indication of what is in store for the US transition of power.
In the midst of this global public health crisis, which has forced United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez to call for a global ceasefire early last year, the US still looks intent on stirring tensions in its rivalry with China.
The first choice for US top diplomat, Antony Blinken, is expected to vow that the US will “outcompete” China at his confirmation hearing after Biden’s inauguration, according to his prepared remarks.
He will do so at the risk of reigniting a troubling trade war and an unnecessary escalation of conflict, at a time when the pandemic has battered most of the world’s economies.
For the rest of us, and especially for those that can clearly witness US-China tensions play out in their own backyard, the superpower rivalry weighs heavily on the mind.
It will be up to governments to stand up to the stomping of these geopolitical elephants and ensure that their path to recovery is not held hostage by the whims of two nations.
For Indonesia, that means being stern to both China and the US about the consequences of escalating their rivalry.
On the multilateral front, countries like Indonesia need to rally support to prevent a greater crisis from happening.
Perhaps it is timely to revive or emulate the dormant Non-Aligned Movement, which offered many countries a third option to choose in the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union that lasted throughout most of the latter half of the 20th century.
What is certain is that geopolitical rivalries have the power to make or break global efforts to recover from the pandemic.
Nothing less than a truce between the two superpowers is needed to ensure there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
So if there is one message that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo can slip into his congratulatory message to Biden, let it be a desperate appeal to stop fighting China.
