China’s new aircraft carrier may have pride of place in the country’s growing fleet but it is actually a refitted hull that once belonged to Ukraine. Before he became the first foreigner to board the Liaoning, US defence secretary Chuck Hagel used a trip to Asia this week to draw a much broader connection between Crimea and China’s maritime ambitions.
“You cannot go around and redefine boundaries, violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation – whether it’s in small islands in the Pacific, or large nations in Europe,” he told an audience in Tokyo. “So I want to talk to our Chinese friends about this.”
The implications of the Ukraine crisis will be felt well beyond Europe. One of the most important side-effects will be the lessons China draws, and whether it concludes that the status quo in Asia can be brushed aside without consequence.