Are we heading towards World War 3? It is no exaggeration to admit that, if so, humanity’s very existence will be threatened, from the potential usage of nuclear weapons to the use of “conventional” weapons systems, that alone would create a climate breakdown. We currently face major conflicts involving imperialist-backed and nuclear-armed forces in Ukraine and West Asia. Additionally, there are rising tensions in East Asia.
At the end of 2024, there was a strong attempt to bring war back to the Korean Peninsula. US-backed south Korean President Yoon made a short-lived and farcical declaration of martial law. However, beyond the obvious weakness of a leader using desperate methods to cling to power amid record-low popularity lay a carefully choreographed attempt to resume war with DPR Korea.
US-ROK wargames took up 200 days in just 2023 alone. President Yoon unveiled his “Kill Chain Doctrine”, which allows the use of pre-emptive strikes on the north. For the first time, south Korean military drones entered the territory of the DPRK. Given the constant surveillance of the north, the drone incursion was more a provocation, designed to encourage a retaliation by Pyongyang.
On 7th December 2024, it was reported to the National Assembly in Seoul that the former Defence Minister had attempted to order a strike on the north. Other, although unconfirmed, reports state that there were plans for a false-flag assassination of a high-profile political figure in Seoul by South Korean special forces wearing North Korean army uniforms, therefore giving the South Korean President the opportunity to declare martial law. Bear in mind that these plans went along parallel with reports – lacking evidence – in Western media that there were North Koreans fighting in Ukraine.
War in Korea would not just involve Koreans, but also the tens of thousands of US soldiers stationed south of the DMZ. Pyongyang has recently increased its relations and partnership with the Russian Federation, so war involving Korean, Russian and possibly Chinese forces on one side, with the US, their allies in Seoul, and possibly Japan on the other, would have been a strong likelihood. Unfortunately for imperialism, DPR Korea did not give the retaliation imperialism wanted.
Imperialism also continues to raise tensions around China’s Taiwan region, with US-based arms companies continuing exports to the region, while the US allies in the Filipino government continue provocative actions against Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea: the US and Philippines also had joint military exercises in 2024. The so-called Trilateral alliance of the US, ROK and Japan, along with the AUKUS agreement, leads the way towards a de-facto Asian equivalent of NATO.
This is to say nothing of the current NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine. Despite recent statements by Trump that he will end the war, it continues. The same goes for the ceasefire in Gaza, which may well turn out to be merely a breather for the most pro-imperialist force in the region, Israel, with the possibility of war on Iran increasingly conceivable.
There are some who continue to promote the narrative of “inter-imperialist war”, claiming that the growing world conflicts and tensions are a result of two competitive imperial blocs. While it is absolutely true that imperialism is what is driving the current push for war, imperialism is in fact mostly united and not broken into blocs.
The BRICS alliance is first and foremost an alliance of states of the Global South, represented first and foremost by socialist China, and including socialist Cuba and Vietnam as partners. Other socialist states, such as Lao PDR and DPR Korea, along with Bolivarian Venezuela and Sandinista Nicaragua, express their support for BRICS and the emerging, not yet defined, multipolar world. BRICS is no more an imperial bloc than the Non-Aligned Movement was in the 20th Century.
Chinese representatives have pointed out they are not seeking to be a superpower. Rather, Beijing’s foreign policy is about empowering the Global South, and this is what is emboldening imperialism.
Imperialism cannot be looked at mechanically, as a set of figures on paper, one should be mindful of historical colonialism and contemporary racism. The Five Eyes Intelligence Network – Australia, US, Britain, New Zealand and Canada – along with their Israeli allies, is an obvious alliance of settler-colonial powers. When we speak about imperialism, we are talking about monopoly capital and the nation-states that serve it, from the US/Canada to Britain, the EU and Japan. These are the historic colonisers and warmongers, the same ones who support genocide and bring the world closer to war.
