Irish Examiner View: Martin right to warn us to scrutinise China

Micheál Martin said that neither the State nor our private sector nor academia can be “naive or silent” if China’s behaviours go against international conventions.

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin said: 'We do not intend to be silent when we see evidence of core principles being undermined.' Picture: Brian Lawless

As a former history teacher, Tánaiste Micheál Martin will no doubt be familiar with the oft-quoted response of Napoleon Bonaparte when he was asked what should be done about China.

“Best let her sleep,” he said, “for when she wakes, she will shake the world.” 

Not that Mr Martin has shown any willingness to let sleeping dogs lie, with his latest comments about Beijing and the leadership of president Xi Jinping pointing to a growing confidence about Ireland’s values, its role within Europe, and the contribution it can make to preserving a rules-based order in international relations.

Mr Martin, the foreign affairs and defence minister, has become an increasingly powerful and eloquent spokesman on the world crisis. 

He marked Ireland’s tenure on the UN Security Council last September with a memorable speech reaffirming our belief in three core principles: That all countries have an equal right to exist in peace; that all countries must assist in maintaining international peace and security, that all people have the right to live in dignity and to have their human rights and fundamental freedoms respected.

Now he has reinforced policies initially stated by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in March when she spoke of “de-risking” relationships with China, a country whose leader is “far from being put off by the atrocious and illegal invasion of Ukraine” and who is “maintaining his ‘no limits’ friendship” with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

She said it was clear China, under Xi, was becoming “more repressive at home and more assertive abroad”. Beijing’s “clear goal is a systemic change of the international order, with China at its centre”.

In support, Mr Martin said that neither the State nor our private sector nor academia can be “naive or silent” if China’s behaviours go against international conventions or if there is “evidence of core principles being undermined”. 

While Ireland “values” its ties with China and the economic relationship has expanded, reaching €34.5bn in two-way trade in 2021, we must be “clear-eyed” about China’s objectives and what they mean for the Republic and the EU.

Critics like to diminish Ireland’s potential influence on the world stage, and to mock politicians such as Martin for adopting the language of the Skibbereen Eagle which warned the tsar in 1898 that it was “keeping an eye” on “despotic enemies — whether at home or abroad”. 

But one need only read accounts such as Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk to Freedom to understand how important external support and recognition are for those who are oppressed by their own powerful and overbearing states. Just as South Africa resented international interest and scrutiny of its actions on Robben Island, China regards any criticism of policies towards Taiwan, or Hong Kong, or the “re-education” centres of Xinjiang as an unwarranted intrusion into its internal affairs.

But it is wrong. And Mr Martin is right to warn us to scrutinise what is happening.

The war in Europe has seen the emergence of significant new leaders. Poland, another Catholic country which has had to fight long and hard for its independence, has grown in stature and authority since the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland’s own role as an increasingly confident influencer and source of integrity is also on the rise. With that will come additional responsibilities.

We must be ready to grasp them.