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Is Turkey Pivoting To China?

Is Turkey Pivoting To China?
By MICHAEL SINGHon October 27, 2016 at 10:00 AM
As Turkey looks for alternative partners, it is not Russia or Iran but China that offers the most promise, so the United States should shore up its own ties with Ankara in response.
http://breakingenergy.com/2016/10/27/is-turkey-pivoting-to-china/
You trust the Washington post?
Did you read this part?

''At the same time, Washington should not be complacent, lest Turkey and China receive the message that U.S. commitment to the region is wavering. Because Turkey is vital to numerous American objectives — stabilizing Syria and Iraq, countering Iran, defeating the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, ensuring security in Europe, and others — U.S. officials cannot afford to throw up their hands and walk away from Erdogan, whatever their frustrations with him. American influence in Ankara — and in Beijing, to the extent China’s interests are affected by events in the Middle East — will be greatest if the United States and Turkey are allies, and are clearly perceived as such.''
 
There is no such thing as a pivot except for immature nations. Where interests align , people will lean.
A few months ago Turkey was prepared to go war with Russia and PM Erdogan was fuming; now its asking the Tourists to come back and keeping quiet. Not a pivot, a general reassessment of strategy; a look at potential options.. and the lean. After the coup attempt, it is suddenly a very different relationship. Does it mean Erdogan is sorry for what his government's stance at shooting a Russian place down? No.
Does it mean that Putin loves Turkey too much? No.
Just a change of circumstances and an attempt within the Turkish military back by certain quarters in the west led to Russia jumping on a chance. The result, a glace to Russia but no permanent pivot.

With China, the issue is of cooperation within Iraq and keeping a counter balance to NATO in case they decide to go cold on relations. Regardless of cases like the coup, Turkey has a well developed foreign service that is able to respond well to temperatures.
 
We don't support no illegal movement in our country. I respect China's internal matters. If Uyghurs want to come and live here then I am all up for it, we can welcome them with open arms. China is a rising power and we should have closer relations as there is no reason not to.

Not gonna happen, lots of undercurrent hostility due to uhigur issues.

Foreign media outlets pump the issues into both countries people which creates problems. I see the problems are very small, I dont see much going on these days in that region so it looks calm.
 
On most strategic issues, Turkey and China stand on entirely opposite camps. We may even argue that China, by siding with Russia and vetoing anti-Syrian resolutions at the UNSC, has harmed Turkish government's interests the most.

The US had outsourced Syria to Turkey and Turkey's president had even dreamed of performing Friday prayer in Damascus while then Turkey PM gave President Assad some 3 weeks before he went down.

To this end, Turkey provided every sort of assistance to terrorists from all over the world, couple of thousands being Uighur terrorists -- those resided in China as well as in Turkey. Turkey's government acted practically as a state sponsor of terrorism (as it continues till today). To this end, Turkey government officials provided fake Turkish passports to some Uighur radicals, facilitated their transfer to Turkey via Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Turkey's state and non-state harboring of small Uighur separatist terror groups continues. Turkey also provides assistance to Uighur majority terrorist groups fighting in Syria under various names in its effort to bring down President Assad.

Now Turkey has been effectively sidelined. Turkey's being kept out of Syrian affairs is a welcome news.

Although China supports (as a historical principle of foreign diplomacy) Turkey's sovereign unity and is opposed to separatism inside Turkey by any groups, Beijing also understands that Turkey, especially under current nationalist-Islamist government, has been harboring separatism (to its own capability, of course, which is not so big) in other
countries, from Syria and Iraq to Libya and Somalia.

Hence, it is practically impossible for China to treat Turkey more than a distant trade partner. There is very little we really share on the strategic realm with (especially present) Islamist-sectarian and interventionist Turkey government.

Thus, it is not so easy to pivot. It takes two to pivot. China does practically not see with Turkey eye to eye on any important global matters.

On the more social level, China's leadership is entirely different from Turkey's present bombastic, empire-yearning, sectarian, terrorism enabling and interventionist government. Only if Turkey has secular, peace-oriented, respectful for sovereignty government, then Turkey's pivot (if any) can really mean something to China.

Currently, China sees a better government and more likely partners in Syria and Iran than in Turkey.

If there is going to be a working pivot toward China, that would be Iran pivot. Of course, Iran is a civilization nation, so, they will not even name their policy in such unrealistic way as pivot.

@Serpentine
 
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Definitely away from the US

How could that possibly be while still inside the NATO, has worked and conspired with the US, UK, Qatar, KSA and the likes for five years to bring down Assad government and has been at the forefront of political Islam and Green Belt projects for 50 years against the (potential) spread of socialism-communism?

I would argue, Turkey had never been as strongly in the US camps as it has been over the past decade.

TR president's rhetoric does not mean anything. I guess the world has long given up taken him seriously. Hot rhetoric aside, he is bending down under every US push and pull.

Now this does not mean I do not have respect for Turkey's founding principles, which have been destroyed by the Gulf-loving sectarian present government. Some people mistake sectarianism and interventionism for being strong.

In fact, Turkey was stronger in terms of foreign policy before. Now it is weaker, losing on every level.

Turkey has one of the greatest revolutionaries (Ataturk) the world has ever seen, but, wonderfully, some people have turned their back on him, turning the country into one of many failed ME states.

Only secularism can salvage Turkey.
 
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How could that possibly be while still inside the NATO, has worked and conspired with the US, UK, Qatar, KSA and the likes for five years to bring down Assad government and has been at the forefront of political Islam and Green Belt projects for 50 years against the (potential) spread of socialism-communism?

I would argue, Turkey had never been as strongly in the US camps as it has been over the past decade.

TR president's rhetoric does not mean anything. I guess the world has long given up taken him seriously. Hot rhetoric aside, he is bending down under every US push and pull.

Now this does not mean I do not have respect for Turkey's founding principles, which have been destroyed by the Gulf-loving sectarian present government. Some people mistake sectarianism and interventionism for being strong.

In fact, Turkey was stronger in terms of foreign policy before. Now it is weaker, losing on every level.

Turkey has one of the greatest revolutionaries (Ataturk) the world has ever seen, but, wonderfully, some people have turned their back on him, turning the country into one of many failed ME states.

Only secularism can salvage Turkey.

I agree with most of what you said and hate the current government.
 

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