In a development that would make Gibbon weep with vindication, the Japanese defence minister has accused China of amassing a 'huge arsenal' and threatening regional stability. The predictable chorus from Downing Street: full-throated support for Tokyo against 'aggression'. One must ask: are we witnessing the geopolitical equivalent of the Peloponnesian War, or merely another act in the farce of great power politics?
The Empire of the Sun, once a byword for militarism, now plays the victim. Meanwhile, Britain, a nation that once ruled the waves, clings to relevance by echoing Japanese anxieties. The historical irony is staggering.
We are witnessing the decline of the West, and instead of sober reflection, we get sabre-rattling over China's 'arsenal'. As if Beijing's military buildup is anything but a rational response to American containment. The UK's backing of Tokyo is a symptom of intellectual decadence: a refusal to accept a multipolar world.
Rome fell, and so shall this Atlanticist order. The only question is whether our leaders will realise it before the barbarians are at the gates.
