In times like these, it is important to choose friends, and enemies, wisely
- Acts of violence have gripped Hong Kong in recent months, but neither side involved is willing to condemn their own
- But historically, aligning with the enemy of one’s enemy does not always end well
Perhaps self-interest is what really drives people, be they black, blue, white or yellow. When someone attacks your enemy, their methods or creed do not matter as long as they help bring down your adversaries; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This may explain all sides’ reluctance to denounce and disassociate themselves from the violent radicals they believe are furthering their cause of demolishing their foes.
The same concept has been applied to international relations in recent history: in the unlikely alliance between the Allies and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany during World War II; or the American support of armed mujahideen forces in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
In premodern China, this strategy was given full play twice in the Song period, and both times ended in the eventual defeat of the Chinese by their enemy’s enemy, a “friend” they thought they could make use of.
The Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) and the Khitan state of Liao (907–1125) to its north were enemy states despite long periods of peace between them. By the 12th century, another powerful state, founded by the Jurchen people, had emerged in the north of Liao and there were constant skirmishes between the two.
The Northern Song began making overtures to this new state of Jin to join forces in destroying the Khitan state that was sandwiched between them. The Jin army overran the Liao state in 1120 with minimal input from the Chinese. However, during their alliance, the Jin came to realise just how corrupt and inept the Northern Song government and army were. Riding on their victory over Liao, the Jin forces continued south and vanquished the Northern Song, in 1127.
The remnants of the Northern Song elite fled further south and founded the Southern Song dynasty. A century later, history repeated itself, albeit this time with different actors. The Mongols had become an unstoppable force north of the state of Jin, and the Southern Song, having to choose between allying with the Jin, their enemy to the immediate north, and the Mongols, their enemy’s enemy further north, decided on the latter.
After the Mongols decimated the Jin 1234, they set their eyes on the prized catch south of the Yangtze River. The Southern Song managed to hold out for another 40 years because of a combination of their brave resistance and internal strife among the Mongols, but the inevitable happened with the Mongols taking the Southern Song capital in 1276 and the death of the last child emperor three years later. The Mongols ruled the whole of China as the Yuan dynasty for the next 90 years.
These examples tell us one thing: with enemy’s enemies like that, one needs to be careful about choosing them as friends.