Two events in the past week provided yet another glimpse of the global political shifts and growing inter-state tensions. One was a meeting in Bogota, Colombia, convened by the Hague Group, which is expressly opposed to the Israeli-US exceptionalism in the Middle East (read Palestine) — an issue that has already caused ripples in Europe too. The other event revolved around Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's extensive visit to China, with a message that Sino-Australia relations remain unaffected by the intense tariffs' wars that the US President Donald Trump is waging.

The Hague Group is an alliance of eight countries committed to cutting military ties with Israel and which insists on compliance with the arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court. The group consists of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa.

A joint statement issued after the meeting of nearly 30 countries — including China, Malaysia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, i.a. — demanded enforcement of international rulings to halt what they described as genocide in Gaza.

The Bogota declaration called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid and the international prosecution of alleged........

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