Why Countries Get External Security from Washington—and Internal Security from Beijing
On a visit to Budapest in late February, China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, secured a face-to-face meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to establish a new bilateral security arrangement. China and Hungary agreed to cooperate on law enforcement, policing, and counterterrorism, putting security ties at the center of their relationship.
In many ways, it was a puzzling agreement, since Hungary is already a member of a security alliance—NATO—that protects it from armed attack. But Budapest’s pursuit of security relationships with both Beijing and Washington is a notable example of a global trend. Overlapping ...
Composite images from Unsplash (USA Flag: https://unsplash.com/photos/flag-of-america-E4hWWoTTtxw, China flag: https://unsplash.com/photos/red-national-flag-jL0tMFYOdBM, Storm: https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-white-clouds-during-daytime-qcpAMjzX4BI)