JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned of the major dangers facing the world. He believes that the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the growing closeness between Russia and China, and the Iran-North Korea alliance can become a major threat to the world. Dimon said, ‘The Third World War has begun. This is a huge threat to the global economy. If it is not taken seriously, its consequences can be very bad.’
Dimon said these things at the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance in Washington. According to a report by Business Insider, Dimon said that America’s enemies want to change the world order. The Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts could turn into a new world war.
He said, “Recent events show that the situation is dangerous and getting worse.” Dimon further said that there is growing concern that American opponents are trying to end the post-World War II global order. Dimon’s view matches the concerns of other financial experts, including Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio. Dalio warned about the increased possibility of a major conflict between the US and China.
What do experts say?
Experts also warn that in case of a major war breaking out in the world, America has the power to cause heavy damage to its two major opponents – China and Russia. The Sun in its report based on a military analysis has claimed that America is capable of destroying all the nuclear launchpads of Russia and China in just two hours. If the Third World War breaks out, American forces along with their NATO allies can wreak havoc against enemy countries and destroy their missile launching sites. This report has come at a time when tensions between America and Russia have increased due to the war in Ukraine.
The Inews reports, UK and other Western governments need to urgently devise an effective strategy to deal with a co-ordinated and assertive axis of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – or World War Three will be “inevitable”, MPs and insiders warn. Experts warn that this group of autocratic countries – known as the CRINKs – are working more closely together in the background of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, including providing weaponry and oil to each other to dodge sanctions.
Western leaders and international organisations should draw up plans to deal with this increasing alignment of nations, rather than only regarding them as single-country threats, they say.
Even the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, has warned that if Russia wins in his country it could lead to World War Three. The West is also looking at increasing spending on defence and this is a clear indication of an imminent long war.
According to Fox News, the US is “sleepwalking” into a global war against its top adversaries united under an axis of “malign partnerships,” and experts are sounding the alarm that neither the U.S. military nor the public are prepared for World War III.
Some Western politicians have also been talking about the possibility of a third world war, claiming that they see the shadow of conflicts looming over the Taiwan Straits, the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and even the entire Asia. Some have even gone so far as to label Russia, China, and Iran as the “new axis powers,” reports the Global Times.
Additionally, due to the war in the Middle East, the world seems to be on a path where the worst-case scenario could be something like World War III. Experts believe that this increasing tension between Israel and Iran will not be limited to these two countries only. On the other side of the world, Russia’s war against Ukraine has been on for almost two years and there are apprehensions that if America directly gets involved in these wars then the world will be on the threshold of a Third World War, feel experts.
Dr. Sean McFate, a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and author of The New Rules of War: How America Can Win – Against Russia, China and Other Threats, has said that tensions in the Middle East could ‘erupt into open war between Israel and Iran.’ He said, “We are at a dangerous turning point in the Middle East right now. We are on a path where the worst-case scenario could be something like World War III. We are not in that situation yet, but we are certainly on the wrong path.”
What are the chances of escalation?
Some experts also believe that the presence of nuclear weapons adds to the fear of escalation of war but at the same time the principle of “mutual destruction”, is deterring countries from acting first because as per international laws, losses for both sides are fixed and thus no side will want to be the first one to use these weapons.
Another factor that might prevent the war from getting escalated is that in the present geopolitical scene, different countries are deeply interconnected and a large-scale war will prove economically harmful to all. This economic dependence is preventing other powers from taking clear sides and joining the war. Moreover, despite fierce wars in Ukraine and Gaza these are still seen as territorial disputes by the West and thus have little chance of turning into a war where many super powers join in as of now. The powers sitting and watching the war shows that countries are hoping that these disputes get controlled locally and not turn into a major conflict. As of now what is needed is vigilance and some skillful diplomacy by the powers watching the developments by not getting involved directly.
As per IMF the war also adds to several adverse global economic trends, including rising inflation, extreme poverty, increasing food insecurity, deglobalization, and worsening environmental degradation. In addition, with an apparent end to the peace dividend that has long helped finance higher social expenditures, rebalancing fiscal priorities could prove quite challenging even in advanced economies.
