cover image: US Arrogance Encourages Sino‐​Russian Military Alliance

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US Arrogance Encourages Sino‐​Russian Military Alliance

11 Nov 2021

US foreign policy remains imperious, and risks turning China and Russia into near military allies animated by shared hostility toward Washington.This article appeared in Anti​war​.com on November 10, 2021.TOPPolitical relations between Moscow and Beijing appear closer than ever. The Chinese and Russian militaries are cooperating. Although the two authoritarian giants aren’t likely to embark upon a campaign of world conquest, Washington has done much to bring together unlikely partners in opposition to US policy.Americans should remember history.In summer 1939 Germany appeared increasingly determined on war. Britain and France hesitated joining the Soviet Union to contain the Nazi regime, since Joseph Stalin also was drenched in blood. Poland doubted that Soviet troops would leave as readily as they came if invited in.Still, the allied powers were certain that Germany and the USSR would remain at odds. After all, Hitler had devoted his career to attacking the Soviet Union and Bolshevism. Then came the Hitler‐​Stalin pact, division of Poland, conquest of the Baltic states, and Soviet‐​German economic cooperation. The deal lasted less than two years, but that was long enough for Berlin to defeat its west European adversaries. The ultimate consequence was to deliver much of Europe to Soviet control.US foreign policy remains imperious, and risks turning China and Russia into near military allies animated by shared hostility toward Washington.The U.S. and its allies risk a modern repeat of sorts. In October a Russo‐​Chinese naval flotilla essentially circled Japan. Reported CNN: “The route taken by the joint Chinese‐​Russian patrol, through the Osumi Strait at the end of their journey, as well as through the narrow Tsugaru Strait between the main islands of Honshu and Hokkaido earlier in the week, has also attracted a considerable amount of attention.”Equally significant, two months before, reported the South China Morning Post, more than 10,000 personnel from both nations conducted operations utilizing joint command and control: “The drills gave the PLA an opportunity to test its newest weapons, as well as showing an ability to work coherently with Russian forces.” Artyom Lukin of the Far Eastern Federal University opined: “It is getting clear that Russia‐​China military drills are not just symbolic shows of camaraderie, but are increasingly aimed at enhancing battlefield interoperability.”A full‐​scale military alliance remains very unlikely. First, neither the Russian Federation nor the People’s Republic of China appears to have imperial designs like that of Adolf Hitler. He began consuming his neighbors’ territory, Austria and Czechoslovakia, barely five years after taking power. After ruling Russia for more than two decades Vladimir Putin has only picked up Crimea and gained access to some geopolitical scraps — Donbass, South Ossetia, Abkhazia. Xi Jinping has been in charge in Beijing for a decade and his threats against Taiwan have yet to be turned into action.

Authors

Doug Bandow

Published in
United States of America