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President Xi Jinping has resisted crossing Washington’s red lines on arming Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. But this did not prevent China from approaching the Moscow army in another way: direct participation.
China and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed forces conducted six joint military exercises last year, the largest number of data going back two decades.
That accounts for two-thirds of all China’s training exercises with foreign militaries in 2022, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of China Military Affairs at the US National Defense University.
The data showed that five of the maneuvers took place after Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Four of them were bilateral, while two were held with US adversaries including Iran and Syria.
“Xi has every reason to maintain and enhance China’s strategic alignment with Russia,” said Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It is the most effective way to balance American power.”
As China ramps up pressure on Taiwan, the self-ruled island Xi has vowed to one day claim, the United States has expanded its military presence in Asia. It recently signed a defense agreement with the Philippines and opened another base in Guam. China’s concerns about the US military blockade come as Russia protests NATO forces that are slowly advancing to its borders.
Against this background, Xi refused to condemn Putin’s war. Instead, China provided Moscow with economic and diplomatic refuge by buying its own cheap goods and through political engagement. The Chinese leader’s only trip abroad this year has so far been to Moscow.
At the same time, China has frozen high-level military dialogue with the United States over the sanctions it imposed on Defense Minister Li Changfu for the 2018 purchase of Russian weapons. The United States and China have not conducted joint exercises since 2020, and those that involved disaster response. The risky interactions between their armies raised fears of an incident that could turn into a confrontation.
China and Russia have a tumultuous and dubious defense history that included months of conflict along their long border in the 1960s. The latest upgrade in confidence came in 2015, after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea the year before.
These actions, along with US criticism of Beijing’s military expansion in the South China Sea, have prompted both sides to look for alternative defense partners. That has caused some US policymakers to express concern about a de facto alliance between China and Russia, according to a February report to Congress.
China’s top military partners | Russia had the most cooperation with Beijing between 2002 and 2022
Russia and China have conducted at least 36 exercises together in the wake of Putin’s annexation of Crimea, according to a count by NDU and Bloomberg News. This compares to just 10 exercises during the decade prior to 2014.
Putin’s announcement in 2019 that Russia would help China build a ballistic missile launch warning system was “unprecedented,” according to Korolev, and signaled a new degree of defense cooperation. These systems require both ground-based radars as well as space satellites.
He added, “Putin and Xi have succeeded in mitigating, if not eliminating, existing psychological and political barriers to closer cooperation.”
political message
Exercises between Russia and China are usually smaller than those between the United States and its allies. The United States and the Philippines recently held their largest ever exercise, involving more than 17,000 troops.
But China’s exercises with Russia are often laden with political significance.
Their annual drills about Japan, for example, aggravate democracy with which there is a territorial dispute between the two countries. In 2019, the air forces of the two countries conducted the first long-range bomber flight patrols in the Indo-Pacific region. Japan scrambled aircraft in response, while South Korea said the exercises entered its Air Defense Identification Zone. Both countries are essential security partners of the United States.
China said on Saturday that Russia would soon send its navy and air force to take part in annual joint exercises in the Central Sea of Japan. The People’s Liberation Army said the exercises aim to enhance strategic coordination between the two armies, as well as their capabilities to maintain regional peace and stability and respond to various security challenges.
“These exercises are going to become more frequent, kind of more politically charged and have a lot of value as political signals,” said Andrew Taffer, a research fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Chinese Military Affairs Studies. “It suggests the possibility that they could work together in ways that the United States and its allies find unpalatable, if not offensive.”
While Russia and China have not conducted joint exercises around Taiwan, two Russian warships last month sailed along the island’s eastern coast on a rare crossing, before crossing the Japanese island of Okinawa where a large US base is located. The ships were on their way to a port in Shanghai.
Yet Putin’s war in Ukraine has exposed Moscow’s limitations as a potential military partner. This is unlikely to deter relations in the long run because Xi does not have a good alternative, according to Elizabeth Wishnick, a professor of political science at Montclair State University.
“In the event of a crisis or conflict in Asia, there is a possibility that China and Russia will help each other,” she said.
China and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed forces conducted six joint military exercises last year, the largest number of data going back two decades.
That accounts for two-thirds of all China’s training exercises with foreign militaries in 2022, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of China Military Affairs at the US National Defense University.
The data showed that five of the maneuvers took place after Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Four of them were bilateral, while two were held with US adversaries including Iran and Syria.
“Xi has every reason to maintain and enhance China’s strategic alignment with Russia,” said Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It is the most effective way to balance American power.”
As China ramps up pressure on Taiwan, the self-ruled island Xi has vowed to one day claim, the United States has expanded its military presence in Asia. It recently signed a defense agreement with the Philippines and opened another base in Guam. China’s concerns about the US military blockade come as Russia protests NATO forces that are slowly advancing to its borders.
Against this background, Xi refused to condemn Putin’s war. Instead, China provided Moscow with economic and diplomatic refuge by buying its own cheap goods and through political engagement. The Chinese leader’s only trip abroad this year has so far been to Moscow.
At the same time, China has frozen high-level military dialogue with the United States over the sanctions it imposed on Defense Minister Li Changfu for the 2018 purchase of Russian weapons. The United States and China have not conducted joint exercises since 2020, and those that involved disaster response. The risky interactions between their armies raised fears of an incident that could turn into a confrontation.
China and Russia have a tumultuous and dubious defense history that included months of conflict along their long border in the 1960s. The latest upgrade in confidence came in 2015, after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia for its seizure of Crimea the year before.
These actions, along with US criticism of Beijing’s military expansion in the South China Sea, have prompted both sides to look for alternative defense partners. That has caused some US policymakers to express concern about a de facto alliance between China and Russia, according to a February report to Congress.
China’s top military partners | Russia had the most cooperation with Beijing between 2002 and 2022
Russia and China have conducted at least 36 exercises together in the wake of Putin’s annexation of Crimea, according to a count by NDU and Bloomberg News. This compares to just 10 exercises during the decade prior to 2014.
Putin’s announcement in 2019 that Russia would help China build a ballistic missile launch warning system was “unprecedented,” according to Korolev, and signaled a new degree of defense cooperation. These systems require both ground-based radars as well as space satellites.
He added, “Putin and Xi have succeeded in mitigating, if not eliminating, existing psychological and political barriers to closer cooperation.”
political message
Exercises between Russia and China are usually smaller than those between the United States and its allies. The United States and the Philippines recently held their largest ever exercise, involving more than 17,000 troops.
But China’s exercises with Russia are often laden with political significance.
Their annual drills about Japan, for example, aggravate democracy with which there is a territorial dispute between the two countries. In 2019, the air forces of the two countries conducted the first long-range bomber flight patrols in the Indo-Pacific region. Japan scrambled aircraft in response, while South Korea said the exercises entered its Air Defense Identification Zone. Both countries are essential security partners of the United States.
China said on Saturday that Russia would soon send its navy and air force to take part in annual joint exercises in the Central Sea of Japan. The People’s Liberation Army said the exercises aim to enhance strategic coordination between the two armies, as well as their capabilities to maintain regional peace and stability and respond to various security challenges.
“These exercises are going to become more frequent, kind of more politically charged and have a lot of value as political signals,” said Andrew Taffer, a research fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Chinese Military Affairs Studies. “It suggests the possibility that they could work together in ways that the United States and its allies find unpalatable, if not offensive.”
While Russia and China have not conducted joint exercises around Taiwan, two Russian warships last month sailed along the island’s eastern coast on a rare crossing, before crossing the Japanese island of Okinawa where a large US base is located. The ships were on their way to a port in Shanghai.
Yet Putin’s war in Ukraine has exposed Moscow’s limitations as a potential military partner. This is unlikely to deter relations in the long run because Xi does not have a good alternative, according to Elizabeth Wishnick, a professor of political science at Montclair State University.
“In the event of a crisis or conflict in Asia, there is a possibility that China and Russia will help each other,” she said.
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