Are Russia and China Really Serious, Or Just Hooking Up?
Are Russia and China Really Serious, Or Just Hooking Up?
Opinion & Analysis
Are Russia and China Really Serious, Or Just Hooking Up?
By Ryan Faith
November 26, 2014 | 2:45 pm
The recent announcement of further joint Russia-China military exercises scheduled for 2015 has fueled fresh speculation about the possibility of a growing alliance between the two countries.
The development of close ties between Russia and China is not a foregone conclusion. For most of the latter half of the Cold War, the pair had frosty, or even outright hostile relations. Russia's biennial Vostok military exercises have often been set against a hypothetical foe that resembles China.
Even as relations have thawed between the countries over the last decade, and Russian relations with the West have deteriorated markedly in the last year, it's not clear that the new closeness between Russia and China will mature into a strong alliance.
There are a lot of unknowns, so let's start with what is known. Russia has been doubling down on its opposition to the West in the wake of the Great Crimean Heist and the Ukraine conflict. Moscow won't back down from this perch for quite a while; likely until Putin leaves office, which won't happen until 2018 at the earliest.
https://news.vice.com/article/are-russia-and-china-really-serious-or-just-hooking-up?utm_source=vicenewstwitter
