AsiaNews: Joint Russian-Chinese Patrol Operations May Reach US Guam
Fearing the strengthening of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, Russia and China will agree to a strategic rapprochement and will conduct more military exercises, the area of which will cover very large territories. So says the assistant professor of the Department of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University in Perth (Australia) Alexei Muravyov, whose opinion is quoted by the resource AsiaNews.
Beijing and Moscow will expand military cooperation through maneuvers and joint air patrols in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. To this end, the two countries have recently signed a corresponding agreement.
According to some analysts, the agreement turns relations between the two countries into a “de facto alliance”. This is a wonderful step for China, as Beijing has always tended to reject close alliances with any country.
In recent years, the PRC and the Russian Federation have strengthened all-round cooperation in order to resist pressure from the United States and its satellites. According to Muravyov, the strengthening of the partnership between China and Russia may become the main background for the formation of the geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific region in the coming years. The expert believes that due to the coincidence of geostrategic and military interests, the Russians and the Chinese can become close allies.
However, Muravyov does not believe that the two countries will jointly patrol the disputed South China Sea with the Air Force and the Navy. At the moment, the activity of the Russian and Chinese military is limited to the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, the scientist does not exclude the possibility that these operations may advance to the American Guam, where the US strategic aviation is based, and, possibly, to the Indian Ocean.
If Beijing and Moscow decide to oppose the AUKUS pact (a military agreement between Washington, London and Canberra), the South China Sea will turn into a zone of geopolitical confrontation.
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