China-Russia ties

The South China Sea poses a stress test in Russia-China relations, pitting China’s claims against Russian energy interests.

Hong Kong-based commentator Zheng Hao notes the growing pressure of possible war exerted by the US on China, and suggests that Article 9 of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship urging “contacts and consultations” might be a useful way to prevent war.

US academic Ma Haiyun suggests that the US is making greater efforts to get the Muslim world on its side as its competition and even confrontation with China gets more intense. Internationalising the Xinjiang issue may be one of the ways it plans to do this, which will have implications for Southeast Asian countries.

Project Assistant Professor Yu Koizumi of The University of Tokyo observes that as long as their respective relations with the US remain at an impasse, China and Russia’s growing military ties portend greater collaboration between the two powers in the Eurasia great game.