China Promises Further Military Cooperation With Russia
Jeremy Page, “China Promises Further Military Cooperation With Russia,” The Wall Street Journal, 24 July 2019.
Beijing accuses U.S. of undermining regional stability and sharpens its warnings against Taiwan in new defense report
BEIJING—China vowed to step up military cooperation with Russia, a day after the two countries’ first joint air patrol triggered a rare confrontation over the Sea of Japan and stoked U.S. concern about the intensifying partnership between Beijing and Moscow. …
At a news briefing on the white paper, a military spokesman also described recent political unrest in Hong Kong as “intolerable” and cited a law that allowed China’s military to help maintain public order if requested by the city’s authorities. …
At the same time, the paper—and Chinese defense officials’ comments afterward—suggested growing concern about domestic problems, including the unrest in Hong Kong and separatist sentiment in Tibet and Xinjiang, analysts said.
“The report contains intensified rhetoric doubling down on domestic stability imperatives and sovereignty claims vis-à-vis Taiwan and the East and South China Seas,” said Andrew Erickson, an expert on China’s military at the U.S. Naval War College.
“Meanwhile, China and Russia are attempting to show that their strategic partnership is not merely one of convenience,” he said. … … …
