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Sunday, April 08, 2018

We've Come to "Support" You!

China continues to exercise with Russia's military in "solidarity." Well, maybe. For now.

The Chinese are standing with their Russian semi-client state as Putin continues to alienate the West with their actions and rhetoric. Military training is part of the close ties:

China's military leadership has pledged its support to Russia as tensions between Moscow and the West further deteriorate into diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions and dueling defense drills. ...

China and Russia have sought increased cooperation between their armed forces and have practiced suppressing threats from home and abroad.

When you are dealing with a potential threat, my view is that joint military exercises are just an opportunity to check out your future enemy up close. So I'm not in favor of such drills with China that give China too close a look at how our military operates.

Or do the Russians think that Chinese espionage is limited to GMO rice seeds?

Weiqiang Zhang, 51, a Chinese national and U.S. legal permanent resident residing in Manhattan, Kansas, was convicted on Feb. 15, 2017, of one count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.

And given that China has claims on Russia's Far East, with a treaty suspending disputes that China can exit in 2021, Russia should not be giving China a closer look at Russian military capabilities.