The US accuses China of aiding Russia’s war effort

The United States has accused China of providing “very substantial” aid to Russia’s war effort, while Beijing and Moscow have concluded massive naval and air exercises in both hemispheres.

Here’s what happens.

Finding perspective: US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell he told a group to journalists in Brussels on September 10 that Beijing was no longer just providing dual-use goods that could be repurposed for military use, but was now working explicitly to “help sustain, build and diversify the various elements of the war machine Russian”.

“We see efforts at the highest levels of both governments to try to both hide and protect certain elements of this troubling collaboration,” Campbell said.

Instead, a senior official said Moscow has begun giving Beijing access to submarines, missiles and other closely guarded military technology it has historically opposed giving to China.

“The capabilities Russia is providing is support in areas where they’ve been frankly reluctant to engage directly with China before,” Campbell said. “We are concerned about a number of military arenas where there appears to be some determination to provide greater support to China.”

The allegations are the clearest comments yet by a US official about how deeply China and Russia are cooperating militarily and the growing extent of Beijing’s aid to Moscow’s war effort.

Extending the scope: The new technologies that Campbell claims Russia is now sharing with China could also have a major effect in the Pacific, which has been part of the recent focus. “Ocean-24” exercises..

The naval and air exercises covered the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas, while consisting of more than 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 aircraft and helicopters and more than 90,000 soldiers.

The exercises began on September 10 and ended on September 16.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments to military officials that the war games were the largest of their kind in three decades and that China’s warships and aircraft were participating. China confirmed thissaying the navies of the two countries would sail together in the Pacific, but gave no details.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said the drills are aimed at training “refusal of large-scale aggression of a potential enemy from oceanic directions, combating unmanned boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, defense of naval bases, conducting amphibious operations and escorting transports”.

Why it matters: Both ads highlight how the two countries are closer and closer and crossing what were once considered red lines.

This also indicates the expanding scope and symbiotic nature of China-Russia ties.

The joint exercises help Moscow’s long-cherished goal of building its credibility as a Pacific power, and Russia benefits from Asia-Pacific tensions as it distracts the United States from paying full attention to Europe.

Similarly, China benefits from the war in Ukraine as American resources and attention are diverted from focusing more on the Asia-Pacific.

At recently Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, both Chinese and Russian defense officials hit out at the West, with Russia saying the United States has shifted military conflicts to the Asia-Pacific.

There are still clear limits to the Beijing-Moscow relationship, particularly how China has approached navigating US sanctions, but with no sign of easing tensions with Washington, the two countries are set on a path to expanding their partnership.

Via RFE/RL

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