Ibne Siraj :
The United States and the European Union are again up against Russia with more tightened economic sanctions obviously to further isolate the world’s largest country from the rest of humanity. In an instant reaction, Russia says it is ready to retaliate as Moscow dubs the latest round of US sanctions as yet another “hostile step” of the West, precisely a sadistic demonstration against the Russian people. “We see Washington’s introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions as another hostile step in line with the confrontational course taken by the American administration,” the Russian foreign ministry as quoted by Reuters said adding, the sanctions were short-sighted and would have no effect on the government policy. Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has regularly denied any involvement in Ukraine and already responded with import bans and other steps, said any retaliatory steps would be taken carefully to avoid damaging the Russian economy. The drive for tougher sanctions has faced growing opposition from a number of EU countries fearing retaliation from Russia, their biggest energy supplier.
The US and the EU announced their newest economic sanctions against Russia after Chinese President Xi Jinping called for Beijing and Moscow to offer each other a “helping hand” in the face of external challenges. He made the call at talks with his counterpart Putin in Tajikistan, where the two leaders met in the Central Asian nation’s capital Dushanbe ahead of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a six-nation regional security group including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It was the pair’s fourth meeting this year. China and Russia, at times close allies during the Cold War, have been forging closer relations through energy deals in the face of spiraling diplomatic challenges. The two nations often vote together on the UN Security Council, where both hold a veto, sometimes in opposition to Western powers on issues such as Syria. At the meeting Xi called for the two to “enhance mutual support, expand two-way openness and offer each other a helping hand, so as to jointly deal with external risks and challenges and realize our respective development and revitalization.”
During Putin’s visit to China in May, China and Russia signed a huge 30-year gas deal said to be worth US$400 billion that took a decade of negotiations to conclude. Russia has been seeking to sell its gas in more Asian markets, a goal that has become more urgent as the conflict in Ukraine has called into question future supplies to Europe, a major customer. Putin described the international and regional situation as unstable and characterized by growing uncertainty, and said the two countries should increase coordination. He hoped they would keep moving forward major projects in oil and gas, nuclear energy and other areas. Separately, Xi and Putin met Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and Xi proposed creating an economic corridor connecting the three countries. Resource-rich Mongolia is a landlocked country between China and Russia, and both Xi and Putin have visited it in recent weeks. Russia is already the world’s third highest military spender behind the United States and China and they’re clearly going to keep camping it up. But they won’t be doing it alone. As has been the case for the last decade, Russia can look to China for support. The two nations’ alliance is more powerful than most are willing to acknowledge.
Russia is reportedly planning on updating its military doctrine this year in light of the Ukraine crisis and soured relationship with NATO. When Crimea joined Russia early this year, China tacitly supported the move by abstaining from a vote in the United Nations. And when new EU sanctions against Russia came out in the recent past, Beijing suggested that additional sanctions “may lead to new and more complicating factors” in Ukraine. And that’s not all. Russia and China cooperate along economic, technological, military, and political lines.
What’s more, in all of these areas they have something the US lacks: strategy and the will to put it into practice. Militarily, the two nations are cooperating and collaborating like never before. Also in May, the Russian and the Chinese navies held large-scale joint drills in the East China Sea, sending a message to Japan, which has found itself in increasing tension with Beijing. Moscow and Beijing have found advantages in working together to diminish US influence and create greater room for them to pursue international economic and strategic interests. Putin is widely depicted in Chinese official media as a powerful leader unafraid to take on the West.
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on China-Russia alliance in the lead up to recent NATO summit said, “China and Russia have been trying to close the technology gap by pursuing and funding long-term, comprehensive military modernization programs.” The two countries are “developing anti-ship, anti-air, counter-space, cyber, electronic warfare and special operation capabilities that appear designed to counter traditional U.S. military advantages.” Russia and China are formidable combatants in one of the 21st century’s primary battlegrounds: cyber warfare. In the fall of 2012, then Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that the US could someday face a cyber “Pearl Harbor” at the hands of China and Russia who “have advanced cyber capabilities.” Moreover, China and Russia aren’t doing all the work themselves. As Russia and China flex their muscle, rogue nations have often looked to one or both of them for support, be it tacit or explicit. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stands in a stronger position than he has for years, thanks to Putin’s staunch support. The Islamic theocracy that runs Iran is closing in on achieving its goal of becoming a nuclear power, thanks again, in large part, to Russian support.
As a matter of fact, it follows that this alliance between China and Russia is not new, but a longstanding evolution and cooperation in a wide range of spheres. This makes it all the more disappointing-and frightening-that US and Western policy does not reflect a true understanding of this alliance. Americans must begin by acknowledging the realities as Russia and China emerged immeasurably stronger from America’s War on Terror, with a clear plan to advance their strategic interests.
In Dushanbe, Putin called for new efforts to strengthen cooperation with China and ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia after the European Union tightened sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. In comments at a meeting in Tajikistan, he made no direct reference to the sanctions but has been trying to build economic ties with Asia, and particularly China, to reduce their impact on Russia’s economy. “I believe it is necessary to further improve the efficiency of our interaction to meet the challenges of the time,” Putin said. Expressing concern about the state of the global economy, he proposed updating the SCO’s program of trade and economic cooperation and the plan for its implementation.
