Growing ties between Russia, China amid Ukraine war stokes worries for West

Tokyo [Japan], May 12 (ANI): In the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been hit hard by western sanctions, sparking the nation’s increasing subordination with China.

While international communities have been discussing stronger pressure against Russia, repeatedly urging India and other countries to do more, the potential realignment of China and Russia has been stoking worries around the world, a Japanese media outlet reported.

There have also been growing concerns in the West that such moves would drive Russia to become a junior partner to China or a kind of subordinate neighbour.

In addition, Moscow’s diplomatic influence also cannot be taken lightly. When the United Nations General Assembly voted in April on whether Russia should be suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council, 93 countries voted in favor and 82 abstained or voted against.

According to Nikkei Asia, Russian subordination to Beijing would also bring major changes to the rivalry between the U.S. and China. With the eastern part of Eurasia under its influence, China would quickly extend its sphere of interest over Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Russia’s gross domestic product is just one-tenth of China’s and the power balance between the two nations is far more than equal.

Russia sends about 15% of its exports to China, while relying on its neighbor for around 23% of its imports, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an American research group.

Because Russia has a large number of nuclear missiles and a hefty capacity for cyberattacks.Even closer ties between Beijing and Moscow could be a bigger concern for the rest of the world.

The dependency of Russia on China amid the western sanctions would also affect the security of Asia largely. For example, China would likely call for more cooperation from Russia over the questions of the Senkaku Islands and Taiwan.

The Putin administration has so far tried to maintain a neutral stance on the Senkaku and Taiwan issues, according to an expert on Russian diplomacy.

That is because Russia wants to avoid confrontation with Washington or Tokyo over Chinese disputes.

“We have to be more alert about Russian moves than before in case of an emergency in Asia,” Nikkei Asia cited, quoting a Japanese government official in charge of security.

China’s support to Russia in opposition to the enlargement of NATO has given rise to concerns in the Eastern and Central European countries about the reliability of the Asian giant as a partner and whether it can be counted on. (ANI)