China-Russia Relationship Frightens the Trans-Atlantic War Party

Jan. 3, 2022 (EIRNS)—The Wall Street Journal posted an article yesterday ringing the alarm bells over the threat of a China-Russia military alignment supposedly poses to the United States, under a headline that reads “China and Russia Military Cooperation Raises Prospect of New Challenge to American Power” with a kicker, “Joint military exercises and technology sharing are seen as tools in to limit U.S. might abroad.” Western officials and defense experts, all unnamed with one exception, are growing more convinced of the closer relationship based on recent economic alliances, military exercises and joint defense development, as well as the few public statements from government leaders, the Journal reports. “They are distinct threats. But they are now interrelated because of the collaboration,” said Michael Kofman, a frequently quoted Russia expert residing at the Virginia-based CNA think tank. According to the Journal, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ONI) “reported that Beijing and Moscow are now more closely aligned than at any point in the past 60 years.”

The Journal cites a number of reasons why Russia and China are unlikely to develop a NATO-like military alliance—including a caution from an unnamed White House official that one shouldn’t read too much in to it—but then complains that U.S. steps to contain the two countries have driven them into a marriage of convenience, giving the previously contentious rivals an incentive to marshal resources and intelligence against a common adversary, according to analysts and U.S. officials. China and Russia are eager to restrain U.S. influence as well as its military and financial potency, which they believe more likely if they work in tandem, according to analysts.

The Journal also dangles the hope of splitting Russia from China. Areas of disharmony between China and Russia tantalize U.S. officials with the possibility of driving a wedge between the two countries, analysts said. One idea to divide the two countries is for the U.S. to soften its approach to Russia and draw Moscow away from Beijing. But such a strategy remains embryonic, according to analysts, especially when the U.S. appears disinclined to offer the kind of political and economic incentives that would persuade Mr. Putin to loosen ties with Mr. Xi. But it won’t work. “You’re never going to convince Russia they should make an enemy of a powerful country like China,” Kofman said.