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HONG, KONG/MOSCOW – Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, likely had more than vodka shots and gifts of ice cream to show for their warming relationship after their planned meeting this weekend on the sidelines of a developing nations’ summit in India.
Recent months have seen greater security cooperation between Russia and China as they find common ground against the U.S. The neighboring giants last month held their first joint naval drill in the South China Sea and both have condemned U.S. plans to deploy a U.S. missile shield in South Korea. A Russian general said last week the military was working with China to counter an expansion of U.S. missile defenses, which they see as upsetting the balance between the three nuclear powers.
“The fact that both countries started to talk about joint actions on the military level is a very serious development,” said Vasily Kashin, a senior fellow of Russian Academy of Science’s Far Eastern Studies Institute. “The threat from U.S. missile defense pushes both China and Russia closer to each other. For Russia and China, the policy of containment is the containment of the U.S. first of all.”
The moves show how the rapport between Xi and Putin — as shown by frequent visits and personal gifts — has begun to foster more formal security ties. Their encounter on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Indian resort region of Goa was to be their fourth this year and their 19th one-on-one meeting since Xi took power 2012. China saw a surge in Russian ice cream sales last month after Putin brought some for Xi, and Putin told China’s state broadcaster they celebrated his birthday in 2013 by drinking vodka shots “like two college students.”
The development of those ties has coincided with a decline in both nations’ relations with Washington. Russia has provided powerful backing for China’s efforts to challenge the U.S.’ long-standing security dominance in the Asian-Pacific region.
Xi, Putin 'bromance' becomes security bond | The Japan Times
Not that unusual.
Recent months have seen greater security cooperation between Russia and China as they find common ground against the U.S. The neighboring giants last month held their first joint naval drill in the South China Sea and both have condemned U.S. plans to deploy a U.S. missile shield in South Korea. A Russian general said last week the military was working with China to counter an expansion of U.S. missile defenses, which they see as upsetting the balance between the three nuclear powers.
“The fact that both countries started to talk about joint actions on the military level is a very serious development,” said Vasily Kashin, a senior fellow of Russian Academy of Science’s Far Eastern Studies Institute. “The threat from U.S. missile defense pushes both China and Russia closer to each other. For Russia and China, the policy of containment is the containment of the U.S. first of all.”
The moves show how the rapport between Xi and Putin — as shown by frequent visits and personal gifts — has begun to foster more formal security ties. Their encounter on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Indian resort region of Goa was to be their fourth this year and their 19th one-on-one meeting since Xi took power 2012. China saw a surge in Russian ice cream sales last month after Putin brought some for Xi, and Putin told China’s state broadcaster they celebrated his birthday in 2013 by drinking vodka shots “like two college students.”
The development of those ties has coincided with a decline in both nations’ relations with Washington. Russia has provided powerful backing for China’s efforts to challenge the U.S.’ long-standing security dominance in the Asian-Pacific region.
Xi, Putin 'bromance' becomes security bond | The Japan Times
Not that unusual.