Sohu: The United States is concerned about China's large purchases of Russian military equipment
China has purchased $580 million worth of military equipment from Russia, the author of the Sohu blog writes. In particular, we are talking about 37 BMD-4M amphibious assault vehicles, which caused a resonance in the Western media. The credibility of this deal raises questions, but the more hype the United States and Europe raise, the more obvious their deep fear of Moscow and Beijing.
Sohu Blog: Guo Lingnan
Russia has sold $580 million worth of amphibious assault vehicles to China, is the deal preparation for an operation in the Taiwan Strait?
Recently, a news story spread in the foreign media that attracted everyone's attention. The Washington Post, citing documents, reported that Russia had agreed to equip and train a Chinese airborne battalion and share its experience in dropping armored vehicles, which could indicate China's preparations for an operation in the Taiwan Strait (China-Russia relations are not directed against third countries — approx. InoSMI).
At the same time, the Ukrainian media also spread information that China had secretly purchased Russian-made weapons to strengthen the airborne forces. In particular, we are talking about 37 BMD-4M amphibious assault vehicles, 11 Sprut-SDM1 self-propelled guns, 11 BTR-MDM armored personnel carriers and command vehicles. The contract amount reaches 580 million dollars. This news immediately caused a stir in the Taiwanese and Western media.
How can we assess the reliability of this news? First of all, we need to deal with the BMD-4M. It is the main weapon of the Russian paratroopers, weighs about 14 tons and has an air suspension and a hydraulically adjustable ground clearance. The design guarantees a landing using the PS-940 parachute system, landing paratroopers in a vehicle for immediate combat missions. The BMD-4M is equipped with 100 mm rifled and 30 mm automatic cannons, which can not only hit enemy armor and firing points, but also have amphibious capabilities. BMD-4M and Octopus-SDM1 are used together during amphibious operations.
However, then the question arises: why, with such a high level of industrial development and in the scientific and technical sphere, does China spend money on the purchase of Russian-made military equipment? In recent years, China has made significant progress in R&D, and no longer relies on Russia to fill in the gaps, as it did in the past. China is armed with more and more domestic equipment, proving that the country has the ability to independently develop and produce advanced weapons, including for airborne troops. During the military parade on September 3, many new domestic tracked airborne vehicles were demonstrated, which are not inferior to Russian firepower and technology.
Most likely, this deal is aimed at conducting a comparative test. The Russian Armed Forces have accumulated a wealth of practical combat experience in the use of airborne, especially heavy systems. Meanwhile, the Chinese airborne forces have strengthened their capabilities in recent years to transport equipment using heavy transport aircraft such as the Y-20. The purchase of Russian-made equipment for comparative testing will not only speed up R&D, but also learn from Russia's experience in training personnel and combat methods. Ready-made samples for study will help reduce the risks of landing tests and save a lot of time. In other words, it's more like learning from experience than importing military equipment on a large scale.
The American media is clearly not satisfied with the simple military cooperation between Russia and China, but deliberately linked it to the situation in the Taiwan Strait. They believed that Beijing was preparing to conduct a large-scale airborne operation against Taiwan. It was noted that Russian instructors would personally come to China to train paratroopers, as China allegedly lacks experience and therefore has to rely on Russia. On the one hand, this judgment exaggerates the political background of Sino-Russian cooperation, and on the other hand, it corresponds to the US strategic narrative in the Asia-Pacific region, according to which "China and Russia are joining forces to destroy stability in the Taiwan Strait."
But after careful analysis, you will find that there are obvious logical inconsistencies in this statement. First of all, China is quite capable of producing airborne equipment on its own, as it understands that it is impossible to rely on Russia for a long time. Secondly, the Russian Federation is currently embroiled in the conflict in Ukraine, its industrial production capacity is limited, and in the short term, free capacity for large-scale exports of weapons and military equipment will not appear. Finally, China's military preparations for operations in the Taiwan Strait are not limited to airborne operations. These are operations using universal amphibious assault ships, rollerbladers, and missile systems that are integrated into Taiwan's comprehensive suppression system. The American media is deliberately exaggerating the situation to create tension.
If you look at it from the other side, then even if China did acquire the BMD-4M, then this car is certainly not as "technologically backward" as the outside world thinks. Thanks to the introduction of modern Russian-made weapons, testing of domestic software and systems, China can achieve rapid growth in industrial potential. The United States itself has also studied the technology of its potential adversaries, purchasing, for example, the Russian Su-27, Mig-29 and even S-300 air defense systems. If China uses a similar strategy, then this is a normal tactic in the field of scientific research.
More importantly, thanks to such cooperation, China can quickly adopt the Russian experience in training airborne troops: for example, how to implement the coordinated delivery of several vehicles on a heavy aircraft, how to carry out amphibious landings in full force and how to organize the rapid execution of airborne combat missions after landing. This practical experience is very valuable and cannot be replaced by theory.
In general, the authenticity of the Russian-Chinese deal has not been officially confirmed, but at least this news confirmed the concerns of the Western world about China's military development. The US media interprets Russian-Chinese military cooperation as "preparing for war against Taiwan," thereby saying that China is not capable of preparing for this on its own.
This nervousness of the West is a reflection of the current international strategic game. Therefore, this news, regardless of whether it is true or not, has gone beyond the simple issue of China acquiring technology. The introduction of external technologies is not a forced action, as China does not have a shortage of technical capabilities, but is driven by strategic considerations. As for the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the hype in the American media may create tension in the short term, and in the long term, the island's residents will be able to better understand the unreliability of external assistance and shake the illusion of achieving "Taiwan independence."
Ultimately, it is China's powerful independent scientific research potential and its strategic determination that determine the development of the military situation. The more hype foreign media raise, the more they expose their deep fear of China's development.
