Viktor Litovkin — why the United States and its satellites do not like the military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and China
In the last decade of May, strategic bombers of Russia and China conducted joint air patrols over the waters of the Japanese and East China Seas, as well as over the western Pacific Ocean. From the Aerospace Forces of our country, "veterans" of long-range aviation Tu-95MS took part in the flight, from the Chinese Air Force — Xian H-6 (deeply modernized Soviet Tu-16 jet bombers). These aircraft in both countries are part of the structure of the deterrence forces of a potential enemy and can carry nuclear weapons — missiles and bombs to the target. The first of them is more than 12 tons, including cruise missiles X-101 and X-102. The second one is 9 tons, including X-10 and X-26 cruise missiles.
Bombers and fakes
And although this patrol over neutral waters was not the first, but the fourth, the joint combat training exercise caused politicians and the media of Southeast Asia and the United States a real attack of information panic. Let me remind you that earlier such flights of strategic bombers of Russia and China on a similar route, by the way, without violating the airspace of Japan and South Korea, took place regularly, even despite the COVID-19 pandemic — in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and the planes of the two countries flew without nuclear weapons on board. The panicked cries were spurred by the fact that the next day after the bombers flew over the Japanese and East China Seas, and at the same time over part of the Pacific Ocean, the North Korean authorities conducted a test launch of three ballistic missiles that fell into the Sea of Japan 800 km from the coast.
This was the 19th launch of such missiles by the DPRK since the beginning of this year. Nevertheless, the Asia Times news agency linked together the next launch of Pyongyang's ballistic missiles, and the flight of Russian and Chinese strategic bombers, and also tied Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine here. Stressing at the same time that Beijing supports the actions of the Russian Federation against Kiev; Moscow and Beijing allegedly welcome the DPRK missile tests banned by the UN Security Council, and besides, they say, these three countries are creating their own South Asian axis against the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region. This, according to the publication, is indicated by the fact that both bomber flights and missile launches occurred immediately after the end of the visit of American President Joe Biden to Seoul and Tokyo for talks with his counterparts on further strengthening their military and economic cooperation. In addition, it is noted that the actions of the Russian Federation, China and the DPRK may be a signal to the head of the White House to his remark about the participation of the United States in China's war against Taiwan if Beijing attacks Taipei. According to the Asia Times author Andrew Salmon, the United States in such a conflict is more likely to choose the same tactics as in Ukraine, supplying Kiev with weapons to fight "unprovoked Russian aggression."
Let's leave on Andrew Salmon's conscience the words about this very "unprovoked Russian aggression" — I do not exclude that he simply knows nothing about the eight years during which Kiev shelled the cities and residents of Donbass, in whose defense Moscow launched its special military operation. Let's not discount the fact that the author of Asia Times may simply be a victim and an unwitting follower of Western fake propaganda, which habitually turns the facts upside down, as they say. Or maybe he just doesn't know such elementary things as, for example, that both Russia and China have never welcomed or supported North Korean tests of both missile and nuclear weapons (especially near their borders). That's why they once voted for a UN Security Council resolution prohibiting Pyongyang from such actions.
Nevertheless, it is suggested that the three states coordinated the flight of bombers and the testing of their missiles by Kim Jong—un - which, in my opinion, looks provocative, slanderous and ridiculous. Even more strange is the statement that the flight of a Chinese bomber together with a Russian one is Beijing's support for a special operation. It is widely known that Beijing stands for solving Ukraine's problems through negotiation and diplomacy, not by military means. But, of course, Andrew Salmon and the agency that publishes it have prepared their unusually extensive article, about 12 thousand plus characters, not at all in order to sign their demonstrative illiteracy and factual somersaults. The purpose, in my opinion, of this material was completely different — it was intended to distract the attention of thinking people from the visit to Seoul and Tokyo of American President Joe Biden, to switch their attention to the "aggressive behavior of Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang" and to justify the escalation of military tension in Southeast Asia, which has long been present in This region will immediately receive a new dangerous development after the return of the head of the White House to the United States.
We write — economy, we read — military union
The four-day visit of the US president to Southeast Asia (more precisely, to Seoul and Tokyo) pursued, according to local and American press, purely economic interests. It was intended to breathe new life into the cooperation of America's allies and partners in the region, directed against China's economic expansion, in order to make it a successful competitor in international trade (including outside Asia).
At the same time, according to Western experts, one of the "super—tasks" of the Biden tour is to send a clear warning message to Beijing, in particular, about the inadmissibility of aggression against American allies and partners (including the island of Taiwan). Another purpose of the visit to the region is to consolidate American partners experiencing serious disagreements among themselves (an example of this is Japan's exclusion of South Korea from the list of preferred trading partners in 2019, which caused a crisis in bilateral relations). And, as a matter of course, the establishment of their close economic cooperation, which is also important for Americans.
For this, they say, Joe Biden proposed during his first Asian tour after being elected head of the White House to create regional trade and economic alliances to contain Beijing. They even got their generalizing name — the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Agreement (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, IPEF). It (which should not seem strange today) included, in addition to Seoul and Tokyo, Washington's allies in the Anglo-Australian-American alliance AUKUS and the Quadrilateral security dialogue QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, includes Japan, the USA, Australia and ... India).
Invitations to join IPEF were also sent to other regional States. This was done back in early May at the US—ASEAN summit in Washington, where Joe Biden offered its participants a business cooperation platform designed, allegedly, to link the countries of the region more closely with the help of common standards in areas such as the sustainability of supply chains of goods, clean energy, infrastructure and digital trade. Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan were invited. But not all the countries of Southeast Asia were eager to join this initiative, really believing that the words about "common standards" should be tied specifically to American standards, imposing US products on them on this basis and setting up all sorts of obstacles for the entry of their goods into the American market. Moreover, there are fears that these states will be forced to abandon the familiar and affordable and quality products of China, with which they are satisfied with cooperation.
I will focus on India in more detail — why IPEF can suit her and why she entered QUAD. It is not the first year that Delhi has been buying American products, including military ones (for example, C-130J, C-17A and C295W military transport aircraft, Poseidon patrol P-8I, AN-64D Apache attack helicopters and CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters), thus demonstrating its policy of diversification priorities in military-technical policy and new accents in relations with the overseas partner. In addition, its difficult relations with China are widely known — the support of the United States in the confrontation with Beijing, as, apparently, they believe in the Indian capital, will not hurt them.
But India also considers it inappropriate to enter into a military alliance with Washington to contain its one and a half billion-dollar neighbor or to directly conflict with him. Limited only to a four-way dialogue about security and nothing more. Therefore, India is actively working in joint organizations with China and Russia, such as BRICS and SCO. At the same time, by the way, Delhi buys most of its military equipment from Moscow: 70% of the weapons of its army, aviation and navy are of Russian or Soviet origin. Moreover, only with Russia and no one else, India has a joint production of military equipment — Su-30MKI fighters, T-90S tanks, Project 11356 frigates, Brahmos anti-ship supersonic missiles and much more. The Russian Federation also built the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier with our MiG-29K fighters to order for India, and leased a nuclear submarine of project 971 "Pike" (they call it "Chakra"). But the topic of the Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation requires a separate story. The main thing here is that this cooperation is not directed against third countries. And against China, unlike the US policy on the Indian direction, first of all.
Back-to-back vs. shared challenges
Of course, as many domestic experts believe, Joe Biden and his administration cannot and will not be able to draw India into a military confrontation with China, and even more so with Russia. Although visits of American politicians to Delhi for such purposes take place regularly. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his deputy Victoria Nuland also visited there. The latter, in particular, during the Russian special operation in Ukraine. She persistently (as Biden later did in Tokyo) demanded that Delhi condemn Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, join multilateral sanctions against the Russian Federation, and stop buying Russian oil. It didn't work out. Moreover, two countries — Russia and India — refused to use the US dollar as a payment document in their trade settlements and switched to rubles and rupees. And that means a lot.
He did not condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine, did not refuse to purchase Russian oil, and also did not join the sanctions against our country and China. Although Joe Biden demanded this from the head of the Celestial Empire Xi Jinping in an ultimatum form. Well-known Chinese TV presenter Liu Xin explained the essence of these requirements in one sentence: "Can you help me defeat your friends so that I can focus on beating you in the future?" However, some Chinese firms closely associated with cooperation with their partners in the United States, fearing persecution from Washington, suspended their relations with colleagues in Russia. But we must admit that such actions have not become massive and critical for us.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February this year, said he was ready to work with Moscow "to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovations, to promote cooperation in advanced areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and the International Lunar Research Station, as well as in other advanced industries". And although the continuation of close and comprehensive military and military-technical cooperation was not mentioned in these lines, no pauses and delays in this area of bilateral partnership, apparently, are also not envisaged and are not expected. As the Chinese leader said, China and Russia interact "standing back to back to each other." This, by the way, is what real fighters do when they are attacked by an enemy superior in strength and arrogance.
The United States is no stronger than Russia and China, but they have no equal in the shamelessness of imposing their hegemonic policy on the world community. And therefore it is obvious that the armed forces of Moscow and Beijing, not being legally allies, but being strategic partners, are standing back to back, coordinating their military and military-technical policies. There are a lot of things in its arsenal: joint exercises of the ground forces, aviation and naval forces, and the exchange of military delegations and intelligence information, and the supply of modern military equipment, and the control of aerospace space by radar complexes of the SPRN, and constant consultations and exchange of views on the current international situation and threats to common security from heads of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. This includes regular flights of strategic bombers of the two countries, as they say, wing to wing in the Japanese, East China Seas and in the western Pacific Ocean near American bases in Hawaii and South Korea, on the Japanese islands, not excluding Okinawa.
These flights are designed to emphasize one, but immutable truth: there is no domination of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region and there cannot be. No matter how any US presidents, their satellites and vassals strive for this. Just as there can be no hegemony of Washington and its allies in other parts of our planet. They have two insurmountable obstacles — Russia and China, their unbreakable interaction — back to back.
Viktor Litovkin
Military observer of TASS