MOSCOW:
Russia said Wednesday that its partnership with China was not directed against other countries, but that the two powers could combine capabilities if they faced a threat from the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stressed that Moscow and Beijing would respond to US “double containment” efforts with a “double counterattack.” This comment was made in response to a question regarding a possible deployment of US missiles to Japan.
According to a September 7 Japan Times article, the United States has expressed interest in stationing a Typhoon medium-range missile system in Japan for joint military exercises. Zakharova stressed that Russia and China would respond to any significant missile threat and that their response would go beyond mere political gestures, a position both countries have repeatedly affirmed.
She further explained that the strategic partnership between Russia and China is defensive and not offensive. “Our relations do not target other countries… and a double counterattack does not contradict that. This is a defensive stance, not an initiative to target other countries,” he said. Zakharova in response to a question from Reuters. “But if an aggressive policy is launched against us from a single source, why shouldn’t we combine forces to respond appropriately?”
In 2022, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping signed a “no-holds-barred” partnership agreement, just weeks before Putin’s forces entered Ukraine. In May this year, they agreed to deepen their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” for a new era.
Although no formal military alliance has been declared, Putin recently described the two nations as “allies in every sense of the word.” Russia and China have also conducted joint military exercises, including naval exercises that began on Tuesday. Putin, overseeing these maneuvers, warned the United States against attempts to subdue Russia by increasing its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
