On September 11, 2024, Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said that Russia and China could “” if threatened by the United States and its partners. The statement came after a top Pentagon official commented that the U.S. could deploy the to Japan for joint military exercises.“I would like to remind you that Moscow and Beijing will respond to ‘double containment’ by the United States with ‘double counteraction,’” Zakharova argued when asked about the missile system’s potential stationing in Japan.The spokeswoman iterated, “Our relations are not directed against third countries… and double counteraction does not contradict this. This is a defensive position, this is not an initiative to target other countries.”“But if an aggressive policy of attack is being implemented against us from one centre, why don’t we combine our potential and give an appropriate rebuff?”
A cause for concern?
Relations between Russia and the People’s Republic of China have grown increasingly closer in recent years. On the heels of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two countries declared a “” partnership.Some commentators believe that genuine exist between China and Russia. Others…