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© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.China and Russia increasing military collaboration, Japan foreign minister warns
By KARL RITTER and DAVID KEYTON STOCKHOLM©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
57 Comments
JeffLee
I would like to hear Beijing's explanation for that belief. How can the West have a meaningful dialog with a government that is laboring under a conspiracy theory?
PTownsend
Of course nations have the right to defend their sovereignty, but China, similar to Russia in Ukraine and elsewher, seems to be claiming that their imagined ideal territory, is in fact sovereign, when instead it's just the territory that has resources they want to take to make the CCP/Kremlin members even richer. Next the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea bloc of totalitarian nations will try to say the Antarctic and Arctic regions are theirs. Look how much of the planet's land mass is in actual Chinese Russian sovereign territory, and they want even more?
Yrral
NATO is weak ineffective organization,that do not have the guts to pacify Russian on their own soil,while Russian pound Ukraine back into the stone age,like the nature boy say (Too Be The Man ,You Got Too Beat The Man)
TokyoLiving
Dear Japan, instead of complaining, team up with them, you'll do much better than with good old US...
factchecker
Yet you've still got the hide to do business with both of them. Pathetic.
Yrral
Lots of people are tired of insecure Japanese politicians open the their mouth and writing a check ,their butts cannot cash
151E
@JeffLee
I'd recommend you read 'Nyet Mean Nyet' 2008 diplomatic cable from CIA director William J. Burns (available to us thanks to WikiLeaks). In said cable the then US ambassador to Moscow writes, "Ukraine and Georgia's NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, the engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region. Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia's influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests. Experts tell us that Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic-Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war. In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face."
nosuke
I sure don’t want to be in Japan when the war kicks off. Going to be huge civilian casualties and no where to run.
UChosePoorly
I guess even awful countries get lonely sometimes and just need a friend.
trinklets2
They had that weird alliance during the Vietnam war too. That is if my memory is right.
Cogito Ergo Sum
Lol ! NATO, QUAD, AUKUS , Not to mention other numerous bilateral military “ co-operations “ Japan has with individual European and Asian countries ... but let’s only look at Ruso-Chinese ? Why not the totality ?
kurisupisu
The fact is that the west is seeing a too powerful China emerging which threatens it on many fronts.
Cynically,it’s fair to say that a war with China would benefit sectors of the economy in Japan as the Korean War previously did
It would also cause a great many deaths, many of which would be elderly
EFD
It’s a marriage of convenience. The Chinese and the Russians train together with the Chinese providing the spare parts so that the Russian equipment doesn’t crash or sink. The Russians provide the nab equipment so that the Chinese don’t wander into the Southern Pacific and just disappear.
shogun36
not very convincing, since it's coming from him.
any back up sources? kishida? Aso?
give me a break!
OKuniyoshi
They are doing non thing more/difference from you. Or, are you saying i can do whatever i want, while you can't. Its moronic.
daito_hak
Just shut up! Those idiots managed to put Russia in the arms of China instead of making them an ally of us. Russia was meant to be an integral part of Europe have the US stopped their imperialist policy and Europe to be their puppets.
This de facto has put China in a position of force and radically increased their offensive strategies. History showed us that creating big blocks of antagonist military powers against each other does not end well. But the same idiots who played chickens with COVID are now playing the tough guys card while impoverishing their working population and threatening the security of the world.
murabito
@daito hak
Easy way to see who will try to make a wrong statement, begins with demanding the other side to shut up.
The one that did that was Putin, he needed no extra help.
Legrande
Yes and of course Japan has not been ramping up any military alliance with anyone, i.e. recent Time magazine cover story.
Fredrik
I just read the news about this meeting in the Swedish media. No mention about China, Russia or Hayashi-san. Only about Swedish weapon deliveries. Funny how the same event is depicted so differently in different countries.
ian
is this entey the sole basis for the title in the long article? most readers probably didn't even see it
ian
Prudent
ian
Always very tricky to answer the press
ian
Who isn't?
Sven
Explosion outside the city of Khmelnitsky approximately 160km from the Romanian border. Possibly the second largest non-nuclear explosion ever. A strike and small explosion followed by a massive explosion. Then another 17 seconds later another massive explosion. Preliminary analysis is that over US$500 million of NATO weapons and ammunition up in smoke.
EvilBuddha
Russia has previously accused China of illegally copying their fighter jets designs, so all the best to them if they want to collaborate with China militarily.
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-russia-accused-china-of-copying-its-stealth-fighter-design-2022-10?IR=T
It's true that Russia-China alliance is an alliance of convenience, more out of their mutual suspicion of the West than anything else.
Russians are not stupid enough to trust the Chinese but they have no choice as of now given that the West has driven both Russia and China into each other's bear hug. The wiser policy would have been to drive them apart and then take them on individually, but that seems beyond the grasp of the policy wonks in Washington DC.
Clay
Collaboration natural amongst allies. Not just military, also all matters economic and diplomatic. That would include China and Russia, like US and NATO with Ukraine.
Key reason Mid-East China brokered peace reproachment this spring was an effort to diversify their partners, China specifically. All of OPEC now bypassing dollar when transacting with China for example and so is Russia.
Dollar too risky, too much inflation relative to STABLE Yuan. Easy to understand, China's recent inflation less than 1%, making their currency very attractive relative to dollar or other western currencies with much higher inflation and central bank money printing.
Ditto food and agricultural products like Fertilizers, any country including China wants its farmers to have high crop yields and plenty of food in stores, especially in world with falling food production and high food inflation. Russia a natural partner.
China's BIG appeal for Global collaboration, stable currency, high economic growth, track record of NOT being disruptive towards its partners. Can we name even ONE Chinese war, other than minor border tensions, China's not invaded any country of late.
China rightly figured there are NO NEW Democracies, entire World looking for something else, Collaboration and Stability vs. Constant Interference & Disruption
quercetum
This is excellent news. There’ll be a counter balance to AUKUS. Deterrence keeps peace.
Clay
Agreed, we don't hear much about Pakistan and India's problems anymore now do we?!
US NATO and their many proxies and many Wars, plus crazy central bank money printing and global inflation Created GLOBAL desire for counterbalance = China
China's offering Stability, Growth, Non-Interference and Currency without Toxic Inflation
ian
I'm afraid it might get a lot worse before it gets better.
ian
The US has just acquired shiny new bases in the Philippines on when they can preposition materials and oersonnel
quercetum
They’ll be able to use those bases too. That they’re not allowed to is only Marcos wanting his Chinese investment cake and eat it too.
1glenn
Somehow it is not surprising that the dictators, Xi and Putin, see more to like in each other, with their imperial ambitions, than in the leaders of the democracies. The democracies would like to be left alone, to further the well being of their people, while the dictators want to conquer their neighbors.
ian
Investments will probably dry up soon as a direct consequence of giving the bases, let's see
Clay
It sounds good, good guys vs. bad guys, only problem is if you look at who's involved in all these wars and destabilization globally, US lead player by far to include NATO etc.
Democracy's too unstable, too many risky special interests, makes it really tough to collaborate with as partners. That's why Democracy's on the decline. Real question's how to revitalize Democracy, make it More Appealing, LESS Disruptive and MORE Stable?
Take Western Democratic Central Banks, countries across world blame them for Inflation sweeping globe. UK has +10% inflation now, Germany +9%, China and its economy and currency, Beacon of STABILITY in Comparision, less than 1% inflation. Global South not interested in toxic disruption called 'Democracy' or currencies with high inflation.
elephant200
The Chinese Russian collaboration is a good thing for world peace!
lostrune2
Russia is a weak ineffective country that do not have the guts to attack NATO countries and instead attacking poor Ukraine
Why do ya think Russia doesn't want Ukraine in NATO? Because if Ukraine joins NATO, Russia can't attack it anymore
Oh, how did that work out for Sri Lanka? Now China owns Sri Lanka's newest seaport since Sri Lanka stupidly signed up to China's loan shark secretive contract that it has no way to pay back
Japan's democracy would not survive if it teamed up with autocratic regimes
Do ya want someone like Trump being elected in Japan?
Who wants Japan to become autocratic? Anyone? Anyone?
stormcrow
Choose your poison, but who wants to live under the combined shadows of Russia & China?
I’ll take democracy over that any day.
ian
Left alone to do what invade other countries and murder its people like Iraq?
Clay
Deep Collaboration between counties that's sustained and durable requires stability. That's just not Democracy these days if we're frank, rather it;s opposite of stability.
Chinese has found a good model, serious party system that does not tolerate special interests and corruption, receipt for stability. Society at large at least trusts the system there and their intentions to help build a better future. Democracy's missing that, pure chaos and disruption.
G-7's not helping to build new Democracies, just take the example of Turkey, their democratic partner? Disgraceful and perfectly captures why counties globally attracted to stability China and others offer relative to Democracy.
Far easier to collaborate with such partners like China, as far less disruptive than their US led Democratic counterparts, that thrive on disruption, just like their chaotic politics.
xin xin
The correct way to deal with China is 1, decouple and 2, contain. In other words, move the already threatened supply chains out of China and fortify the First, Second and Third Island Chains. China is waging Cold War 2.0 and the rest of the world should at least go back to the 1.0 strategies and improve from there.
OssanAmerica
The U.S.did not make Iraq a territorial part of the United States. The U.S. did not deliberately attack Iraqi residences, hospitals, schools. Your Russia is not comparable.
ian
Lol what are you talking about?
Typical US lying and misdirection.
My Russia? Hahaha
ian
Why do you people trying to convince yourselves that it was okay to invade other countries and murder their citizens just because you do not or did not annex them?
Clay
Every WAR is Ugly, let's not pretend nonstop US led Wars since WWII, often in conjunction with NATO and other proxies, were somehow 'good' and 'just'.
Besides, US has been conducting shadow economic war on Turkey for +2 years now, so many forms of disruption and destabilization, US the master bar none!
quercetum
US innumerable wars and bombings. Topple governments, destabilize, swoop in and collect assets and oil.
Russia and the Ukraine War. Chechnya.
China - 3.7 million Chinese incarcerated since Xi took power, for bribery and corruption. A few disappears for making the CPC look bad. They reappear after given a timeout.Anyone with terrorist connections detained and given a lease on life by way of rehabilitation and re-educational programs.
quercetum
I think it’s worked out quite well. Essentially, China is the bank that gives you the mortgage loan to build a house and when you fail to make payments on the loan, they lease the house from you and pay you rent to help you make your mortgage payments. You are the still the owner and there is no default or foreclosure.
ian
Why did you invade Iraq anyway?
Just because you can right? To show who's boss and to make an example out of them.
Is that less worse than the invaders who annex? Or more evil?
lostrune2
China scores poorly in the global corruption index. Even Cuba scores better than China!
https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021
And the Chinese people know it: "Most Chinese citizens believe government corruption still a major problem, global index finds"
https://ipdefenseforum.com/2021/02/most-chinese-citizens-believe-government-corruption-still-a-major-problem-global-index-finds/
When people can't even talk about the finances of their own government leaders, that should be a big clue club to the head that there's something wrong
Their society doesn't trust the system - they're forced to trust the system. They're forced to take the government's word for it because they're not allowed to investigate it for themselves!
lostrune2
No, it's like a loan shark who gives you a loan to build a new house on your land that he knew you cannot pay back. Then he takes the house, does not pay you rent (because it's you who owes him money - this is your form of repayment), and controls it for the next 99(!) years
Why do ya think China is so secretive about these loan contracts to the people of the countries? Don't the taxpayers of those countries deserve to know what their government is signing their tax money into? Yet China forbids those countries to disclose these secretive loan contracts to their own people.
It took a government change in Kenya to finally expose these secretive loan contracts to their people. And it shows why China is so secretive:
"Kenya: Why is the government hiding its Chinese loan contracts?"
https://www.theafricareport.com/125090/kenya-why-is-the-government-hiding-its-chinese-loan-contracts/
"Kenya publishes loan documents for Chinese-built railway"
https://www.reuters.com/article/kenya-china-debt/kenya-publishes-loan-documents-for-chinese-built-railway-idINL8N3234AQ
lostrune2
So, finally there's some exposure on what those country's people's tax money are being used:
"China’s secret loan contracts reveal its hold over low-income nations"
https://www.ft.com/content/7e98795f-159b-4455-903e-6e21c345d4a9
For a loan contract, this is even more suspicious since that prevents the borrower from using outside help to pay back their debt, like using other banks or the IMF or World Bank funds
No wonder China wants to keep these loan contracts secret, but it's those country's people's money!
Example: "China has been criticised for its role in recent sovereign restructurings such as Zambia, where some bondholders resisted a reduction in their interest payments because they suspected the savings would be used to service the country’s Chinese debts."