Commentary
China on Aug. 17 announced plans to send troops to Russia for military exercises. The troops will join the Russian military, along with troops from India, Mongolia, Belarus, and Tajikistan.
The “Vostok” (East) exercises, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, take place in the context of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s threats to do the same to Taiwan.
The irresponsibility of the Ukraine invasion is clear from a Russian “warning” on Aug. 18 that a nuclear power plant occupied by Russia could fail and blanket Europe with radioactive material.
Russia and China do not mean well. They held aggressive naval drills in the Sea of Japan in October 2021, followed by joint patrols in the western Pacific. The two countries entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) uninvited in November, forcing the U.S. ally to scramble its military jets….