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Thu 30 March 2000
Anti-U.S. alliance: The LA Times

China and Russia to deepen strategic partnership

Chinese President Jiang Zemin sent a message Sunday to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging that Russia and China work together for a "multipolar world." Jiang followed up his written message with a phone call Monday over the Moscow-Beijing hotline, in which he told Putin they should "deepen the strategic partnership" between the two countries. Russia supports China's positions on Taiwan. In their hotline phone call Monday, Putin promised Jiang that Russia will not sell arms to Taiwan--an oblique reference to U.S. arms sales to the island. Putin is supposed to visit China later this year for his first summit meeting with Jiang. At a time when the United States will be preoccupied with its own elections, Russia and China likely will be determining what kind of world a new U.S. president will confront. Full Story.

Thu 30 March 2000
Anti-U.S. alliance: Agence France Presse

Russia, China, And Central Asian States Intensify Military Cooperation

Defense ministers from Russia, China and three Central Asian states vowed on Thursday to intensify military cooperation. ‘We reached a unified position on a wide range of issues,’ Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian said. Our agreements will provide stability and the development of prosperity.’ Chi spoke to journalists in the Kazakh capital, Astana, following a one-day meeting of defense ministers from the Shanghai Five, a grouping of China, Russia and the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan…’The defense ministers also paid serious attention to the problems of anti-ballistic missiles and attempts of interference into interior affairs of sovereign states,’ he said..." Full Story.

Wed 29 March 2000
Russia: World Net Daily

Russians plan Kosovo intervention against NATO, warns general

A high-ranking Russian general has warned that Russia is preparing plans for military intervention in Kosovo, and that the Yugoslav army could launch a ground offensive against NATO troops in the war-ravaged province, according to an official Russian news report. Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov's comments were broadcast on the "Voice of Russia" World Service Short Wave Radio Broadcast, the official broadcasting service of the Russian government. Ivashov called for emergency measures to end the violence in the region, and to suppress what he referred to as "Albanian terrorists." He also demanded that NATO follow U.N. resolution 1244, which calls for a settlement of the conflict that includes continued Yugoslav rule in Kosovo. The Voice of Russia added its own warning to that of Ivashov, stating, "Clearly these words are a signal of approaching disaster, and Moscow is not exaggerating." In order to avoid war in Kosovo, the Voice of Russia demands that NATO end sanctions against Yugoslavia and that the alliance holds direct talks with the Belgrade government. Ivashov's remarks follow by less than two weeks similar statements made by the Russian Defense Minister, Igor Sergeyev. In an address to a special session of the lower house of the Russian legislature, the State Duma, Sergeyev stated that Yugoslav troops could confront NATO, and that Russian forces could find themselves in a standoff with the Western alliance. Full Story.

Tue 28 March 2000
China: Washington Times

New Chinese bases near Taiwan increase the danger of a military confrontation

China is fielding new advanced air-defense missiles opposite Taiwan that U.S. intelligence officials say will increase the danger of a military confrontation along the Taiwan Strait, The Washington Times has learned. Construction of two new surface-to-air missile bases is being monitored closely by Pentagon spy agencies. When completed, they will bolster a base at Longtian, near Fuzhou, where several batteries of Russian-made S-300 missiles already are deployed. The defensive missiles are part of an ongoing military buildup by the People's Liberation Army opposite Taiwan that includes the deployment of several hundred short-range offensive missiles. The Defense Intelligence Agency recently stated in a report that the offensive CSS-6 and CSS-7 missiles could knock out most of Taiwan's military bases with little or no warning. The S-300 missiles also give Chinese forces greater capability to attack U.S. sea-launched cruise missiles and aircraft, should the United States be called upon to defend Taiwan against a mainland attack. The S-300s, also known as SA-10s by the Pentagon, are Russia's most modern high-speed anti-aircraft missiles. Full Story.

Tue 21 March 2000
China: Drudge Report

China Threatens Neutron Bomb Attack On Taiwan And Nuke Showdown With USA

A Chinese military newspaper on Tuesday layed out in chilling new detail how China could conquer Taiwan by force. Beijing's tactics, according to the Haowangjiao Weekly, which is sponsored by the People's Liberation Army, might include a "neutron bomb attack on Taiwan and a nuclear showdown with the United States." "The United States will not sacrifice 200 million Americans for 20 million Taiwanese,". The publication describes in detail how "China has developed new, multiple-warhead long-range missiles" and how China could attack "U.S. satellites and military bases in the Pacific." "If that was insufficient, the article said, China would fire a nuclear warning shot in the Taiwan Strait and threaten the United States with a nuclear attack if it did not withdraw." Full Story.

Mon 20 March 2000
Taiwan: South China Morning Post

Military on high alert, indefinitely

A state of "heightened alertness" declared by the Taiwan military will continue indefinitely, the armed forces said yesterday. "The alertness continues, and it is not clear when it will be lifted," a defence spokesman said. The "heightened alertness", which increased the number of servicemen on duty to counter any war threat from the mainland, went into effect at 5pm on Friday. The Taiwan military has a fighting strength of about 400,000, but the spokesman refused to say how many were on duty at any one time. A Taiwan Defence Ministry spokesman said there had been no sign of any irregular military movement on the other side of the Taiwan Strait since the election. Full Story.

Sun 19 March 2000
Taiwan: London Telegraph

Taiwan votes for freedom from China

Defying China's threats of war, Taiwan ended more than a half century of Nationalist Party rule yesterday by electing the opposition leader Chen Shui-bian, a pro-independence politician, to the presidency. Taiwan gave the clear signal that they will not be intimidated by China. President-elect Chen had rejected Beijing's long-standing "one country, two systems" formula for reunification, saying the island would not follow the path of Hong Kong and Macau. Mr Chen's bid for the island's top office has been opposed by Beijing, which has threatened to attack Taiwan if its new leader supports independence. Voters were shocked last week when Zhu Rongji, China's prime minister, warned that Beijing would give the island no second chances if it chose the wrong candidate. He said: "Let me advise all these people in Taiwan: do not just act on impulse at this juncture which will decide the future course that China and Taiwan will follow. Otherwise I'm afraid you won't get another opportunity to regret." Full Story.

Wed 15 March 2000
China: Inside China Today

China Unleashes Fury At US Over Taiwan, New Threats Of War

The Chinese military accused the United States Wednesday of using Taiwan as an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" to control China, and warned the island to return to mainland rule or face war. "Taiwan independence means war. We are prepared to pay any price to protect the peaceful reunification of the motherland," said the editorial in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily. Full Story.

Mon 13 March 2000
China/India: Agence France Presse

China Urges Partnership With India

Beijing's Ambassador to India, Zhou Gang, said yesterday that India and China should elevate ties to a ‘co-operative partnership’ to ward off mutual threats from a sole power, making reference to the United States. Mr. Zhou said the world's two most populous countries, did not pose security problems for each other. ‘The threat is not from China to India and not from India to China. It comes from other places,’ he said. ‘In the long term, if you analyze the world phenomenon and the international situation...if you sum up the Kosovo crisis and expansion of Nato, you will see there is only one force dominating the world and asserting its domination to create a unipolar world.’ ‘It is quite realistic for us to improve our relations to a co-operative partnership.’ The ambassador's comments came ahead of US President Bill Clinton's visit to India beginning this Sunday. Full Story.

Wed 8 March 2000
China: Inside China Today

Chinese Army Asked To Prepare For Taiwan War

China's military has been asked to "prepare actively" for war with Taiwan, the army daily reported Wednesday. The call to the army was made during a meeting of senior military delegates to the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Liberation Army Daily said. At the meeting presided over by Defense Minister Chi Haotian Tuesday, "12 delegates called for active and detailed preparations for a military conflict against Taiwan," the daily said. Central Military Commission member Fu Quanyou was quoted as saying "we must absolutely strengthen the sense of the army's role and prepare with all out efforts for the military conflict." Full Story.

Mon 6 March 2000
China: London Times

China readies army for 'fatal' Taiwan strike

China is preparing for a possible " first fatal strike" invasion of Taiwan, according to an internal document distributed by the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission to regional military commanders. The document, speaks of the "increased possibility for a military solution" and advises commanders to prepare to fight the US if it comes to the military aid of Taiwan. "It is better to fight now than in the future - the earlier the better," advises the Military Commission's document. While stating that peaceful reunification with Taiwan "is still the best option", the paper urges military leaders "to be well prepared for war". The document envisages a "first fatal strike" on Taiwan, to ensure that Taiwanese forces "have no way to organise effective resistance". "We will be able to control Taiwan before the US intervention and then concentrate our forces to fight the US," the document concludes. "If worst comes to worst, we will gain control of Taiwan before full deployment of US troops." Predicting that the US would not have the stomach for a long war, the Military Commission says: "If the US forces lose thousands or hundreds of men under our powerful strikes, the anti-war sentiment within the country will force the US Government to take the same path as they did in Vietnam." Full Story.

Thu 2 March 2000
China: Inside China Today

Chinese People Support War To Reclaim Taiwan

Most Chinese support attacking Taiwan if the island declares independence from the mainland, according to a poll by the state-run Social Survey Institute of China. The China Daily said most of the 1,689 respondents from major cities said they would rather not kill fellow Chinese, but 83 percent would back a three-to-five-year war to unify China if it declared independence. Full Story.

Thu 2 March 2000
Taiwan: London Times

Taiwan lobbies US for arms

China has issued a new warning that it may use force to win control of Taiwan in a move that increases pressure on the Clinton Administration to sell advanced weapons to the embattled island. The Clinton Administration is divided over the sales. Some Pentagon officials say it is justified for Taiwan's defence but some say it would be a risky provocation of China. A decision is expected by April, when the US and Taiwan hold annual talks on arms sales. During a visit to Moscow, Tang Jiaxuan, the Chinese Foreign Minister, said that force could be used over Taiwan declaring independence, as well as over foreign attempts to intervene in China's internal affairs. China and Russia have recently declared themselves "strategic partners". The Sino-Russian partnership is based around huge Russian arms sales to China, and in response Taiwan is lobbying Washington to buy high-tech US weapons. Full Story.

Tue 29 Feb 2000
China: Washington Times

China threatens U.S. with missile strike

China stepped up its threat of war over Taiwan yesterday, bluntly threatening to fire long-range nuclear missiles at the United States if it defends the island. The warning, published in the official People's Liberation Army newspaper, comes as a U.S. aircraft carrier and two cruise-missile destroyers recently began exercises off Japan. Defense officials said the warships could be sent to the Taiwan Strait in a crisis. Full Story.

Fri 25 Feb 2000
USA: London Times

US sends carrier into Taiwan Strait

The deployment of an American aircraft carrier yesterday to the East China Sea has been taken as a gesture of support in Taiwan but an act of aggression by China after a week-long war of words that has pushed cross-strait relations to a new low. The USS Kitty Hawk deployment had not been previously announced and officials acknowledged that the carrier would be monitoring the situation in the Taiwan Strait. A Chinese government spokesman blamed Washington for aggravating tensions. "If the US is really concerned about the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, then it should stop interfering in China's affairs," he said. "US meddling has caused the current situation." Beijing's verbal onslaught continued yesterday with an article in the People's Liberation Army Daily, the main military newspaper. "We will absolutely not compromise or back down," it said, quoting military specialists as urging China's 2.5 million troops to "contribute to the protection of the motherland's unity". Full Story.

Mon 21 Feb 2000
China: Yahoo! News

China Threatens Unification or War

China warned Monday that it might attack the island if Taiwanese leaders indefinitely refuse to talk unification. Already this month, China sailed its newly acquired, heavily armed Russian-built destroyer through the Taiwan Strait. And Chinese President Jiang Zemin over the weekend toured military bases in southern China that would be the ones used in any invasion of Taiwan, the Hong Kong media reported. China has long vowed to wage war if Taiwan declared independence outright or foreign forces meddle. The policy paper from the State Council added Taiwanese foot-dragging over unification talks to the list of provocative circumstances that would compel China to attack. If any of those three situations arose, ``then the Chinese government will be forced to adopt all drastic measures possible, including the use of force, to ... fulfill the great cause of reunification,'' the document said. Full Story.

Thu 10 Feb 2000
Anti-U.S. alliance: Washington Post

China, Russia Solidifying Military Ties

China has purchased two Russian-built destroyers, the first of which sailed through the Strait of Taiwan this week en route to a Chinese naval base, highlighting a blossoming military relationship between Moscow and Beijing. Moscow's security ties to Beijing have surpassed the simple cash-for-weapons transactions that characterized the relationship for years and is evolving into something more complex and potentially far-reaching. In October, China and Russia signed an agreement to conduct joint training and to share data on the formulation of military doctrine. The same month, the elements of the Russian and Chinese navies took part in their first joint exercises at sea. The two governments also removed a major obstacle to bilateral military sales, currently valued at about $1 billion a year. Asian officials, meanwhile, say that as many as 2,000 Russian technicians are employed by Chinese research institutes working on laser technology: the miniaturization of nuclear weapons; cruise missiles; space-based weaponry; and nuclear submarines. On Jan. 19, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov told reporters that Beijing and Moscow "are close enough" to agreement on joint use of Russia's GLONASS satellite-based global positioning system, an accord that would aid the Chinese military in targeting its rockets and air-to-air missiles. Russia and China also have announced a willingness to collaborate on a ballistic missile defense system to counter U.S. efforts to create its own missile defense system. Full Story.

Thu 10 Feb 2000
Russia: London Times

Russia on a collision course with West

In a series of actions over the past few days, the new Government of Vladimir Putin, has moved to bolster its military, befriend repressive regimes and put the West on notice that it will be a rival rather than a partner. Igor Ivanov, his Foreign Minister, visited North Korea yesterday and signed a friendship pact with the regime of Kim Jong Il. Today he will visit Japan, where Russia has indicated that it will not honour a commitment by Mr Yeltsin to resolve the dispute over the Kurile Islands. Russia is further making its presence felt in the region with the delivery, expected this month, of a guided-missile destroyer to China. The Kremlin has just assigned the sole right to extract and exploit Chechnya's oil and gas reserves to Rosneft, Russia's last state-owned oil giant. Last week the presidential Security Council passed a new Russian military doctrine, which relaxes the rules of engagement of Moscow's nuclear forces. Yesterday Russia successfully test fired a Topol-M ballistic missile, its new-generation inter-continental weapon, which was launched from the Plesetsk site in northern Russia and hit the Kamchatka peninsula more than 5,000 miles away in the Pacific. Full Story.

Tue 18 Jan 2000
Anti-U.S. alliance: Agence France Presse

Russia seals strategic ties with China

Russia and China said they had cemented ties Tuesday in a Kremlin meeting between acting President Vladimir Putin and China's Defense Minister Chi Haotian. "All questions which are beneficial to China-Russia relations were discussed," said Kremlin foreign policy advisory Sergei Prikhodko. "The strategic partnership between Russia and China is firmly heading into the 21st century." Putin told Chi that Moscow considers China one of its most important allies. "We have reached a very good level of economic, cultural, border and military-technological cooperation." Putin told Chi. British press has reported that Beijing and Moscow are working on a joint project to develop a long-range missile capable of destroying even the most complex fighter jets. The two sides on Monday signed a memorandum on mutual understanding and military cooperation. Full Story.

Fri 14 Jan 2000
Russia: London Guardian

Russia raises nuclear threat

Russia has revised its defence doctrine to make it easier to press the nuclear button in an international crisis, while unequivocally declaring the west a hostile power that must be resisted. A new national security strategy decreed by the acting president, Vladimir Putin, marks a radical shift in Russia's view of the world. It ushers in a policy of "expanded nuclear containment" while pledging to resist western attempts to dominate the globe. The strategic shift lowers the threshold at which Russia may resort to nuclear weapons and is the first foreign policy move that Mr Putin has taken since replacing Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin on New Year's Eve. Full Story.

Mon 23 July 1999
China: Syndey Morning Herald

China to Nuke U.S. if it interferes over Taiwan

"China warned yesterday that it was ready to fight over Taiwan and that its nuclear weapons could ‘deal with’ aircraft carriers if the United States dared to interfere. A hard-hitting editorial in the official Global Times newspaper, a subsidiary of the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, said the US and other Western countries were mistaken if they believed China lacked the ability or will to use force in a dispute over Taiwan. ‘If the US makes the wrong calculation on its abacus and goes on interfering in China's domestic affairs, it will eventually draw fire against itself,’ it said. Full Story.

Wed 14 July 1999
Iran: Washington Times

Iranian missle to hit U.S. funded by tax payers via Moscow

A new Iranian missile that could reach the continental United States may have been subsidized by millions in U.S. tax dollars intended for a Russian space program, a defense analyst told a House panel yesterday. The missile, code named Kosar, is being designed with direct assistance from Russian aerospace entities, including the Russian Space Agency (RSA), said Kenneth R. Timmerman, president of Middle East Data Project Inc., in testimony before the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics.  "We are talking about a massive hemorrhage of strategic technology," Mr. Timmerman said. Iran has "always wanted to combat the great Satan and do us harm . . . and now they have this type of weapon," said subcommittee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican. Full Story.

Wed 7 July 1999
North Korea: Inside China Today

North Korea Building Missile Base Near China

North Korea is building an underground missile base near its northern border with China, making the site difficult for U.S. and South Korean forces to attack. The paper said the construction of the base was about 70 percent completed and it had 10 launch pads, each 20-meters (66 feet) long, leading to speculation they could be used to launch Taepodong I and Taepodong II missiles, now under development. The Taepodong II's range would put the U.S. states of Hawaii and Alaska within striking distance, defense analysts said. North Korea has 10 missile bases and is currently building three underground missile bases, including the one in Yongjeo-dong. Full Story.

Thu 1 July 1999
Russia: Washington Post

U.S. intercepts Russian bombers, Planes within striking distance of U.S.

Two Russian strategic bombers flew within striking distance of the United States last week as part of Moscow's largest military exercises since the end of the Cold War, astounding U.S. officials and underlining recent Western concerns about the military leadership in Moscow. The TU-95 Bear bombers were intercepted by four U.S. F-15 fighters and a P-3 patrol plane near Iceland early Friday morning and escorted in a clockwise flight around the island, U.S. officials said. Norway, which like Iceland is a NATO member, also scrambled jets to meet two other TU-140 Blackjack bombers that flew down the Norwegian coastline, but Russian reports said the interceptors failed to reach the bombers before they turned back. The move was the latest in a pattern of perplexing Russian military actions in recent weeks that have prompted concern in Washington and elsewhere about President Boris Yeltsin's control over his government and armed forces. "They want to show us they aren't afraid, that they too have missiles and that they consider" NATO's out-of-theater actions "their main military threat," said Stephen J. Blank, a Russian expert at the U.S. Army War College. Full Story.

Mon 28 June 1999
China: The Washington Times

China to test fire new ballistic missle

China is making final preparations to test fire a new mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that the CIA believes will incorporate stolen U.S. missile and warhead secrets. Preparations for the launch of the road-mobile DF-31 -- which could take place as early as next week -- were spotted by U.S. spy satellites at Wuzhai in central China. "They are getting ready for a launch," one official said. The DF-31 test missile is capable of carrying a 2-and-a-half-megaton warhead. The 5,000-mile-range missile will be able to hit targets in parts of the western United States. "The DF-31 ICBM will give China a major strike capability that will be difficult to counterattack at any stage of its operation," states the Air Force report. The Chinese are developing a submarine-launched version of the DF-31 known as the JL-2 with an even longer range that will be deployed on China's Type 094-class nuclear missile submarines. The JL-2 will have a range of 7,500 miles that "will allow it to be launched from the PRC's territorial waters and to strike targets throughout the United States," the Cox committee report said. Full Story.

Fri 25 June 1999
China: Inside China Today

China Uses Cuba As Base For Electronic Spying On US

China is using Cuba as a base for a sophisticated spying operation targeting the United States. China is using its collaboration with Cuba in the field of electronics and radio telecommunications as a smokescreen for the operation, the paper said, citing US intelligence sources and official US documents. The main Chinese bases for listening and tracking are located northeast of Santiago de Cuba and in Bejucal, in the province of Havana, according to the report. Full Story.

Thu 24 June 1999
Anti-U.S. alliance: South China Morning Post

Growing links with Russia

National People's Congress Chairman Li Peng has voiced Beijing's pleasure at the continuing improvement of Sino-Russian ties. China Daily quoted Mr Li as saying. "The two countries have forged an equal and mutually trusting partnership of strategic co-operation geared towards the 21st century." He addressed his words to Oleg Korolyov, vice-chairman of Russia's upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council, in Beijing on Tuesday. Mr Li said the NPC was ready to advance ties with Russia's Federation Council and State Duma. After shedding decades of ideological hostility in the late 1980s, Beijing and Moscow have been building a "strategic partnership". Ties have improved further in the wake of the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia, which both opposed. Russian analysts say the two countries want to build strategic clout and chip away at the United States' role as the world's only superpower. Full Story.

Wed 23 June 1999
Anti-U.S. alliance: Russia Today and Hong Kong Standard

Beijing Buys Russian Sukhoi-30 Aircraft

Moscow has decided to sell 72 of its front-line Sukhoi-30 jet fighter-bombers to Beijing, which will certainly strengthen the mainland's air combat capacity and boost its ties with Russia. Full Story. AND... Beijing has bought 72 Su-27s and has been assembling 200 others in Shenyang. The Standard report quoted Russian diplomats as saying that Premier Zhu Rongji had offered to buy the fighter-bombers when he visited Moscow early this year, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin had agreed shortly after the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade occurred. Full Story.

Tue 22 June 1999
China: Inside China Today

China Says U.S. Wants To Become "Lord Of Earth"

China compared the United States to Nazi Germany on Tuesday and said NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia reflected Washington's ambition to become "Lord of the Earth". "If you ask which country wants to become 'the Lord of the Earth' as the then Nazi Germany had tried to, there is only one answer," said a commentary in the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. "It is the hegemonism-pursuing United States." In likening the United States to Nazi Germany, the newspaper cited its massive defense budget, the bombing of Yugoslavia without U.N. sanction and the killing of civilians during the air campaign in Yugoslavia. NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia "has let more and more people see more clearly the ferocious appearance of the U.S. hegemonism and its ambition to dominate the world", it said. Full Story.

Mon 21 June 1999
Russia: Nando Times

Russians practice for war with West

Russia opened military exercises Monday to practice repelling a mock attack from the West, the Defense Ministry said. Army units from Russia's western regions and ships from its Baltic fleet will participate. All troops will be on high alert during the six-day exercises, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.  Moscow views NATO as a threat and the 78-day NATO air operation prompted calls in Russia to increase defense spending and develop new weapons and military technologies. Belarus, Russia's western neighbor, will join the exercises. Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev will command the maneuvers, ITAR-Tass said. Full Story.

Fri 18 June 1999
North Korea: The Times

North Korean missiles may be able to hit US

North Korea is developing a new ballistic missile capable of hitting the western United States, it was reported here yesterday. Japan's Jiji news agency quoted US and South Korean government sources as saying that Pyongyang was working to complete a Taepodong 3 missile with a range of more than 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles). And the Kyodo News Agency, also quoting government sources, said that the reclusive communist country is almost ready to launch a Taepodong 2 missile, with a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,750 miles). US and Japanese military officials believe North Korea has deployed more than ten of these missiles, which could hit most areas of Japan. Washington ordered the USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser, and another vessel as well as four surveillance aircraft to monitor the region after Tuesday's clash in which a North Korean torpedo boat was sunk. Pyongyang, warned that the peninsula stood on the brink of war, banning South Koreans from its capital and cancelling a planned handover of remains of US war dead from the Korean War. Full Story.

Tue 15 June 1999
Russia: Itar-Tass

Russia's Military Joining Partnership with China and India

Nikolai Mikhailov, Russia's First Deputy Minister of Defence and State Secretary, in his remarks during talks between Colonel-General Zhang Wannian, Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China, and the Command of Russia's Pacific Fleet, has stated that "Russia's strategic cooperation with China and India will rise to a qualitatively new level soon". The Russian Defence Ministry official pointed out that "the events in Yugoslavia prompted the adoption of necessary measures in the strengthening of Russia's defence capability and in a quest for strategic partners in accomplishment of this important task. China and India are such partners now". Full Story.

Thu 27 May 1999
China: China Today

China Eyes Socialist Bloc To Counter US

As Sino-U.S. ties flounder over disputes about NATO bombing in Yugoslavia and U.S. charges of nuclear espionage, Beijing is turning toward its traditional socialist allies in Russia and North Korea for support. Beijing and Moscow are now artfully milking U.S. foreign policy blunders for geopolitical clout, boosting their own roles on the international stage. With a series of well-timed, high-level visits, the two neighbors have succeeded in putting the United States on alert with talk of a Beijing-Moscow "strategic partnership" and consensus on global issues. "Russia and China are playing up their partnership as part of an orchestrated anti-U.S. alliance," said one Russian diplomat on condition of anonymity. "They have done a similar thing in Iraq and will continue to use their new-found clout for individual aims." North Korea will soon join the fray as the hermit kingdom comes off the diplomatic sidelines with a planned June 3-7 visit to Beijing by Pyongyang's second-in-command, Kim Yong-nam. Full Story.

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