Chinese Officers Inspect Russian Bases as Putin Calls the Two Countries Natural Allies

A team from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) visited several military facilities in Russia's Eastern Military District this week, including an air defense missile unit in the far-eastern Jewish Autonomous Region, the South China Morning Post reported. The visit took place under a decades-old confidence-building mechanism, and it coincided with President Vladimir Putin describing China and Russia as natural allies.

Putin also addressed the wider Asian balance. Ahead of an expected visit to India, he told the Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) that Russia would not interfere in what he called the delicate relationship between India and China, and he expressed confidence that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping could resolve their border disputes themselves. India and China have spent the past year rebuilding ties that deteriorated after deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020.

The positioning matters for the shape of the international order. Russia, isolated from Western markets by sanctions, is binding itself more closely to China while courting India, an effort to construct a bloc of partners insulated from Western pressure. The military exchange and the careful diplomacy toward New Delhi are two parts of the same strategy.