Putin Calls China a Natural Ally as a Chinese Inspection Team Tours Russian Bases

A People's Liberation Army inspection team visited several facilities in Russia's Eastern Military District in early June, including an air-defense missile unit in the far-eastern Jewish Autonomous Region, the South China Morning Post reported. The June 2 to 3 visit was a routine verification under confidence-building agreements signed in the 1990s by China, Russia and three Central Asian states, not a new operational step.

The timing was still significant. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Vladimir Putin described China and Russia as natural allies and partners while insisting the relationship is not directed at any third country. On India, Putin told Indian reporters he would not interfere in the delicate India-China relationship and backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to resolve their border disputes directly, calling India a specially privileged strategic partner and projecting bilateral trade toward $100 billion.

Taken together, the inspection and the speeches describe a deliberate strategy. Moscow maintains close relations with Beijing and New Delhi without forcing either into an exclusive bloc, and presents the grouping as an alternative center of power to a Western order it argues is declining.