No Alliance, but ties at “unprecedentedly high level”
The FSB’s Short, Victorious Confrontation with the UK over Crimea
Chinese and Russian officials, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, agree that ties are at an “unprecedentedly high level,” or “前所未有的高水平.” (For discussion on the meaning of “unprecedentedly high level,” please see an earlier edition).
The two sides did not enunciate a military alliance or new energy trade agreements, but political ties between the Putin Collective and the Chinese Communist Party remain highly robust. Economic and financial links are limited but, interestingly, Fares Kilzie of the Russian International Affairs Council proposed that Moscow and Beijing ink an “exclusive trade deal.” More on bilateral trade and investment ties in the next edition.
Ukraine is back in the headlines, as the UK and Russia exchanged sharp words over the HMS Defender’s freedom of navigation off Crimea. Moscow claims that an FSB vessel fired warning shots and a jet dropped ordinance in HMS Defender’s path, forcing the warship to turn away. London rejects this account, as does a BBC reporter traveling on the deck of the ship. It may be unwise to dismiss the Russian state’s reaction to the incident as mere dramaturgy, designed to stir domestic nationalism and distract international audiences as the delta coronavirus variant rages across Russia.
Another Crimean crisis could erupt later this year due to structural and tactical factors. The peninsula is an important element in Russian domestic politics (Putin leveraged the annexation to repair his damaged approval ratings in 2014) and there is also little transparency surrounding the peninsula’s water crisis. The Kremlin may also be positioning itself for escalation later in the year. Putin published a 5,000 word article contending that Ukrainians and Russians are one people, while there are rumblings that the Kremlin will delay or even cancel the September Duma elections. Cancelling the Duma elections poses risks for the Kremlin, but removing a key domestic political constraint could enable a more aggressive policy in Crimea and the Donbas. Ukraine may return to the center of Russian foreign policy activities, particularly after Russia’s latest COVID wave recedes.
Interestingly, General Secretary Xi called President Zelensky, offering to help Ukraine in its anti-COVID efforts. The PRC may be asserting its own interests in Ukraine and subtly warning Putin of the risks of escalation; Beijing and Moscow may be playing Good Authoritarian, Bad Authoritarian with Kyiv; or something else.
The next edition of The Report will discuss Russian-Chinese trade ties.
Table of Contents:
1) China-Russia
2) Trade Deal?
3) Ukraine
1) China- Russia
Russia needs a prosperous and stable China, and China needs a strong and successful Russia. China and Russia regard each other as priority cooperation partners and will further deepen coordination and cooperation in political, security, military, economic and trade, humanities, and international fields in accordance with the treaty. The two countries continue to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in the new era with the direction of mutual assistance, in-depth integration, pioneering and innovation, and inclusive and win-win results.
[俄罗斯需要繁荣稳定的中国，中国需要强大成功的俄罗斯。中俄视彼此为优先合作伙伴，将根据条约进一步深化在政治、安全、军事、经贸、人文、国际等各个领域的协调与合作。两国以守望相助、深度融通、开拓创新、普惠共赢为方向，继续发展新时代全面战略协作伙伴关系。]
…
The Sino-Russian relationship is not similar to the military and political alliance during the Cold War, but transcends this model of state relations, does not seek expediency [NOTE: maybe better translated as “is not a plan of convenience,” in a possible shout-out to Bobo Lo’s Axis of Convenience], is not ideological, fully considers each other’s interests, does not interfere in each other’s internal affairs, has independent value, and is a new type of international relations not targeted any third country.
[中俄关系不是类似冷战时期的军事政治同盟，而是超越该种国家关系模式、不谋求权宜之计、不带意识形态色彩、全面考虑彼此利益、互不干涉内政、具有独立价值、不针对第三国的新型国际关系。]
…
To this end, the two parties agreed to implement the following tasks:
-Increase bilateral trade volume, including developing long-term investment cooperation and provide support for business entities to implement investment projects, create a stable business environment, strengthen cooperation in the field of anti-monopoly and competition policies, and explore new economic growth points. Comment: Is anti-monopoly cooperation a possible reference to Ali Baba? Didi? Jack Ma has ties with the Russian elite
-Strengthen strategic and comprehensive energy cooperation. Fulfill existing cooperation agreements and reach new important consensus on hydrocarbon supply and processing, peaceful use of nuclear energy, and other cooperation in the energy field.
- In the post-epidemic period, speed up the restoration of transportation and deepen cooperation in this field.
Coordination between Russia, China plays stabilizing role in global affairs — Putin – TASS
“Putin noted that, in the past, the Soviet Union "actively supported the Chinese communists in their revolutionary struggle," provided significant aid in developing the state during the early years of the new China. Russia preserves the memory about the glorious pages of the common history, he underscored.”
Comment: Interesting reference to historical Russian-Sino relations, especially considering that Putin is repeating the Chinese’s sides framing that relations are at an “unprecedentedly high level.” For a discussion around “unprecedentedly high level,” please see an earlier edition of The Report.
Also, Putin looks older in this picture, wonder if it was intentional or not
Putin lauds Russian-Chinese ties as example of intergovernmental cooperation – TASS
The Russian-Chinese relations are at their highest point, the ties between both states serve as an example of intergovernmental cooperation in the 21st century, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a videoconference with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday. "Currently, following the letter and the spirit of the treaty [of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation], we have managed to bring the Russian-Chinese relations to an unprecedentedly high level, converting them into an example of intergovernmental cooperation in the 21st century," Putin said.
Ambassador Zhang pointed out that the past century in Sino-Soviet and Sino-Russian relations has been a complicated one, but they have gradually matured [ripened?].
张大使指出，过去一个世纪也是中苏、中俄关系在曲折中发展、逐渐成熟的百年。
GT Exclusive with Russian ambassador: What position would Russia take in case of an armed conflict between China and US? – Global Times
GT: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited China after the China-US meeting in Anchorage, while China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi visited Moscow after a Russia-US foreign ministers' meeting. Was the timing of these two visits deliberately arranged? What signal did this send?
Denisov: As for the timing, it was purely coincidental that the two visits followed the high-level talks between China and the US in Anchorage and between Russia and the US in Iceland. It takes time and technical preparation to arrange a visit at the level of foreign minister and above. When Russia was preparing for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to China, it was not aware that senior diplomats from China and the US would meet in Anchorage. The same goes for Director Yang Jiechi's visit to Russia. But it is a good thing that these two diplomatic interactions came on the heels of Russia and China's conversations with the US. It will give senior diplomats from both countries an opportunity to have an in-depth discussion on what has happened in previous meetings between China and the US and between Russia and the US.
GT: Competition and confrontation between China and the US are escalating. If one day an armed conflict between China and the US happens, what position would Russia take?
Denisov: There will be no answer to this question because I am convinced that there will be no armed conflict between China and the US, just as there will be no armed conflict between Russia and the US, because such a conflict would exterminate all mankind, and then there would be no point in taking sides. However, if you are asking about the judgment of the international situation and major issues, then Russia's position is clearly much closer to China's. In recent years, the US has imposed sanctions both on Russia and China. Although the areas and content of the US' dissatisfaction towards Russia and China are different, the goal of the US is the same: to crush the competitor. We clearly cannot accept such an attitude from the US. We hope that the Russia-China-US "tripod" will keep balance.
GT: Many reports in recent years have said the US and some other countries are trying to incite a "color revolution" in China and Russia to create a "zone of geopolitical instability" around the two countries. Under the current situation, what kind of cooperation can China and Russia carry out?
Denisov: That is why I said that Russia and China are highly consistent in their judgment of the international situation. Both Russia and China follow the principle of non-interference in another country's internal affairs, but in the past few years, we have witnessed "color revolutions" in many countries, which have led to domestic chaos. These "color revolutions" certainly have some domestic or local reasons, but they are always accompanied by the presence of external forces. In order to prevent a third country from interfering in the internal affairs of Russia and China, we should jointly work out some "rules of the game," especially in the field of information security so as to prevent some countries with more advanced information technology from imposing their own political agenda on other countries through IT technology. Recently, a new phenomenon has emerged in the world: hybrid warfare (Hybrid warfare refers to a new type of warfare in the 21st century, which involves a mixture of conventional and non-conventional means. It is considered to be more varied and covert than conventional warfare.) In this field, the international community does not yet have the corresponding rules to restrict or regulate it. On the one hand, it is the common concern of Russia and China to prevent their country from being invaded by bad information from the outside world. On the other hand, although Russia and China have sufficient capabilities and strong information networks to resist a "color revolution," some countries and regions around us are relatively vulnerable in this regard, and external interference at the information level could easily lead to large-scale domestic turbulence [in these countries and regions]. The recent events in Belarus and what happened in Hong Kong two years ago are two examples. Therefore, to formulate common rules against "color revolutions" is also for the stability of more countries and regions.
GT: We learned that some Russian people have negative views of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet Union. Will they equate the CPC with the Soviet Communist Party? Will this affect the current China-Russia relations?
Denisov: Russia is a big country and its people hold diverse views. I think the number of Russians who feel this way is very small. Indeed, the Soviet era had many flaws, but people of my generation who actually experienced this era could still think of many good and positive things when they look back. Our poll shows that the negative attitude toward the Soviet Union is largely held by young Russians who were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and did not see it firsthand. They had a different attitude towards the Communist Party, but it was more about the Soviet Union's own policies at that time, not the Communist Party in general. I also want to share a personal view on the Soviet Union and the Communist Party: If a figure like Deng Xiaoping had appeared in the Soviet Communist Party at that time, perhaps the course of our country's development would have changed forever.
Xi Jinping held a video meeting with Russian President Putin – People’s Daily [Chinese language]
Xi Jinping pointed out… In the context of the world entering a period of turbulent change and human development encountering multiple crises, China and Russia have worked closely to inject positive energy into the international community and set an example of a new type of international relations… Coordinate closely in international affairs and jointly defend true multilateralism and international fairness and justice…
Putin said that the "Russia-China Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation" reflects the willingness of the two peoples to be friendly for generations. The relevant principles and spirit established by the "Treaty" have played an important and unique role in the long-term smooth development of Russia-China relations. The Russian side is satisfied that the current Russian-Chinese relations have reached an unprecedented high level [俄中关系达到前所未有的高水平] and the bilateral cooperation has developed comprehensively and steadily…
Putin warmly congratulated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. He said that Russia cherishes the history of exchanges with the Communist Party of China and is willing to strengthen inter-party exchanges with the Communist Party of China. [He wishes] that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China will continue to make new achievements in its economic and social development and play a more important role in international affairs…
Xi Jinping thanked Putin and all walks of life in Russia for congratulating and supporting the Centennial of the Communist Party of China in various ways. Xi Jinping emphasized that China firmly supports Russia's strong measures to maintain the country's long-term stability, and firmly supports Russia in running its own affairs well.
The two sides emphasized that they jointly oppose the stigmatization and politicization of the virus. [双方强调，共同反对利用疫情和病毒溯源搞污名化、政治化。]
Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party Zyuganov, First Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party, First Vice Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association Melnikov, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party Noviko Hussein, first vice chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association Kulikova, representatives of the Russian State Duma, diplomats of the Chinese Embassy in Russia and representatives of all walks of life from the two countries attended the concert.
Medvedev praises current Russia-China relations as best ever – TASS
Russia-China relations have reached their highest ever level and will continue to develop further, ex-Russian Prime Minister, Chairman of the ruling United Russia Party and Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said at an online summit of the Chinese Communist Party and other countries’ parties on Tuesday. As Medvedev recalled, the USSR was the first foreign country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1949. "Seven decades on, the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction are justly characterized as the best in their history," he stressed.
West tries to ruin Russia-China strategic partnership – Putin – TASS
"We are pleased with the level, as I said, - unprecedentedly high level of our relationship as it has evolved over the last few decades, and we cherish it, just like our Chinese friends cherish it, which we can see," the Russian leader said about Moscow-Beijing relations. He stressed that two countries shared relations of strategic partnership that had never existed before, and also a high level of trust and cooperation. "We can see attempts at destroying the relationship between Russia and China. We can see that those attempts are being made in practical policies," Putin stressed.
Putin lashes out at U.S. after meeting with Biden – People’s Daily
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lashed out at the United States on arms control, human rights, cyber-attacks, among other issues, after "constructive" talks with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden. "As for the general assessment, I believe there was no hostility at all," Putin said during his solo press briefing, adding that the meeting, the first of its kind since Biden took office in January, was "open" and with "no pressure of the parties on each other."
Practices to form cliques, follow bloc politics will never succeed – People’s Daily
“Russian President Vladimir Putin recently expressed his support for China on issues related to Xinjiang and Taiwan, which reflected the mainstream opinion of the international society.”
Biden’s way of slamming Beijing-Moscow relations is humiliating Russia – Global Times
Image from Global Times
US President Joe Biden tried his best to drive a wedge between China and Russia during a press conference after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden said, "Russia is in a very, very difficult spot right now" and Russia "is being squeezed by China." He also said that Russia has "a multi-thousand-mile border with China. China is moving ahead… seeking to be the most powerful economy in the world and the largest and the most powerful military in the world. You [Russia] are in a situation where your economy is struggling." Biden may feel embarrassed to talk nonsense like this during the face-to-face meeting with Putin because if he did, Putin would very likely refute him immediately. Such kind of baseless provocation is a humiliation of the Russian people, treating one of the most powerful countries in the world as an idiot. Which country is squeezing Russia strategically? What is the source of Russia's economic difficulties in recent years? A large number of facts are much too obvious. The US has caused waves of harms to Russia and Biden just wants to pass the blame to China. This is an illusion that is possible only under serious political autism and narcissism.
The China-Russia land border is indeed long but it is an undisputed border that is highly peaceful. People from two sides of the border share active economic exchanges. China and Russia are strategic cooperative partners and their mutual trust has a solid political foundation.
There are too many facts that reveal the US' threats and pressure against Russia. Biden's accusation of China "squeezing" Russia is nothing but false. Face-to-face communication between Russian and US leaders helps the two sides manage their differences, and China welcomes this. But hopefully, Biden and his administration will not expect too much from it and the stupid idea of blasting China-Russia relations.
Comment: Fu Ying’s 2015 framing: “Relations among China, Russia, and the United States currently resemble a scalene triangle, in which the greatest distance between the three points lies between Moscow and Washington.”)
In the illustration above, note that the triangle has shifted from scalene (with the greatest distance between Moscow and Washington) to equilateral, implying that Washington’s relations with Moscow and Beijing are now equally “bad.”
US-China Relations: Moving Towards a New Cold War? – Vassily Kashin and Ivan Timofeev for RIAC
In 2014, Russia and the West entered into a serious conflict due to the Ukrainian crisis. At that time, it seemed that Moscow was doomed to oppose a powerful and consolidated enemy on its own…
The absence of formalised antagonistic coalitions is a major feature of the beginning of the new Cold War. The Transatlantic security system was established to deter the USSR. The aggravation of relations with Russia has given it a new lease of life. However, the European Union is obviously reluctant to get involved in the US confrontation with China although it considers America its key ally and partner. For the EU, such confrontation is fraught with the loss of the Chinese market and numerous mutually beneficial contacts. The US allies in Asia (Japan, South Korea and Australia), to name a few, generally share Washington’s apprehensions over China but are hardly likely to take part in a full-scale Cold War, considering their extensive trade links with the PRC. It is also difficult to involve other countries, primarily India, in the anti-China coalition. New Delhi has uneasy relations and deep-rooted differences with Beijing. However, India is also reluctant to take on binding commitments in the US-led drive to deter China.
In turn, China has not established a coalition against the West, either. Russia and China are listed in US doctrines next to each other as adversaries. That said, they do not have a military-political alliance although their partnership is deep and the level of trust is unprecedentedly high…
A full-scale arms race, in which US advantages are looking less clear, has become a real possibility… Current operations and the maintenance of equipment, bases and other facilities make up the bulk of US military spending. It allocated about $300 billion for these purposes in 2020. Series-produced weapons and equipment procurements total less than $150 billion or 20 percent of military spending [61]. In the Chinese armed forces, weapons and equipment procurement are about 40 percent of the budget [62]. Thus, the two countries have comparable expenses on the purchase of production arms and equipment in real terms. Considering the current trend towards China’s economic prevalence over the United States, it is likely to reach general military resource superiority over the latter, especially considering its success in overcoming the technical lag…
The US withdrawal from the INF Treaty in 2019 opened the possibility of deploying ballistic and cruise short-range ground-based missiles in the Pacific. The Americans view these weapons as a necessary tool in opposing China’s powerful missile arsenal. The United States is trying hard to persuade the region’s countries to host its missiles, while China’s main approach is to prevent this.
RIAC and CASS Conference “Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era” Convenes – RIAC
This year the event celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between Russia and China, which laid the foundation for a new type of relationship between the two states. To mark such a cornerstone for the bilateral relations RIAC and CASS prepared a collection of articles by prominent politicians, diplomats and experts from the two countries and presented it at the conference. Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, Chairman of RIAC Board of Trustees, Wang Yi, PRC Foreign Minister, PRC State Councilor, Igor Ivanov, RIAC President, Russian Foreign Minister (1998–2004), and Xie Fuzhan, CASS President, delivered opening remarks.
Wang Yi said that standing at a new historical starting point, the SCO must bravely stand on the forefront of the times, share the responsibilities of the times, and make greater contributions to the promotion of world peace and development. To this end, he proposed four initiatives to establish a new model of a "community with a shared future", release new momentum for win-win cooperation, write a new chapter of mutual learning among civilizations, and take up a new role in global governance.
Russia holds open sea military exercises in the central Pacific – People’s Daily [Chinese language]
According to Russian media quoted news from the Russian Ministry of Defense that day, the large-scale military exercise began on June 7 and conducted more than 30 actual combat exercises in the central Pacific waters about 2,500 nautical miles southeast of the Kuril Islands. More than 20 ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet, naval aviation of the fleet, and more than 20 aircraft of the Aerospace Force participated in the exercise. The exercises include anti-submarine, air defense, escort, long-range force dispatch, and joint strikes on important targets.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters recently, Sergey Mironov, chairman of Russia's "Just Russia-For the Truth Party", said that the Chinese Communist Party has successfully solved problems that many countries have been unable to solve for centuries in a short period of time.
Comment: Noteworthy that Xinhua interviewed a minor figure from the systemic opposition (i.e. the constellation of parties that are putatively anti-Kremlin but seek to divide the opposition in practice).
China's first self-operated 1,500m deep-water gas field starts production – People’s Daily
Deep Sea No.1, China's first self-operated 1,500-meter deep-water gas field, started production on Friday, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The operation of the gas field, 150 km off the city of Sanya in south China's island province of Hainan, marks the country's capability of ultra deep-water drilling for oil and gas, compared with the 300-meter depth previously, said the CNOOC. Production at the gas field, detected in 2014, is of great significance to ensuring national energy security, optimizing the country's energy structure and promoting regional economic development, said the CNOOC.
Comment: This is a small field and will likely have little material impact on Chinese oil/natural gas imports. If China can scale economical offshore oil and gas production (highly doubtful), that could weigh on Russian O&G exports.
China, Liechtenstein to be added to list of countries whose citizens may enter Russia – TASS
The deputy prime minister recalled that China’s requirements for entering the country are rather demanding. "Nevertheless, we hope that those restrictions will be gradually lifted, and our citizens will be able to go to the People’s Republic of China on business and tourist visits," the deputy prime minster added.
China and Russia to launch 6 lunar missions in 2021-2025 to build international Moon base – TASS
China and Russia are planning to launch six missions within the preparatory stage of building an international Moon base, Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said during the GLEX-2021 conference on Wednesday.
2) Trade Deal?
Beyond Being Friends: Russia and China Need an Exclusive Trade Deal – Fares Kilzie for RIAC
[D]espite the long-sustained foreign policy rapprochement, Russia and China are far from fully utilizing their bilateral economic potential. In 2020, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service, China accounted for 15% of Russian exports, slightly more than the CIS (14%), but significantly less than the European Union (41%). In the structure of Russian imports, China is also behind the EU (24% versus 35%), although European food producers have been excluded from the Russian market since 2014.
Comment: This call for a trade deal is unusual and significant, although it’s highly unlikely that the two sides will ink a substantive bilateral trade agreement. Russia, it’s worth remembering, is not even a member of RCEP.
The European Union will likely remain Russia’s most important trade partner for decades due to its geographical proximity. (In an illustration of the “gravity model of trade,” the US conducts more bilateral trade with Canada than with China.)
Kilzie mentions hydrogen as a potential growth area for Russian exports to China. I am extremely skeptical. In fact, the development of Green Hydrogen would likely make the trading relationship even more imbalanced in Beijing’s favor.
Russian-Chinese economic and financial ties will be the focus of a future deep-dive edition.
3) Ukraine
Xi says China to help Ukraine beat pandemic – People’s Daily
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that China is ready to continue strengthening cooperation with Ukraine on vaccine and traditional Chinese medicine, and help the country beat the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ever since China and Ukraine established their strategic partnership 10 years ago, bilateral ties have maintained a healthy and stable momentum in development, and their cooperation in various areas has achieved positive results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries, Xi said.
Noting that the Ukrainian side attaches great importance and is dedicated to developing a closer Ukraine-China strategic partnership, Zelensky said Ukraine firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is ready to take the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership as well as the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral ties as an opportunity to promote exchanges and cooperation with China in various areas.
普京当日在电视直播节目“与普京直接连线”中回答俄罗斯民众关心的各种问题，持续3个多小时。他说，英舰越界事件“显然是一次挑衅”，不仅英方，美方也参与其中，美国一架侦察机事发当天早些时候从希腊起飞，目的是观察俄方如何应对英舰的行为。
Putin answered various questions of the Russian people's concerns in the live TV program "Direct Connection with Putin" that day, which lasted more than three hours. He said that the British ship’s cross-border incident was “obviously a provocation.” Not only the British side, but the US side was also involved. A US reconnaissance plane took off from Greece earlier in the day to observe how Russia responded to the British ship’s behavior.
Comment: Note that the People’s Daily appears to accept Putin’s characterization that this is a “cross-border incident.”
Kremlin says US is behind provocation with British destroyer – TASS
Provocations similar to the one involving the British destroyer HMS Defender in Russia’s territorial waters off Crimea are masterminded in the United States, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday. "I think our intelligence certainly knows who made a decision there [in the situation with the British destroyer]. But certainly I think such operations are basically planned by senior partners from overseas," Kremlin told Moscow. Kremlin. Putin TV program on Rossiya-1 channel.
Russia's use of weapons in maritime incident off Crimea was justified – lawyer – TASS
Russia's use of weapons in an incident involving the British destroyer HMS Defender off Cape Fiolent, Crimea, was entirely justified from the standpoint of international law, the head of the working group for international legal issues of Crimea's permanent mission at the Russian presidential office, Alexander Molokhov, told TASS.
HMS Defender: Russian jets and ships shadow British warship – BBC
Moscow's defence ministry said a patrol ship fired warning shots and a jet dropped bombs in the path of HMS Defender as it sailed some 12 miles (19km) off Crimea's coast. The UK government rejected Russia's account of the incident and denied that any warning shots had been fired. A BBC correspondent on the warship said it was harassed by Russia's military. Aircraft could be heard overhead as BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale filed a report from the deck of HMS Defender in the Black Sea as it sailed to Georgia. He described hostile warnings over the radio as the warship's crew prepared for a possible confrontation.
Until next time,
Joe Webster
The China-Russia Report is an independent, nonpartisan newsletter covering political, economic, and security affairs within and between China and Russia. All articles, comments, op-eds, etc represent only the personal opinion of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the position(s) of The China-Russia Report.