In These New Times

“Without doubt, China has taken note that there is a significant change in Japan’s thinking toward Russia. An editorial in the Global Times newspaper viewed this shift as an attempt by Tokyo in concert with the US with a view to “impose geopolitical pressure on China.”

The great thing about the USA’s containment of China strategy is that it gives full scope to Russian diplomacy on multiple fronts without really doing anything to undermine the Russia-China relationship which is solidly based on shared interests. Thus, Russia is fully engaging with both Japan and the UK in resolving outstanding differences. At the same time, the containment of China strategy looks like being short-lived: the brexit agenda is already unravelling, the Brazilian oligarchy under Temer may be hoisted on its own petard of Facebook revolution and Australia has been confronted by a stark choice between China and the USA which it must ultimately resolve in favour of the former. Is China really as concerned as it makes out?

M.K.Bhadrakumar

Asia Times

4th September, 2016

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