The leadership of the Russian Federation is all too often willing to openly identify the United States and NATO as its #1 enemy in leaked (on purpose, of course) security doctrines. The idea that NATO actually has coherent plans to harm Russian interests is amusing to anyone familiar with the internal dysfunction of the organization, but the importance of such announcements for Russia's domestic politics is well known. What is interesting is the Kremlin's studious avoidance of ever using the taboo word "China" in its security materials, despite very serious concerns and preparations underway.
A few days ago I came across this interesting article by Simon Saradzhyan at ISN Security Watch which reports that Russia will conduct a major combat exercise in the Far East this month to allegedly simulate a potential conflict with Chinese armed forces. Saradzhyan rightly points out that instead of military chest beating, the Russians had better get busy soon on a stronger development policy for the region.
A few days ago I came across this interesting article by Simon Saradzhyan at ISN Security Watch which reports that Russia will conduct a major combat exercise in the Far East this month to allegedly simulate a potential conflict with Chinese armed forces. Saradzhyan rightly points out that instead of military chest beating, the Russians had better get busy soon on a stronger development policy for the region.
As of the early 2000s Russia's Far Eastern and Siberian districts had a total population of 27 million and their combined gross regional products totalled $110 billion per year, according to then-governor of Krasnoyarskii Krai Alexander Khoponin's 2006 speech at the Baikal Economic Forum in 2006. In comparison, some 100 million people live in three Chinese provinces that abut the Russian Far East, according to a May 2010 article by Robert Kaplan in Foreign Affairs. The population density on the Chinese side of border is 62 times greater than on the Russian side, according to this renowned expert on China.
China is most likely to continue growing at rates unattainable for Russia while the latter can count only on migration to prevent further depopulation. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in his 2008 speech Khloponin identified the fast growth of countries of the Asia-Pacific region, which includes China, as the main challenge for Russia.
