Speaking at the annual Valdai Discussion Club, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for China’s claims to Taiwan and announced joint military exercises between Russia and China. Although the two countries do not officially have a military alliance, their “boundless” partnership was established in 2022, shortly before Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Putin noted that Russia does not consider China to be an aggressor in the region, but accused Taiwan of trying to destabilise the situation and “create a Ukrainian-style crisis” by bringing external support to the conflict. “We fully support China in its policy, because it is our ally,” the Russian leader stressed, adding that the two countries have close cooperation in the security and economic sectors.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan accused China and Russia of undermining the international legal order and threatening global stability. Taipei emphasised the Putin regime’s responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine, which led to sanctions and international condemnation, and added that China and Russia are becoming a serious threat to peace through their actions.
Putin, however, assured that the joint Russian-Chinese exercises, like the US military manoeuvres with Japan, are not aggressive and are intended to ensure their own security.
Meanwhile, China continues to regard Taiwan as its province and does not rule out the possibility of using force to bring the island back under its control. Taiwan, which has a self-governing government and its own armed forces, has maintained autonomy since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the Nationalists retreated to the island after being defeated by the Communists led by Mao Zedong.
