Russia and China in the Indo-Pacific: China's Use of the Instruments of Power
A new report by Robert Hamilton and Christopher Primiano
This week, the Foreign Policy Research Institute launched a new report, Russia and China in the Indo-Pacific: China's Use of the Instruments of Power, by Robert Hamilton and Chirstopher Primiano. You can watch the virtual report launch with the authors in the link above.
The report examines Beijing’s use of diplomatic, military, and economic instruments in the Indo-Pacific region, and then examines how Russia perceives China’s activity in the region. It is the second installment in a series of five reports examining Chinese and Russian influence and interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
Key Findings
The report asserts that China’s use of the instruments of power to advance its interests in the Indo-Pacific does not portend a rift with Russia. On the contrary, there is an increasing convergence of interests between the two, especially in the security sphere, driven by escalating US-China tensions and Russia’s isolation after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On the issues of Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan/East China Sea, Russian and Chinese policies are largely aligned. There is daylight between them on the issues of ASEAN/South China Sea and India due to Russia’s partnership with historical Chinese adversaries there.
China and Russia have been able to compartmentalize these differences and prevent them from damaging their cooperation elsewhere in the region. Absent an unexpected shock to their relationship, this looks likely to continue.