What Is China Learning from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine?

Summary

This article by Evan Osnos, writing for The New Yorker, makes the following points:

• Vladimir Putin may not have embarked on the invasion of Ukraine at this time, if he didn’t know he had Chinese support.
• Beyond his support for Putin, however, Xi has also seen the perils in some of Putin’s foreign-policy adventures.
• Russia and China are not natural geopolitical partners and China’s mistrust of Russia runs deep.
• Xi has become increasingly brazen about pursuing China’s territorial ambitions.
• Chinese leaders will be watching the invasion of Ukraine as a test case for their own long-held ambition to conquer Taiwan.
• The most immediate risk is that China will see Putin’s venture as a step toward normalizing more aggressive tactics.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• RUSSIAN-UKRAINE CONFLICT—RAAF RUNWAY COLLECTION
• RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC. 

Web Sources:

• MAR 2022 China rattled by calls for Japan to host US nuclear weapons—The Guardian
• MAR 2022 The Ukraine Invasion: What Lessons Is China Learning?—The Diplomat
• MAR 2022 How NATO Pilots Could Help Defend Ukraine—Time

Source Information:

• Article Source: The New Yorker
• Media Check: The New Yorker - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
• LEARNING OUTCOMES—RUNWAY | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)