Why Russia Backs China in Disputes with Third Countries

TAIPEI - Russia, once a thorn in China’s side, is backing Beijing in its disputes with third countries, including a maritime sovereignty flap in Southeast Asia, to counter Washington’s influence in Asia, scholars believe.

With the world’s second strongest military, after the United States, Russia holds occasional military exercises with China – with at least four events publicized to date -- sells arms to its giant neighbor to the south and joins it in criticizing the West. Officials in Moscow are trying now to boost Beijing’s claim to the contested South China Sea without overtly taking its side over five other Asian governments that vie with Chinese sovereignty in the same waterway, said Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. China and Russia need each other to show the United States – former Cold War foe of both – along with its allies that neither is “alone,” he said.