China may welcome the west’s discomfort over the de facto war in Ukraine, but it should also be a reminder that China’s vulnerability is, as it almost always has been, mainly on its own northern and western frontiers. Nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and missiles provide a balance against other powers, but as the Russians have found they are no protection at all against ethnic and demographic forces.
Domestic Unrest in Store for China, Russia
Domestic Unrest in Store for China, Russia
Domestic Unrest in Store for China, Russia
China may welcome the west’s discomfort over the de facto war in Ukraine, but it should also be a reminder that China’s vulnerability is, as it almost always has been, mainly on its own northern and western frontiers. Nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and missiles provide a balance against other powers, but as the Russians have found they are no protection at all against ethnic and demographic forces.