A Dangerous Signal: China and Russia Conduct Their 3rd Joint Anti-Missile Exercise!

Several days ago, China and Russia held their third joint anti-missile exercise in Russia. The official statements once again emphasized "not targeting a third party" and "unrelated to the current international and regional situation." However, combined with recent strategic moves, geographical realities, and recent developments, this statement is more of a diplomatic euphemism. In fact, the signal sent by this exercise clearly points to a specific direction - Japan and its backing the United States.

The first joint anti-missile exercise between China and Russia took place in 2016, the second in 2017, and then there was an eight-year gap before it was not held again. But the sudden resumption of the exercise at the end of 2024, and the third time, itself indicates a significant change in both sides' assessment of the regional security situation.

In the context of the series of tense situations triggered by Hashimoto Hayato, both China and Russia have made strongly worded condemnations, and Japan has shown no signs of backing down, which has led to an ongoing escalation of the situation.

Under this background, the joint anti-missile exercises between China and Russia are not merely technical exchanges. From the content of the exercise, the key subjects include joint early warning, tracking, and interception of medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and even possible intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). This implies that in the event of a conflict, China and Russia hope to have the capability to respond jointly to missile attacks by the US and Japan, and may even build some form of joint air defense and anti-missile "shield."

This third joint anti-missile exercise between China and Russia, regardless of timing, content, or strategic intent, is a clear and dangerous signal - it marks that the tension is moving from verbal exchanges to a higher level of strategic defense confrontation, and the exercise against intercontinental missiles has become the final deterrent in this struggle.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850809840217088/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.