Some analysts were quick to interpret Russia’s willingness to take part in the exercises as an endorsement of Chinese claims in the South China Sea maritime territorial disputes.
However, Russian political analyst Vladimir Kolotov has urged against being too emotional about the upcoming event.
“I had an impression that there is an intentional pumping up of informational noise and hysteria around the event,” he told Sputnik.
“I have noticed a complete lack on any logic about it. Commentators have been making the most fundamental mistake, which Sherlock Holmes warned about longtime ago: they are trying to build-up theories with a complete absence of any facts,” he said.
Professor Kolotov recalled that back in the middle of the last century Western analysts “noticed” a non-existent Soviet-Chinese block, which was eagerly attributed to a desire to conquer the whole of Southern-Eastern Asia.
The West continued seeing it even at the end of 1960s when there were military clashes between the USSR and China at their border and while the US was bombing northern Vietnam and was planting their puppets in the country’s south, he added.
Today there is no information which particular district of the South China Sea the drills will take part in. China has territorial disputes with many other countries in practically all the seas along its coastlines, and so according to the misplaced analysis, it would seem China has no right to hold its drills anywhere.
There are joint military exercises with China, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Mongolia, he says, along with Vietnam on Russian territory.
This by no way means that Russia is planning a joint attack with India on Pakistan or vice versa. Neither does it mean that Russia is planning a joint attack with Vietnam on China.
The expert urges against any hysteria where there are no grounds for it. The Armed Forces abide by their own rules and cooperate in various climate zones.
Russia has long held military drills with various countries with which it has agreements, in different regions.
The analyst neither sees any connection between the upcoming military exercises and the verdict of the Hague Court of Arbitration.
“The information about the drills appeared long before the verdict. They were been planned at least one year ago,” he told Sputnik.
He recalled that both Chinese and Russian officials said that the exercises are not directed against any third countries.
The expert also noted that the South China Sea is a very active piracy zone.
Until now, none of the bordering countries have thought to put an end to it.
Probably these countries would be better joining in with the Russian-Chinese exercises in order to free the area from pirates.
