Col. Stanislav Lunev
Friday, March 22, 2002

On Feb. 28, Russian officials formally exchanged the treaty for "friendship and cooperation" with their Chinese counterparts, following ratification by the Duma, Russia's Lower House of Parliament.

The treaty prohibits Moscow and Beijing from launching nuclear strikes against each other or targeting each other with nuclear weapons.

It also recognizes Communist China's sovereignty over Taiwan and Russian rule over its separatists in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, in a show of solidarity aimed at U.S. critics of both nations' policies in those areas.

Russia and China had been forging a new strategic relationship based largely on mutual opposition to U.S. plans for the development of a national missile defense system, and to America's international involvement in other countries' affairs.

Officially named the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, it was signed in Moscow by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last July. The treaty was supposed to cement their relationship.

"This treaty shows that relations are now on a high level and will also create conditions for Russian-Chinese relations to jump another step forward," said Russian Deputy Foreign minister Alexander Losyukov in Beijing before exchanging the document.

The treaty "lays the foundation for relations between two countries, built on mutual political trust and growing interaction in economics and trade," China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Guchang said.

In this connection it would be very difficult to agree with liberal American politicians, who are trying to deliver to the American people the mistaken idea that a treaty between Russia and Red China is a document for only "friendship and cooperation."

To the contrary, this treaty clearly pledges Russian support of Chinese military operations in any conflict over Taiwan, which potentially could involve the U.S.

Moscow military experts openly admit that this document is nothing but a practical formalization of strategic cooperation between Russia and China, whose governments continue their military preparations against the U.S. and its friends and allies.

As NewsMax.com has reported, Moscow, backed by Communist China, is currently dramatically increasing Russia's military buildup, defense budget and the development of new weapons systems that were designed for a future war against the U.S. and NATO.

According to recent media reports, China is projecting a record budget deficit this year as it gives its military another double-digit spending increase and spends heavily to prop up economic growth.

Officially, military spending is to grow by 17.6 percent, to $20 billion – the 13th straight year of double-digit increases for the 2.5-million-member People's Liberation Army.

However, Western intelligence experts say that China's true military spending is much higher than publicly reported – as much as five times the official figure.

Some of the increase will go to raising salaries for PLA members, but the majority of the increase will be spent on upgrading weapons technologies and developing new weapons systems that could be used in a potential military conflict with the U.S.

President Bush and his administration are doing a very good job, especially in protecting America and the civilized world from international terrorists.

However, during this war on terrorism we need to keep our eyes open and understand other dangers to the U.S., including strategic and military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, which could be much more dangerous for our future than the current threat from international terrorism.

Col. Stanislav Lunev is the highest-ranking Soviet military intelligence officer ever to defect from Russia. Read his gripping story, Through the Eyes of the Enemy.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
China/Taiwan
Russia
War on Terrorism

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