The leadership of the Russian Federation is all too often willing to openly identify the United States and NATO as its #1 enemy in leaked (on purpose, of course) security doctrines.  The idea that NATO actually has coherent plans to harm Russian interests is amusing to anyone familiar with the internal dysfunction of the organization, but the importance of such announcements for Russia’s domestic politics is well known.  What is interesting is the Kremlin’s studious avoidance of ever using the taboo word “China” in its security materials, despite very serious concerns and preparations underway.

A few days ago I came across this interesting article by Simon Saradzhyan at ISN Security Watch which reports that Russia will conduct a major combat exercise in the Far East this month to allegedly simulate a potential conflict with Chinese armed forces.  Saradzhyan rightly points out that instead of military chest beating, the Russians had better get busy soon on a stronger development policy for the region.