Russia is unlikely to intervene directly in a war over Taiwan, just as China has not in Ukraine. Their defence ties stop well short of a mutual defence treaty. But joint drills and patrols give China rare opportunities to learn from Russia’s battle-hardened forces. What is more, “China can now ask things of Russia that Russia cannot ask of China,” says Lyle Goldstein of Brown University. He notes that Chinese military journals suggest the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is especially interested in Russian data on American and allied weapons such as HIMARS rocket launchers, which Taiwan also uses.
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