As China boosts ties with Russia, Belarus, Europe ponders possible rising threat
- European Union may reconsider its relationship with the world’s second-largest market because of Beijing’s support for Moscow
A few metres behind them, a row of tanks sat in formation. To their left, a larger gathering of Belarusian soldiers proudly waved their red and green flag in the air.
“We are pushing China to put pressure on Belarus, but apparently they didn’t understand our request and sent the PLA to Minsk instead,” said a Polish official.
He was referring to the “hybrid warfare” dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko has ordered against its Western neighbour. The documented and ongoing incidents – such as forcing migrants from Iraq into Belarus over the Polish border – have fuelled a crisis between the two countries.
While the exercises with the PLA pose no immediate threat to Poland or any other country, the symbolism is clear: China is bolstering military ties with Europe’s enemies, and is increasingly seen as a security threat across the continent.
Belarus, Russia’s closest ally in its invasion of Ukraine, also maintains close ties with Beijing, having been recently welcomed into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.