China’s Warships On Route To Join Russia In Syria

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China will join Russia’s military operation in Syria in the upcoming weeks, with their warships already on route to Syria.

Beijing is poised to join Moscow in its military operation of what the Kremlin claims to be against ISIS militants in Syria. China has already sent its military on route to Damascus, as reported by the The Express.

Russia launched deadly airstrikes in the Middle East 10 days ago, and it has been increasing the intensity of its military operation in Syria every day. Russian President Vladimir Putin has even sent Spetsnaz units, Russia’s most elite Special Forces units, to Syria.

Chinese warships are on their way to Syria, according to both Russian and Chinese military sources. There have been also numerous reports of China’s deployment of its carrier-based fighter aircraft Shenyang J-15 in Syria.

Several reports have also indicated that a large number of Chinese military advisers have already joined Russia’s personnel in the Assad regime’s stronghold Latakia province.

“It is known that China has joined our military operation in Syria,” Igor Morozov, a member of the Russian Federation Committee on International Affairs told Russia’s daily Pravda. “The Chinese cruiser has already entered the Mediterranean, followed by its aircraft carrier.”

U.S. deploys warships in South China Sea amid China’s threat

The news come amid reports that the U.S. is poised to deploy its military warships close to China’s disputed artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The move appears to be a signal from Washington that it is not going to recognize Chinese territorial claims over the islands.

The American warships will sail inside the 12-nautical mile zones that China claims its territory around some of the artificial islands in the Spratly chain, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity with the Financial Times.

The official added that the ships will be deployed within the upcoming weeks. With the reports that China sends it military warships to Syria, the move is likely to escalate tensions between Beijing and Washington.

“The Chinese will be arriving in the coming weeks,” a Syrian army official told The Sleuth Journal. “The Chinese ship has crossed the Suez Canal in Egypt and is currently in the Mediterranean Sea.”

According to Israeli military officials, one of China’s guided missile cruisers is already docked at the Syrian port of Tartus, along with the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning-CV-16.

However, speaking at the recent UN Security Council session, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi seemed unwilling to “arbitrarily interfere” in the Syrian war, but said that the world cannot afford to “stand by and look on with folded arms.”

China-Russia military alliance is America’s worst nightmare

China and Russia’s joint military actions in Syria will provide a large boost for the fight against ISIS in Syria as well as strengthen the positions of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

However, China’s decision to deploy its warships to Syria seems to contradict Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent UN General Assembly reassurances that Beijing advocates for peaceful conflict resolutions and wishes to avoid any global conflicts.

Some Western media outlets believe that by joining Russia in the Syrian war, China is hoping that the Kremlin will return the favor by supporting China’s stance in the disputed South China Sea, in which the U.S. sends its military warships in the upcoming weeks.

The U.S., for its part, fears the emerging and growing military partnership between China and Russia that could begin with Syria and expand to other Middle Eastern countries, where both China and Russia have strategic interests, according to the Common Sense Show. As of today, nearly a half of China’s imported crude oil comes from Middle Eastern countries.

The U.S. has already been checkmated in Syria by China and Russia, according to Dave Hodges, the author of the article.

“Russia has already gained a firm military foothold in the Middle East and as the reader will soon discover, China is sending some of its military in support of Russia’s effort in Syria as part of a newly forming BRICS coalition being put together to ostensibly destroy ISIS,” Hodges wrote.

However, the author believes that the real purpose of China and Russia’s joint moves in Syria is to take over the Middle East. “These events should not come as any surprise as China and Russia have openly announced their hostility toward the United States for the past three years.”

China becomes more aggressive and bold

The author argues that Syria is now “the first line of defense,” because China and Russia could then invade Iran, which plays dangerous games with its nuclear program, and “end the threat to the Petrodollar run through Syria.”

Hodges added that a joint Middle Eastern military partnership between Russia and China, which is “America’s worst nightmare,” is about to become a reality.

Ever since Russia started bombing ISIS targets in Syria, Beijing has been maintaining an uncertain position regarding the Syrian conflict. Chinese officials seemed to have not mentioned Russian airstrikes nor the future of Assad.

However, the news that China is sending its military warships to assist the Russian military operation in Syria indicates that Beijing has radically revised its Middle Eastern policy.

Until now, Beijing had been traditionally maintaining its no-force policy in the Middle East. During the war in Iraq, China largely contributed to preventing any military actions in the region. Beijing was also against airstrikes in Libya even though it abstained from voting in the UN Security Council.

What is China hoping to achieve in Syria?

However, some analysts claim that China is actively supplying weapons to the Assad regime.

“China worked hard to get as many weapons into Syria as Syria could afford, more or less ignoring U.S. protests,” according to The Diplomat’s analyst David Volodzko. “No one did more to help build Syria’s military than Russia, China, and Iran.”

But what has urged Beijing to get involved in the dangerous game, which is not that relevant for China?

Analysts believe that China hopes for long-term favors from the Kremlin for providing assistance in the Syrian conflict. In particular, China hopes for Russia to support it in case of a military conflict in the China South Sea, where there are severe differences between China and a number of other countries, including the U.S.

China might also have seized a good opportunity to put the U.S. and its allies in an awkward position.

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