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ASEAN must be doubly alert when the bear cannot hug the dragon
According to polls conducted by the Pew Research Center in June, the number of Ukrainians who have refused to yield to Russia stands at an astounding 90 percent if not more since the war started.
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A serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine inspects destroyed military equipment abandoned at a position once held by the Russian army in the north of the Kharkiv region, on Sept. 20. (AFP/Sergey Bobok)
The dragon has long symbolized the grandeur of China, as the bear has embodied Russia’s speed and strength.
By this token, when one speaks of the dragon and the bear, one is referring to the contemporary Sino-Russian relationship.
However, what is most significant in this bilateral relationship is that the core interests of the two have appeared to converge only to show signs of diverging too. Let's focus on the former first.
To the amazement of many, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin both agreed to a treaty of unlimited cooperation on Feb. 20, where no "issues" or "areas shall be left unexplored".
Four days later, however, President Putin appeared to have gotten President Xi in a serious bind when Russia started its military maneuvers to try to capture Kyiv.
Putin’s original goal seems to have been to decapitate the leadership of Ukraine, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was later transformed into the larger mission of installing a pro-Putin government in Kyiv.
However, Kyiv isn't any normal capital. Just as it is equally important to European Union, the United States, it is equally important to China, too. Indeed, as of 2021, Beijing has invested close to US$30 billion in Ukraine.
