If China recovers Russian Far East coast, it will suddenly outflank island chain

(Paula Allen – ASPI The Strategist) The West’s strategy to contain China behind island chains risks being bypassed ­– China could gain free access to the Pacific by recovering territory lost to Russia in the 19th century. This may not be imminent, but it’s increasingly plausible as Russia weakens and becomes ever more dependent on China, and it could happen with little or no warning. If China held the Pacific coast north of North Korea, including the port of Vladivostok, its naval forces could reach the Pacific free of current chokepoints and monitoring. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan would face simultaneous strategic exposure across their defences, undersea cables and sea routes. Repossession of the lost Russian Far East would also give China maritime access to the Arctic, as well as control over critical mineral deposits central to the global technology supply chain. China lost more than 1 million square km of Pacific coastline to Russia under the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Convention of Peking in 1860. The territory runs north of North Korea to the Sea of Okhotsk. Its crown is Vladivostok, Russia’s only Pacific naval base east of Sakhalin. – If China recovers Russian Far East coast, it will suddenly outflank island chain | The Strategist