Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. He added that there are currently approximately 155 Chinese citizens known to be fighting against Ukraine on the territory of Ukraine, and about whom there is accurate information regarding their passport data, recruitment channels, etc. While their real number is estimated to be much higher. He also emphasized China’s “military support” for Russia, equating it to the DPRK and Iran.
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In this situation, it is indicative and important for analysis that China, from the very beginning of the news about the prisoners, began to censor its information space, removing from social networks and the media any mention of the detained Chinese citizens, even from the friendly Russia Today.
The Russian media, experts, and Kremlin-controlled Telegram channels unanimously denied the Chinese presence […]
Such significant active work by the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to hide these facts and reduce mention of them gives us an interesting clue.
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[Three conclusions regarding Chinese prisoners of war]
- Firstly […] Ukraine needs to support the discussion in the information space of aspects of the involvement of the Chinese in the war against Ukraine, for which it should provide new information obtained from the results of interrogations of Chinese citizens. Ukraine’s repeated appeals to China in 2022-2024 have not yielded results – China has become a critical enabler of the Russian war and the Russian defense industry.
At the same time, such significant active work by the PRC to hide these facts and reduce mention of them gives us an interesting clue.
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Secondly, in parallel, efforts should be intensified to identify the presence of Chinese in the Russian army and, if possible, to capture other Chinese citizens. […] This is especially relevant given China’s efforts to improve relations with Europe in the context of a trade war with the United States, but evidence of direct military support by China for Russian military efforts could significantly complicate this process, and therefore Kyiv could demand that China reduce technological support for Russia.
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Third, given the intensification of China-American competition and the beginning of a tariff and trade war, it is important for Kyiv that Ukraine’s key military partner, the US, understands the interconnectedness of the European and Indo-Pacific theaters. Information that China is increasing its support for Russia could be an additional argument for Kyiv in negotiations with Washington regarding the provision of reliable security guarantees to Ukraine and the continuation of military-technical supportfor Ukraine, as well as additional sanctions on Russia and China.
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This is news to me. And this is bad.
Just yesterday I read about some peace activit’s research that NATO is already stronger than Russia even without the USA - but there was NO mention of China (or Iran or North Korea or India…).
And they made such a show of remaining neutral in 22/23, postulating that Ukraine’s borders have to be respected or some such.
In 2023, then Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye (who is now Chinese envoy to Europe) said that former Soviet countries “have no effective status in international law.”
“In international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have the effective status because there is no international agreement to materialize their status of a sovereign country,” [China’s ambassador Lu Shaye] said.
“He denies the very existence of countries like Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, etc.,” [wrote] Antoine Bondaz, a China expert at the Paris-based think-tank Foundation for Strategic Research.
Which law is he referencing? I thought it’s up to each country to decide which other countries they recognize.
That’s probably the point: “Nobody forces us to recognise them, so we don’t”
China or any of those others are no direct military threat to Europe.
They are fighting on European soil against a European country.
The article explicitely states that Chinese soldiers are fighting against Ukrainian soldiers, in Europe. That is, by definition, a direct military threat to Europe.
But I’m sure you’re going to explain now how that’s not what you meant.
China or any of those others are no direct military threat to Europe.
Chinese soldiers are already fighting in Europe, killing Europeans, including civilians and children. The Chinese Communist Party is censoring reports on Chinese soldiers being caught in Ukraine, but it doesn’t censor Russia’s conscription ads. This suggests that the Chinese party-state not only knows about these soldiers, they actively support Russia once again by their inaction, constituting a direct threat to Europe.
We (europe) should do our best in assessing China’s goals and intentions. If they are indeed playing both sides (ideologically side with Russia, economically side with the west) we should put as much pressure as possible on them to make them as neutral as they say they are. If they turn out more hostile than they say they are, we should brace ourselfs for the threat they pose. I feel our government is realizing how powerful they have become.
