Russia Unlikely to Help China in Event of Protracted War in Indo-Pacific: Expert

“I think in the near term, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that Russia would participate,” David Stone said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to the media after attending a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 28, 2024. Mikhail Tereshchenko/AFP/Getty Images

Moscow is unlikely to provide assistance to Beijing in the event of a protracted war between China and a U.S.-led coalition in the Indo-Pacific, according to Russian military history expert David Stone.

“I think in the near term, it’s extraordinarily unlikely that Russia would participate, and part of that simply has to do with the commitments that Russia has with the war in Ukraine, there’s just not a lot of resources left to give,” Stone, who is currently the William E. Odom professor of Russian studies in the Strategy and Policy Department at the U.S. Naval War College, said during a Jan. 6 podcast hosted by the school’s China Landpower Studies Center.