China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia (1 Viewer)

[Centrist]

Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.

Media and military experts said Sunday that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military.

The Chinese cargo planes with military markings were pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.

The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.

“The Y-20s’ appearance raised eyebrows because they flew en masse as opposed to a series of single-aircraft flights,” wrote The Warzone online magazine. “The Y-20′s presence in Europe in any numbers is also still a fairly new development.”

Serbian military analyst Aleksandar Radic said that “the Chinese carried out their demonstration of force.”

China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia

Russian ally Serbia has taken delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a semi-secret operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.

apnews.com

---> While all eyes are on Russia's aggression and invasion, the Chinese authoritarian leadership is slowly making moves on the chess board.

 

[multivita-man]

If people think that the conflict in Ukraine is strictly about a beef between Ukraine and Russia, they are sorely mistaken. This is about two axes of global power, with authoritarian regimes and state-managed economies on one side and the liberal democratic/neoliberal market economies on the other. Look beyond Putin's Russia, and you will see the much bigger ambitions of Chairman Xi's China, strategically developing economic and political relationships in which they force the indebtedness of weaker countries and make them 'deals' in which China can take control of seaports or other strategic nerve centers.