IT would appear that both Russia and China are stealing a march on the West under the cloak of the pandemic.
Until now, few have commented on recent developments in both countries.
Russia has now amassed an estimated 85,000 troops on the Ukranian border, bolstering pro-Russian separatists with weapons.
President Putin is wielding the same overwhelming mix of propaganda, cyber warfare and unbadged special forces used to annexe Crimea in 2014, to infiltrate Eastern Ukraine.
Already, more than 400,000 Russian passports have been handed out to sympathisers, allowing Putin to claim they are ethnic Russians under the motherland’s ‘protection’.
Although a full-blown war is unlikely, tensions are rising.
The US is sending two warships to the Black Sea, while Putin is sending 10.
And his troops in the region outnumber NATO’s by eight to one.
There’s no doubt, a point is being made.
Similarly, China’s Xi Jingping is playing a game of brinksmanship in the South China Sea with America and her allies.
While President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to democratic Taiwan, he has not been able to prevent this week’s incursion into Taiwanese airspace by 25 Chinese military aircraft, including fighter jets and nuclear bombers.
This pattern of provocation is further exacerbated by a flotilla of 240 huge fishing boats anchored, until recently, at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, sparking tensions in the Philippines, which lays claims to the area.
Our new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will shortly depart on her first mission to the region in a show of strength.
Importantly, it’s a message to the Chinese that international waters are just that: international.
With both China and Russia investing heavily in their armed forces, it is deeply concerning that we are cutting ours.