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It is sending a rise in tensions in the “eastern strategic direction”, quoting Mr. Shoigu on the Defense Ministry website. The area in question includes Russia’s eastern border with China and the broader Asia-Pacific area.
Shoigu did not specify what the new threats were or where the additional forces would be sent. He promised the region 500 units of new and improved equipment and upgrades for the Northern Navy.
Alexander Gabuyev, an analyst at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, said Russia was trying to secure enough military forces in an area where there could be conflict. He pointed to the increasing risk of a collision between the US and Chinese navies.
“Russia cannot remain unarmed and its capabilities must be there, in terms of air force, defense and personnel,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s concerns in the Far East centered on possible actions by foreign forces, but did not specify the countries of interest or the conflicts.
Russia’s Far East is also home to the longest series of anti-government protests in the Chinese border city of Khabarovsk, whose residents express outrage at the arrest of the country’s governor, Sergei Furgal.
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