Why Russia's Biggest Threat is Actually China

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[RealLifeLore]

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[אדיר אלעד]

Why did you delete the video about Scotland?

[Drache /Leader of AAU\]

Hi

[Chinese virus]

KZbin advertising radicalized me

[Mister Tom]

Please leave out the flashing lights in between the cuts. Thank you.

[Sergio Acevedo]

I always saw the Russian-Chinese "alliance" as the definition of "there are no allies, only common interests".

[rundown132]

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

[Blugale Doh]

And both side are fully aware of that.

[Oropher420]

​@rundown132 more like "The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy."

[Wil L]

And NATO isn't?

[Spiritual Knight]

This is clearly propaganda I hope the viewers don’t fall for it

[Benny Chang]

As a history teacher, I have to say I’m very impressed by this rather historically accurate educational video. 👍

[Dothelukasz Killchain]

Except of the part where he says russia gets invaded a lot when its russia who invades a lof

[mario]

​@Dothelukasz Killchain *WW1,WW2,Crimean war, Napoleonic wars, Polish invasion of moscovy Russia Mongol invasion of moscovites left the chat*

[julian shepherd]

​@marioand 1919 when everyone had a go.

[don't blink]

Tell me where you are teaching then, so i'll keep out my relatives from that school. "Ukraine dramatic victory over Kherson" - hahahhahhah. Russians just left the territory, which was even announced before leaving.

[DarwinStubbie]

I thought this was a good educational video until minute 32, when pure western propaganda came to light.

[Kraken]

It's interesting seeing you flip the map so that it's useful from a russian or chinese perspective rather than the age old global perspective that we've seen forever.

[Alex Freitas]

It's annoying.

[Jonathan Pinkerton]

Does Russia use world maps that are upside down just to be different or something? I agree with Alex, it's annoying.

[- Delilah Lin -]

I love it ❤

[trade mark]

It's wonderful, really helps you understand a different perspective.

[Oscar Hagman]

i hate it

[Dante Hab]

The opening northern sea route was not mentioned in this video but that alone gives China an incredible incentive to extend its boarder north. This would immediately open up not only trade but also military defense and dramatically lessons the malacca dilemma.

[Christopher]

Lol

[Elias Ziad]

Except, the video completely forgets about Russian nuclear stockpile, which is orders of magnitudes better than Chinese junks. That should be a deterrence to any Chinese aggression.

[Moshe Shekelsteinspanbergblat]

@Elias Ziad ,that is irrelevant, as Russia can only be invaded from the West, and during winter. All the militaries of the world, including 90% of the Russian military, couldn't defeat even 10% of the Russian military, while invading from the east. It's literally logistically impossible, without spending decades building uparmored fanboats and hovercrafts.

[Stenky]

​​@Moshe Shekelsteinspanbergblat I think Mongolians did pretty good job invading from the east, and that was before all the modern equipment and knowledge of terrain... The land is sparsely populated and defending it is just as hard as attacking it, if not harder because of vast area that needs to be covered. The only difference is Russia would have so much time to react and would be practically unhurt if attack comes from east as opposed to west.

[kashiandevs]

I loved seeing the map and the world from different perspectives. The view we've standardised is rather arbitrary, and it's very interesting to take different perspectives to see the world in a different light.

[Marco Belli]

There is nothing Bad in using a map from the perspective of your Country

[kashiandevs]

@Marco Belli Even so, most countries end up using the north-south axis, which is the standard. But it's interesting to view the world in other orientations which is rare.

[Marco Belli]

@kashiandevs i think because 90% of the people live in north emisphere

[Timo]

I've recently started watching this channel, and oh man, it is interesting and well executed. Hats off to you, @RealLifeLore. I've also started to wonder what software you use to make all the maps in your videos... Could you share this information with me, as I'd be thrilled to start making my own maps when studying the world. Greetings from Finland and keep up the good work!

[bob guo]

Could be arcgis or even photoshop, I’d say photoshop is more likely given the advanced graphics

[snipertrader20]

Moral of this video: In politics, there are no lasting friends, no lasting enemies, only lasting interests.

[MilitantPacifist]

And by aligning your lasting interests with your key partners you will be able to build lasting alliances. Portugal-UK being the best example and the success of the EU preventing Europe from butchering each other close behind.

[ejitse]

And Russia + Serbia

[Black Matter Lives]

Meh, even interests change.

[SuperStingray]

"There is no such thing as an absolute timeless enemy and there never has been. And the reason is that our enemies are human beings like us." - The Boss, Metal Gear Solid 3

[DevinMes]

France and the UK had a geopolitical rivalry for over 400 years. Look at them now.

[notcher bane]

Yeah but India considers Russia an ally, because at one point Russia sided with India against China. So India is essentially trying to play both sides of the fence when it comes to Russia

[sony joseph]

That geopolitics strategy is working for china , for now . Cheap oil , fertilizers , gas without upsetting usa , europe , china , russia

[Let's Doodle Something HOME]

It’s basically Russia’s in the middle of the friend group, India’s holding onto Russia’s right arm and China’s holding onto Russia’s left arm while also giving each other death glances..

[CHAD BRAD]

@sony josephsame for India duh. Probably more beneficial for the international community when it comes to India because unlike China ; India is not a hostile threat

[Toaster!]

That's such an India thing to do

[ION tesla-coil]

Azerbaijan?? The possibility of a landline from the ‘Land of Azur’ (God of Fire?) has always seemed Very Important to China imo 🤷🏻 Just curious why it’s not mentioned. However i’ve always been impressed with Yr 3D representation. The ongoing Ukrainian Conflict made complete sense after seeing one you did about it. 👍🏽 Plus the history of Christianity going from Constantinople to Kiev to Russia - but that was from book 🤗 Many Thanks

[Patrick Malcom]

I love watching this channel. I never miss a video but if I had one complaint it would be that the maps can be very confusing. If they kept the maps with rorth on the top of the screen it would not be as confusing. In this video when they show India it is exact opposite of what people would envision India looking like... And with the map spinning constantly it becomes very difficult to keep your bearings when just keeping the map in the same direction throughout the video would help with that confusion. It would allow them to jump around from area to area but without the confusion. I have better than most knowledge of geography and I have troubles I'm sure other people might too. Just a suggestion. Keep up the good work.

[Zeb Németh]

Love the global approach to map-orientation, helps to gain perspective.

[ByeWhoBayou]

It’s interesting how all of our planet’s resources are situated in a manner that can only be used most efficiently and sustain us much longer if we all work together, however, the smarter we get the more resources we waste fighting against each other to control all of the resources. We are truly the source of our own demise.

[Jack Iplier]

You’re right. People can’t grow past what they think they should be, so they fight for “what is right”. Even if what is right is a portion of the bigger picture that equals out to nothing.

[ByeWhoBayou]

@Jack Iplier interesting viewpoint. I agree with you 100%.

[mgl legend gamer]

I am Mongolian, the friendship between Russia and China is beneficial for us, but it also brings danger.

[Francisco Saldana]

I have talked to Chinese people who say that Mongolia is part of China.

[charles hoang]

@Francisco Saldana Correct I think so.

[charles hoang]

@Francisco Saldana it's belong to us.

[Arina Ina]

@Francisco Saldana Mongolian Empire once ruled Russian and China, now Chinese claim it's part of China. So ironic.

[The Incompetent Tactician]

@charles hoang Mongolia belonging to you is as justified as much as the US belongs to the UK If not less

[Theo Til]

I love your contents in all your videos and I even subscribed to Nebula because of your videos but has someone told you that having the maps sideways or upside down is a good idea or something? It's difficult to pay attention and it spins my head! Either way, thanks for the effort you put in all your videos. Great job!

[あいうえお]

I am using Google Translate. There is an error in this video. The islands northeast of Hokkaido, Japan are Japanese territory. stipulated in the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951.

[Krush GamerLife]

I agree. Flipping the map is more annoying than helpful. It would have been okay if it was flipped to explain a particular point or perspective, but it was flipping and spinning for a long time. I like your videos and would request you to stop this! 🙏

[Ирина Павлова]

А мне наоборот понравилось, что карту переворачивает, это помогает понять как государства изнутри смотрят на внешний мир в разные стороны, это круто.

[KayaZ]

The quality of your videos is just superior to 99% of KZbin content. I am a student of history, politics and military history, and even in this one video I learned an immense amount. ForeX: Manchuria. I realize I only had the dimmest understanding of it’s historic importance before WW2. Thank you. Going over to Nebula and subscribing.

[FreedomWarrior]

You realize that this channel is full of videos telling blatant lies non stop?

[Chris Malinao]

@FreedomWarrior tell us your version of truth in terms of history and geopolitical matters involving these 2 countries then.

[FreedomWarrior]

@Chris Malinao I resort to facts, not my own version. History is irrelevant between this 2 countries to define their current relationship because both countries share, at least, 2 different international cooperations: SCO and BRICS. The SCO is a military cooperation (not alliance) between several countries which also includes Russia and China and BRICS are an economic cooperation between several countries which also include Russia and China. Russia and China share a common enemy: USA imperialism. Both countries share a similar view of the world: cooperation between nations, not strength through power like what the USA does for decades. They have been aligned into solving every problem through diplomatic ways as much as possible. Also if a war broke out between Russia and China, both countries have nuclear weapons but Russia has many times more, it would be China's doom therefore that hypothetical conflict doesn't even make any sense to start with.

[Regi Rock]

Wumao tankie lmao

[あいうえお]

I am using Google Translate. There is an error in this video. The islands northeast of Hokkaido, Japan are Japanese territory. stipulated in the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951.

[eges72]

One of the best examples of the Game Theory. You fear and hate each other, but team up just because of common interests. Another great examples from history are the Carthage-Syracuse alliance, the Byzantine-Persian alliance, and the Entente.

[Bruce Clark]

An excellent analysis that should be much better known in the West. One quibble, a 'steppe' is a grassland, i.e. the precipitation is too low to support forests. Further east in Siberia the vast boreal forest is known as 'taiga'.

[sjndfot]

taiga is just a type of forest. taiga can be found not only in russia, but also in North America.

[Monique Huchet]

An interesting explanation of our state of affairs seen from different point of view. I wish the world could find a peaceful balance of all those point of views.

[Owl Raider]

Just a small correction, the territory ceded by China to Russia in 1858 was Manchuria in its entirety not just Outer Manchuria. Inner Manchuria was eventually returned to China while Outer Manchuria remained in Russian hands and is where the port city of Vladivostok is located. You can see this discrepancy in your own maps, with your statement on supposed 'outer Manchuria' encompassing the border with North Korea while in the next map which still talks about outer Manchuria that territory suddenly shrunk(inner Manchuria back to Chinese hands as it currently is).

[Chenda Forrest]

Well spotted, I thought there was something off there.

[A Mindforall]

Thanks for pointing it out

[Tritium]

You fail at trying to act smart. It was just Outer Manchuria hence why most maps, outside this channel's you like, show Inner Manchuria as Chinese.

[Omelet Pan]

This might be the most in depth and interesting video I've seen on any platform. Great work.

[Xin]

The only reason: when you find it a mission impossible to defeat a competitor, you start to think it would be an easier way to separate him from his friends.

[ChrisSqrd]

Love your videos. They are very informative. But it would be a lot better if you could keep the maps facing up. The constant rotation is confusing. Thankyou and keep up the good work!

[Frater Contendunt Occulta]

It's both interesting and unsettling to see the situation in Ukraine basically reawaken the Cold War.

[Dwane]

Would have never happens if the CIA and NATO had left Ukraine alone

[Ottzel]

​@DwaneCope

[0l_Pops]

Very excellent historical summation of Russian/Chinese conflicting territorial claims and how this could impact future events

[GEDION at Physics, Math, Electro-Mechanics & Optics]

That is highly probabilistic. The US did not want to enter the war in WWII until Japan misbehaved. If the war is contained just between Russia and Ukraine + NATO perhaps the assessment will hold. If a large scale war opens to the east, there are some issues in Europe that will trigger civil unrest in Europe. Then you have a breakdown in NATO. You need to gather more data from the ground to see the complex issue ahead.

[David Pittelli]

This is a pretty good overview of the strategic situation in East Asia. But it would be easier to follow the map graphics if the video stuck to the normal convention of South being at the bottom, rather than rotating the map in all directions.

[john hays]

True maps spinning around all the time 🤮

[borg386]

Yep, it sucks

[Vitamin Luke]

They do this on purpose and for good reason: it helps keep the viewer from zoning out at the same map we always see, almost as if we are seeing a new world for the first time, and hence can focus on the important details (like the shape of the North European Plain or islands surrounding China) without distraction. After all, the direction of north doesn't really make a difference in these geopolitical standoffs.

[Daye Gilharno]

@Vitamin Luke This! I can feel my mental map of the world become more clear with these literal changes of perspective.

[Chairman Zia]

@john hays yes but our head isn't designed to be spinning at all times lmao...

[JustAnotherUser565]

Reminds me of the fact that in the game Battlefield 4, the single player campaign has Russia backing the coup of a Chinese Military Junta but in the multiplayer they opposed each other, particularly in maps that take place in Central Asia. I know it’s only a game but I can’t help but see the parallels between it and China and Russia’s current “partnership” in real-life.

[Emile Chen]

the difference between China ans Rusaia is Chinese people and CCP don't tolerate any form of warlordism, in Chinese army, there are also political commissioners,

[Tiandi]

Yeah, I wondered by they were enemies, but now I'm more enlightened.

[aTao.2019]

I think both Russia and China also were aware that the current closed relation is based on the mutual competitor and benefit. This is mature attitude to world reality.

[Chris Lee]

0:21: 🌍 Russia and China have been growing closer as allies, with China providing financial support to Russia's war in Ukraine and both countries working towards disrupting the status quo in Eurasia. 4:40: 🌍 Russia and China feel blocked in their geopolitical objectives by the United States and its allies. 9:37: 🌍 China and Russia have formed a strategic alliance based on their complementary resources and shared interests in countering American hegemony. 14:35: 🌍 The historical strains over outer Manchuria are a source of tension between Russia and China, with implications for their border dispute and potential future conflicts. 19:37: 🌍 Central Asia's shift towards China and its impact on Russia and water scarcity in China 24:21: 🌊 China's water scarcity crisis and its interest in the Russian Far East 29:17: 🌍 China and Russia are currently aligned but may become rivals in the future due to historical, territorial, and geopolitical factors. 34:21: 💡 The speaker discusses the content and benefits of Nebula, a subscription-based platform for creators. Recap by Tammy AI

[Lavish Kumar]

I got a sudden chill when you started talking about water scarcity and how conflicts may arise from it. The saying that my parents used to say that "one day, there will be a war for water" is beginning to come into fruition.

[SuperCatacata]

It's a natural resource, just like everything else humanity has fought over since the dawn of time.

[Justin]

Any resource will eventuality be fought over, Sadly more and more wars that are related to resources will very likely happen

[Kyrie Rose]

Water will never be scarce. The Middle East can literally filter ocean water

[will]

@Kyrie Rose very expensive technology. when they get the price cut down yeah that will be a game changer

[Sounak Chakraboty]

Isn't the population going down in developed countries so demand will decrease

[Geoff Bott]

As I have said for sometime, the ongoing skirmishes and dispute over the China/Siberian border hasn't gone away. Russia would be mindful that the Ukraine War creates an ideal diversion for China to once again challenge the disputed territory . Russia cant afford to deplete its eastern forces in order to reinforce the Ukrainian front.

[Michael Lee]

I don't see China wanting to antagonize the Russians over territorial disputes from the 19th century at least for now. China's main concern is focused squarely on Taiwan.

[Forever _noir_215]

I love how this video pretty much explains the entire great famine

[Nick Johns]

This was an excellent, clear, and comprehensive, overview of a major geopolitical issue, both now and in the sjort tp medium term future. One of the only remaining , critical, drivers of this temporary and fragile alliance, is recent US strategic ineptitude, aggravated by the increasingly fraught and polarised American body politic.

[C. Tang]

“US strategic ineptitude” the fuck does this mean

[AdorablePork HD]

@C. Tang short-term be like craving for season 3 before season 1 ends. these politicians are dictators but no tempestuous idiots. the alliance is fragile only if the 'common threat' disappears

[Wandering Soul]

This is a fine history lesson showing how Russia and China hold a balanced trade deal to support Russia during world wide boycotts of their oil and gas exports. China gets cheap prices for now. The now Russian "Outer Manchuria" territory has to be very important asset for China in the future. Stay tuned .... Thank You for the professional and hard work !

[Krucible]

I love your style of explaining current world affairs through geography. It makes it simple to understand and leaves all the political bias at the door.

[PauliusIV]

geopolitics is all about that map and resource control, so the only way to really understand it is by looking at the map and terrain

[Matthew Carlton]

Geography is Destiny. (It is my saying for everything).

[Ben Merkey]

i get that you mean they’re not talking about like issues that are contentious between the left and right wings of north american and democracies but just for the record, geographic determinism is in fact a political bias

[Ben Merkey]

north american and european democracies*

[jonathan collard]

Superb review; think I’m going to have to watch 5 times just so all the details and nuance sinks in. 👍

[Frederick Zhou]

I strongly recommend everyone to read a novel called “the romantic of three kingdoms”. It is a famous book in China and basically everyone has read it. It mainly about a civil war in ancient China empire. During 3-4 century, China Empire was divided into 3 kingdoms and eventually reunited again. However, this book shows China's Diplomatic Strategy that still in use today. In three kingdoms era, each kingdoms have conflicts with another two, but also built alliances with another two. Just like some time Shu kingdom and Wu kingdom will fight Wei kingdom together, after several years, wu and wei become partners… The romantic of three kingdoms have just fit for the relationship between China Russia and America. Those three are the most powerful nations in the world. Each one is others’ partner and enemy. China and Russia have a lot of history conflicts, however, United States as the biggest threat can make them corporate. During Trump administration, he tried to build a relationship with Putin, cause Trump found that China is more danger than Russia to America. If you can understand the romantic of three kingdoms, you can understand Chinese government strategy now. China now is trying to create a balance world instead of second cold war. So they must keep Russia strong enough to separate concentration of America. Once 3 countries have basically same strength, the world can remain peace. Once Russia down, there must be more serious conflicts between China and America, and eventually become a real war.

[Frederick Zhou]

Now the world is very like the situation of 3 century AD of China. During 3 kingdoms period, Wei is the strongest kingdom, and located in north. Wu is the most stable kingdom, they are located in south of Yangtze river(a river cross entire country) and the have power fleet on river, so Wei and Shu is hard to invade them cross river, and wu is lack of aggressive only want to occupy south. Shu is the weakest kingdom but most aggressive. The situation just like now, America is the most powerful nation. China is second powerful, but US can’t defeat China across Pacific Ocean. Russia is the weakest one but aggressive. In three kingdoms period, Wei was trying to across Yangtze River to invade Wu, Wu and Shu become alliances defeated Wei. And make Wei no longer dare to invade Wu for half of century. After Wei change their focus to north, Shu and Wu’s relationship become weak, and totally break after Wu murdered brother of Shu’s King. Now United States is biggest threat to both China and Russia, so they must give up arguments and defend America together. But one day America no longer be able to be world cap, and achieved Trump’s retrenchment strategy. America will only be able to occupy America continents and west Europe. China will control Asia, but no interest in expanding. Russia can get east Europe and Middle East but not satisfy and wants to expand. During that time, China and Russia’s conflicts are unavoidable.

[NewRanger]

Interesting observation,but dont forget EU.There should be 4 contries

[Mustafa Naser]

That is what basically russia did in 20th century. It gave the Chinese much technology knowledge in exchange with some ressources like Uran although had enough Uran to supply itself. Due to technology transfer to China Chinese were able to build nuclear weapons.

[James Edwards III]

All in accordance with the Prophecies of Nostradamus... *Que sinister music*

[David Wood]

It is true that we Chinese will never forget the territory taken by Russia, and it is also true that both China and Russia have to cooperate rather than dispute at this stage.

[Ricardo Correia]

the video is fantastic. but in my opinion, it would be better to have the maps in the default positions, as turning them around is confusing

[Saber]

Wow, I felt like I was sitting in on a foreign policy strategy meeting. Very, very well done.

[Benur M]

It would have been great if you talked about the impact of having Mongolia right between China and Russia in this.

[Fuzz Blightyear]

those guys must feel like the meat in a sandwich

[Zenovarse]

Nah Mongolia feel like they should own both China and Russia.

[Dave Xorus]

@Zenovarse Haha good comment 😁 but time of horse nomads are gone long time ago

[Zenovarse]

@Dave Xorus even to this day there are nomad herders in Mongolia. But sadly the days of being able to conquer cities on horseback is long gone.

[Marc Lamontagne]

Dynamic human geography presentation. Structured and polished. Beautiful documents. Thank you.

[Jingle]

Great content, thank you! Just a small note, rotating the map is sometimes disorientating. I would keep the north up.

[cubandarknez]

the rotating of the map was pretty disorienting at times. I understand it doesn't always have to follow standard orientation convention, but pretty hard wired for north to be somewhere on the top half at this point

[Ali Emre Kepenek]

Finally a video that addresses Russia's concerns. Also, don't forget the traumatic experience of losing tens of millions of people in WW2. Of course Russia would be very concerned about their western border situation.

[BalinTheHater ']

Just because we can understand their insanity does not mean we have to go along with it.

[zjeee]

Many countries solve similar problems and sometimes more severe problems without invading all their neighbors though.

[Kiel Weiss]

​@zjeeehow many decades should you work at an issue before solving it yourself?

[Tau Epsilon]

1. This is only one interpretation of possible motivation. There could be more or different factors. 2. Russian fears can be based in subjectivity and devoid of facts. Russian fears of a NATO invasion are in my opinion a fever dream and baseless. Why should all NATO country together decide to start a nuclear war end end the world? But because you act out of your unfounded fears of a possibly invasion aggressively, you can create the reality you feared the most. That's a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Charlie;]

Amazing educational video! The map rotations are confusing me so much though

[JustBe]

Since Russia invaded Ukraine I've always thought it was a great opportunity for China to overtake valuable lands to their north.

[Yora]

Russia does still have nuclear weapons and an official doctrine to use them if the territorial integrity of the nation is threatened. And I am sure Soviet planners during the cold war did take into consideration that the Chinese border could be threatened as well. The rewards would be huge, but the gamble is unpredictable.

[Matt Reali]

Where specifically? Like the Japanese islands occupied by Russia?

[teo vu]

Most of north east russia up to the amur river was taken from China in the 1800s by russia....

[ForrestZH]

If you read the official report of Chinese government, you will find out the China and Russia is not an alliance like NATO. The official statement of this relationship is: Russian-Chinese relations are based on non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties. They do not pose a threat to any country in the world, nor are they subject to interference or provocation by any country.

[Alexander Chen]

you think the product of US public school will read serious stuff? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Spider-man 2099]

Both Russia and China are faaar from being a threat to the U.S. and NATO either way 😂😂😂

[Yakir Cohen]

i have a feeling that this is going to turn out similar to WW2 as germany was firstly non aggressive towards russia but eventually turned on them making russia join the us side of the war but we will see in a couple of years

[Madubuko Madubuko]

This is a very enlightening lecture. Thanks for your presentation .

[Synicx]

Can we hear/see more map updates? Thank you. This is of great help for our latest information.❤

[MTBernie]

Clint is one of the greatest movie reviewers. Also a big fan of CineFix.

[Brett Anderson]

Thanks for this! It's good to see the perspectives of other nation states and the geopolitical history laid out in very easy to digest ways.

[🔮𝘾​̳𝙮​̳𝙖​̳𝙈​̳𝙖​̳𝙧​̳𝙞​̳𝙣​̳𝙚​🔮]

I knoww

[James Galligan]

It can be difficult to step outside our perspective and interests and even harder still to see the whole board which is why I love these little nuggets. It’s one of the reasons I’ve become obsessed with understanding the dynamics of Central Asia, specifically how it pertains to water.

[eagle force]

lol. You know the guy is American right?

[eagle force]

@James Galligan Imagine how impressed you'll be when you hear from an actual Central Asian person!

[Pseudonomenclature]

During this entire video all I could really think about was Mongolia silently squeezed right between Russia and China not being mentioned like some random passenger on a bus who just so happens to sit right between two people who really hate each other.

[高高鹏]

Your place is probably one of the least war-prone places in the world.

[Pseudonomenclature]

@高高鹏 Ok?

[Tatratram]

Wouldn't it be easier for China to try and outbribe Russia in North Korea and voila: naval base in Cheongjin and a couple more along the Korean coast? It seems much easier than going into a full-on war with Russia.

[Gbolagade Olajide]

This is exceptional analysis. Wow. I can't believe I just watched all this for free

[Matthew Royer]

Fantastic view of the world and resources we live in. Really good job !!!

[CT L]

Everything you reported in this video is so true I wish more ppl can watch your videos!!!!

[Call Out The Chaos]

Thank you for always bringing high quality content. A few days ago, I was wondering about Ukraine's counter-attacks and strategy for year 2 so perfect timing. Once again, thank you for fueling my addiction of knowledge and history. Keeping the light of knowledge alive in an age of distractions and fake reality.

[player1diao]

Ukraine have taken lands which Russians weren't able to defend because of complicated logistics (river crossings). So Russia did leave territories, but did save their soldiers, which it lacks of. In any other direction Ukrainians didn't succeed, as now we can clearly see in Bakhmut. Better be realistic.

[Vin Vin]

NATO failed so bad! Now they (you) turned to disunite China and Russia! 😂

[INDIA SUPER CLEAN 🇮🇳]

WOW VERY DANGEROUS SIR! 😠 😠BUT THIS WHY IM SO LUCKY LIVE IN SUPER INDIA THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD 🇮🇳🤗 , WE NEVER SCAM! WE GIVE RESPECT TO ALL WOMEN THEY CAN WALK SAFELY ALONE AT NIGHT AND WE HAVE CLEAN FOOD AND TOILET EVERYWHERE 🇮🇳🤗🚽, I KNOW MANY POOR PEOPLE JEALOUS WITH SUPER RICH INDIA 🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳

[Neon Demon]

​@INDIA SUPER CLEAN 🇮🇳 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

[Nathaniel Davis]

Thanks for doing this. Most do not know how fragile this relationship is.

[Jj]

I think I might commented already, but it's worth doing it again- outstanding work, Sir.

[Dylan Paul]

This is really good. One thing I woudld change is showing maps side ways and upside down. Im not sure what hat achieves except having to tilt your head and think.

[Dark Uncle]

i would like to bring up Alaska. Russia is surrounded from the west by natto. directly to the east of Russia is Alaska. separated only by the Bering Strait. which makes America only 55 miles away from Russia. you can see a decent map of it at 22:47. top right land that is not highlighted is Alaska.

[crazy4dariver]

Outstanding commentary with facts. Well done

[Grayzel FX]

Another excellent video! I've learned more about foreign-affairs/geography/international history/politics than I ever did in school. Thank you for continuing to make these videos.

[INDIA SUPER CLEAN 🇮🇳]

WOW VERY DANGEROUS SIR! 😠 😠BUT THIS WHY IM SO LUCKY LIVE IN SUPER INDIA THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD 🇮🇳🤗 , WE NEVER SCAM! WE GIVE RESPECT TO ALL WOMEN THEY CAN WALK SAFELY ALONE AT NIGHT AND WE HAVE CLEAN FOOD AND TOILET EVERYWHERE 🇮🇳🤗🚽, I KNOW MANY POOR PEOPLE JEALOUS WITH SUPER RICH INDIA 🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳

[Nesggy]

Unfortunately we learn almost nothing in school.

[Netizen Capet]

In my view this is one of Joe's best, and most insightful videos (minus the short tag at the end on Ukraine). I also believe that a Sino-"Soviet" Split 2.0 is coming before the end of the century. I am one of the few who sees the recent radical vamp up of PRC nukes as secretly planned to pose a strategic deterrence not to Washington but to Russia but at a later timeline. The video offers a very clear geostrategic explanation of Russian strategy in the east and a great review of the the resource poor/capital poor complementatity of China and Russia. In addition to oil, gas, and minerals, China needs Russia's water and farmland resources badly. I think just for China'a large population's sake, I hope Russia gets desperate enough to lease a ton of it out for a few Yuan. I also think that the 1860 treaty was indeed an unequal treaty and think that China should get Outer Manchuria back minus the cities that Russia built there that Russia should retain along with a single rail/highway strip connecting them to the Russian mainland.

[Понтогон Понтогонович]

Hahaha 🤡🤡🤡

[nesh_san]

Russian invasion in Ukraine basically makes any trade from China supporting the Russian side of the conflict thus compromising Chinese investments in Russia and "the west". Which is why they insisted on Russia to make peace immediately, because it's in no-one's interest. And hypothetically speaking, I could see China use it as an excuse for a conflict actually.

[pierre Smee]

love the video.. love the Map Rotation! gives it such a better global perspective..

[Kevin Lewis]

This is very well done except for the flipping maps. I keep having to scroll back to orient myself. But if a directional indicator was add or if north was always up, this would be more easy to parse.

[Alex Biktimirkin]

I remember watching this video and thinking "wow, this is both insightful and disturbing". But then I looked up some of the basic facts on Wikipedia. It turns out that Chinese population is concentrated in the south of the country, while northern provinces are heavily underpopulated and keep losing people. To suggest that Chinese who don't even want to live in the north of their country will move to north north of Russia is pure nonsense.

[102 Lee]

Actually Chinese have no interest to the land beyond the northern border,we think it is too cold😂

[Kaylen Scurrah]

As an IR student focusing on China, this is the best video you’ve ever made! Very well researched and you’ve captured a lot of the nuance

[Cherry]

Did you meant international relations

[David Moore]

If you are an international relations student focusing on China, do you know if Indonesia is more of a Chinese ally, or not? I can't seem to get a good idea.

[David Moore]

Also, I hope you know the issue across the Straight and the SCS, and also the BRI.

[Kaylen Scurrah]

@David Moore David, I recommend making inquiries into some Journals such as China Quarterly or the magazine Foreign Policy. Even Wikipedia does a good job summarising things. But Indo tends to stick to its long standing non alignment policy and will likely continue to do so. Balancing both US and China. But if China pushes too hard in SCS, Indo might become more inclined against China, and I’m sure China is mindful of this.

[David Moore]

@Kaylen Scurrah 👍

[徐lol]

Our Chinese and Russians are all clear with what you presents, and that's why we should stay in harmoney and maintain our friendship in terms of both historical view and future development. NO country could bear the danger and loss invoked by the battle between us.

[KulturowySnob]

By all means, from historical standpoint China was detested by Russian goverment, and threated as weaker. Talk point was paying debt by chinese with workers deployed into syberian tundra. Now it looks more like nothing changed in Russian optics, but China seems to slowly drown Russia in debt and tying them to Chinese cenomy. Which means that before the war at Ukraine ends, Russia may be bought out by china by it economicaly or just taken land as payment.

[jee aspirant]

Best part is that China has boldly told the world about its Century of Humiliation, but unfortunately India hasn't about its Millennium of Humiliation and Abuse.

[donald musabelliu]

Exactly and they are making the best out of it. Indeed India is nowhere near the global powers, but has time to its advantage.

[Psycho!Zafiro]

Could you imagine a war between those two?

[中国人只骗中国人]

After the Second Opium War, Russia occupied more than 3 million square kilometers of territory in China, and instigated Mongolia's independence from China after the Second World War.

[Blaze It Ken]

One slight issue with this perspective is that Russia has "nuclear deterrence". It's only when you account for Putin's imperial ambitions NATO becomes a threat.

[catallaxy]

I love these videos because you make extensive use of beautiful graphically articulated maps. Count De Marenches, the former head of the French secret service, said that: “If you want to understand political motivation, you need to look at the map.” While I may not agree 100% with your interpretations, you do provide an excellent collection of important insights. Thank you.

[Shivani Saxena]

I want to be an IAS officers video like this have given me confidence for speaking for a brighter India.

[Al Harrison]

I like the presentation, but the constant map rotation is disconcerting; better to leave it aligned to the north and just pan or zoom.

[David Smith]

wayyyyy too many commercials!

[awj1]

As a Taiwanese myself, I appericiate you for telling the facts.

[man ultra]

ni mei ma

[lack chen]

这个视频和台湾有半毛钱关系吗？

[CHINA TIKTOK SELECTED]

Compared with the US threat to Russia, China's threat is insignificant, and threats to countries with a hegemonic mentality are everywhere.

[zjeee]

Well regardless of how China’s potential threat to Russia measures up against other nations it’s still something Moscow will always have to keep in mind. Things can change and escalate in a heartbeat especially in nations with power focused on one person. Imagine if Putin would be replaced with a western friendly leader. Friends would become enemies overnight. The transfer of power is always shaky in authoritarian regimes and can do a complete 180 of government policies.

[Age of Dictatorships]

I think Russia was pressures into invading Ukraine. Logic dictates they would and should have invaded in 2014 when Ukraine was much weaker and not as well trained. Why did they wait so long to invade giving Ukraine the chance to buff it's military? It would be great if you made a video on this interesting question.

[Larry Sherk]

China and Russia have learned to look at others as opportunities rather than threats.

[zjeee]

It’s not too long ago they butted heads, now they are friendly. The question is for how long?

[Joe Lau]

@zjeee The “not too long ago” you said is like half century ago. They probably would stick together forever if US and Nato keep pushing them back to back.

[余班班]

Last year, China's total debt-to-GDP ratio was 275%. As of June this year, it has risen to 280% and continues to increase.

[Сергей Петунин]

54%. 5T.

[fishie]

China invading Outer Manchuria while Russia is weak would be insane, and the crazy thing is that I think they could easily get away with it. It's not like Russia has a long list of allies ready to jump to their aid right now.

[Gonçalo Ferreira]

The only way they could do anything would be to press the "turn humanity back to the stone age" bottom

[Argy1025]

That's just not how the game works with nuclear capable countries

[MarbleWarrior]

@Argy1025 "We are taking Outer Manchuria and we end it here here are our ethnic nationals after all" "But we got the noookies" "Pull the trigger piglet"

[ant]

Super informative. Such amazing analysis.

[Sylvain Arseneault]

Always interesting content. I'd prefer if you didn't flip the axis on the graphics and kept North up and South down so it's easier to orient oneself.

[Jim]

Tom Clancy's novel "The Bear and the Dragon" addresses -fictionaly- this exact conflict. Very interesting part of the world.

[Ingrid Tullos]

Thanks for the article. It is super informative

[Richard L.]

This something I've been saying for a long time. They share a common border, rendering them future rivals, especially considering the border area of Russia's sparse population. The Chinese don't even need a hot war, but could simply conduct a long term "replacement migration" by simply moving in one family at a time, similar to what is occuring on our southern border.

[孔dudu]

中国和俄罗斯已经没有边界问题了，中国也不会侵害俄罗斯领土，纵观历史，最有野心的反而是俄罗斯。

[Mark Martin]

I would find it useful if you added a north arrow when you rotate the map. It gets really confusing seeing continents and small countries upside down when I take my off the screen for a second then try to reorient myself viewing these maps.

[Mosi Jahi]

?

[Cody]

Agreed. It's very useful to see it from those other perspectives too, but does get disorienting

[VVayVVard]

I prefer the cleaner current look. I guess you get used to shifts in perspective if you play long enough with Google Earth.

[Sam El Mourad]

Bad how annoying is it, what’s the point of flipping the map on its head anyway

[Jimmy M]

@VVayVVard for map nerds like me it's no problem. Of course I don't take my eyes off the screen when he shows those maps. But I can see how other people might have a problem with it.

[Shawn Arthur]

Here's my problem: someone told these kids they're "trailblazers"; someone told them they're "revolutionaries". I'm sure most of them just think they're "breaking down barriers". They're also victims of this mentality. Doesn't mean they're not culpable; just means we need to focus more on the governing bodies and activists who support this insanity.

[Charles]

It's plausible China could go against Russia but it currently sees the USA as it's main threat to its interests if the USA isn't a player or in alliance with China then definitely but as it stands unless Russia ceases to be a player then it's speculation

[양갈래 애호가 Aggressive Aegyo]

What makes this video more fun to watch are the new maps of China that were recently released. Where territories neighboring China are marked as Chinese. Other countries were already outraged by this, but Russia remained silent. When the president's press secretary was asked for comment on this matter, he said that it was probably just a mistake and not worth attention. And at this time, Russia is withdrawing its armored vehicles and air defense from the east of the country to strengthen the front in Ukraine.

[Леха Антропов]

Наивно полагать что такое возможно😂😂

[양갈래 애호가 Aggressive Aegyo]

@Леха Антропов It's logical. Russia confirmed this itself. Remember Crimea. The country did not currently have a president, only an acting president. There was no one who would take responsibility for the victims and give the order to go to war against the invaders. When the new president was elected, it was psychologically difficult to take active measures. Because Russia pretended to be friendly and would claim that after everything was over and peace came, it was Ukraine that attacked first. Now imagine that Putin cannot be president and China will act the same as Russia. When there is no president, they will take away territories along Baikal and the Lena River. When a new president appears, the Chinese have already stopped a week ago, dug in and will not attack further and will say that now peace has come. Now Russia needs to show aggression to return the territories. It's the same with nuclear weapons. Don't forget that China also has nuclear weapons that are better protected. And the war is already over! Russia is no longer in danger. Why start it again and risk nuclear mutual destruction?

[Dan Broome]

Content is good but it can be hard to watch by the map rotating so much. I play Risk with my friends and sometimes I'm looking north to south, but a least it doesn't rotate.

[Cyberswordsmen]

From an editing point I think you should avoid rotating maps from the North is up convention. It made parts of this harder to follow while I had trouble recognizing things I otherwise would have due to an unmentioned rotation.

[Zman44444]

You know what’s interesting? My grandmothers husband (complicated relationship, look below) who is Latvian and was conscripted into the Russian army during our subjugation by the USSR, traveled quite far and wide. Learned quite a lot about Russia itself, all thanks to his conscription. Few years back we were chatting, on the topicsof world relations and geopolitics. The only thing I remember from that discussion was his dead look in my eye and saying “Russia is scared of China”. Apparently back in his day Russia genuinely knew it was the second rate power. And honestly? Kinda looks the same right now.

[ShiSponk]

Good for him for not being a German at least

[D P]

There was a well-known story following the collapse of the USSR, where an American General said that years earlier his Russian counterpart leaned over to him during one of those occasional American-Russian cold war conferences and said (I'm paraphrasing) that the US and Russia aren't really enemies and one day will be allies again but that China will be the enemy of both and they were the genuine threat to humanity. I recall hearing this story at least 25 years ago and heard it again through the years. If it is a genuinely accurate account of what happened, it will likely prove to be prophetic. China has never forgotten or forgiven Russia's theft of what is Outer Mongolia/Manchuria. I am certain that the Chinese leaders are looking to see a weakened Moscow.

[Lunæros Studios]

If Russia and China joined us as allies then they wouldn't have to worry about being invaded because they'd have the US coming to their aid as well. The problem is being invaded is not their only or main concern. They want to spread their authoritarian government completely across their regions if not farther.

[Clive Burrows]

Great explanations, neutral tone and excellent maps. The potential war in 1969 when Mao attacked and killed Russian soldiers on the river island dividing China and Russia, this was potential nuclear war brinkmanship by Chairman Mao when the Russians secretly planned to topple Mao with selected Chinese officials. (This was the 2nd potential nuclear crisis after the 1962 Cuba crisis) Mao was gambling his absolute control versus nuclear annihilation, and Russia blinked, and backed down, knowing they may destroy China's early nuclear sites, but a billion Chinese soldiers would never be defeated and China would eventually win this war, and they would be exposed as Communist bullies to the rest to the communist third world. Nixon (USA) and Whitlam (Australia) got wind of the dispute between China and Russia and opened up high level dialogue with Mao and welcomed China into the Western capitalism trading system (thus eliminating Chinese poverty and technical backwardness) and as they say the rest is History.

[MirageSessions]

You know. As an American. I really need to eventually watch a bunch of documentaries about what exactly it is the US wants. I have general ideas, but I dont actually know